Mrs. Lamont and I had hoped for many years for a child of our own.  And when that child came, a little boy named after a missionary surgeon, he turned out to be a Mongoloid boy, retarded, without any promise or hope that he would ever grow into manhood and usefulness in life.  And it was Dr. Barnhouse in tenderness and in love, who brought me to the place where I could thank God for Kenny.  For Dr. Barnhouse introduced me to these words in Exodus 4: 11, “And the Lord said unto Moses, `Who hath made man’s mouth, or who maketh the dumb or the deaf or the seeing or the blind?  Have not I, saith the Lord?`”

And he said, “ Bob, if you can believe this, your ministry will be the richer for it.”  And then he went on to say, “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God concerning you.” 

And that night eight and a half years ago, I learned to give thanks in a time of great personal crisis.  And so I gladly share in this memorial tribute today, and I believe I speak for unknown thousands of ministers who thank God upon every remembrance of Dr. Barnhouse.  And I have learned in the midst of his home-going to give thanks, in the confident belief that this indeed is the will of God.

Robert J. Lamont
Pittsburgh, PA.


… Donald Grey Barnhouse was one of the best theology professors I have ever had.  He was a man who never tired of emphasizing that God’s grace was “free for nothing.”

Charles De Santo
Maryville College

…In the later years of his ministry, God took him through refining fires, but he came out purer, as should be the experience of all of us

B. Charles Hostetter
The Mennonite Hour

…Sometimes he would actually get differing brethren together—brethren some of whom had said some very critical things about himself—in an effort to restore Christian harmony in spite of differences.

Stephen W. Paine
Houghton College

…A man’s library often indicates the caliber of the man.  One could not peruse Dr. Barnhouse’s library without discovering immediately that he was a biblical theologian aware of the best of scholarship and literally drenched in the Scriptures.

James I. McCord
Princeton Theological Seminary

…These last years of Dr. Barnhouse’s ministry were enhanced and his influence for good increased because both he and the leadership of his Church were drawn together by a common recognition of their common loyalty to Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior.

Eugene Carson Blake
United Presbyterian Church

…While still disagreeing on some definite areas of study, yet we all recognized in each other the purchased possession of Jesus our Lord, redeemed by the blood of Christ.

R. Allan Anderson
Seventh-day Adventist Church

“What impressed you most about Donald Grey Barnhouse?”  When asked this question, I replied, “His daring and bold encounter with the Word of God.”

The Word seemed to constantly call forth the best that was in him.  He delved into its depths to catch a new facet of truth every time.   The Holy Spirit of God set his brilliant mind aflame.

Dr. Barnhouse not only knew the Word but communicated its truth in a most fascinating way.  You would find yourself saying, “Why hadn’t I seen that before?”  The old truths were couched in a new way.  You remembered what he said and returned to the Book to find more.

Henrietta C. Mears
Hollywood Presbyterian Church
Hollywood, Calif.

…If there was mellowness upon his spirit, there was no mildew on his convictions.

Paul S. Rees
World Vision

There was no subject, trivial or significant, about which Dr. Barnhouse did not have strong convictions.  Whether it was the best tailor in Hong Kong, the relative merits of Los Angeles or Philadelphia, or the doctrine of election, there was never any ambiguity about his position.

He had a great heart.  He did not like “yes” men.  He delighted in discussing with those who disagreed with him.  He enjoyed competition, but never simply for its own sake.

Richard C. Halverson, minister
Washington, D. C.

…All who heard him teach recognized his great gift from God; fewer people knew of his generous heart and lavish hand—these matters had to be stumbled upon, for he never advertised them.

William Culbertson
Moody Bible Institute


There was about him the chivalric nobility of a freeman of breeding and culture, familiar with honorable companionship—that of the great classics as well as that of the rank and file of his contemporaries.  His was a well-stored mind.  He spoke French like a native, and once confided to me over the luncheon table that he had sat side by side with French students to complete the Baccalaureate examinations.  He had traveled across the world of men and affairs as widely as though the cultures of ages past, and had made himself at home everywhere.

Emile Cailliet
Princeton Theological Seminary

…For a person who wishes to take a middle ground in an age of extremists there is little peace, except for the peace of mind and heart in knowing that one has been loyal to the truth, sensitive to the Spirit, and responsive to the insights of others.

Eugene A. Nida
American Bible Society

…Dr. Barnhouse was a great minister of the Word of God because he was intrinsically a great man.

Bernard L. Ramm
California Baptist Seminary

…To Donald Grey Barnhouse I owe perhaps more than to any other Christian leader I have known.

S. Maxwell Coder
Moody Bible Institute

My friend Donald always impressed me as a great advocate.  In his time he was one of God’s choice advocates among men, speaking, by the blessing of the Holy Spirit, the eternal truth of God the Father, as incarnated in the life and person of His Son.  He imparted to his fellow men the riches of the wisdom of God, by keen discernment of the Scriptures and warm, personal expression.  At the same time, as a true advocate by incessant prayer, he brought his congregation and his innumerable friends working in other vineyards, to the Throne of Grace, at which court he now serves in higher calling.

Edward J. Griffiths, Judge
Philadelphia, Pa.