I am a retired teacher who wrote 7 photocopiable books for Teachers and one book for children Union Jack Colouring Book.
The 7books covered Geography, History (Medieval/ Tudor/ Stuart), Travel and Transport, Myself and Events (this included diaries), Race Against Time Stories (SATS based), Church Dates for Children plus Nature and Seasons (including Sport). These 7 books have been mainly broken into a number of segments.
Challenging the Physical Elements, my Geography book, is complete.
I am a retired teacher who wrote 7 photocopiable books for Teachers and one book for children Union Jack Colouring Book.
The 7books covered Geography, History (Medieval/ Tudor/ Stuart), Travel and Transport, Myself and Events (this included diaries), Race Against Time Stories (SATS based), Church Dates for Children plus Nature and Seasons (including Sport). These 7 books have been mainly broken into a number of segments.
Challenging the Physical Elements, my Geography book, is complete.
Sarah Jane Woodson Early, nee Sarah Jane Woodson, was an American educator, black nationalist, temperance activist and author. In 1858 she became the first black woman college instructor. She was also the first black African- American (A-A) to teach at a university-Historically Black College or University (HBCU) before the Civil War (1861-5)
Sarah was the fifth and youngest daughter of 11. Her parents were Thomas Woodson and Jemima (nee Riddle) . She was born FREE in Chillicothe, Ohio on 15th November 1825
(In 1820 her father had paid $900 for the family’s freedom whilst living in Greenbrier County, Virginia. There were only 1 of 2 free black families in the entire county so they moved to the free state of Ohio. )
The Woodsons founded the first black methodist church west of the Alleghenies mountain range. In 1830 they were among the founders of a separate black farming community called Berlin Crossroad which became a prominent spot on the ’ Underground Rail Road’- an escape route for slaves. By 1840 nearly 2 dozen families had established a school, stores and churches. Her father and some of her brothers became black nationalists.
Sarah showed an interest in education at a very early age. By the age of 3 should memorize hymns sung by her family. By the age of 5 she was able to memorize lengthy passages of the Bible. In 1839 she joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) where 2 of her brothers were ministers.
In 1852 along with her sister, Hannah, she enrolled at the Oberin College. In 1856 she was one of the first African-American (A-A) women to graduate with a degree in Classical Studies.
After graduation she taught in the black community schools in Ohio for several years. She was the first principal at a public school in Xenia, Ohio.
In 1858 she joined Wilberforce University and became the first A-A woman college instructor
She taught at HBCU where her brother Rev. Lewis Woodson was the founder and a trustee . HBCU closed during the war. In 1863 bought by AME and re-opened as first A-A college to be owned and operated.
In 1868 she began teaching in a new school for black girls established by the Freedmen’s Bureau in Hillsboro. North Carolina. On 24th September, aged 42, she married Rev. Jordan Winston Early - an AME minister and former slave.
They moved to Tennessee where she became principal of schools in 4 cities.
From 1868-88) - 20 years, she helped her husband with his ministries until he retired.
She taught school for nearly 40 years. She believed education was critical for the advancement of the race.
1888-92 she was national superintendent of the black division of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and gave 100 lectures across 5 states.
Sarah wrote her husband’s biography and his rise from slavery - it is included among postwar narratives.
Sarah’s career ended with her death. She died on 15th August 1907, aged 82.
Sources
PRO
WCofRW
WCTU
Wikipedia
William Wells Brown was a prominent African- American abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright and historian.
His novel Clotel; or the President’s Daughter (1853) considered to be the first novel written by an African- American - published in London, England.
In 1867 he published the first history by an African- American *The Negro in the American Revolution . *
George Higgins,his father, was a white plantation owner; his mother was a black slave named Elizabeth. She had 7 children all by different men.
His father treated him like a house slave: his mother was a field slave.
Together they were hired out to Major Freeland- a drunkard who kept a public house. William complained back to his father who was only interested in the money he was paid for his slaves - so after 6 months he escaped only to be caught. He was whipped and smoked (twice) and sent back to work.
( Read first set of notes )
He was also hired out to work on steamboats on the Missouri River. His work allowed to him to travel to see many new places. In 1833 he and his mother escaped across the river but were captured in Illinois. In 1834 they successfully slipped away from a steamboat when it docked in Cincinnati, Ohio
They escaped to Dayton. The elderly Quaker, Wells Brown, helped him recover from a fever. When asked if he had another name than William he decided to adopt this kind gentleman’s name - William Wells Brown. He learned to read and write and eagerly sought more education.
In 1834 he married Elizabeth Schooner. They had 2 daughters Clarissa and Josephine. ( Later they became estranged she died in 1851)
He was hired by Elijah P. Lovejoy, the famed abolitionist and publisher of the St. Louis Times. He enjoyed working for him.
From 1836- 1845? he made his home in Buffalo new York. He became a conductor on the Underground Railroad and worked on a Lake Erie steamer ferrying slaves to freedom in Canada.
He became active in the abolitionist movement by joining several anti-slavery societies which included public speaking and music. He traveled with a slavery -themed traveling panorama He also organized a Temperance society.
In 1947 published his memoir. -The Narrative of WWB , a Fugitive Slave, Written by Himself. ( See ‘Literary Works’)
In 1949 he traveled to the U.K. to lecture on slavery. Represents US at the International Peace Congress in Paris.
1950 Fugitive Slave Act in the US - decided to stay in Europe.
1853Clotel published in London
1854 Richardson family buy his freedom. Returns to US to rejoin the anti-slavery lecture circuit.
1861-5 American Civil War- recruits blacks for the Union.
1880 last book published
6th November, 1884 William dies , aged 70, in Chelsea, Massachusetts .
In 2013 he was among the first writers inducted to the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame
He was the first African- American novelist & historian.
Rebecca Lee Crumpler (nee Davis) was an American physician and author.
She initially trained as a nurse but in 1864 she became the first African-American female doctor of medicine in the USA. She was the only female physician author in the 19th century A Book of Medical Discourses (1883)
She dedicated herself to treating women an children who lived in poverty.
Rebecca treated patients regardless of their ability to pay and often took no money for her work
As a child she excelled in mathematics. In the 1870s she attended the elite West newton English and Classical School in Massachusetts. She taught in Wilmington beginning in 1874 and in New Castle, Delaware beginning in 1876
She married Wyatt Lee, a Virginia native and former slave in 1852. This was his second marriage and his son Albert dies aged just 7. This tragedy motivated her to become a nurse.
She studied nursing for the next 8 years( 1855-64). The doctors and nurses are impressed with her knowledge and skills and encourage her to enroll in medical college. In 1860 she wins a scholarship to train as a doctor at the New England Female Medical College, Boston. She was the first and only African=American physician in her class. (Read Education -Nursing and medical school)
In 1864 she become the first African- American woman to earn a medical degree. That year, because of the US Civil War (1861-5), she lost her funding and then her husband to tuberculosis .
On 24th May 1865 she marries Arthur Crumpler a former fugitive slave. They are both active members of the Twelfth Baptist church where Arthur is a trustee.
They move to Richmond , Virginia. She helps slaves rebuild their lives after slavery. She treated patients who otherwise would not have received medical care.
She was subject to ‘intense racism’ and sexism while practicing medicine. She is shunned by fellow doctors and has problems getting the medication required.
They return to Boston ((1869) where she sets up a medical clinic in a mainly African- American community of Beacon Hill. She treats women and children for free, if they are unable to pay. They stay there until 1880 11 years.
By 1883 they are now living in Hyde Park, New York. She writes her medical journal * A Book of Medical Discourses*(BofMD) it was dedicated to nurses and mothers and focused on the medical care of women and children.(Read BofMD)
Rebecca died in 9th March 1895, aged 64. She overcame a number of obstacles. She was the first African- American to become a doctor in the USA. She was the first African- American to publish a medical book. She is an inspiration for those who follow in her footsteps.
On 16thJuly, 2020 a gravestone, following a ceremony, was finally installed at Fairview Cemetery to mark where Rebecca and Arthur were buried.
Sources
Amazon
Timelines from Black History
Harriet Jacobs was convinced, by friends, to write an autobiography of her life as a slave. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl(1861) was the book and it is one of the first open discussions about the sexual harassment and abuse endured by a slave woman - a topic that even made abolitionists feel uncomfortable.
The story tells of how, eventually after many years as a slave, Harriet was able to escape the continual sexual harassment of her slave owner and become a free woman.
In her autobiography Harriet’s says her childhood was a happy one. Though we were slaves, I was fondly shielded that I never dreamed that I was a piece of merchandise.
But on the death of her benevolent mistress, when she was 12, everything changed. Her ownership transfered to her mistress’s niece who was only 3 years old. Harriet’s actual new master was the niece’s father - Dr James Norcom. He would cause her a great deal of pain.
When she was 15 Norcom began his relentless efforts to bend the slave girl’s will.
He would whisper ‘foul words’ in her ear.
His wife became suspicious so he built Harriet a cottage 4 miles from town.
She asked if she could marry a free black man, Norcom violently refused.
She had a plan. She became friendly with a caring white, unmarried lawyer. They had a child, She expected the infuriated Norcom to sell her and her child.- he didn’t.
She bore the lawyer a second child. She heard Norcom was preparing to get the children to work as plantation slaves. In June 1835, after 7 rears of mistreatment, she ’ escaped’ and stayed with neighbours, black and white.
The lawyer had bought her grandmother and uncle’s house. She found a tiny crawl space above the porch just big enough to hid in (9x7x3 feet). This tiny hiding place is where she stayed for the next 7 years- she could see her children through a peep hole. At night she would briefly exercise.
In 1842 she escaped to freedom. She sailed to Philadelphia and then to New York by train. She was reunited with her children Joseph and Louisa Matilda and eventually her brother, John J. Jacobs…
She fled to Massachusetts to again escape from Norcom.
She found work as a nanny for the Children of Nathaniel Parker Willis. Harriet eventually became legally free when Mrs Willis, arranged her purchase.
She made contact with abolitionists and feminist reformers. She was actively involved with the abolition movement before the launch of the Civil War. During the war she helped raise money for black refugees.
After the war she worked to improve the conditions of th e recently freed slaves. She went with her daughter to the Union occupied parts of the South to help organize and found 2 schools for fugitives and freed slaves.
She died in 7th March 1897, aged 84, a free woman.
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is now considered an ‘American classic’
Sources
Africans in America
Amazon
National Archives
Penquin Classics
Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly, was the first African-American author of a published book of poems - Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.
Phillis was born in West Africa, probably present day Gambia or Senegal. She was sold into slavery aged 7 or 8 and transported to North America. She arrived in Boston, in the British Colony of Massachusetts, on 11th July 1761. She was enslaved by the Wheatley family of Boston.
She was named Phillis after the name of the ship which transported her The Phillis. She was given the last name of Wheatley since it was common custom, if any surname was used, for enslaved people.
The Wheatleys gave her the opportunity to learn to read and write and encouraged her talent for writing poetry. Their daughter Mary was her first tutor in reading and writing. Their son Nathaniel also helped. By the age of 12 she was reading Greek and Latin classics in their original language
In 1770 she wrote a tribute to the evangelist George Whitefield. Many of her poems expressed Christian themes and many were dedicated to famous figures.
In 1772 she successfully defended her authorship in court. The signed attestation is included in the preface to her book ( See ‘Poetry’)
In 1773, aged 20, she made a trip to London, with her master’s son,seeking to find publication of her work. It was also thought it would help her health - she suffered from chronic asthma. Phillis met prominent people who became patrons. She had an audience with the Lord mayor of London, Frederick Bull. Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntington, subsidized volumes of her poems. Selina became ill so they never actually met.
Poems on various subjects, Religious and Moral was published in London on 1st September 1773. It brought her fame in both England and the American colonies. She met George Washington in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1776. Jupiter Hammon praised her work in a poem.
She *became the most famous African on the face of the earth *Voltaire.
Phillis was emancipated (set free from slavery in November 1773 by the Wheatleys. But she soon lost the support of the Wheatleys, Susanna diedi n 1774, and John in 1778.
She met and married John Peters, a free black grocer. They struggled with poor living conditions. They lost 2 babies. In 1784 he was imprisoned. Phillis went o work as a scullery maid in a boarding house. She became ill and died on th 5th December 1784. Her infant son soon after.
Despite her early fame Phillis died in poverty and obscurity at the age of just 31.
She is honored as the first African -American to publish a book of poetry and the first to make a living from her writings.
2002 Molefi Kete Asante listed her as one of his 100 greatest African- Americans
For more ‘Legacy and Honors’ read notes.
Sources
Amazon
Timelines from bBack History
Wikipedia
Jupiter Hammon is known as the founder of African - American literature. His poem An Evening Thought;Salvation by Christ, with Penitential Cries (EVSCPC), published in 1761, was the first by an African-American in North America. (Read copy of poem)
Born into slavery he became a devoted Christian evangelist preacher. He was also a commercial clerk on long island. New York.
He was a slave of the Lloyd family. He was born at the Lloyd Manor (now Lloyd Harbor). He served 4 generations of the Lloyd family for his entire life
Like the Lloyds family Jupiter was a fervent Christian. Aged 22 he bought a bible from his master for 7 shillings and 6 pence. His writings reflected his spirituality. I
Jupiter received rudimentary education through the Anglican Church’s Society of the Gospel in Foreign parts system. His ability to read and write aided the Lloyds in their commercial businesses and helped him exhibit a level of intellectual awareness through literature.
EVSCPC was his first published poem. Composed on 25th December, Christmas day 1760 it appeared as a 'broadside in 1761.
An Address to Miss Phillis Wheatley, 18 years later, was his second work to appear in print. The dedicated poem, to a fellow black slave, contained 21 rhyming quatrains (4 lines) , each accompanied by a Biblical verse -thinking it would help her Christian journey.
On 24th September 1786, aged 76, and still a slave, Jupiter said this famous quote during his speech at the inaugural meeting of the African Society in New York City ,
If we should get to heaven, we shall find nobody to reproach us for being black, or for being slaves.
He knew that slavery was deeply entrenched in American society and that immediate emancipation of all slaves would be difficult to achieve,
The exact year of Jupiter Hammon’s death is unknown but it is believed he died in 1806.
He ranked 327 in the top 500 poets.
Sources
All poetry
Wikipedia
Olaudah Equiano, known for most of his life as Gustavus Vassa, He was probably born in the Eboe region of the kingdom of Benin province, in the area that is now southern Nigeria. ( He twice listed his birthplace in the Americas)
Most of what he wrote in his book The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa (published in 1789)can be verified.
( See Amazon notes)
As a child he was kidnapped with his sister, aged about 11, and sold to local slave traders and shipped across the Atlantic to Barbados and then Virginia.
In Virginia he was sold to a Royal Naval officer, Lieutenant Michael Pascal. Pascal renamed him Gustavus Vassa - the name of a 16th century Swedish king ( he had already been called Michael and Jacob). He travelled the oceans with Pascal for 8 years. In his book he give eye witness accounts of the Seven Years War with France.
Pascal favoured him by sending him to his sister-in-law so that he could attend school and learn to read and write.
Olaudah was converted to Christianity and was baptised at St. Margaret’s Westminster on 9th February, 1759
Pascal then sold him to Captain James Doran of the Charming Sally at gravesend, from where he was transported to the Caribbean. Doran sent him to Montserrat where he was sold to Robert King, a prominent American Quaker merchant from Philadelphia who traded in the Caribbean. He worked as a deckhand, barber and valet for King. He earned enough money over 3 years, by trading on the side, to buy his freedom.
He then spent the next 20 years travelling the world. He made trips to Turkey and the Arctic. He took care not to be captured and sold again as a slave.
In 1786 he came to London, He became involved in the movement to abolish slavery and joined the Sons of Africa - a group of 12 black African men.
(See notes)
In 1789 he published his book. which depicted the horrors of slavery. he spent many months speaking in public about his life. It went through 9 editions in his lifetime and helped gain passage of the British Slave Trade Act of 1807
On 7th April 1792 he married Susannah Cullen, an English woman. They married in Soham, Cambridge and settled there. They had 2 daughters -Anna Maria and Joanna
Susannah died in February 1796
Olaudah Equiano aged 52, died on 31st March 1797 just over a year later. The register reads Gustus Vasa, 52 years, St Mary Le Bone He was buried at Whitefield’s Tabernacle on 6th April. (burial place now lost).
Anna Maria died in 1797 aged just 4
Joanna went on to marry Revd. Henry Bromley
Amazon
Timelines from Black History
BBC History
Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Bomfree. She was a slave, born in 1797 in Dutch speaking Ulster County, New York.
She was bought and sold 4 times. In her teens (1815) she was united with another slave and they had 5 children.
In 1827, the year before New York’s law freeing slaves was to take effect, she ran away with her infant Sophia. She ran to the nearby abolitionist family, the Van Wageners. For $20 they bought her freedom.
In 1928 she began to work for a local minister. By the early 1830s she was participating in the religious revivals that were sweeping the state and she became a charismatic speaker and itinerant preacher.
In 1943 she declared the Spirit called on her to preach the truth- renaming herself Sojourner Truth.
Abolitionists, William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, encouraged her to give speeches about the evils of slavery.
She never learned to read or write. In 1950 she dictated her autobiography The narrative of Sojourner Truth to Oliver Gilbert, who also helped publish the book. The book brought her national recognition and she survived on the sales of the book.
She met women’s rights activists,including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, plus temperance advocates, and quickly championed both causes.
In 1851 she delivered her famous Ain’t I a Woman speech at the women’s conference on Akron, Ohio. She challenged the prevailing notions of racial and gender inferiority and inequality by reminding her listeners of her combined strength - she was nearly 6 feet tall and had female status. ( See Speech)
She eventually split from Douglass because he believed enslaved men should should come before women’s suffrage. She believed they should occur simultaneously.
In the 1950s she moved to Battle Creek where 3 of her daughters lived. She continued to speak nationally and to help slaves escape to freedom.
During the Civil War she encouraged young men to join the Union cause and organized supplies for black troops.
After the war, in 1864, she was invited to the White House by President Abraham Lincoln and became involved with the Freedmen’s Bureau - helping freed slaves find work and build new lives.
In the mid 1860s a street conductor violently tried to block her from riding. In court she won her case.
In the late 1860’s she collected 1000s of signatures on a petition to provide former slave with land - Congress never took action.
In her final years she became nearly blind and deaf. She spent her final years in Michigan and died in 1883.
Sources
National Women’s History Museum
Ain’t I a Woman transcript
Ezana was the ruler of the kingdom of Aksum. an ancient kingdom centred in what is now Ertres and the Tigray Region of northern Ethiopia.
Ezana was the first monarch of the kingdom of Aksum to embrace Christianity.
Ezana is regarded as saint by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church with a feast day of 1st October.
Sources
Helbrunn Timeline of Art History
Wikipedia
Ben Witherington III is an American New Testament scholar and writer. He is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, (1995- present), He is an ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church.
Ben was born on 30th December 1951 in High Point, North Carolina.
He graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1974 with a B.A. in English. He holds an M.D. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary-1977. He has a Ph.D. from Durham University in England -1981.
1982 ordained as a Methodist elder
1982/3 he was a faculty member of the Duke Divinity School and the High Point College.
1984-1995 he was Professor of New Testament at Ashland Theological Seminary.
1992 research fellow and member (1996) at the Robinson College, Cambridge University
1995- present Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary.
Ben has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings in 8 different countries and led tours in the Holy Lands, Italy, Greece and Turkey.
He has appeared on the television channels including the History and Discovery channels. he was featured in the BBC and PBS special entitledThe Story of Jesus.**
He has written over 60 books. His books *The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest were selected as top biblical studies by Christianity Today.
(See ‘Selected Books’)
He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, Institute for Biblical Research and the Society for the Study of the New Testament. ( See notes)
In his book Biblical Theology he shows a large coherent Biblical world view, one that progressively reveals the character and action of God. - Amazon
Ben Witherington III is a prominent, current, evangelical Biblical scholar of the late20th/early 21st century.
Sources
Amazon
Wikipedia
Elaine Storkey is an English philosopher, theologian and sociologist. She is known for her lecturing, writing, broadcasting and charity work.
Elaine, born in 1944, grew up in Ossett, West Yorkshire and was head girl at Ossett grammar School (now Ossett Academy),
Elaine studied at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and doing postgraduate work in philosophy at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and York University, England.
In 1968 she married Alan Storkey, an economist, writer and lecturer.
After research on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s work her first academic post was in philosophy in Oxford University, as a tutor at Manchester College, Oxford.
With her husband she then joined the faculty of the University of Stirling.
They then did a period of lecturing at Calvin College, Michigan and Covenant College in Tennessee, USA.
In 1986 she began broadcasting documentaries, arts, news and current affairs programmes with the BBC. For more than 20 years she was presenter on Radio 4’s Thought for The Day. She currently broadcasts on BBC Radio Ulster Sunday Sequence (See notes on both programme)
Elaine has been a member of the General Synod of the Church of England (1987-2016) (See notes)
Currently she is president of Fulcrum ( See notes On Fulcrum ‘Anglican think tank’)
For many years she spent time teaching and writing with the Open University and presenting radio and television documentaries on gender, race and ethnicity
As a result In 1991 she became the Executive Director of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC) (1991-9). ( See notes About LICC)
In 1997 Elaine became president of Tearfund, a Christian relief and development charity and as a result has been monitoring aid, relif and advocacy work in countries of the Global South. ( See notes of ‘Tearfund’)
In 2010, with her husband Alan, they founded Restored an organization committed to advocating against violence to women. (See notes)
She has taught at King’s College, London. She has been a lecturer with the Montgomery Trust since 2001.
She has lectured across the world- Haiti, India, Nepal, Turkey and Ethiopia and is a prominent feminist evangelical. She continues to teach on the Christian Mind course at Oxford University.
Elaine for many years wrote for The Independent, Dagen and the Church Times.
Her writings have brought a biblical perspective to the feminist movement.
Scars Across humanity; Understanding and overcoming Violence Against Women (2015) was widely acclaimed. The 2nd edition in 2019 won the Christianity Today Book of the Year award for Politics and public Life in the USA
Her work has been recognized by Aberystwyth and Cambridge colleges where she has been given fellowships, From Princeton Theological Seminary in 2016 she was awarded the Abraham Kuyper prize for her work as a scholar, writer and journalist.
A faithful servant of Christ
Stephen Howe Webb was a theologian and philosopher of religion best known for his work on animal rights… He is recognized for being a leader of the animal theological movement and in the field of religious rhetoric in the late20th/early 21st century.
He was born on the 13th March 1961 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
His local church was Eaglewood Christian Church, an evangelical church in the Restoration Movement. He wrote about his experiences there in Taking Religion to Schooland an essay *Recalling: A Theologian Remembers his Church.
He changed churches several times. At college he joined the Disciples of Christ. Foe a brief time he was a Lutherian. On Easter Sunday 2007 he officially came into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.
Stephen graduated form Wabash College in 1983 and earned his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago.
He taught at Wabash College as Professor of Religion and Philosophy from 1988 to 2012 ( 24 years). Besides theology he also taught on Bob dylan, men and masculinity and existentialism. He also delivered lectures all over the USA (See ‘Lectures’). He was on leave from the college 2012/13 and retired early to pursue writing opportunities full-time.
He was known for his scholarship and journalism on animals, vegetarianism and diet. He wrote the book On God and Dogs; A Christian Theology of compassion for Animals(1998) and has been listed as one of the leaders of the animal theological movement. (See ‘Oh God and Dog’)
He co-founded the Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA) in 1999 with Nathan Braun. (See notes on CVA).
Stephen also contributed to The Other Journal founded in 2003 which was to provide space for Christian graduate students to share their work in
a spirit of dialogue and mutual criticism. (See notes ‘The Other Journal’)
He was also known for what he called theo-acoustics or theology of sound.
The Divine Voice: Christian proclamation and the Theology of Sound (2004)
was named Christianity Today Top 10 Book for 2004, and the Religious Communication Association’s Book of the Year 2005.
Stephen wrote about C.S. Lewis in The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy (2005).
Dylan Redeemed: From Highwat 61 to Saved (2006) focused on Dylan’s mid-life conversion to Christianity.
He also wrote many essay on the intersection of rhetoric and religion. In 2008 Andrea Lunsford lists him as a leader in the field of religious rhetoric ( the study of using language effectively). ( See ‘Bibliography’ for a list books)
After a long struggle with depression Stephen committed suicide on 5th March 2016 just before his 55th birthday. He left behind the love of his life, Diane Timmerman, who he had married on 16th July 1988 and their five children. A very sad lose to his family and the Christian community.
Sources used
Amazon
Google knygos
The Indianapolis Star
The Other Journal
Wikipedia
Nicholas Paul Wolterstorff, born 21st January 1932, is an American philosopher and theologian. He is currently Noah Porter Professor Emeritus Philosophical Theology (NPPEPT) at Yale University.
In his career he has been an instructor, assistant/associate/ professor, or visiting professor, at many of the most prestigious universities in the world -from Yale to Cambridge. He is a prolific writer with wide ranging philosophical and theological interests. He helped establish the Society of Christian Philosophers and their journal Faith and Philosophy,.
With Alvin Plantings and William Alston he developed Reformed Epistemology - the theory of knowledge, especially the critical study of the validity, methods and scope as it applies in religious beliefs…
Degrees
B.A Philosophy Calvin College, Michigan 1953
M.A. Philosophy Harvard University 1954
Ph.D. Philosophy ‘’ ‘’ 1957
He then spent a year at Cambridge University, England
He has been involved in teaching/lecturing for nearly 50 years. He retired in 2002. He is now Noah Porter Emeritus professor of P&T at Yale.
(See ‘Encyclopedia.com’ notes for the many universities he worked in)
He has written a ‘library’ of books. ( see Bibliography)
Faith an Rationality was co-authored with Plantings and Alston -this is where they expanded on Reformed epistemology. (See note)
In 1987 he wroteLament of a son which recounts how he drew on his Christian faith when his 25 year old son Eric died in a mountain accident.
He helped to establish the Society of Christian Philosophers (SCP) which was founded in 1978. The society is open to anyone who is interested in philosophy who considers themselves to be a Christian.
The committee voted in 1982 to launch Faith and Philosophy; it appeared for the first time in January 1984. The aim of the journal is to foster the philosophical examination of religion and the Christian faith. It is supported by contributions from patrons both within and outside the society.
( See notes on ‘Faith and Philosophy’)
He is a former president of the American Philosophical Association (Central District) and serves on its publication and executive committees.
During his lifetime he earned a number of of Professional distinctions ( 7) and Endowed lectureships (8). (See both lists)
Nicholas Wolterstorff lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his wife Claire.
Sources used
Amazon
Dictionary
Wikipedia
Yale University
Andrew Purves is a Scottish theologian in the Reform tradition through the church of Scotland and later the Presbyterian Church USA. He is the Jean and Nancy Davis Professor Emeritus of Historical Theology at Pittsburgh Seminary
Andrew was born in 1946 in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1978 he moved to the USA and ordained by the Philadelphia Presbytery in 1979.
Degrees
Philosophy and Divinity at University of Edinburgh
Master of Theology form Duke Divinity School
Doctor of Philosophy from University of Edinburgh
He served as pastor at the Hebron Presbyterian Church in Clinton, Pennsylvania until 1983 when he began teaching at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (PTS). He retired from PTS after 32 years (2015).
In addition to his academic work he has served the church and wider community though his work with the PC(USA) and lectureships around the world.
He has written a number of publications, both books and articles, academic and popular. His primary concerns surround Christology - the branch of Theology concerned with the person, attributes and deeds of Jesus Christ. Recontructing pastoral Theology; A Christogical Foundation and Exploring Christology and Atonement:Conversations are two of his books.
( See Amazon sheet and ‘Purves has along list of publications’)
He has become a leader of evangelical renewal in the Presbyterian Church of the USA (PC(USA) and is known for his conservative Christian views concerning the person and work of Jesus, ( See notes on PC(USA) )
He agrees with the withholding of ordination of self-avowed, practicing, unrepentant gays and lesbians.
Andrew is married to Catherine (Cathy) Purves. They had 3 children.
Moises Siva is a Cuban born American biblical scholar, minister, author, translator and editor. He is an ordained minister of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. He has served as a translator of several Bibles. He is also a past president of the Evangelical Theological Society (1997)
Moises was born in Havana, Cuba on 4th September 1925 and has lived in the USA since 1960.
He earned the following degrees
BA Bob Jones University 1966
BD Westminster Theological Seminary 1969
ThM ‘’ ‘’ ‘’ 1971
Phd University of Manchester 1972
He taught Biblical Studies at Westminster College (1972-1981), Westminster Theological Seminary (1981-1996), and Godon Conewll Theological Seminary (1996-2000) where he was Mary French Rockerfeller Distinguished Professor of New Testament until he retired.
He has been involved as a translator in the New American Standard Bible the *New Living Translation and the recent English Standard Version. He has also been consultant for Eugene Peterson’s The Message .
Moises is the editor of the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis .
He was also editor of both the Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, and the Westminster Journal.
Moises’ Biblical Words and Their Meaning (1983, 2nd ed.1994) challenged many common linguistic fallacies in biblical interpretation.
He has also found time to author or co-author several books and articles. His commentary on Philippians was highly acclalmed. (See list of ‘Works’)
Moises Siva currently lives in Litchfield, Michigan where he continues to work as an author and editor.
Sources
Wikipedia
Richard Charles Sproul was an American Reformed theologian and ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA). He was the founding pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel. He was the founder and chairman of the Ligonier Ministries ( named after a valley just outside Pittsburgh). He was the first president of the Reformation Bible College. He was the executive editor of the magazine Tabletalk. He could also heard daily on the Renewing Your Mind radio broadcast across the USA and internationally.
He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a youth he was a keen supporter of both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pirates. Aged 15 he had to drop out of High school to support his family. In 1960 he married Vesta Voorhis -they had 2 children.
BA from Westminster College, Pennsylvania 1961
M.Div from Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary 1964
Drs from Free University of Amsterdam 1969
PhD from Whitefield Theological Seminary 2001
He taught at
Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando
Jackson, Mississippi
Knox Theological Seminary in Ft. Lauderdale
He was ordained as an elder in the United Presbyterian Church of the USA in 1965. Around 1975 he left the denomination and joined the P C A.
Robert was co-pastor at Saint Andrew’s Chapel, a congregation in Sanford, Florida. He will be remembered by the church for the many ways he served the church. He was a gifted communicator, and his ability to make complex topics easy to understand was evident through his preaching of the Word of God, teaching and writings.
He could he heard daily on his radio program* Renewing Your Mind.*
The Ligonier Ministries (LM) began in 1971. Robert was one of the primary speakers. It has become an international Christian education ministry now located near Orlando.
Tabletalk is the devotional magazine of LM.
The LM would produce the statement on Biblical Inerrancy which would eventually grow into the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy.
( See information on both)
He wrote over 100 books.
He was a council member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (ACE). ( See Notes on Ace)
He suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. On 18th April, 2015 Robert suffered a stroke. On 2nd December 2017 his respiratory difficulties were exacerbated by flu. He died on the 14th December, 2017 aged 78.
the greatest and most influential proponent of the recovery of Reformed theology in the last century
Sources used
History & Identity
Ligonier Ministries
Tabletalk
Why reformation Bible College Exists
Wikipedia
Thomas Clark Oden was an American Methodist theologian and religious author. He is often regarded as the father of the paleo (variant)-orthodox theological movement. He was Henry Anson Buttz Professor of Theology and Ethics at Drew University in New Jersey from 1980 until his retirement in 2004, He remained faculty emeritus until he died.
Thomas was born on 21st of October 1931 in Altus, Oklahoma. He was the son of an attorney and a music teacher. As a youth he considered two vocations - lawyer or Methodist minister.
Aged 10 the family moved to Oklahoma City, In 1945 they moved back to Atlus. In High school he began his vocation of writing and speaking.
Thomas married Edrita Pokorny on 10th August 1952. They had 3 children.
Degrees
BA from the University of Oklahoma 1953
BD from Southern Methodist University 1956
MA from Yale University 1958
Ph.D. from ‘’ ‘’ 1960
Thomas lectured at a number of universities - Yale, Southern Methodist, Heidelberg, Lomonosov and Pontifical Gregorian in Rome, plus Princeton Theological Seminary.
In his writings he became a supporter of paleo-orthodoxy - an approach which relies on the writings of the early church. In the early 1970s he was influenced by his Jewish colleague, Will Herberg, He discovered an ecumenical orthodoxy interpretation of the New Testament which is universal and accepted by most Christian faiths.
Thomas suggested that Christians need to *rely upon the wisdom of the historical/early church, rather than on modern scholarship and theology which he thought was tainted by political agendas. *
He said his mission was to prepare the third millennium for the *careful study and respectful following of the central tradition of classical Christianity. *
Thomas was active in the Confessing Movement in America. He served on the board of the Institute on Religion and Democracy.
He had an Arminian theology which means he believes in the Christian Protestant doctrines of Jacobus Arminus (1560-1609)- the Dutch theologian. He wrote *The Transforming Power of Grace *
which according to Roger E. Olson ’ is one of the best expositions of Arminian theology '*
*
He wrote and edited many book, articles ,essays and speeches on a range of topics. He served as the architect and general editor of Ancient Christian Commentary on Scriptures(ACCS) which is a massive 30 volume series.
He was general editor of the Ancient Doctrine series and Ancient Christian devotionals. He was consulting editor of the Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity ( See ‘Works’ for list of books and Amazon notes on ACCS).
Thomas died , aged 85, on 8th December 2016. He is considered to be one of the most influential theologians of the late 20th/early 21st century.
He had* A Life time of Pioneering Theological Scholarship*.
Sources used
InterVasity press
Wikipedia
Nancey Murphy (born 12th June 1951) is an American philosopher and theologian who is Senior Professor of Christian Philosophy at Fuller Theological Seminary (FTS), Pasadena, CA .
She is a member( and former chair) of the Board of Directors of the Center for Theology and National Science (CTNS) . She is also a member of the American Philosophical Association (APA) and the Society of Christian Philosophers (SCP). She was an advisor to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and serves on the planning committee of the Vatican Observatory.
(See notes on all 5)
Nancey is an ordained minister in the Church of the Brethren.
Her first book *Theology in the Age of Scientific Reasoning * (1990) won the American Academy of Religion award for excellence.
Degrees
B.A. Philosophy and Psychology from Creighton University (CU) in 1973
Ph.D. Philosophy and Science from University of California in 1980
Th.D. Theology from Graduate Theology Union (GTU) in 1987 Recognition
1998 Alumnus of the year for C U
1999 J.K. Russel Fellow at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences
2006 Alumnus of the year for GTU
Nancey joined the faculty at FTS in 1989. She is still there over 30 years later.
( See notes on FTS)
Nancey’s research interests focus on the role of modern and postmodern philosophy in shaping Christian Theology on relations between theology and science, and relations among neuroscience, philosophy of mind and Christian anthropology.
She is a prolific writer. She has written 10 books and co-authored 11 volumes. She has written chapters for books and articles for Journals and magazines. ( See ‘Among her many publication are’, ‘Bio’, ‘Career’ and ‘Books’ plus Amazon)
Nancey also serves as an editorial advisor for numerous publishers and journals.
Nancey is highly sought after as a speaker at inter/national conferences on philosophy and the relationship between theology and science.
In 2007 the * Los Angeles Magazine* include her in the list of *100 most influential people.
Sources
AAAS
Amazon
Center for Theology and the natural Science
Fuller seminary
Wikipedia
James Porter Moreland ( born 9th March 1948), better known as J.P. Moreland, is an American philosopher, theologian and Christian apologist - a person concerned with the defence and rational justification of Christianity. He currently serves as a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University in La Mirada, California,
He specializes in metaphysics - the system of first principles and assumptions underlying an inquiry or philosophical theory, philosophy of mind and Christian philosophy.
Degrees
He received a B.S. in physical chemistry from the University of Missouri.
M.A. in Philosophy from the University of California, Riverside
Th.M in Theology form Dallas Theological Seminary
Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Southern California 1985
For 10 years he served with the Campus Crusade. He planted 2 Campus Crusade works and planted 2 churches
James has spoken on over 200 college campuses and in 100s of churches.
He has authored, edited, or contributed papers to 95 books.
( See ‘Works’ and ‘Amazon’)
James has also published close to 90 articles
He has had his work published in journals such as *Metaphilosophy and American Philosophically Quarterly. *
He regularly contributes articles to Christianity Today, Faith and Philosophy, Philosophia Christi, and Philosophy Phenomenological Research.
James has been a frequent guest on the PBS television series Closer to Truth.
( See sheet on ‘Closer to Truth’)
He is a member of the Board of Advisers for the Center on Cultural and Civil Society (CCCS) at the Independent Institute. The purpose of CCCS is to bring together top scholars in their various fields to produce books, events and media programs for all to use. ( See notes on CCCS)
James has received many awards and honors ( See ‘Awards and honors’}
In 2016 J. P. Moreland was recognized by The Best Schools as being one of the 50 most influential living philosophers. A recognition well deserved.
Sources
Biola University
Discovery Institute
The Independent Institute
TV Episodes/ Closer to Truth
Wikipedia
John Warwick Montgomery is a lawyer, professor, Lutherian theologian and author. He is chiefly noted for his major contributions as a writer, lecturer and public debater in the field of Christian apologetics -the branch of theology concerned with the defence and rational justification of Christianity.
He is director of the International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism & Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. He is also editor of the online *Journal Global Journal of Classical Theology. *
He was born in Warsaw, New York, USA on 18th October 1931.
John became a Christian in 1949 as an undergraduate majoring in the classics and philosophy at Cornell University.
He earned 10 degrees in multiple disciplines including philosophy, librarianship , theology and law. Ph.D, Th.D and LLD,.
( See ‘Education’ for detail)
In 1959/60 he served as principle librarian in the Divinity school’s library at the University of Chicago
He then served as Chairman of the Department of History at Wifrid Laurier University in Canada
In 1964 having completed his Th.D. he became Professor of church history at Trinity Evangelical School in Deerfield, Illinois ( 1964-74). While there he became a regular columnist with *Christianity Today * (1965-83).
He became involved within theological controversies with his denomination, the Lutheran church concerning Biblical inerrancy and higher criticism. He wrote 3 books opposing Liberal Christianity and radical theologies.
Since 1965 he has been an ordained minister in the Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod
His role as an apologist for Christianity extended to debates with atheists, ethicists and humanists.
In th e 1970s he began training in law with the twin aims of reintegrating Christian foundations into jurisprudence and to integrate insights from legal theory and doctrines of proof relevant to furthering Christian evidential apologetics
In 1970, after 2 years research, he wrote The Quest for Noah’s Ark
In 1980 he established the Simon Greenleaf School of Law in California (now Trinity Law School. He was dean and professor there from 1980-89. He resigned under a cloud of controversy In 1991 became a Barrister-at- law in London. In 2009 passed the French bar examinations.
From 1995 to 2007 he was Professor in Law and Humanities at the University of Bedfordshire, .
From 2007 to 2014 he was Research Professor of Philosophy and Christian Thought at Patrick Henry College in Virginia USA.
He remains Emeritus professor at the University of Bedfordshire.
He now lives in France, England and the USA with his second wife Lanalee de Kant, a professional harpist.
He is considered to be one of the foremost living apologists for classical biblical Christianity.
Prof. J, W. Montgomery Apologetics