Donald G. Bloesch Explained

Honorific Prefix:The Reverend
Donald G. Bloesch
Birth Name:Donald George Bloesch
Birth Date:3 May 1928
Birth Place:Bremen, Indiana, US
Death Place:Dubuque, Iowa, US
Module:
Child:yes
Ordained:1953[1]
Module2:
Child:yes
Discipline:Theology
Sub Discipline:Systematic theology
Workplaces:University of Dubuque
Notable Works:Christian Foundations (1992–2006)
Influenced:Roger E. Olson[2]

Donald George Bloesch (May 3, 1928 – August 24, 2010) was an American evangelical theologian. For more than 40 years, he published scholarly yet accessible works that generally defend traditional Protestant beliefs and practices while seeking to remain in the mainstream of modern Protestant theological thought. His seven-volume Christian Foundations series has brought him recognition as an important American theologian.[3]

His own denomination, in which he was an ordained minister, was the United Church of Christ (UCC). He was raised in the Evangelical and Reformed Church, now merged with the UCC, in which his father and both his grandfathers were also ordained ministers. The "E and R" was a representative of evangelical pietism, a movement that emphasized personal piety, a discerning, educated laity, a reliance on scripture, and an acceptance of the mystical side of Christianity.

Life

Born on May 3, 1928, in Bremen, Indiana, Bloesch received his undergraduate degree from Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois. He earned his Bachelor of Divinity (BD) at Chicago Theological Seminary, and his PhD at the University of Chicago. He did postdoctoral work in Europe at Oxford, Basel, and Tübingen. He served as president of the Midwest Division of the American Theological Society.

From 1957 until his retirement in 1992, Bloesch was a professor of theology at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, where he continued as a professor emeritus.[4] The seminary's library serves as the repository of his papers.

In 1997, a Festschrift was published in his honor called From East to West: Essays in Honor of Donald G. Bloesch. He died on August 24, 2010.

Views

Bloesch's pietistic background and personal spiritual life lay at the heart of understanding his theology and how Christianity is to continue into the future. In his view, much of American Protestantism has entrenched itself into narrow intellectually based definitions of doctrine which omit, exclude and even prohibit the mystical element as the governing element of the faith (i.e., the action of the Holy Spirit). Much of his critique is in fact directed at his own denomination, the United Church of Christ; he worked with a conservative lobbying group, the Biblical Witness Fellowship, to protest against its more liberal theological and ethical streams.

He characterized himself a "progressive evangelical" or "ecumenical orthodox" criticizing the excesses of both the theological left and right. He often decried the abandonment of traditional values among liberals, but also the ugly, reactionary habits of some conservatives.

Published works

  1. Essentials of Evangelical Theology, Volume 1: God, Authority and Salvation, 1978
  2. Essentials of Evangelical Theology, Volume 2: Life, Ministry, & Hope, 1984
  1. A Theology of Word & Spirit: Authority & Method in Theology, 1992
  2. God the Almighty: Power, Wisdom, Holiness, Love, 1995
  3. Jesus Christ: Savior & Lord, 1997
  4. The Holy Spirit: Works & Gifts, 2000
  5. The Church: Sacraments, Worship, Ministry, Mission, 2002
  6. The Last Things: Resurrection, Judgment, Glory, 2004
  7. Holy Scripture: Revelation, Inspiration & Interpretation 2006 (cloth), (pbk)
  1. Theological Notebook: 1960–1964: Spiritual Journals of Donald G. Bloesch, 1989
  2. Theological Notebook: 1964–1968: Spiritual Journals of Donald G. Bloesch 1991
  3. Theological Notebook: Volume 3: 1969–1983: The Spiritual Journals of Donald G. Bloesch, 2005

Festschriften

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Encyclopedia: Emerick . Christopher C. . 2011 . Bloesch, Donald G. (b. 1928) . Kurian . George Thomas . The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization . Malden, Massachusetts . Wiley-Blackwell . 10.1002/9780470670606.wbecc0165 . 978-0-470-67060-6.
  2. McWilliams . Warren . 2018 . Review of The Mosaic of Christian Belief: Twenty Centuries of Unity and Diversity (2nd ed.), by Roger E. Olson . Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry . 15 . 1 . 138 . December 4, 2019.
  3. Encyclopedia: Husbands. Mark. Larsen. Timothy. Timothy Larsen. Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals. Bloesch, Donald. 2003. Inter-Varsity Press. Leicester (UK); Downers Grove, Ill.. 9780830829255. 58. This project has secured for him a reputation as one of the pre-eminent North American evangelical theologians of his generation..
  4. Web site: University of Dubuque Theological Seminary 800-369-UDTS. 2006-12-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20061230183136/http://udts.dbq.edu/about/faculty_staff.htm. 2019-10-01. 2006-12-30.

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