Donald George Bloesch (May 3, 1928 – August 24, 2010) was an American evangelicaltheologian. 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.[8]
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.
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.[9] 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.
Viewsedit
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.[citation needed] 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).[improper synthesis?] 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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
Published worksedit
Systematic Theology:
Essentials of Evangelical Theology, Volume 1: God, Authority and Salvation, 1978 ISBN 0-06-060798-X
Essentials of Evangelical Theology, Volume 2: Life, Ministry, & Hope, 1984 ISBN 0-06-060799-8
Christian Foundations series:
A Theology of Word & Spirit: Authority & Method in Theology, 1992 ISBN 0-8308-1411-6
God the Almighty: Power, Wisdom, Holiness, Love, 1995 ISBN 0-8308-1413-2
Jesus Christ: Savior & Lord, 1997 ISBN 0-8308-1414-0
The Holy Spirit: Works & Gifts, 2000 ISBN 0-8308-1415-9
The Church: Sacraments, Worship, Ministry, Mission, 2002 ISBN 0-8308-1416-7
The Last Things: Resurrection, Judgment, Glory, 2004 ISBN 0-8308-1417-5
Holy Scripture: Revelation, Inspiration & Interpretation 2006 ISBN 0-8308-1412-4 (cloth), ISBN 0-8308-2752-8 (pbk)
Theological Notebooks:
Theological Notebook: 1960–1964: Spiritual Journals of Donald G. Bloesch, 1989 ISBN 0-939443-12-0
Theological Notebook: 1964–1968: Spiritual Journals of Donald G. Bloesch 1991 ISBN 0-939443-13-9
Theological Notebook: Volume 3: 1969–1983: The Spiritual Journals of Donald G. Bloesch, 2005 ISBN 1-59752-311-9
Centers of Christian Renewal, 1964 ISBN 0-06-060799-8
The Christian Life and Salvation, 1967, 1991 ISBN 0-939443-24-4
The Christian Witness in a Secular Age: An Evaluation of Nine Contemporary Theologians, 1968, 2002 ISBN 1-57910-854-7
Christian Spirituality East & West, 1968 (with co-author Jordan Aumann)
The Crisis of Piety: Essays Towards a Theology of the Christian Life, 1968, 2nd ed., 1988 ISBN 0-939443-05-8
The Reform of the Church, 1970, 1998 ISBN 978-1-57910-174-9
The Ground of Certainty: Toward an Evangelical Theology of Revelation 1971, 2002 ISBN 1-57910-877-6
The Evangelical Renaissance, 1973 ISBN 0-8028-1527-8
Wellsprings of Renewal: Promise in Christian Communal Life, 1974 ISBN 0-8028-1500-6
Light a Fire: Gospel Songs for Today, 1975
Jesus is Victor! Karl Barth's Doctrine of Salvation, 1976 ISBN 0-687-20225-6
The Invaded Church, 1977
The Orthodox Evangelicals: Who They Are and What They Are Saying, 1978 (co-editor) ISBN 0-8407-5654-2
Reinhold Niebuhr's Re-evaluation of the Apologetic Task (unknown date)
"Spirituality Old & New", 2007 ISBN 978-0-8308-2838-8
Festschriftenedit
Daniel J. Adams, editor, From East to West: Essays in Honor of Donald G. Bloesch, 1997 ISBN 0-7618-0801-9
Referencesedit
^Emerick, Christopher C. (2011). "Bloesch, Donald G. (b. 1928)". In Kurian, George Thomas (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization. Malden, Massachusetts: Wiley-Blackwell. doi:10.1002/9780470670606.wbecc0165. ISBN 978-0-470-67060-6.
^Coward, David R. (1982). Faith, Reason and Scripture in the Theology of Donald G. Bloesch (MA thesis). Bowling Green, Kentucky: Western Kentucky University. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
^Olson, Roger E. (2005). The SCM Press A–Z of Evangelical Theology. London: SCM Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-334-04011-8.
^ abOlson, Roger E. (May 10, 2019). "A Great Evangelical Theologian to Read: Donald G. Bloesch". Roger E. Olson: My Evangelical Arminian Theologian Musings. Patheos. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
^Bloesch, Donald G. (1991). "Law and Gospel in Reformed Perspective". Grace Theological Journal. 12 (2): 179. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
^ abJohnson, Thomas K. (2013). "Dialogue with Kierkegaard in Protestant Theology: Donald Bloesch, Francis Schaeffer, and Helmut Thielicke" (PDF). Martin Bucer Seminary. p. 3. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
^McWilliams, Warren (2018). "Review of The Mosaic of Christian Belief: Twenty Centuries of Unity and Diversity (2nd ed.), by Roger E. Olson" (PDF). Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry. 15 (1): 138. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
^Husbands, Mark (2003). "Bloesch, Donald". In Larsen, Timothy (ed.). Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals. Leicester (UK); Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter-Varsity Press. p. 58. ISBN 9780830829255. This project has secured for him a reputation as one of the pre-eminent North American evangelical theologians of his generation.
^"University of Dubuque Theological Seminary | 800-369-UDTS". 2006-12-30. Archived from the original on 2006-12-30. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
Sourcesedit
1996 personal and intellectual biography by colleague Elmer M. Colyer Archived 2007-02-23 at the Wayback Machine
Theopedia article[which?]
Inter-Varsity Press bio Archived 2007-04-28 at the Wayback Machine
The Boston Collaborative Encyclopedia of Modern Western Theology
Elmhurst College distinguished alumni
DTS library, repository for his papers Archived 2007-02-13 at the Wayback Machine
Donald G. Bloesch's Obituary in Dubuque's Telegraph Herald[permanent dead link]