Donald G. Bloesch

Template:Short description Template:Wikidata image 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.

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 in 1953, and his PhD at the University of Chicago in 1956. 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. 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

• Systematic Theology:

1. Essentials of Evangelical Theology, Volume 1: God, Authority and Salvation, 1978 Template:ISBN
2. Essentials of Evangelical Theology, Volume 2: Life, Ministry, & Hope, 1984 Template:ISBN

• Christian Foundations series:

1. A Theology of Word & Spirit: Authority & Method in Theology, 1992 Template:ISBN
2. God the Almighty: Power, Wisdom, Holiness, Love, 1995 Template:ISBN
3. Jesus Christ: Savior & Lord, 1997 Template:ISBN
4. The Holy Spirit: Works & Gifts, 2000 Template:ISBN
5. The Church: Sacraments, Worship, Ministry, Mission, 2002 Template:ISBN
6. The Last Things: Resurrection, Judgment, Glory, 2004 Template:ISBN
7. Holy Scripture: Revelation, Inspiration & Interpretation 2006 Template:ISBN (cloth), Template:ISBN (pbk)

• Theological Notebooks:

1. Theological Notebook: 1960–1964: Spiritual Journals of Donald G. Bloesch, 1989 Template:ISBN
2. Theological Notebook: 1964–1968: Spiritual Journals of Donald G. Bloesch 1991 Template:ISBN
3. Theological Notebook: Volume 3: 1969–1983: The Spiritual Journals of Donald G. Bloesch, 2005 Template:ISBN

• Centers of Christian Renewal, 1964 Template:ISBN
• The Christian Life and Salvation, 1967, 1991 Template:ISBN
• The Christian Witness in a Secular Age: An Evaluation of Nine Contemporary Theologians, 1968, 2002 Template:ISBN
• 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 Template:ISBN
• The Reform of the Church, 1970, 1998 Template:ISBN
• The Ground of Certainty: Toward an Evangelical Theology of Revelation 1971, 2002 Template:ISBN
• The Evangelical Renaissance, 1973 Template:ISBN
• Wellsprings of Renewal: Promise in Christian Communal Life, 1974 Template:ISBN
• Light a Fire: Gospel Songs for Today, 1975
• Jesus is Victor! Karl Barth's Doctrine of Salvation, 1976 Template:ISBN
• The Invaded Church, 1977
• The Orthodox Evangelicals: Who They Are and What They Are Saying, 1978 (co-editor) Template:ISBN
• Life, Ministry, and Hope, 1979 Template:ISBN
• Faith & Its Counterfeits, 1981, Template:ISBN
• Is the Bible Sexist?: Beyond Feminism and Patriarchalism, 1982 Template:ISBN
• Crumbling Foundations: Death and Rebirth in an Age of Upheaval, 1984 Template:ISBN
• The Battle for the Trinity: The Debate over Inclusive God-language, 1985 Template:ISBN Reprint, 2001 Template:ISBN
• Freedom for Obedience: Evangelical Ethics in Contemporary Times , 1987 Template:ISBN
• The Future of Evangelical Christianity: A Call for Unity Amid Diversity, 1988 Template:ISBN
• The Struggle of Prayer, 1988 Template:ISBN
• Reinhold Niebuhr's Re-evaluation of the Apologetic Task (unknown date)
• "Spirituality Old & New", 2007 Template:ISBN

Festschriften

• Daniel J. Adams, editor, From East to West: Essays in Honor of Donald G. Bloesch, 1997 Template:ISBN

Sources

• 1996 personal and intellectual biography by colleague Elmer M. Colyer Template:Webarchive
• Theopedia articleTemplate:Which one
• Inter-Varsity Press bio Template:Webarchive
• The Boston Collaborative Encyclopedia of Modern Western Theology
• Elmhurst College distinguished alumni
• DTS library, repository for his papers Template:Webarchive
• Donald G. Bloesch's Obituary in Dubuque's Telegraph Herald
• DONALD G. BLOESCH (1928-2010)