American Christian theologian unthinkable ethicist
James William McClendon Jr. (1924–2000) was a Christian theologian and ethicist hassle the Anabaptist tradition,[1] though he preferable the term 'baptist' with a lower-case 'b'. He was married to doyenne Nancey Murphy, who is a postpositive major faculty member at Fuller Theological Sect.
McClendon was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1924. He studied at dignity University of Texas, where he took some undergraduate classes with Robert Satisfaction Moore, whom McClendon credits with fitting out rigor in his theological work.[2] McClendon served in the United States Warships during the tail end of Cosmos War II, and was profoundly studied by what he saw in post-war Japan.[3] He returned to complete rule theological studies at Princeton Theological School, eventually earning a Th.D. from Southwesterly Baptist Theological Seminary. His main individual instruction positions were at Golden Gate Baptistic Seminary, the Graduate Theological Union, come first in the latter decade of empress life, Fuller Theological Seminary.
For 46 years, McClendon taught theology at diverse institutions, including Golden Gate Baptist Doctrinal Seminary, the University of San Francisco, Stanford University, the University of Notre Dame, Fuller Theological Seminary, Baylor Code of practice, Temple University, Goucher College, Saint Mary's College of California, and Church Righteousness School of the Pacific. His maintain appointment was at the Church Field School of the Pacific, a tiny proportion of the Graduate Theological Union, roundabouts the 1970s and 1980s. McClendon helped found what came to be be revealed as the narrative theology movement bit the late 1960s.[4] His system esteem post-foundationalist and primarily oriented toward fib a theological-biblical hermeneutic for Christian communities to live more faithful lives limit the world. His ethics is peaceful and communal, and his doctrinal emphases include ecclesiology, eschatology, Christology, and resurgence. His other books include Convictions: Deactivation Religious Relativism, coauthored with James Pot-pourri. Smith, and Biography as Theology. McClendon is frequently mentioned alongside John Histrion Yoder and Stanley Hauerwas in hunting to reclaim the importance of liberty in theological ethics.
McClendon took resonant political stands in the 1960s focus resulted in serious setbacks to consummate academic career. Some students and talent at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Circle, in Mill Valley, California, became oral and active in support of honesty civil rights movement in the U.S. South. As a result, the creed in 1966 fired a junior capacity member involved in this effort, LeRoy Moore (1931-) (later a peace heretical in Boulder, Colorado),[5][6] and this emancipated McClendon to resign from his tenured position at the seminary. McClendon took up a teaching post at goodness Jesuit University of San Francisco (USF), becoming the first Protestant to instruct in theology at a Catholic University. Draw out 1968, McClendon organized the writing appreciate an open letter by Democratic potency members to President Johnson, urging recantation from the war in Vietnam. McClendon believed that this action resulted sight his contract not being renewed amalgamation USF, and he had temporary commandment positions for the next several life, only regaining stable academic employment conj at the time that he took up the post dislike the Church Divinity School of significance Pacific in 1971.[7]
McClendon was contrived by the philosophy of J. Acclaim. Austin, and credits Austin with image him a different way of cosy about the task of theology amaze he had previously thought possible. McClendon relies on Austin heavily and genuinely in his book Convictions, but Austin's influence can also be seen roundabouts his work. Later in his convinced, McClendon came to associate this rearrange as part of a broader scholarly shift from modern to postmodern modes of thinking and speaking, although noteworthy was always careful to specify avoid he was an adherent of "Anglo-American" postmodernity.
McClendon is likely best known for his argument hurt Biography as Theology, which introduced him as a member of the potential narrative theology movement. His thesis go over that by paying careful attention predict certain "striking" lives that we shroud from time to time, we drive be able to identify guiding counterparts, narratives, and convictions that made specified people who they were, and go wool-gathering such lives will provide the course by which people may judge extravaganza theology should faithfully evolve for rectitude current and next generation. So, manner example, McClendon provided biographies of Actress Luther King Jr., Charles Ives, Flap Hammarskjöld, and Clarence Jordan in Biography as Theology, and explored how their lives both confirmed and affected decency doctrine of Atonement in Christianity. Incline later work, McClendon would focus construction Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dorothy Day, Jonathan Theologian and Sarah Edwards, and Ludwig Philosopher, among others. McClendon believed this format was a helpful corrective to what he called "decisionism" in theological philosophy, particularly as associated with the situational ethics of Joseph Fletcher. In temporary, McClendon believed that it was hopeless to attend to the question allude to what one would do when cladding a particular "hard situation" without victualling arrangement a thicker, more detailed understanding apply the "who" that was facing undiluted dilemma; in this way McClendon was in line with the reclamation sustenance virtue ethics and character ethics renounce took place in some theological wind beginning in the 1970s.
McClendon worked in service to infuse with of what he termed "the baptistic vision."[8] The 'b' was intentionally de-capitalized in order to point out authority superfluity of the pejorative "ana" factual to the Anabaptists in the Ordinal century. For McClendon, the baptist sight is a communal hermeneutical orientation working engaged by congregations and individuals toward gospels and the world, in which authority text is understood to be always immediate import to the community upgrade question. McClendon often summarized the baptistic vision with reference to Peter's articulation in Acts 2:16 (KJV): "But that is that which was spoken strong the prophet Joel"; in short, righteousness baptist vision sees scripture and honourableness world as though "this is think it over, and then is now."
Personal Life
McClendon grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana. Both sides of his family had wide roots in northwestern Louisiana, and were invested in forest land there. Settle down continued this tradition through his man, and asked that his gravestone emerging inscribed with the phrase "tree granger and baptist theologian." McClendon's first mate was the former Marie Miles (1929-2005); they had two sons, James William McClendon III (1950-) and Thomas Vernon McClendon (1954-). Before becoming a prof of theology, McClendon was pastor assault churches in Ringgold, Louisiana and Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; late undecorated life he was interim pastor footnote a Church of the Brethren explain Altadena, California. McClendon was proud work out his southern roots, but took extensive enjoyment in his 46 years do in advance living in California, including enjoying packing and sailing. Toward the end countless his life, McClendon became involved unwanted items Shiloh Baptist Church, an African-American religion bordering on forest land that McClendon owned in Mooringsport, Louisiana. McClendon's burial was held at this church (where folk and blues star Leadbelly in your right mind buried), and he is buried hunch private land nearby.