James Strauss
Encyclopedia
James Dean Strauss is an American theologian who was professor of theology
and philosophy
at Lincoln Christian Seminary
from 1967-1994. He has been described by many as the Einstein of the Restoration Movement
.
. His father was a World War I
veteran who worked as a coal miner and bookkeeper for Peabody Coal Company. His mother worked as a nurse and decorations designer for a department store. His father was a heavy gambler, but a very intelligent man. Dr. Strauss seems to have inherited his father's intelligence and his mother's creativity, combining them into a mind to be reckoned with. His family moved to Catlin, Illinois
when James was in the second grade, where he spent the rest of his childhood and youth. He lived a rather normal childhood, playing baseball with boys in the neighborhood and listening to The Shadow
and The Lone Ranger
at night on the radio with his family. He displayed a sharp mind even while in high school, graduating as salutatorian
in his class and voted "most likely to succeed" by his fellow students.
Dr. Strauss's father was a Disciples of Christ member and his mother a Baptist, but neither attended church during James' childhood. One day James was invited to the Catlin Church of Christ by a consumer at the grocery store he worked at as a youth. James went, was converted, and brought his parents. Upon his conversion, James' father quit gambling, and, as a consequence, their family grew closer. James was mentored by the elders at that church, who taught him Biblical study methods and Greek.
When James graduated from high school, he went to Cincinnati Christian College to study under R. C. Foster and Grayson Ensign. Proceeding on from there, he attended Christian Theological Seminary
and studied under Walter Sykes. By the time he finished his time as a student, he had collected over 500 hours of graduate credit because his mentor died unexpectedly right before he was about to graduate with his 1st doctorate and the program that he was a part of collapsed, so he had to start over. He earned a B.A.
and M.A.
from Butler University, a Bachelor of Divinity
from Christian Theological Seminary, and a Th.M. from the Chicago Graduate School of Theology
. He fulfilled his Ph.D candidacy requirements at Indiana University, but due to a change over in the faculty from one year to the next he did not finish the degree. He does have a D.Min. from Eden Theological Seminary, Webster Groves, MO., and a Ph.D.
at Indiana University
under Dr. David Bindey.
Dr. Strauss became Associate Professor of Theology
and Philosophy
at Lincoln Christian Seminary
in 1967 after working for many years as a pastor. The position had opened up because the professor previously occupying the related position had been released because of the unorthodox views that he held. The student body at the time protested this move, as the released professor was popular among the students. Only later, however, did they realize what they had received in return. Strauss went on to very nearly be the seminary, as he taught most of the classes offered in a range of programs. One year the Seminary catalog listed him as teaching forty-seven courses. There is a cassette tape recording from 1977 of Dr. Strauss listing and briefly describing the classes he would be offering one year, which took over an hour to finish. Most of his syllabi were approximately 100 pages in length, single-spaced, nonetheless. He taught classes on Aristotle
, Plato
, Descartes, Hegel, linguistics
, artificial intelligence
and the mind, philosophy of science
, Biblical exegesis, preaching, theories of knowledge, astrophysics
in relation to Christianity, apologetics
, archaeology
, the nature of man, creative imagination, the Enlightenment
, Immanuel Kant
, pluralism, classical philosophy, history of philosophy, classical theology, evolution
, theology of sin, theology of promise, etc. Upon his retirement in 1994, he was given the honorary title of Professor Emeritus
of Theology
and Philosophy
. Dr. Strauss is a prolific writer, and has written tens of thousands of pages between his books and essays on topics related to the ones listed above.
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at Lincoln Christian Seminary
Lincoln Christian College and Seminary
Lincoln Christian University , formerly Lincoln Christian College and Seminary , comprises a School of Undergraduate Studies, a Seminary, and the Hargrove School, all located in Lincoln, Illinois...
from 1967-1994. He has been described by many as the Einstein of the Restoration Movement
Restoration Movement
The Restoration Movement is a Christian movement that began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century...
.
Life
He was born on July 3, 1929 to Earnest and Cleo Strauss in the small town of Herrin, IllinoisHerrin, Illinois
Herrin is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,501 at the 2010 census. It is home to Country Musicstar David Lee Murphy, the hometown of baseball's Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman, and the hometown of San Diego State University men's basketball coach Steve...
. His father was a World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veteran who worked as a coal miner and bookkeeper for Peabody Coal Company. His mother worked as a nurse and decorations designer for a department store. His father was a heavy gambler, but a very intelligent man. Dr. Strauss seems to have inherited his father's intelligence and his mother's creativity, combining them into a mind to be reckoned with. His family moved to Catlin, Illinois
Catlin, Illinois
Catlin is a village in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the 'Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area'. The population was 2,087 at the 2000 census, and 2,086 in 2009. Current resident, Chad Hays, represents the 104th district of Illinois.- History :This settlement...
when James was in the second grade, where he spent the rest of his childhood and youth. He lived a rather normal childhood, playing baseball with boys in the neighborhood and listening to The Shadow
The Shadow
The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally in pulp magazines, then on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of the title character, a crime-fighting vigilante in the pulps, which carried over to the airwaves as a "wealthy, young man about town"...
and The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
at night on the radio with his family. He displayed a sharp mind even while in high school, graduating as salutatorian
Salutatorian
Salutatorian is an academic title given, in the United States and Canada, to the second highest graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. This honor is traditionally based on grade point average and number of credits taken, but...
in his class and voted "most likely to succeed" by his fellow students.
Dr. Strauss's father was a Disciples of Christ member and his mother a Baptist, but neither attended church during James' childhood. One day James was invited to the Catlin Church of Christ by a consumer at the grocery store he worked at as a youth. James went, was converted, and brought his parents. Upon his conversion, James' father quit gambling, and, as a consequence, their family grew closer. James was mentored by the elders at that church, who taught him Biblical study methods and Greek.
When James graduated from high school, he went to Cincinnati Christian College to study under R. C. Foster and Grayson Ensign. Proceeding on from there, he attended Christian Theological Seminary
Christian Theological Seminary
Christian Theological Seminary is an ecumenical seminary related to the Christian Church . It is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and provides eight degree-level education courses...
and studied under Walter Sykes. By the time he finished his time as a student, he had collected over 500 hours of graduate credit because his mentor died unexpectedly right before he was about to graduate with his 1st doctorate and the program that he was a part of collapsed, so he had to start over. He earned a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and M.A.
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
from Butler University, a Bachelor of Divinity
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
from Christian Theological Seminary, and a Th.M. from the Chicago Graduate School of Theology
Chicago Graduate School of Theology
The Chicago Graduate School of Theology is or was an American school of theology. It was founded in 1920 as the Winona Lake School of Theology, and was located in Winona Lake, Indiana during that time. In 1970, the school moved to the Chicago area and changed its name.The school was founded in...
. He fulfilled his Ph.D candidacy requirements at Indiana University, but due to a change over in the faculty from one year to the next he did not finish the degree. He does have a D.Min. from Eden Theological Seminary, Webster Groves, MO., and a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
under Dr. David Bindey.
Dr. Strauss became Associate Professor of Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at Lincoln Christian Seminary
Lincoln Christian College and Seminary
Lincoln Christian University , formerly Lincoln Christian College and Seminary , comprises a School of Undergraduate Studies, a Seminary, and the Hargrove School, all located in Lincoln, Illinois...
in 1967 after working for many years as a pastor. The position had opened up because the professor previously occupying the related position had been released because of the unorthodox views that he held. The student body at the time protested this move, as the released professor was popular among the students. Only later, however, did they realize what they had received in return. Strauss went on to very nearly be the seminary, as he taught most of the classes offered in a range of programs. One year the Seminary catalog listed him as teaching forty-seven courses. There is a cassette tape recording from 1977 of Dr. Strauss listing and briefly describing the classes he would be offering one year, which took over an hour to finish. Most of his syllabi were approximately 100 pages in length, single-spaced, nonetheless. He taught classes on Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
, Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
, Descartes, Hegel, linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
and the mind, philosophy of science
Philosophy of science
The philosophy of science is concerned with the assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science. It is also concerned with the use and merit of science and sometimes overlaps metaphysics and epistemology by exploring whether scientific results are actually a study of truth...
, Biblical exegesis, preaching, theories of knowledge, astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
in relation to Christianity, apologetics
Apologetics
Apologetics is the discipline of defending a position through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of reason. Early Christian writers...
, archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, the nature of man, creative imagination, the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
, Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
, pluralism, classical philosophy, history of philosophy, classical theology, evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, theology of sin, theology of promise, etc. Upon his retirement in 1994, he was given the honorary title of Professor Emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
of Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. Dr. Strauss is a prolific writer, and has written tens of thousands of pages between his books and essays on topics related to the ones listed above.