William J. Abraham is a United Methodist pastor, theologian, and philosopher. A native of Ireland, he is currently the Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wesley Studies at Perkins School of Theology

Perkins School of Theology

Perkins School of Theology is one of Southern Methodist University's three original schools. The theology school was renamed in 1945 to honor benefactors Joe J...

 at Southern Methodist University

Southern Methodist University

Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...

.

Dr. Abraham is associated with the Confessing Movement

Confessing Movement

The Confessing Movement is an Evangelical movement within several mainline Protestant denominations to return those churches to what the members of the movement see as theological orthodoxy....

 in The United Methodist Church and is a proponent of "Canonical Theism" that looks to the canons of the ancient ecumenical Church as a source for renewing Mainline Protestant Churches.

Basic Academic Information

Education:
D.D. (h.c.), Asbury Theological Seminary, 2008; D.Phil., Regent's Park College, Oxford University, 1977; M.Div., Asbury Theological Seminary, 1973; B.A., The Queen's University of Belfast, 1970

Teaching Specialties:
Religious epistemology

Religious epistemology

Religious epistemology is a broad label for any approach to epistemological questions from a religious perspective, or attempts to understand the epistemological issues that come from religious belief...

, John Wesley

John Wesley

John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...

, doctrine of revelation

Revelation

In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...

, systematic theology

Systematic theology

In the context of Christianity, systematic theology is a discipline of Christian theology that attempts to formulate an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the Christian faith and beliefs...

, philosophy of religion

Philosophy of religion

Philosophy of religion is a branch of philosophy concerned with questions regarding religion, including the nature and existence of God, the examination of religious experience, analysis of religious language and texts, and the relationship of religion and science...

, evangelism

Evangelism

Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....

.

Research Interests:
Wesleyan and Methodist theology, Cardinal Newman, renewal movements in Christianity, ecclesiology, divine revelation, theological education

Selected Publications:
Crossing the Threshold of Divine Revelation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007);
Canon and Criterion in Christian Theology (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998);
The Logic of Evangelism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989);
The Rationality of Religious Belief, edited with Steven W. Holtzer (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987);
Divine Revelation and the Limits of Historical Criticism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000);
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1985)