Donald G. Bloesch

The Reverend
Donald G. Bloesch
Born
Donald George Bloesch

(1928-05-03)May 3, 1928
Bremen, Indiana, US
DiedAugust 24, 2010(2010-08-24) (aged 82)
Dubuque, Iowa, US
Spouse
Brenda Jackson
​
(m. 1962)​
Ecclesiastical career
Church
Ordained1953[1]
Academic background
Education
Alma materUniversity of Chicago
ThesisReinhold Niebuhr's Re-Evaluation of the Apologetic Task (1956)
Influences
Academic work
DisciplineTheology
Sub-disciplineSystematic theology
School or tradition
InstitutionsUniversity of Dubuque
Notable worksChristian Foundations (1992–2006)
InfluencedRoger E. Olson[4][7]

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.[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.

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Olson, Roger E. (2005). The SCM Press A–Z of Evangelical Theology. London: SCM Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-334-04011-8.
  4. ^ a b Olson, 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.
  5. ^ Bloesch, Donald G. (1991). "Law and Gospel in Reformed Perspective". Grace Theological Journal. 12 (2): 179. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Johnson, 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.