Name Thomas Oden Role Author | ||
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Books How Africa Shaped the Christian, The word of life, The Living God, Early Libyan Christiani, The structure of awareness Similar People Christopher Hall, Gerald Bray, Soren Kierkegaard, Phoebe Palmer | ||
Libyan christianity 1 a libyan history awaiting discovery thomas c oden
Thomas Clark Oden (October 21, 1931 – December 8, 2016) was an American United Methodist theologian and religious author. He is often regarded as the father of the paleo-orthodox movement and is considered to be one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. He was Henry Anson Buttz Professor of Theology and Ethics at Drew University in New Jersey from 1980 until his retirement in 2004. He remained faculty emeritus until his death.
Contents
- Libyan christianity 1 a libyan history awaiting discovery thomas c oden
- Libyan christianity 3 christianity from marmarica to tripolitania thomas c oden
- Life
- Works
- References
Libyan christianity 3 christianity from marmarica to tripolitania thomas c oden
Life
Oden was born in Altus, Oklahoma, the son of an attorney and music teacher. As a youth, he considered two vocations: lawyer or Methodist minister. At age ten, Oden’s family moved to Oklahoma City. After the Second World War, Oden returned to Altus and high school where he began his vocation of writing and speaking. Oden earned a B.A. degree from the University of Oklahoma (1953), a B.D from Southern Methodist University (1956), and his M.A. (1958) and Ph.D. from Yale University (1960). He married Edrita Pokorny on August 10, 1952. They had three children: Clark, Edward, and Laura.
Oden lectured at Yale University, Southern Methodist University, Heidelberg University, Princeton Theological Seminary, Lomonosov University, and the Pontifical Gregorian University, in Rome.
Originally a political and theological liberal, he turned to the patristic writings in the early 1970s under the influence of a Jewish colleague, Will Herberg, and discovered what he described as "ecumenical orthodoxy," the interpretation of the New Testament and apostolic doctrine which is universal and accepted. As he wrote in the preface of his Systematic Theology: "My basic goal is to present an orderly view of the faith of the Christian community, on which there has generally been a substantial agreement between the traditions of the East and the West, including Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodoxy."
Oden became a proponent of paleo-orthodoxy, an approach to theology that often relies on patristic sources. He published a series of books that he said are tools for promoting "classical Christianity." Oden suggested that Christians need to rely upon the wisdom of the historical Church, particularly the early Church, rather than on modern scholarship and theology, which is often, in his view, tainted by political agendas.
Oden said that his mission was "to begin to prepare the postmodern Christian community for its third millennium by returning again to the careful study and respectful following of the central tradition of classical Christianity."
Oden was active in the Confessing Movement in America, particularly within the United Methodist Church, and he served on the board of the Institute on Religion and Democracy. Dean Timothy George of the Beeson Divinity School called Oden "one of the most remarkable Christians of our time [who] has lived through, contributed to and helped overthrow several revolutions."
He died on December 8, 2016 at the age of 85.
Works
Oden wrote and edited many books, articles, essays, and speeches on a wide range of topics. The following list is limited to books.
Essays In Honor of Thomas C. Oden