James William McClendon, Jr.

James William McClendon Jr. (1924–2000) was a Christian theologian and ethicist in the Anabaptist tradition,^[1] though he preferred the term 'baptist' with a lower-case 'b'. He was married to philosopher Nancey Murphy, who currently teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Biography

McClendon was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1924, and after studying at the University of Texas, left to serve in the United States Navy during World War II. McClendon took some undergraduate classes with the famed Robert Lee Moore, whom McClendon credits with providing rigor in his theological work.^[2]

Career

Mcclendon taught theology for over 46 years, teaching at the University of San Francisco, Stanford University, University of Notre Dame, Fuller Theological Seminary, Baylor University, Temple University, Goucher College, Saint Mary's College of California, and Church Divinity School of the Pacific. McClendon helped found what came to be known as the narrative theology movement in the late 1960s.^[3] His system is post-foundationalist and primarily oriented toward constructing a theological-biblical hermeneutic for Christian communities to live more faithful lives in the world. His ethics is nonviolent and communal, his doctrinal emphases include ecclesiology, eschatology and the resurrection. His other books include Convictions: Defusing Religious Relativism, coauthored with James M. Smith, and Biography as Theology. McClendon is frequently mentioned alongside John Howard Yoder and Stanley Hauerwas in seeking to reclaim the importance of character in theological ethics. He also was on the faculty at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary from, at least, 1960-1962.–

The baptist Vision

McClendon explicitly worked in service to adherents of what he termed "the baptist vision." The 'b' was intentionally de-capitalized in order to show that it was to be differentiated from the Baptist denomination, as well to point out the superfluity of the pejorative "ana" tagged onto the Anabaptists in the 16th century. The baptist vision is a hermeneutical orientation found across many denominational lines and congregations. It is summed up, in a phrase, "This is that, and then is now."

Selected Bibliography

Ethics: Systematic Theology Volume 1''
Doctrine: Systematic Theology Volume 2
Witness: Systematic Theology Volume 3
Biography as Theology
Convictions: Diffusing Religious Relativism (with James M. Smith)
The Collected Works of James Wm. McClendon, Jr.: Volume 1
The Collected Works of James Wm. McClendon, Jr.: Volume 2

References