William J. Abraham

For the British trade unionist and politician, seeWilliam James Abraham.

The Reverend William J. Abraham
Born	(1947-12-19)19 December 1947 Belfast, Northern Ireland
Died	7 October 2021(2021-10-07)(aged 73) Dallas, Texas
Nationality	British (Northern Irish)
Ecclesiastical career
Religion	Christianity(Methodist)
Church	Methodist Church in Ireland United Methodist Church
Academic background
Alma mater	Queen's University Belfast Asbury Theological Seminary Regent's Park College, Oxford
Thesis	Divine Action and History(1977)
Academic work
Discipline	Philosophy theology
Sub-discipline	Applied theology epistemology philosophical theology philosophy of religion
School or tradition	Analytic philosophy analytic theology evangelicalism
Institutions	Seattle Pacific University Southern Methodist University
Notable ideas	Canonical theism

William James Abraham(19 December 1947 – 7 October 2021) was a Northern Irishtheologian,analytic philosopher,andMethodistpastor known for his contributions to thephilosophy of religion,religious epistemology,evangelism,andchurch renewal.Abraham spent most of his career in the United States and was the Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wesley Studies atPerkins School of TheologyatSouthern Methodist University.He previously taught atSeattle Pacific Universityand was a visiting professor atHarvard Divinity School. Abraham was associated with theConfessing Movementin the United Methodist Church and was a proponent of canonical theism, a church renewal movement that looks to the canons of the ancient ecumenical church as a source for renewingmainline Protestantchurches.

Education

Abraham attended Methodist College inBelfast,Northern Ireland, then completed his undergraduate studies at theQueen's University of Belfast,earning aBachelor of Artsdegree in 1970 in philosophy and psychology. He then attendedAsbury Theological Seminary,earning anMaster of Divinitydegree in 1973, before earning hisDoctor of Philosophydegree atRegent's Park College,Oxford University,in 1977. He was also awarded an honoraryDoctor of Divinitydegree from Asbury in 2008.

Selected publications

Books

• The Divine Inspiration of Holy Scripture(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981);
• An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion(Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1985);
• The Rationality of Religious Belief,edited with Steven W. Holtzer (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987);
• The Logic of Evangelism(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989);
• Waking From Doctrinal Amnesia: The Healing of Doctrine in the United Methodist Church(Abingdon Press: Nashville, 1995);
• Canon and Criterion in Christian Theology(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998);
• Divine Revelation and the Limits of Historical Criticism(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000);
• Crossing the Threshold of Divine Revelation(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007);
• Canonical Theism: A Proposal for Theology and the Church,edited with Jason E. Vickers and Natalie B. Van Kirk (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008);
• The Oxford Handbook of Methodist Studies,edited with James E. Kirby (Oxford: Oxford University, 2009);
• Aldersgate and Athens: John Wesley and the Foundations of Christian Belief(Waco: Baylor University, 2010);
• Methodism: A Very Short Introduction(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019);

Articles

• "Intentions and the Logic of Interpretation,"The Asbury Theological Journal43.1 (1988): 11–25.
• "The Offense of Divine Revelation"Harvard Theological Review95, 3 (July 2002): 251–264.
• "Faith, Assurance, and Conviction: An Epistemological Commentary on Hebrews 11:1"Ex Auditu19 (2003): 65–75.
• "Saving Souls in the Twenty-First Century: A Missiological Midrash on John Wesley"Wesleyan Theological Journal38, 1 (Spring 2003): 7-20.
• "The End of Wesleyan Theology"Wesleyan Theological Journal40, 1 (Spring 2005): 7-25.
• "Whose Wesley? Which Wesleyan Tradition?"Wesleyan Theological Journal46, 2 (Fall 2011): 142–149.
• "The Future of Scripture: In Search of a Theology of Scripture."Wesleyan Theological Journal46, 1 (Spring 2011): 7-23.
• "Lethal Force in a World of Market States."Wesleyan Theological Journal47, 1 (Spring 2012): 25–36.

Chapters

• "Predestination and Assurance." InThe Grace of God and the Will of Man,ed. Clark H. Pinnock. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1989.
• "A Theology of Evangelism: The Heart of the Matter." InThe Study of Evangelism: Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church,eds. Paul W. Chilcote & Laceye C. Warner. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.
• "Eschatology and Epistemology." InThe Oxford Handbook of Eschatology,ed. Jerry L. Walls. Oxford: Oxford University, 2008.
• "Canonical Theism and the Life of the Church." InCanonical Theism: A Proposal for Theology and the Church,eds. William J. Abraham, Jason E. Vickers, and Natalie B. Van Kirk. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.
• "Canonical Theism and the Future of Systematic Theology." InCanonical Theism: A Proposal for Theology and the Church,eds. William J. Abraham, Jason E. Vickers, and Natalie B. Van Kirk. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.
• "Canonical Theism and Evangelicalism." InCanonical Theism: A Proposal for Theology and the Church,eds. William J. Abraham, Jason E. Vickers, and Natalie B. Van Kirk. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.
• "The Emergence of Canonical Theism." InCanonical Theism: A Proposal for Theology and the Church,eds. William J. Abraham, Jason E. Vickers, and Natalie B. Van Kirk. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.
• "Handing on the Teaching of the Apostles: A Canonical Episcopacy." InCanonical Theism: A Proposal for Theology and the Church,eds. William J. Abraham, Jason E. Vickers, and Natalie B. Van Kirk. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.
• "Christian Perfection." InThe Oxford Handbook of Methodist Studies,eds. William J. Abraham and James E. Kirby. Oxford: Oxford University, 2009.
• "Systematic Theology as Analytic Theology." InAnalytic Theology: Essays in the Philosophy of Theology,eds. Oliver D. Crisp and Michael C. Rea. Oxford: Oxford University, 2009.
• "Wesley as Preacher." InThe Cambridge Companion to John Wesley,eds. Randy L. Maddox and Jason E. Vickers. New York: Cambridge University, 2010.
• "The End of Wesleyan Theology." InThe Continuing Relevance of Wesleyan Theology: Essays in Honor of Laurence W. Wood,ed. Nathan Crawford. Eugene: Pickwick, 2011.