I
grew up in Evanston, and graduated from Evanston High School too
long ago to remember the date. My parents and the parents of my
friends had grown up during the Great Depression, and had experienced
some poverty and hard times. The main aim in life, for most of them,
was to make money and climb the social ladder. My parents succeded.
Most parents at that time felt that they had been deprived of things
like toys and nice clothes as children. They sought to express love
for their chidren by giving them many such things. But from a very
early age I sensed that lives lived in pursuit of wealth could be
very shallow. Toys and clothes could be poor substitutes for deeper
expressions of love.
My family was not very philosophical or religious, although we did
join a Presbyterian church when I was about 10. But I always hoped
that there was some deep meaning to life. I walked-- and still walk--
many miles under Evanston's enormous, spreading trees, often on
nights quiet enough to hear choruses of crickets in summer, and
shiftings of snowdrifts in winter. In found it hard to believe that
such a beautiful and intricately designed world had come about by
chance. It seemed that some mysterious Mind or Force must be behind
it. But I wondered whether I could find out what it was, or if it
had any meaning for my life.
I was fascinated by philosophy, psychology and political science.
During my freshman year in college I took year-long courses in each.
Eventually, I studied some religion too. For a while, Buddhism made
the most sense. But my search for truth began to tire me, and I
dropped out of college for a while (actually, flunked out-- most
of my students appreciate my admitting this!) Eventually, I became
a Christian and went on to a Protestant theological seminary. I
thought that I might become a pastor. But I supported myself by
teaching college part-time, and enjoyed it enough to continue in
school for a Ph.D. I began in the Philosophy department, but eventually
earned my degree in the Religion department ( specifically, in Philosophy
of Religion and Theology).
All the while I was wrestling with the issues raised by the Civil
Rights Movement, and then the Viet Nam War. Searching for a religious
response to these, I eventually joined the Mennonite Church, which
has been a pacifist denomination since its origins in 1525. Many
Mennonites have been, and some still are, rural people, something
like the Amish. Though this was not at all my background, I felt
very accepted. I found that Mennonites now come from many ethnic
groups around the world, and often deal with problems of injustice,
poverty and war.
Most of my career has been in teaching, about 5 years in college
and about 20 in theological seminaries, and also in writing. This
has been mostly in Christian theology and Church history, where
philosophical issues regularly surface. For 20 years I have represented
the Mennonites in "ecumenical" circles-- dialogues among
different Christian Churches such as Catholic and Orthodox. Much
of this work has included inter-faith relations-- with other religions,
such as Islam, Buddhism, etc.
My wife and I wanted to live in a multicultural environment, and
raised our two boys in a neighborhood in transition on Chicago's
west side. The urban environment and its problems were features
of daily life. I now have an African-American daughter-in-law, and
three wonderful bi-racial grandchildren. I pastored chuches in urban
areas twice, once in Chicago and once in the Bronx, N.Y. In addition
to the Chicago area, I have lived in southern California, Boston,
rural Virginia and Ohio, and Germany. I have travelled to Europe,
Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America. I greatly enjoy
the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious atmosphere of
Oakton!
When
I entered Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, I was especially interested
in psychology, political science and philosophy. I eventually decided
to major in philosophy, with a psychology minor. Even though my
family was not especially religious, I was interested in religious
questions also, and eventually decided to enter Gordon Divnity School
(now Gordon-Conwell Seminary) in South Hamilton, Massachusetts.
I completed the standard degree for those who become pastors in
Protestant churches, but decided to continue on for my Ph.D. at
Claremont Graduate School (now Graduate University) in Claremont,
California.
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