Stanley Grenz

Stanley James Grenz (1950–2005) was an American Christian theologian and ethicist in the Baptist tradition.

The Reverend

Stanley Grenz
Born
Stanley James Grenz

(1950-01-07)7 January 1950
Alpena, Michigan, US
Died12 March 2005(2005-03-12) (aged 55)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
NationalityAmerican
Spouse(s)Edna Grenz
Ecclesiastical career
ReligionChristianity (Baptist)
Ordained1976
Academic background
Alma mater
Doctoral advisorWolfhart Pannenberg
InfluencesGeorge Lindbeck[1]
Academic work
DisciplineTheology
Institutions
Websitestanleyjgrenz.com

Early years

Grenz was born on 7 January 1950 in Alpena, Michigan. Grenz graduated from the University of Colorado in 1973. He then earned a Master of Divinity degree from Denver Seminary in 1976. Grenz earned his Doctor of Theology degree at University of Munich in Germany under the supervision of theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg. He was ordained to pastoral ministry on 13 June 1976. He later worked within the local church context as youth director and assistant pastor (Northwest Baptist Church, Denver, Colorado, 1971–1976), pastor (Rowandale Baptist Church, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1979–1981), and interim pastor on several occasions. He served on many Baptist boards and agencies and also as a consulting editor of Christianity Today.[2]

Educator

While in the pastorate (1979–1981), Grenz taught courses both at the University of Winnipeg and at Winnipeg Theological Seminary (now Providence University College and Theological Seminary). He served as Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics at the North American Baptist Seminary, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from 1981 to 1990.[2]

For twelve years (1990–2002), Grenz held the position of Pioneer McDonald Professor of Baptist Heritage, Theology and Ethics at Carey Theological College and at Regent College in Vancouver. After a one-year sojourn as Distinguished Professor of Theology at Baylor University and George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, Texas (2002–2003), he returned to Carey in August 2003 to resume his duties as Pioneer McDonald Professor of Theology.[2]

From 1996 to 1999 he carried an appointment as Professor of Theology and Ethics (Affiliate) at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard, Illinois.[2]

In fall 2004, he assumed an appointment as Professor of Theological Studies at Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle, Washington.[2]

Theology

Grenz' primary contributions were made discussing how evangelical Christianity ought to relate to the world.[3] He wrote on a wide range of subjects, from sexuality to history to basic apologetics, and was one of North America's leading evangelical voices in the late 20th century and early 21st century.

According to his friend the theologian Roger E. Olson, Grentz held an Arminian theology.[4]

Personal

Married to Edna Grenz, a church musician, Grenz was the father of two children, Joel Grenz and Corina Kuban, and was grandfather to one grandchild, Anika Grace Kuban.[2] Included in two editions of Who's Who in Religion, as well as in the 2002 edition of Who's Who in U.S. Writers, Editors and Poets, Grenz died in his sleep 12 March 2005 from a brain aneurysm in St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver.[3][5]

Selected works
  • Prayer: The Cry for the Kingdom, 1988 (2005 Revised Edition) (ISBN 0-913573-92-2)
  • Sexual Ethics: A Biblical Perspective, 1990 (ISBN 0-664-25750-X)
  • Revisioning Evangelical Theology: A Fresh Agenda for the 21st Century, 1993 (ISBN 0-8308-1772-7)
  • Women in the Church: A Biblical Theology of Women in Ministry, with Denise Muir Kjesbo, 1995 (ISBN 0-8308-1862-6)
  • A Primer on Postmodernism, 1996, (ISBN 0-8028-0864-6)
  • Created for Community: Connecting Christian Belief With Christian Living, 1996 (1998 Second Edition) (ISBN 0-8010-2125-1)
  • 20th Century Theology: God & the World in a Transitional Age with Roger Olson, 1997 (ISBN 0-8308-1525-2)
  • Who Needs Theology?: An Invitation to the Study of God's Word – (Olson & Grenz) (1996) ISBN 0-8308-1878-2
  • Welcoming but Not Affirming: An Evangelical Response to Homosexuality, 1998, (ISBN 0-664-25776-3)
  • Theology for the Community of God, 2000, (ISBN 0-8028-4755-2)
  • The Moral Quest: Foundation of Christian Ethics, 2000, (ISBN 0-8308-1568-6)
  • Renewing the Center: Evangelical Theology in a Post-Theological Era, 2000 (ISBN 0-8010-2239-8)
  • Beyond Foundationalism: Shaping Theology in a Postmodern Context, with John Franke, 2000 (ISBN 0-664-25769-0)
  • The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei, 2001, (ISBN 0-664-22203-X)
  • Rediscovering the Triune God: The Trinity in Contemporary Theology, 2004 (ISBN 0-8006-3654-6)

See also

Notes and references
  1. Knowles 2010, p. 4.
  2. Grentz 2005.
  3. Walker, by Ken. "Theologian Stan Grenz Dies". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  4. Olson 2014, p. 14. My late friend Stanley Grenz admitted to me that he was Arminian but asked me not to tell anyone. (At the time he was a colleague of J. I. Packer who strongly opposes Arminianism.)
  5. "Scholars, friends mourn Stanley Grenz, evangelicalism's 'leading theologian'". Baptist News Global. 24 March 2005. Retrieved 24 December 2019.

Sources

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