Theological and Philosophical Biography and Dictionary

THEOLOGICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL
BIOGRAPHY AND GLOSSARY

Jacks, Laurence Pearsall:

(1860-1955) British Unitarian who believed in resurrection of Christ; founder and editor of The Hibbert Journal; principal of Manchester College and Oxford.

Jacob, Henry:

(1563-1624) Congregational Puritan; part of Brownist movement; founded first Congregational church in England.

James, John Angell:

(1785-1859) British Congregational pastored one church for 50 years. Wrote The Christian Father's Present to His Children.

James, William:

(1842-1910) professor at Harvard; pragmatist. Wrote 1. Pragmatism, 2. A Pluralistic Universe, 3. Essays in Radical Empiricism, 4. The Will to Believe and Other Essays, 5. The Meaning of Truth, 6. Selected Papers in Philosophy, and 7. The Varieties of Religious Experience. Regarding his theory of knowledge: Like the later existentialists, James held that the philosopher's realm is the "world of concrete personal experiences," where the pragmatic method applies, rather than the world of abstract ideas (where speculation is encouraged). "The pragmatic method is a method of settling metaphysical disputes that otherwise might be interminable." "There can be no difference in abstract truth that doesn't express itself in a difference in concrete fact." Metaphysical disputes are settled by considering the practical (i.e., observable) difference which it would make to the individual if one or the other alternative were true. "The true is the name of whatever proves itself to be good in the way of belief." "Truth happens to an idea; it becomes true, is made true by events." Regarding his theory of reality: Reality consists in many "reals" as experienced in a loosely related ("strung along") rather than rigidly structured ("blocked out") universe; it is a "pluriverse." These reals include a "real God" and relate to each other externally as a part of the "process of becoming." Reality (including God) is "unfinished," "in the making." Consciousness is not an entity but a function in experience. "That function is knowing."

Jansen, Cornelius:

(1585-1638) Flemish Roman Catholic theologian; defended Augustinian predestination; began Jansenists.

JANSENISM:

Jasper, John:

(1812-1901) Black US Baptist preacher; born as a slave.

Jaspers, Karl:

(1883-1969) German psychiatrist turned existential philosopher; 3 areas of existence: Object, Existence, Divine; wrote 1. Man in the Modern Age, 2. The Origin and Goal of History, and 3. The Perennial Scope of Philosophy.

Jay, William:

(1769-1853) British Congregational preacher. Wrote his autobiography.

Jefferson, Charles Edward:

(1860-1937) US Congregational pastor concerned with social issues.

Jerome (of Prague):

(1379-1416) Bohemian reformer; friend of Hus; martyred.

Jerome:

(c 340-420) translated Greek NT into Latin Vulgate. Also see Jerome (of Prague)

Jewel, John:

(1522-1571) popular Reformation preacher

JEWISH:

See Jewish philosophy

JEWISH PHILOSOPHY:

Joad, Cyril Edwin Mitchinson:

(1891-1953) philosopher; professor at Birbeck College, London; wrote 1. Decadence: a Philosophical Inquiry, 2. Matter, Life and Value, and 3. The Recovery of Belief; Realist metaphysics.

John of Antioch:

(____-441) Patriarch of Antioch.

John of Damascus:

(c 675-749) Last of the great Eastern Church Fathers; wrote Fount of Wisdom; allegorical preacher.

John of the Cross:

(1542-1591) Spanish Carmelite monk; Christian mystic; wrote Dark Night of the Soul; Spain's foremost poet.

John of Salisbury:

(c1115-1180)

John of Wessel:

(c 1420-1489) German theologian; member of Brethren of the Common Life; died in prison after being convicted of heresy and after recanting; emphasized authority of Scripture; opposed priestly celibacy and sale of indulgences; denied transubstantiation.

Johnson, Gustaf Frederick:

(1873-1959) US Free church and Covenant church preacher.

Jonas, Justus:

(1493-1555) German Reformer; hymnwriter; associate of Luther.

Jones:

See Lloyd-Jones, David Martyn

Jones, Edgar DeWitt:

(1876-1956) US Disciples of Christ pastor; wrote The Royalty of the Pulpit.

Jones, Eli Stanley:

(1884-1973) US Methodist missionary to India; devotional writer.

Jones, Griffith:

(1683-1761) Welsh Episcopal preacher who established many charity schools.

Jones, Henry:

(1852-1922) British professor at Bangor, St. Andrews and Glasgow; wrote 1. A Faith that Enquires and 2. Idealism as a Practical Creed; Absolute Idealism.

Jones, John Daniel: