Justo L. González | |
|---|---|
| Born | Justo Luis González (1937-08-09)August 9, 1937 (age 88) |
| Spouse | Catherine Gunsalus González |
| Ecclesiastical career | |
| Religion | Christianity (Methodist) |
| Church | United Methodist Church |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater |
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| Thesis | The Christology of Saint Bonaventure (1961) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Theology |
| Sub-discipline | Historical theology |
| School or tradition |
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| Institutions | |
| Notable works |
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Justo Luis González (born August 9, 1937) is aCuban-Americanhistorical theologian andMethodist elder. He is a prolific author and an influential contributor to the development of Latin American theology. His wife,Catherine Gunsalus González, is a professor emerita atColumbia Theological Seminary, and the two have co-authored several books.
González was born inHavana,Cuba, on August 9, 1937.[2] He receivedBachelor of Arts andBachelor of Science degrees from the Instituto de Marianao in 1954.[2] Following three years of studies at theUniversity of Havana, he attended theEvangelical Seminary of Theology [es] inMatanzas, Cuba, from which he received aBachelor of Sacred Theology degree in 1957.[2] He then studied atYale University, receiving aMaster of Sacred Theology degree in 1958, aMaster of Arts degree in 1960, and aDoctor of Philosophy degree in 1961.[2] He was the youngest person to be awarded thehistorical theology doctorate at Yale.
González taught at theEvangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico for eight years, followed by another eight years atCandler School of Theology ofEmory University inGeorgia. Now retired, he also served as adjunct professor of history atColumbia Theological Seminary inDecatur, Georgia, and at theInterdenominational Theological Center inAtlanta, Georgia. He is also a retired member of the Rio Grande Conference of theUnited Methodist Church.
He is a leading voice in the growing field ofHispanic theology,[3][4][5][6] comparable to such figures asVirgilio Elizondo,Orlando Costas,[7] andAda Maria Isasi-Diaz. González is one of the few first generation Latino theologians to come from a Protestant background[8] With the Mexican-American United Methodist minister Roy Barton, González helped found the first academic journal related to Latino theology,Apuntes, published by the Mexican-American program ofPerkins School of Theology atSouthern Methodist University.[9] He also helped to found the Association for Hispanic Theological Education,[10] for which he has twice served as Executive Council Chair.[11] He was the first Director of the Hispanic Summer Program[12] and helped found the Hispanic Theological Initiative.[13][14]
Afestschrift has been published for him:Hispanic Christian Thought at the Dawn of the 21st Century: Apuntes in Honor of Justo L. González, edited byAlvin Padilla, Roberto Goizueta,Eldin Villafañe (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2005) with contributions from Roman Catholic and Protestant Latino theologians, historians, and biblical scholars.
Justo González is the main narrator for the video lessons of the Christian Believer study course fromCokesbury publishing.
Gonzalez is also the recipient of the Ecumenism Award from Washington Theological Consortium. This was awarded to him because of his ecumenical work that aims to unify churches with a variety of denominational backgrounds.[15]
In 1984–5 González wrote a popular two volume textbook entitledThe Story of Christianity that covers the history of the church from founding till the present in a readable style. Many students and scholars have read and enjoyedThe Story of Christianity as reflected in this review: "A well-informed book on Christianity, the Reformation to present day. A good resource for theologians or even if you just have an interest."[16]
He is also the author of a three volume work titledHistory of Christian Thought. Both works commonly are used as college and seminary textbooks.
Additional books include:
