i. Professional Background

I received my B.A. cum laude (1964) in philosophy and political science from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, USA. My S.T.B. cum laude (1967) in theology is from Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. My M.A. (1972) and Ph.D. distinction (1976) in Special Religious Studies are from the Institute of Christian Thought, University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto, in Ontario, Canada. My dissertation was entitled “History and Eschatology in Jonathan Edwards: A Critique of the Heimert Thesis.”

I have taught at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota (Summer, 1966), Waterloo Lutheran University, Waterloo, Ontario (1967-1969), University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario (Summer, 1972, 1973), University of Toronto, Extension, Toronto, Ontario (1972), and Renison College, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, since 1973. I hold an appointment as a Professor of Religion and Culture at Renison College, University of Waterloo, where I am also an Associate Professor of Social Development Studies. Since 1982 I have been part of the Supporting Faculty for the Consortium in Reformation History of the University of Waterloo and the University of Guelph. I served as the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Waterloo (1987-1993) and I am currently the Graduate Officer for the M.A. in Religious Studies at the University of Waterloo.

I have also been a Visiting Scholar at Cambridge University, Cambridge, U.K., (1980), the Indian Institute of Islamic Studies, New Delhi, India (1986), the Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Institute for Advanced Studies in Philosophy, University of Madras, Madras, India (1987), Hamdard University, New Delhi, India (1993), and Nairobi University, Nairobi, Kenya (1994). I have lectured at numerous universities in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe.