JP Moreland
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

James Porter Moreland (born March 9, 1948), better known as J. P. Moreland, is an American philosopher,
theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
, and
Christian apologist Christian apologetics ( grc, ἀπολογία, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics has taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in ...
. He currently serves as a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at
Talbot School of Theology Talbot School of Theology is an evangelical Christian theological seminary located near Los Angeles. Talbot is one of the nine schools that comprise Biola University, located in La Mirada, California. Talbot is nondenominational and known for its ...
at
Biola University Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor's ...
in
La Mirada, California La Mirada ( Spanish for "The Look") is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities. The population was 48,527 at the 2010 census, up from 46,783 at the 2000 census. The La Mirada Theatre f ...
.


Biography

Moreland specializes in
metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
,
philosophy of mind Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that studies the ontology and nature of the mind and its relationship with the body. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a number of other issues are add ...
, and
Christian philosophy Christian philosophy includes all philosophy carried out by Christians, or in relation to the religion of Christianity. Christian philosophy emerged with the aim of reconciling science and faith, starting from natural rational explanations w ...
, having had his work published in journals such as ''Metaphilosophy'' and the ''American Philosophical Quarterly.'' He has also had his work published by presses such as Intervarsity Press, NavPress, Zondervan, Oxford University Press, Routledge, Rutgers University Press, and Prometheus. Moreland earned his undergraduate degree from the
University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...
and a Master of Arts in philosophy with highest honors from the
University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...
. He received his Th.M. in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. In 1985, he received a Ph.D. in philosophy from the
University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...
. His dissertation was ''Universals and the Qualities of Things: A defense of Realism''. His dissertation advisor was
Dallas Willard Dallas Albert Willard (September 4, 1935 – May 8, 2013) was an American philosopher also known for his writings on Christian spiritual formation. Much of his work in philosophy was related to phenomenology, particularly the work of Edmund ...
.J. P. Moreland's Talbot School of Theology Faculty Page
/ref> Moreland is married to Hope and together they have two children and four grandchildren.


Career

Moreland teaches at the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University in La Mirada, California. He is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Center on Culture and Civil Society at the Independent Institute. He served for eight years as a bioethicist for Personal Care Nursing Homes, Inc. in Baltimore, Maryland. He has debated
Clancy Martin Clancy Martin (born May 7, 1967) is a Canadian philosopher, novelist, and essayist. His interests focuses on 19th century philosophy, existentialism, moral psychology, philosophy and literature, ethics & behavioral health, applied and profession ...
over the existence of God as well as Canadian philosopher Kai Nielsen and
Eddie Tabash Edward Tabash is an American lawyer and political and social activist. He is an atheist, a proponent of the Establishment Clause. He chairs the Board of Directors for the Center for Inquiry. Tabash has represented the atheist position in debat ...
on whether the supernatural exists. He has been a frequent guest on the PBS television series ''
Closer to Truth ''Closer to Truth'' is a television series on public television originally created, produced and hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn. The original series aired in 2000 for two seasons, followed by a second series aired in 2003 for a single season. Th ...
''.


Views

Moreland is a substance dualist, and also defends
libertarian free will Libertarianism is one of the main philosophical positions related to the problems of free will and determinism which are part of the larger domain of metaphysics. In particular, libertarianism is an incompatibilist position which argues that fr ...
, as well as
life after death The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...
. Moreland has defended the existence of angels and demons, arguing that he knows they exist due to both Christian doctrine and personal experience. He is an
old earth creationist Old Earth creationism (OEC) is an umbrella of theological views encompassing certain varieties of creationism which may or can include day-age creationism, gap creationism, progressive creationism, and sometimes theistic evolutionism. Broadly sp ...
who is a critic of
fideism Fideism () is an epistemological theory which maintains that faith is independent of reason, or that reason and faith are hostile to each other and faith is superior at arriving at particular truths (see natural theology). The word ''fideism'' c ...
. In 2017, Moreland signed the Nashville Statement.


Awards and honors

*Awarded fellowship for Ph.D. in nuclear chemistry, University of Colorado (1970). *Rollin Thomas Chafer Award in Christian Apologetics, Dallas Seminary (1978–79). *Academic Excellence Award, International School of Theology (1982–83). *Winner of the Outstanding Professor of the Year Award, Lakin School of Religion, Liberty University, (1988–89). *Elected as a Member of the executive committee for the
Society of Christian Philosophers The Society of Christian Philosophers (SCP) was founded in 1978. The society is open to anyone interested in philosophy who considers himself or herself a Christian. Membership is not restricted to any particular "school" of philosophy or to any ...
, (1997–99). *Fellow of the Center for the Renewal of Science & Culture, Discovery Institute. (2000–present) *Winner of the Robert Fischer Faculty Member of the Year Award, Biola University,(1998–99). *Member of the advisory board for Philosophia Christi, (1999 to 2003). *Member of the executive committee for the Evangelical Philosophical Society (1999-2003, 2006 to present). *Fellow of the Wilberforce Forum, 2001 to present.


Works

Moreland has authored or edited numerous publications, including:


Books

* * * * * * * * * * * *


Edited by

* * *


Chapters

*


See also

* American philosophy *
List of American philosophers This is a list of American philosophers; of philosophers who are either from, or spent many productive years of their lives in the United States. {, border="0" style="margin:auto;" class="toccolours" , - ! {{MediaWiki:Toc , - , style="text-al ...


References


External links

;Official Websites
J. P. Moreland's personal website

J. P. Moreland's official Facebook page

Faculty page of J. P. Moreland

J. P. Moreland
(Theopedia) ;Debates * ;Closer to Truth * * * * ;Other Talks * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moreland, J. P. American philosophers Biola University faculty Christian apologists Protestant philosophers Living people 1948 births American Christian theologians American Christian creationists Christian Old Earth creationists University of Southern California alumni Critics of atheism Writers about religion and science Distinguished professors of philosophy