William Hughes Hamilton III (March 9, 1924 – February 28, 2012) was a prominent theologian and proponent of the Death of God movement. Hamilton died in 2012 at age 87 in Portland, Oregon.

Education and career

Hamilton was born March 9, 1924 to William Hughes Hamilton II and Helen Hamilton (née Anderson). in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

. In 1943 Hamilton graduated from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of highe ...

. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during World War II, then earned a master's degree from

Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

in 1949. In 1952 Hamilton received a doctorate in theology from the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

in Scotland. Hamilton and fellow theologian

Thomas J. J. Altizer Thomas Jonathan Jackson Altizer (May 28, 1927 – November 28, 2018) was an American university professor, religious scholar, and theologian, noted for his incorporation of Death of God theology and Hegelian dialectical philosophy into his body o ...

co-authored the book ''Radical Theology and the Death of God'' (1966). ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' magazine published the article "

Is God Dead? "Is God Dead?" was an April 8, 1966, cover story for the news magazine ''Time''. A previous article, from October 1965, had investigated a trend among 1960s theologians to write God out of the field of theology. The 1966 article looked in greater ...

" that same year. In 1953 Hamilton joined the faculty at

Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School is a Baptist seminary in Rochester, New York It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History 1820s-1960: Early history Four Baptist institutions merged over the course of the 19th and 2 ...

until he lost his endowed chair in 1967. He then taught religion at New College in Sarasota, Florida before becoming a faculty member at

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two dec ...

in 1970. There he served as dean of arts and letters until his retirement in 1986. In 1949 Hamilton married Mary Jean Golden (1925-2016), a dancer from the New York City Ballet. They had five children: Ross, Donald, Catherine, Patrick and Jean. Hamilton died of complications from congestive heart failure in his home on February 28, 2012 at age 87 in Portland, Oregon. He was survived by his wife Mary Jean and five children.

References

External links

* Excerpt fro
''Radical Theology and the Death of God''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, William 1924 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American theologians 21st-century American theologians Alumni of the University of St Andrews American Christian theologians American male non-fiction writers Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School faculty Death of God theologians Oberlin College alumni Portland State University faculty United States Navy personnel of World War II Writers from Evanston, Illinois Writers from Portland, Oregon

Education and career

See also

References

External links