Lotan Harold DeWolf (31 January 1905 – 24 March 1986), usually cited as L. Harold Dewolf, was an American

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister and professor of

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

where he was

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

's "primary teacher and mentor".

Early life and education

DeWolf was born on 31 January 1905 in Columbus,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. He obtained a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1924, then pursued theological studies at

where, in 1926, he obtained a

Bachelor of Sacred Theology The Bachelor of Sacred Theology (abbreviated STB) is the first of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the second being the Licentiate in Sacred Theology and the third being the Doctorate in Sacred Theology) which are conferred by a number o ...

degree. He received the Borden Parker Bowne Fellowship in Philosophy at Boston University in 1933–1934, and received his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree in philosophy in 1935 studying under Edgar S. Brightman. His dissertation was titled ''Premises of the Arguments Concerning Immortality in Thirty Ingersoll Lectures (1896–1934)''.

Academic career

After graduating, DeWolf served, from 1926 to 1936, as a minister of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

in Nebraska and

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. He taught in the philosophy department at Boston University from 1934 to 1944, when he joined the faculty of Boston University School of Theology as professor of systematic theology. He also taught twice in Central and East Africa, in 1955–1956 and 1962–1963. From 1965, until his retirement in 1972, DeWolf was Dean of Wesley Theological Seminary in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. In the 1970s he moved to Lakeland,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, where he gave periodic lectures at

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. It offers undergraduate, gradua ...

. He died on 24 March 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr.

DeWolf became

's dissertation adviser at

following the death of Brightman. In his 1955 reader's report, DeWolf concluded that King's work promised to be "an excellent and useful scholarly achievement." In a 1955 letter to his former adviser King wrote: "Both your stimulating lectures and your profound ideas will remain with me so long as the cords of memory shall lengthen. I have discovered that both theologically and philosophically much of my thinking is DeWolfian". In a 1956 letter to King during the

Montgomery bus boycott The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social boycott, protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement in the United ...

, DeWolf wrote, "Your letter is a renewing inspiration to me as has been the marvelous leadership which you have given to our people in the south land during these last months." He concluded his letter by saying, "may He bring to you victory for ''all'' the people, for which you are making such great sacrifices." King remained friends with DeWolf throughout his life and DeWolf supported King's efforts in the civil rights movement. King invited DeWolf to help with his

desegregation Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws ...

campaign in St. Augustine, Florida, and, with three colleagues from Boston University, DeWolf was part of the tense civil rights discussions there. DeWolf spoke at King's funeral on 9 April 1968, calling him "an exemplar of faith, hope, and love." DeWolf later testified before the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

as part of the efforts to have a national holiday honoring King established.

Published works

*'' The Religious Revolt Against Reason'' (1949) Harper & Brothers Publishers *''Trends and Frontiers of Religious Thought'' (1955) *
The Case for Theology in Liberal Perspective
' (1959) Westminster Press *''The Enduring Messages of the Bible'' (1960) *''Present Trends in Christian Thought'' (1960) *'' A Theology of the Living Church'' (rev. ed.; 1960) Harper & Row Publishers vailable at Internet Archive">Internet_Archive.html" ;"title="vailable at Internet Archive">vailable at Internet Archive*''Teaching Our Faith in God'' (1963) *''A Hard Rain and a Cross'' (1966) *''Reasonable Freedom: Guidelines to Christian Action'' (1971) *
Crime and Justice in America: A Paradox of Conscience
' (1975) Harper & Row
''What Americans Should Do About Crime''
(1976) Harper & Row *
Eternal Life: Why We Believe
' (1980) Westminster Press

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * * * *