Paul David Feinberg (August 13, 1938 – February 21, 2004) was an American theologian, author, and professor of systematic theology and philosophy of religion at

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) is the divinity school of Trinity International University, an evangelical Christian university headquartered in Bannockburn, Illinois. The divinity school was founded in 1897. In April 2025, Trinit ...

Education and family

Feinberg was born on August 13, 1938, to Charles Lee and Anne Priscilla (née Fraiman) Feinberg. His family moved from

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1948 when his father became the first dean of Talbot Theological Seminary. Feinberg graduated from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

with a

B.A. 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 degree ...

in history in 1960. For the next four years, he studied divinity at Talbot Theological Seminary, completing his B.D. in 1963 and Th.M. in 1964. He completed doctoral studies at

Dallas Theological Seminary Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) is an evangelical theological seminary in Dallas, Texas. It is known for popularizing the theological system of dispensationalism. DTS has campuses in Dallas, Houston, and Washington, D.C., as well as extension ...

, graduating with a

Th.D. Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor of ...

in 1968. He completed additional studies in philosophy at

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university enrolls arou ...

, completing an M.A. with a thesis on the

verification principle Verificationism, also known as the verification principle or the verifiability criterion of meaning, is a doctrine in philosophy which asserts that a statement is meaningful only if it is either empirically verifiable (can be confirmed through the ...

in 1971. Feinberg was married in 1967 to Iris Nadine (née Taylor), whom he met at Moody. Paul's brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(born 1946) serves as the chair of the Department of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Career

Feinberg taught from 1966 to 1970 at

Moody Bible Institute Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have identified it as ...

, then from 1970 to 1972 at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. From 1972 through 1974, he served as a field representative for the American Board of Missions to the Jews, and then joined the faculty of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he taught the rest of his life. Feinberg was also an ordained minister in the

Evangelical Free Church of America The Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) is an evangelical Christian denomination in the Radical Pietistic tradition. The EFCA was formed in 1950 from the merger of the Swedish Evangelical Free Church and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical F ...

, and in 1977 he helped found the Village Church (EFCA) of

Lincolnshire, Illinois Lincolnshire is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is a northern suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 7,940. Named after Lincolnshire, England, the village was incorporated on August 5, 1957, from the u ...

. From 1978 to 1979, he served a year as president of the

Evangelical Philosophical Society The Evangelical Philosophical Society (EPS) is an organization devoted to the study of philosophy, philosophy of religion, philosophical theology, apologetics, and ethics from an evangelicalism, evangelical perspective. Membership is open to profes ...

. He also taught at the Japan Bible Seminary, Asian Theological Seminary in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, Tyndale Theological Seminary in the Netherlands, and the Italian Bible Institute in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He was also a pitcher at UCLA during his college career.

Works

Thesis

* *

Books

* * *

Chapters

* * * - and responses to other views. He also contributed articles to ''Baker's Dictionary of Christian Ethics'' and the ''Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia'', as well as a chapter in '' Inerrancy'' by Norman Geisler.

Journal articles

* *

Death

Feinberg died of congestive heart failure on February 21, 2004, in

Highland Park, Illinois Highland Park is a suburban city located in southeastern Lake County, Illinois, United States, about north of downtown Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 30,176. Highland Park is one of several municipali ...

, after earlier falling and fracturing a hip at Trinity.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feinberg, Paul D. 1938 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American theologians 20th-century evangelicals 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American theologians 21st-century evangelicals American Evangelical writers American male non-fiction writers American Messianic Jews American religious writers Biola University faculty Dallas Theological Seminary alumni Evangelical theologians Jewish American non-fiction writers Members of the Evangelical Free Church of America People from Dallas Roosevelt University alumni Trinity Evangelical Divinity School alumni Trinity International University faculty University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of Chicago alumni Presidents of the Evangelical Philosophical Society