Cambridge Scholars Publishing Bernard Eugene Meland’s Unpublished Papers

Bernard Eugene Meland (1899–1993) was a leader in the pragmatic tradition of constructive theology associated with the University of Chicago. This volume contains more than forty-six previously unpublished lectures, reports, and other personal documents that Meland wrote at various times between 1937 and 1979. It is a companion volume to W. Creighton Peden’s book, Life and Thought of Bernard Eugene Meland, American Constructive Theologian, 1899–1993, and is intended to give the reader a deeper understanding of Meland’s methods and thought. Review Bernard Meland s fifty years of religious inquiry, including thirteen books and 152 published essays, were both the summary and the culmination of the twentieth century Chicago School of Theology, one of the major voices in modern liberal theology. The publication of these previously unpublished essays completes the corpus of Meland s books and essays from the twenty-two boxes of letters, notes, and manuscripts forming the Meland archives. --Tyron Inbody, Professor Emeritus of Theology, United Theological Seminary; author of The Constructive Theology of Bernard Meland: Postliberal Empirical Realism Scholars of Meland, the Chicago School of Theology, and liberal religion will be thrilled to have access to these manuscripts spanning four decades on some of the most formative ideas in Meland s thought. These lectures and papers catch Meland at his most candid and creative moments, and as critically engaged as always with the momentous changes then underway in American liberal theology. --Jennifer G. Jesse, Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Truman State University; author of There s a Methodism in his Madness: William Blake s Religious Thought About the Author John N. Gaston has retired from a 36-year career in the information technology industry. He is both a Certified Computing Professional (CCP) and an Electronic Document Professional (EDP) and worked for more than ten years in document printing and publishing. Gaston received a BA from Davidson College, and an MLS from Rollins College. W. Creighton Peden is Fuller E. Callaway Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Augusta State Univeristy, and President Emeritus of the Highlands Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought. Peden received a BA from Davidson College, an MA from the University of Chicago, and a PhD from St. Andrews University, Scotland.