IRD directors elect theologian as chairman of board
Institute on Religion and Democracy, April 14, 1999
WASHINGTON, DC – The Board of Directors of the Institute on Religion and Democracy selected Thomas Clark Oden, Henry Anson Buttz Professor of Theology and Ethics at the Drew University Theological School, as its new chairman. A United Methodist, Oden is the general editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary series, a collection of biblical commentaries by the early church fathers being published by Intervarsity Press.
“The Institute on Religion and Democracy is doing significant work at the intersection of the Church and public life,” said Oden. “Its call for historic biblical standards for the churches’ social and political witness, its impassioned defense of the persecuted church, its strong challenge to contemporary radical forms of feminism – are all exemplary.”
“The IRD will be giving increased attention to the need for Christian unity outside the oldline NCC and WCC and especially among Evangelicals, traditional Protestants, Orthodox and Catholics,” said IRD President Diane Knippers. “Dr. Oden’s experience in theology, ethics, and ecumenism will greatly benefit the IRD has he gives us leadership into the next century.”
Outgoing IRD president Helen Rhea Stumbo, who will remain on the IRD board as the first vice chair, lauded Oden’s election, noting that “Thomas Oden is one of the most respected and influential figures in international Christendom.”
Oden assisted the IRD in leading a group of North American evangelical observers to the 50th anniversary Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Harare, Zimbabwe, December 1998. He has taught at over 14 different institutions, including the WCC-sponsored Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland, Moscow State University, and the Gregorian University in Rome. Oden began his career as an activist on the political and theological left, but has moved in more conservative and orthodox directions in recent years.
An observer at the Second Vatican Council in 1965, Oden more recently has represented Evangelicals in international Evangelical-Orthodox and Evangelical-Roman Catholic dialogues. He is a consulting editor for Christianity Today.
Some of Oden’s recent books include the following: Life in The Spirit, Vol. Three of Systematic Theology, 1992; The Transforming Power of Grace, 1993; and Requiem: A Lament in Three Movements, 1995.
Oden is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. He earned his doctorate at Yale University, 1963.