Stephen Alan Strehle

EDUCATION

• D.Theol. (Historical Theology), Universität Basel (1982-1988)

• S.T.M., Th.D. (Systematic Theology), Dallas Theological Seminary (1976-80)

• M.Div., Columbia Graduate School (1974-1976)

• B.S. (Chemical Engineering), Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1970-1974)

CURRENT POSITION

• Professor, Christopher Newport University (a public university in Virginia) (2002- )

• Director of the Program in Judeo-Christian Studies (2014- )

COURSES TAUGHT

Undergraduate

• Theology and Politics

• Theological Survey (Honors)

• Revelation, Authority, and Reason

• Hebrew Bible

• Introduction to the NT

• Synoptic Gospels

• Introduction to Religion

• Philosophy of Religion

• Religion and Personal Experience

• Western Religions

• Visions of Christianity

• Church and State

• Informal Logic

• Introduction to Philosophy

Graduate

• Theological Systems

• Advanced Christology

• Theology of Ante-Nicene and

• Post-Nicene Fathers

• Medieval and Reformation Theology

• Theology of the Reformation

• Modern Theology

• Theology of Calvin

• Anabaptism

• NT Greek

• History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy

• History of Modern Philosophy

• Contemporary Social Issues

• Ethics

BOOK PUBLICATIONS

• Forces of Secularity in the Modern World, 2 Vols. (New York: Peter Lang, 2018-20). Washington College’s Institute for the Study of Religion, Politics, and Culture sponsored and paid for the publication of this work. It discusses important forces that moved the modern world to embrace a more secular view of life. The first volume was published in 2018 and includes a discussion of capitalism, Darwinism, enlightened historiography, the development of a mechanistic universe, the problem of innocent suffering, Deism, Jefferson, secular etatism, the First Amendment, and SCOTUS. The second volume was published in 2020 and includes a discussion of American universities, Hollywood, the mass media, technology, utilitarianism, NT Christianity, biblical criticism, and modern philosophical skepticism.

• The Dark Side of Church/State Separation: The French Revolution, Nazi Germany, and International Communism (New Brunswick and London: Routledge, 2014). The book analyzes the Enlightenment’s attack upon the Judeo-Christian tradition and its impact upon subsequent regimes in France, Germany, and Russia. The Third Republic, the Nazis, and the Communists all developed a doctrine of church/state separation to marginalize the church and substitute a new ideology in the life of its people.

• The Egalitarian Spirit of Christianity: The Sacred Roots of American and British Government (New Brunswick and London: Routledge, 2009). The book explores the religious influence upon some of the most sacred political ideals in western civilization, including equality and democracy, liberty and natural rights, liberal progress and capitalism, and mixed government and federalism or social contract theory.

• The Separation of Church and State: Has America Lost Its Moral Compass? (Huntington House Publishers: Lafayette, 2001). The book is written as a semi-popular study on the subject of church/state relations in general and afforded me the opportunity to make over fifty appearances on the radio—many of which were broadcast to national audiences to promote the book.

• The Catholic Roots of the Protestant Gospel: Encounter between the Middle Ages and the Reformation, in Studies in the History of Christian Thought, H. A. Oberman (ed.) (Leiden, New York, and Köln: E. J. Brill, 1995). The book relates the theology of the Middle Ages to the development of the Reformation’s concept of salvation. It was published in Heiko Oberman’s prestigious monograph series and was hailed for its ecumenical spirit and insight into Protestant and Catholic doctrine.

• Calvinism, Federalism, and Scholasticism: A Study of the Reformed Doctrine of Covenant (Bern, Frankfurt am Main, New York, and Paris: Peter Lang, 1988). The book represents the most comprehensive treatment of the Reformed doctrine of covenant ever published. Its focus is more theological than political in nature as it centers upon the concept of God and covenant in late Medieval and Reformed theology, but political ramifications are noted throughout the course of the study. The concept of federal government or social contract theory represents a development of this Reformed theology. The Latin term for covenant is foedus or fedus.

EDITOR

Special edition of Religions: The Relationship between Church and State (TBA). MDPI gave free open access to the journal and its contributors.

SOME OTHER ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS

• Palgrave Macmillan--"The Separation of Church and State: The Court's 'Secular Purpose' and the Argumentum ex Ignorantia" (TBA), in The Palgrave Handbook of Religion and State in the Western Hemisphere (TBA)

• MDPI--"Introduction" and "The Priesthood of the Believers: Quakers and the Abolition of Slavery," in special edition of Religions (TBA)

• Peter Lang–“Erecting the Wall: The French Enlightenment, the National Liberal League, the ACLU, and the United States Supreme Court” (TBA)

• Review of Metaphysics—“The Nazis and the Metaphysical Tradition of Voluntarism” (2012)

• Peter Lang─”Jefferson’s Opposition to the Judeo-Christian Tradition” (2011), in Faith and Politics in America: From Jamestown to the Civil War

• Theologische Zeitschrift─”The Sacred Roots of Capitalism: A Theological Analysis of Weber’s Famous Thesis” (2009)

• Mellen Press─Preface to Scottish Hermeneutic Method from John Knox to the Early Twentieth Century: From Christian to Secular (2005)

• Political Theology─”Dead Hookers and Las Vegas: A response to the critics of my article and the war in Iraq” (July, 2004)

• Political Theology─”Saddam, Hussein, Islam, and Just War Theory: The Case for a Pre-emptive Strike” (Jan., 2003)

• Theologische Zeitschrift─"Imputatio Iustitiae: Its Origin in Melanchthon, Its Opposition in Osiander" (Fall, 1994)

• Sixteenth Century Journal─"Fides aut Foedus: Zurich and Wittenberg in Collision over the Gospel" (Spring, 1992)

• Theologische Zeitschrift─"Calvinism, Augustinianism, and the Will of God" (1992)

• Westminster Theological Journal─"Universal Grace and Amyraldianism" (Fall, 1989)

• Westminster Theological Journal─"The Extent of the Atonement and the Synod of Dort" (Spring, 1989)

AUTHOR OF THE NEW VIRGINIA STATUE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

PUBLICATIONS UPON THE NEW VIRGINIA STATUTE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

• Roanoke Times─Op-ed. Piece (May 31, 2009)

• The Virginian Pilot─Op-ed. Piece (May 24, 2009)

• Washington Times─Op-ed. Piece (March 12, 2009)

• Daily Press─Letter to Editor (March 2, 2009)

• Richmond Times─Op-ed. Piece (Jan. 24, 2009)

• Religious Herald─”The Need for a New Religious Freedom Statute” (Dec. 18, 2008)

• Daily Press─Op-ed. Piece (Dec. 13, 2008)

• Religious Herald─”A New Virginia Statute” (Oct. 30, 2008)