Born in 1935 and raised in Virginia, Morse received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Randolph–Macon College, a Master of Divinity[citation needed] degree from Yale Divinity School, and Master of Sacred Theology and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Union Theological Seminary.
He teaches extensively on the great systematic and dogmatic theologians, especially John Calvin, Karl Barth, Thomas Aquinas, and Friedrich Schleiermacher.
Prominent in his main work, Not Every Spirit, is the notion of "faithful disbelief", a reference to 1 John 4:1.
Morse's work shows that he has been deeply shaped by the theology of Karl Barth.
Morse's work could be categorized as an example of the so-called Yale School theology.