James Dean Strauss (July 3, 1929 – March 19, 2014) was an American theologian who was professor of theology and philosophy at Lincoln Christian Seminary from 1967-1994.
[1] He was born on July 3, 1929, to Earnest and Cleo Strauss in the small town of Herrin, Illinois.
Dr. Strauss seems to have inherited his father's intelligence and his mother's creativity, combining them into a mind to be reckoned with.
His family moved to Catlin, Illinois, when James was in the second grade, where he spent the rest of his childhood and youth.
He lived a rather normal childhood, playing baseball with boys in the neighborhood and listening to The Shadow and The Lone Ranger at night on the radio with his family.
He displayed a sharp mind even while in high school, graduating as salutatorian in his class and voted "most likely to succeed" by his fellow students.
Dr. Strauss's father was a Disciples of Christ member and his mother a Baptist, but neither attended church during James' childhood.
One day James was invited to the Catlin Church of Christ by a consumer at the grocery store he worked at as a youth.
Upon his conversion, James' father quit gambling, and, as a consequence, their family grew closer.
James was mentored by the elders at that church, who taught him Biblical study methods and Greek.
When James graduated from high school, he went to Cincinnati Christian College to study under R. C. Foster and Grayson Ensign.
He fulfilled his Ph.D candidacy requirements at Indiana University, but due to a change over in the faculty from one year to the next he did not finish the degree.[which?]
Dr. Strauss became Associate Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Lincoln Christian Seminary in 1967 after working for many years as a pastor.
There is a cassette tape recording from 1977 of Dr. Strauss listing and briefly describing the classes he would be offering one year, which took over an hour to finish.
He taught classes on Aristotle, Plato, Descartes, Hegel, linguistics, artificial intelligence and the mind, philosophy of science, Biblical exegesis, preaching, theories of knowledge, astrophysics in relation to Christianity, apologetics, archaeology, the nature of man, creative imagination, the Enlightenment, Immanuel Kant, pluralism, classical philosophy, history of philosophy, classical theology, evolution, theology of sin, theology of promise, etc.
Dr. Strauss is a prolific writer, and has written tens of thousands of pages between his books and essays on topics related to the ones listed above.
Knopp, Richard A., and Castelein, John D., Taking Every Thought Captive: Essays in Honor of James D. Strauss (Joplin, Missouri: College Press, 1997).
Strauss, James D., The Shattering of Silence: Job, Our Contemporary (Joplin, Missouri: College Press).
Strauss, James D., "Anthony Thiselton in the Hermeneutical Maze," Journal for Christian Studies, volume 12, (Fall 1993).
Strauss, James D., "Community and Cross-Paradigm Communication," Journal for Christian Studies, volume 6, numbers 1 & 2 (Winter 1986/87).
Strauss, James D., "God's Promise and Universal History," in Clark Pinnock, ed., 'Grace Unlimited' (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany Fellowship, 1975).
Strauss, James D., "A Puritan in a Post-Puritan World—Jonathan Edwards," in Clark Pinnock, ed., 'Grace Unlimited' (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany Fellowship, 1975).
Strauss, James D., and Shaw, Wayne, Birth of A Revolution (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Co., 1974).
Strauss, James D., "Carl Sagan’s Cosmic Connection," Journal for Christian Studies, volume 2, number 1 (August 1982).
Strauss, James D., "Conversion: Horizons on Personal and Social Transformation," Journal for Christian Studies, volume 3, no.
Strauss, James D., "The World-view of Karl Marx," Journal for Christian Studies, volume 4, number 1 (October 1983).
Strauss, James D., "The Gospel Commission and Marxism," Journal for Christian Studies, volume 4, number 1 (October 1983).
Strauss, James D., "God’s Authoritative Word and the Gospel According to Gallup," Journal for Christian Studies, volume 4, number 1 (Summer 1984).
Strauss, James D., "Conflicting Models of Constitutional Hermeneutics," Journal for Christian Studies, volume 8 (Fall 1988).
Strauss, James D., "The Crucified God and Man’s Search for Justice" Christian Standard (April 8, 1979).