Lotan Harold DeWolf (31 January 1905 – 24 March 1986), usually cited as L. Harold Dewolf, was an American

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

minister and professor of systematic theology at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

where he was Martin Luther King Jr.'s "primary teacher and mentor".

Early life and education

DeWolf was born on 31 January 1905 in

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. He obtained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1924, then pursued theological studies at

where, in 1926, he obtained a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree. He received the

Borden Parker Bowne Borden Parker Bowne (January 14, 1847 – April 1, 1910) was an American Christian philosopher, Methodist minister and theologian. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature nine times. Life Bowne was born on January 14, 1847, near Leona ...

Fellowship in Philosophy at Boston University in 1933–1934, and received his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

degree in philosophy in 1935 studying under

Edgar S. Brightman Edgar Sheffield Brightman (September 20, 1884 – February 25, 1953) was an American philosopher and Christianity, Christian theologian in the Methodism, Methodist tradition, associated with Boston University and Liberal Christianity, liberal ...

. His dissertation was titled ''Premises of the Arguments Concerning Immortality in Thirty Ingersoll Lectures (1896–1934)''.

Academic career

After graduating, DeWolf served, from 1926 to 1936, as a minister of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

in Nebraska and

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. He taught in the philosophy department at Boston University from 1934 to 1944, when he joined the faculty of

Boston University School of Theology Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) is the oldest theological seminary of American Methodism and the founding school of Boston University, the largest private research university in New England. It is one of thirteen theological school ...

as professor of systematic theology. He also taught twice in Central and East Africa, in 1955–1956 and 1962–1963. From 1965, until his retirement in 1972, DeWolf was Dean of

Wesley Theological Seminary Wesley Theological Seminary is a United Methodist Church seminary in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1882. History Wesley Theological Seminary can trace its roots back to the 1881 meeting of the Methodist Protestant Church's Maryland Annua ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. In the 1970s he moved to Lakeland,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, where he gave periodic lectures at

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. The college offers 50 undergradu ...

. He died on 24 March 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr.

DeWolf became Martin Luther King Jr.'s dissertation adviser at

following the death of Brightman. In his 1955 reader's report, DeWolf concluded that King's work promised to be "an excellent and useful scholarly achievement." In a 1955 letter to his former adviser King wrote: "Both your stimulating lectures and your profound ideas will remain with me so long as the cords of memory shall lengthen. I have discovered that both theologically and philosophically much of my thinking is DeWolfian". In a 1956 letter to King during the Montgomery bus boycott, DeWolf wrote, "Your letter is a renewing inspiration to me as has been the marvelous leadership which you have given to our people in the south land during these last months." He concluded his letter by saying, "may He bring to you victory for ''all'' the people, for which you are making such great sacrifices." King remained friends with DeWolf throughout his life and DeWolf supported King's efforts in the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

. King invited DeWolf to help with his desegregation campaign in

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afri ...

, Florida, and, with three colleagues from Boston University, DeWolf was part of the tense civil rights discussions there. DeWolf spoke at King's funeral on 9 April 1968, calling him "an exemplar of faith, hope, and love." DeWolf later testified before the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

as part of the efforts to have a national holiday honoring King established.

Published works

*'' The Religious Revolt Against Reason'' (1949)

Harper & Brothers Publishers Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City. History J. & J. Harper (1817–1833) James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...

*''Trends and Frontiers of Religious Thought'' (1955) *
The Case for Theology in Liberal Perspective
' (1959) Westminster Press *''The Enduring Messages of the Bible'' (1960) *''Present Trends in Christian Thought'' (1960) *'' A Theology of the Living Church'' (rev. ed.; 1960)

Harper & Row Publishers Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City. History J. & J. Harper (1817–1833) James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...

vailable at Internet Archive">Internet_Archive.html" ;"title="vailable at Internet Archive">vailable at Internet Archive*''Teaching Our Faith in God'' (1963) *''Reasonable Freedom: Guidelines to Christian Action'' (1971) *
Crime and Justice in America: A Paradox of Conscience
' (1975) Harper & Row
''What Americans Should Do About Crime''
(1976) Harper & Row *
Eternal Life: Why We Believe
' (1980) Westminster Press

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * * * *