William Norman Pittenger (July 23, 1905 – June 19, 1997) was an Anglican minister, teacher, and theologian. He wrote about and promoted process theology, and became one of the first acknowledged Christian defenders for the open acceptance of homosexual relations among Christians. He served as Vice-Chairman and the Chairman of the Theological Commission of the
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
from the mid-1950s through the early 1960s. He lived most of his life in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, though from 1966 until his death he lived at King's College at
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
. He attended
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
for a short time, but left without graduating because he wanted to try a career as a newspaper reporter in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
Island in New York. He started as a student and soon he became tutor. He was named an Instructor in Christian
Apologetics
Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...
in 1935 at the same Seminary, and was ordained a deacon in the Church in 1936, and a priest in 1937; he served as Instructor at the seminary until 1951, when he was elevated to the rank of Professor in the same department there, a position that he held until 1966.
Career, ''corpus,'' and retirement
Norman Pittenger was one of the first process theologians without connections with the
University of Chicago Divinity School
The University of Chicago Divinity School is a private graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries. Formed under Baptist auspices, the school today lacks any s ...
, and produced the first genuine works on process theological
christology
In Christianity, Christology (from the Ancient Greek, Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, wiktionary:-λογία, -λογία, wiktionary:-logia, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Chr ...
(see ''The Word Incarnate''. 1959). Pittenger wrote ninety books and many articles throughout his life (see below). In addition to his writing on explicitly Christian themes, he wrote on sexuality in general (e.g., ''Making Sexuality Human,'' 1970) and penned a Christian defense of homosexuality in particular (''Time for Consent,'' 1970), a book that was so controversial when published that the
Church Times
The ''Church Times'' is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper based in London and published in the United Kingdom on Fridays.
History
The ''Church Times'' was founded on 7 February 1863 by George Josiah Palmer, a printer. It fought for the ...
refused to review it. He also became "discreetly open about his own homosexual orientation" in this era of his life. After his retirement in 1966 he established himself at King's College,
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, where, though not a Fellow, he participated in activities and meals as an Honorary Senior Member until the end of his life; he died at King's Lynn, Norfolk on 19 June 1997.
Positions and honors
The following are some of the positions and honors that Pittenger held or received during his lifetime:
* Paddock Lecturer, General Theological Seminary, 1966.
* President, American Theology Society, 1948–1949.
* Vice-Chairman, Theological Commission, World Council of Churches, 1954–1962.
* Chairman 1962-64, Theological Commission, World Council of Churches, 1954–62.
* Honorary Senior Member (non-fellow), King's College, Cambridge, 1964–1997
Selected works
Norman Pittenger authored ninety books and many articles. The following is a partial list:
* 1959 The Word Incarnate: A Study of the Doctrine of the Person of Christ, Harper & Brothers.
* 1967 God in Process, London:SCM Press Ltd. (Call No. BT83.6 P5)
* 1968 Process-Thought and Christian Faith, New York: Macmillan Company. (Call No. BR100 P615 1968)
* 1969
Alfred North Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead (15 February 1861 – 30 December 1947) was an English mathematician and philosopher. He is best known as the defining figure of the philosophical school known as process philosophy, which today has found applicat ...
, John Knox Press.
* 1969 God's Way with Men: A Study of the Relationship Between God and Man in Providence, "Miracle," and Prayer, London: Hodder & Stoughton, Valley Forge, Pa:Judson Press.
* 1970 "The Last Things" in a Process Perspective, London: Epworth Press.
* 1970 Making Sexuality Human, United Church Press.
* 1970 Time for Consent: A Christian's Approach to Homosexuality, London: SCM Press.
* 1970 Christology Reconsidered, London: SCM Press.
* 1974 The Holy Spirit, United Church Press.
* 1974 Love and Control in Sexuality, United Church Press.
* 1980 After death/Life in God, London:SCM Press Ltd.
* 1989 Becoming and Belonging, Wilton, CT:Morehouse Publications. (Call No. BT77 .P49 1989)Religion online: Becoming and Belonging by Norman Pittenger /ref>
John B. Cobb
John Boswell Cobb, Jr. (born 9 February 1925) is an American theologian, philosopher, and environmentalist. Cobb is often regarded as the preeminent scholar in the field of process philosophy and process theology, the school of thought associ ...