J. William Paul Rajashekar (born 1948) (otherwise known as Paul Rajashekar) is a

Systematic Theologian Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topic ...

who is the Luther D. Reed Emeritus Professor of Systematic Theology at

United Lutheran Seminary United Lutheran Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Gettysburg and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of the seven seminaries of the church. It was created in 2017 when the Lutheran Theological Seminary a ...

, Pennsylvania

, ''Faculty and Staff Directory

/ref> Rajashekar is best known for his writings on inter-faith dialogue. He grew up in a setting of religions in India and has oft-spoken at numerous platforms and quotes

Max Mueller Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...

, (adapted)''...one who knows one (religion), knows none''. ''Rev. Dr. Paul Rajashekar - The Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia 2016 Inter-Seminary Retreat.

/ref>

Education

Rajashekar received a B.A. at

St. Philomena's College, Mysore St. Philomena's College, established on 9 October 1946, was the first 'First Grade College' in Mysore, India. It was opened by His Highness, Maharaja of Mysore. Its motto "Caritas In Scientia" was chosen by The Pope. The college has introduced ...

in 1968 He then chose the avocation of priesthood and approached the ecclesiastical office of the India Evangelical Lutheran Church in which he became an aspirante.

Graduate

Rajashekar joined the

United Theological College, Bangalore United Theological College (UTC) is an Eccumenical Christian seminary founded in 1910 situated in the southern city of Bangalore in the state of Karnataka in South India and affiliated to India's first Theological University, the Senate of Seram ...

in the year 1968K. M. Hiwale (Compiled), ''Directory of the United Theological College 1910–1997'', Bangalore, 1997. Former members of staff, p.5; Past students of the graduate course, p.40. during the Principalship of the Systematic Theologian Joshua Russell Chandran. Thiswas the same year that the religions scholar,

G. D. Melanchthon G. D. Melanchthon (1934–1994) was a Silver Jubilee Priest hailing from Protestant Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society who taught Religions,Israel Selvanayagam, ''The Dynamics of Hindu Traditions: The Teape Lectures on Sacrifice, G� ...

, AELC joined the seminary to begin his teaching. The 3-year study period of Rajashekar in Bangalore coincided with the study periods of

R. S. Sugirtharajah Rasiah S. Sugirtharajah, known as R. S. Sugirtharajah, is a biblical hermeneutics, biblical hermeneuticist and an emeritus professor at the University of Birmingham. He is known for his work in developing the field of Postcolonial theology#Biblical ...

S. J. Theodore Bishop Emeritus Sanki John Theodore was the fourth Bishop-in-Karimnagar Diocese of the Church of South India. Studies John Theodore'sK. M. Hiwale (Compiled), ''Directory of the United Theological College 1910-1997'', Bangalore, 1997. pp.38 an ...

, T. Hembrom,

H. S. Wilson H. S. Wilson ''(born 1946)'' is Executive Director of Foundation for Theological Education in the Southeast Asia based in Philadelphia. Wilson is widely known in India for his contribution to theological education in India as Director (1980 thr ...

D. I. Hans D. I. Hans is a Religions Scholar who researched on Vijayanagara literature in Kannada, especially the Veerashaiva writings with special reference to Basavanna. Hans used Historical criticism to study Basavanna's ethical teachings. As a ...

, P. J. Lawrence,

Basil Rebera Basil A. Rebera is an Old Testament Scholar and a Translation Consultant with the United Bible Societies focusing on translations of the Bible the world over. As a contributor to scholarly research, Rebera's writings have been reviewed in Journ ...

J. W. Gladstone John Wilson Gladstone (born 25 December 1945) was the Moderator of the Church of South India as well as Bishop of South Kerala. Early years Rev. Dr. Gladstone was born on 25 December 1945 in Travancore.Prof. J. M. Stewart in Profile of the Bi ...

D. Dhanaraj Dharmakkan Dhanaraj (18 December 1950– 16 October 2017) was an Indian Old Testament Scholar who taught at the Karnataka Theological College, Mangalore, a Seminary established in 1965 and affiliated to the nation's first University, the Sena ...

Sydney Salins Sydney S. Salins is a New Testament scholar who teaches at the Karnataka Theological College, Mangalore, a seminary established in 1965 and affiliated to the nation's first university, the Senate of Serampore College (University). Salins was ...

and as well as that of D. W. Jesudoss and Regunta Yesurathnam who were pursuing postgraduate studies. After a 3-year course in spirituality, Rajashekar was awarded a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

degree by the University during its convocation held in 1972 during the Registrarship of

Chetti Devasahayam Chetti Devasahayam (6 October 1913 – 28 February 1993) was the Registrar of the nation's first University, the Senate of Serampore College (University) who was in office from 1960 through 1975.

CBCNC The Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars (CBCNC) is a Baptist Christian denomination in north coastal Andhra Pradesh. The churches are part of the Telugu Christian community of Southern India. Its language is Telugu. It is affiliat ...

Postgraduate and doctoral

In 1972, Rajashekar proceeded to the United States to pursue a postgraduate course in theology leading to

S.T.M. The Master of Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Magister; abbreviated STM) is a graduate-level, North American, academic degree in theology equivalent to ThM. The Roman Catholic equivalent is the Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL). An ...

, specializing in

Patristics Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

during 1972-1974 at the Concordia Seminary, St. Louis and left for India to begin teaching at the

Gurukul Lutheran Theological College Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute is an ecumenical seminary situated in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, South India. It is affiliated to the Senate of Serampore College (University).Indiaedunews.neNepal Christians to renew ties ...

, Chennai and returned to the United States in 1976 to enroll as a doctoral candidate at the University of Iowa, Iowa where he researched in Systematic theology and History of Religions with a dissertation titled ''Faith Active in Love and Truth Realized in Love: A Comparative Study of the Ethics of Martin Luther and Mahatma Gandhi'' and was awarded a Ph. D. in 1981.

Career

During 1971-1972, Rajashekar served as a Parish Priest of the Ambur Synod of the IELC. In 1974, Rajashekar began to teach at the

, Chennai in which the IELC is a participating Church Society. After a two-year teaching stint at the Seminary, he proceeded on doctoral studies to the United States only to return in 1981 and joined the

where he taught for nearly four years until 1984 when he moved to Geneva to take up an assignment with the Lutheran World Federation. From 1984 through 1991, Rajashekar was on the staff of the Lutheran World Federation based at Geneva, Switzerland and made a significant contribution as Executive SecretaryJ. Paul Rajashekar, ''Islamic Fundamentalism - Reviewing a stereotype'' in ''The Ecumenical Review'', Volume 41, Issue 1, January 1989, pp.64-7

/ref> for Dialogue with People of other Faiths and Ideologies. In 1991, Rajashekar became a member of faculty of the

Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), also known as the ''Philadelphia Seminary,'' was one of eight theological seminaries associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran denomination in North ...

where he rose to the position of Academic Dean from 2000 to 2012, returning to the teaching faculty as the Luther D. Reed Professor in Systematic Theology until his retirement from its succeeding institution,

, at the end of 2020.

Writings

*1982, ''Apostolicity and Apostolic Succession'', *1982, ''The Sacramental Signs of the Church'', *1989, ''Islamic Fundamentalism - Reviewing a stereotype'', *1990, ''Luther and Islam: An Asian Perspective'', *2001, ''Hinduism; Hinduism and Christianity; India (with :de:Michael von Brück *2009, ''Rethinking Lutheran Engagement with Religious Plurality'', *2012, ''Discordant Notes: Proselytism in an Age of Pluralism'', *2013, ''Abundant Harvest: Stories of Asian Lutherans'', *''no date'', ''Theological Education for Interfaith Engagement: The Philadelphia Story'',J. Paul Rajashekar, ''Theological Education for Interfaith Engagement: The Philadelphia Story'', Case studies from Pedagogies for Interfaith Dialogue, Volume II in the Hartford Seminary Series on Innovation in Theological Educatio

/ref>

References