Stephen L. Harris (February 5, 1937 - April 14, 2019) was Professor of Humanities and Religious Studies at

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

. He served there ten years as department chair and was named a

Woodrow Wilson Fellow The Institute for Citizens & Scholars (formerly known as the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation) is a nonpartisan, non-profit based in Princeton, New Jersey that aims to strengthen American democracy by “cultivating the talent, ideas, ...

. He received his MA and PhD degrees from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

.Harris, Stephen L. Author's Website. July 28, 2009
Stephenharrisauthor.com
Harris was a member of the American Academy of Religion, a fellow at the

Westar Institute The Westar Institute, founded by Robert W. Funk in 1985, is a member-supported nonprofit educational institute with a twofold mission: * To foster collaborative, cumulative research in religious studies * To communicate the results of the scholar ...

, a fellow of the controversial

Jesus Seminar The Jesus Seminar was a group of about 50 critical biblical scholars and 100 laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk that originated under the auspices of the Westar Institute.''Making Sense of the New Testament'' by Craig Blomberg (Mar 1, 200 ...

, and authored several books on religion, some of which are used in introductory university courses. He also had a strong interest in some geological topics. Harris grew up in western

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

state where the views of

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a s ...

and the mentoring of his grandfather inspired a lifelong interest in the eruptive potential of the volcanoes in the Cascade Mountain range, about which he became a widely known authority. Harris taught an adult education class on "Evolving Concepts of God" at St. Mark's Methodist Church, Sacramento, using his text, ''The Old Testament: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible.'' He died of cancer in Sacramento at the age of 82.

Publications

* * * * * * * * * * ''Restless Earth.''(National Geographic Books)

References

1937 births 2019 deaths American biblical scholars California State University, Sacramento faculty Cornell University alumni People from Washington (state) Members of the Jesus Seminar American United Methodists People from Aberdeen, Washington {{California-stub