J. Kenneth Grider (October 22, 1921 – December 6, 2006) was a Nazarene

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and former seminary professor primarily associated with the followers of

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Meth ...

who are part of the

Holiness movement The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emp ...

Biography

Early life

J. Kenneth Grider was born October 22, 1921, in Madison, IL to William Sanford and Elizabeth (Krone) Grider. In 1948, he got a M.A. from the

Drew University Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey. Drew has been nicknamed the "University in the Forest" because of its wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three sch ...

, Madison, New Jersey in 1950. In 1947, he graduated from the Nazarene Theological Seminary. He received his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in 1952.

Career

Grider was a distinguished

visiting Professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

of theology at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, IL, and professor of theology emeritus at Nazarene Theological Seminary, Kansas City. He taught courses in Hurlet Nazarene College (Scotland),

Point Loma Nazarene University Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) is a private Christian liberal arts college with its main campus on the Point Loma oceanfront in San Diego, California, United States. It was founded in 1902 as a Bible college by the Church of the Nazaren ...

Olivet Nazarene University Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) is a private Nazarene university in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Named for its founding location, Olivet, Illinois, ONU was originally established as a grammar school in east-central Illinois in 1907. In the late 1930 ...

, Southern Nazarene University, Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary, and extension courses in Mexico and the Philippines. He was an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene. He was one of the translators of the

New International Version The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The ''NIV'' was created as a modern translation, by Bible scholars using the earliest a ...

of the Bible, working at two committee levels on six

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

books. His "magnum opus" is the

systematic theology 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 ...

''A Wesleyan-Holiness Theology'' (1994). He also wrote over 2,000 poems, articles, commentaries, essays, and lessons and contributed to numerous symposia. He was the editor of ''The Seminary Tower'' for 36 years.

Theology

Grider had

Arminian Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the '' ...

soteriological Soteriology (; el, σωτηρία ' " salvation" from σωτήρ ' "savior, preserver" and λόγος ' "study" or "word") is the study of religious doctrines of salvation. Salvation theory occupies a place of special significance in many reli ...

views in the

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

tradition, and was a supporter of the governmental theory of atonement view.

Death

Grider died December 6, 2006, in Chandler, AZ.

Awards

In 1966, Grider received the Olivet Nazarene University's Clergy Alumnus of the Year award. In 1991, he received an honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

degree from the Olivet Nazarene University. In 1999, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Wesleyan Theological Society.

Publications

Books

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Chapters

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Articles

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Notes and references

Citations

Sources

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grider, J. Kenneth 1921 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American theologians Translators of the Bible into English American Christian theologians American members of the Church of the Nazarene Arminian theologians Nazarene theologians Nazarene Theological Seminary alumni Olivet Nazarene University alumni Olivet Nazarene University faculty Systematic theologians