Theological and Philosophical Biography and Dictionary

Jacks, Laurence Pearsall

(1860-1955)

British Unitarian who believed in resurrection of Christ
founder and editor of The Hibbert Journal
principal of Manchester College and Oxford.

Jacob, Henry

(1563-1624)

Congregational Puritan
part of Brownist movement
founded first Congregational church in England.

James, John Angell

(1785-1859)

British Congregational pastored one church for 50 years
Wrote The Christian Father's Present to His Children.

James, William

(1842-1910)

William James

professor at Harvard
pragmatist.
Wrote
- Pragmatism
- A Pluralistic Universe
- Essays in Radical Empiricism
- The Will to Believe and Other Essays
- The Meaning of Truth
- Selected Papers in Philosophy
- The Varieties of Religious Experience
Regarding his theory of knowledge:
- Like the later existentialists, James held that the philosopher's realm is the "world of concrete personal experiences," where the pragmatic method applies, rather than the world of abstract ideas (where speculation is encouraged).
- "The pragmatic method is a method of settling metaphysical disputes that otherwise might be interminable."
- "There can be no difference in abstract truth that doesn't express itself in a difference in concrete fact."
- Metaphysical disputes are settled by considering the practical (i.e., observable) difference which it would make to the individual if one or the other alternative were true.
- "The true is the name of whatever proves itself to be good in the way of belief."
- "Truth happens to an idea; it becomes true, is made true by events."
Regarding his theory of reality:
- Reality consists in many "reals" as experienced in a loosely related ("strung along") rather than rigidly structured ("blocked out") universe; it is a "pluriverse."
- These reals include a "real God" and relate to each other externally as a part of the "process of becoming."
- Reality (including God) is "unfinished," "in the making."
- Consciousness is not an entity but a function in experience. "That function is knowing."

Jansen, Cornelius

(1585-1638)

Flemish Roman Catholic theologian
defended Augustinian predestination
began Jansenists

Jasper, John

(1812-1901)

John Jasper

Black US Baptist preacher
born as a slave.

Jaspers, Karl

(1883-1969)

Karl Jaspers

German psychiatrist turned existential philosopher
Three areas of existence: Object, Existence, Divine
wrote
1. Man in the Modern Age
2. The Origin and Goal of History
3. The Perennial Scope of Philosophy

Jay, William

(1769-1853)

British Congregational preacher.
Wrote his autobiography.

Jefferson, Charles Edward

(1860-1937)

Charles Jefferson

US Congregational pastor concerned with social issues.

Jerome (of Prague)

(1379-1416)

Bohemian reformer
friend of Hus
martyred.

Jerome

(c 340-420)

Jerome

translated Greek NT into Latin Vulgate.

Jewel, John

(1522-1571)

John Jewel

popular Reformation preacher

Joad, Cyril Edwin Mitchinson

(1891-1953)

philosopher
professor at Birbeck College, London
wrote
1. Decadence: a Philosophical Inquiry
2. Matter, Life and Value
3. The Recovery of Belief
Realist metaphysics

John of Antioch

(____-441)