Professor William L.
Power
Historical, Systematic and Philosophical Theology,
Philosophy of Religion
power@uga.edu
University of Georgia Department of Religion
Peabody Hall Athens, GA 30602-1625
(706) 542-5356
CURRICULUM
VITA
EDUCATION
The
University of Mississippi 1952-1956 B.A.E.
Emory
University 1956-1959 M.Div.
Emory
University 1962-1965 Ph.D.
PROFESSIONAL
EXPERIENCE
Instructor
in Theology, Emory University, 1965
Assistant
Professor of Philosophy, Lambuth College, Jackson, Tennessee, 1965-67
Acting
Head, Department of Philosophy, Lambuth College, Jackson, Tennessee, 1966-67
Assistant
Professor, University of Georgia, September 1967-75
Graduate
Faculty, University of Georgia, 1975-present
Associate
Professor, University of Georgia, 1976- 1998
Undergraduate
Coordinator, Religion Dept., University of Georgia, 1980-83
Environmental
Ethic Certificate Program, University of Georgia, (original faculty)
1983-present
Graduate
Coordinator, Dept. of Religion, University of Georgia, 1983-1988
Visiting
Professor of Systematic Theology, Iliff School of Theology, Denver, Colorado
Summer 1985
Environmental
Ethics Certificate Program Curriculum Coordinator, University of Georgia,
1989-1992
Graduate
Coordinator, Religion Dept., University of Georgia, 1994-95
Professor,
University of Georgia, 1998-present
MEMBERSHIPS
IN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
American
Academy of Religion
Society
for the Philosophy of Religion
Society
for the Study of Process Philosophy
The
Highlands Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought
OFFICES
HELD
Vice-President,
Lambuth College Chapter of American Association of University Professors,
1966-67
Section
Chair, American Academy of Religion, SE in Theology and Philosophy of Religion,
1974-75, 1984-87
Vice-President,
American Academy of Religion, SE, 1990-91
President,
American Academy of Religion, SE, 1991-92
Executive
Committee American Academy of Religion, SE, 1990-93
Vice-President,
Society for Philosophy of Religion, 1993-94
President,
Society for Philosophy of Religion, 1994-95
Executive
Council of the Society for Philosophy of Religion 1990-96
Associates
of Society for the Philosophy of Religion, 1997-present
EDITORIAL
BOARDS AND CONSULTANT FOR ACADEMIC JOURNALS AND
ACADEMIC
PRESSES
Editorial
Board of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 1980-86
Associate
Editor of the International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 1990-present
Referee,
Process Studies, published by the Center for Process Studies at the School of
Theology at Claremont
Referee,
Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, published by the Institute on Religion
in an Age of Science
Referee,
Environmental Ethics, published by the Department of Philosophy at the
University of North Texas
Referee,
Ethics and the Environment, published by the Department of Philosophy at the
University of Georgia.
Referee,
University of Georgia Press
Referee,
Oxford University Press (England and USA)
Referee,
Blackwells Publishers Ltd. (England)
Referee,
Wadsworth Publishing Company (USA)
Referee,
Mayfield Publishing Company (England and USA)
TEACHING
AWARDS
Outstanding
Teacher Award, Lambuth College, Jackson, Tennessee, 1966-67
Outstanding
Honors Professor, University of Georgia, 1975-76
Outstanding
Honors Professor, University of Georgia, 1983-84
Outstanding
Honors Professor, University of Georgia, 1984-85
Sandy
Beaver Associate Professor of Religion, University of Georgia, 1985-88
Mentor
in Teaching Improvement Program of OID, University of Georgia, 1989-present
Senior
Teaching Fellow, University of Georgia, 2002-2003
Teaching
Academy Class of 2003, University of Georgia
THESIS
AND DISSERTATION COMMITTEES
BIOGRAPHICAL
ENTRIES
Directory
of American Scholars
Directory
of American Philosophers
Who's
Who in Religion
Who's
Who in South and Southwest
PUBLICATIONS
A.
Books, Monographs, etc.
Perspectives on Theology, a study guide
co-authored with Franklin C. Ferguson for a six-part
series on theology produced by W.G.T.V. for
W.G.T.V. and Southeastern Communications
Association (Athens, GA: Center for Continuing
Education, 1978).
B.
Journals Edited
International Journal for Philosophy of
Religion, Vol. 31, Nos. 2-3, June 1992.
C.
Chapters or Articles in Books
"Linguistic Structure and Theology,"
Philosophy of Religion and Theology, ed., James Wm.
McClendon, Jr. Missoula, Montana: Scholars
Press, 1975), pp. 146-159.
"Our Experience and Knowledge of God,"
God: Experience or Origin?, ed., Antonio T. de
Nicolas (New York: Paragon House Publishers,
1985), pp. 142-157.
"On Divine Perfection," Logic, God and
Metaphysics, ed., J.F. Harris (Netherlands: Kluwer
Academic Publishers, 1992), pp. 59-71.
"Peircean Semiotics, Religion, and
Theological Realism," New Essays in Religious Naturalism,
Vol. II., ed. Creighton Peden (Macon Georgia:
Mercer University Press, 1994) pp. 211-223.
"The Christian Myth and its Philosophical
Interpretation: Some Peircean Musings," eds. Donald A.
Crosby and Charley D. Hardwick (New York: Peter
Lang: 2000), pp. 288-304.
"Myth and Pragmatic Semiotics,"
Thinking Through Myths: Philosophical Perspectives, ed., Kevin
Schilbrack (New York: Routledge, 2002), pp.
65-84.
"Philosophy of Religion for a New Century:
Introduction," Philosophy of Religion for a New Century: Essays in
Honor of Eugene Thomas Long, eds. J. Hackett and
J. Wallulis (Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2004), pp. 1-15
“Ferre Without God,” Nature, Truth, and Value:
Exploring the Thinking of Frederick Ferre, eds. George Allan and Merle F.
Allshouse
(New York: Lexington Books, 2005), pp. 241-254.
D.
Articles
"John Baillie: A Mediating
Theologian," Union Seminary Quarterly Review, 24, No. 1 (Fall 1968) 47-68.
"The Imago Dei and Man Come of Age,"
Iliff Review, 27, No. 3 (Fall 1970), 35-41.
"Descriptive Language and the Term
'God'," International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 3, no. 4 (Winter
1972), 223-239.
"Interpreting Man's Religions in
Academe," Religious Education, 48, No. 6 (Fall 1973), 659-672.
"That Cultural Ape Named 'Man',"
Encounter, 35, No. 1 (Winter 1974), 36-47.
"Symbolic Logic and the Doctrine of the
Trinity," Iliff Review, 32, No., 1 (Winter 1975), 35-43.
"Fixing Man's Beliefs about God,"
Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2, No. 2 (Fall 1975), 146-159
"Philosophic Logic and Process Theology:
The Work of Richard M. Martin," Process Studies, 5, No. 3 (Fall 1975),
204-213.
"The Notion of Transcendence and the
Problem of Discourse about God," Journal of the American Academy of
Religion, 43, No. 3 (September 1975), 531-541.
"Informative Discourse and Theology,"
Religious Studies, 12, No. 1 (March 1976), 21-36.
"Musings on the Mystery of God,"
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 7, No. 1 (1976), 300-310.
"The Bible, Metaphysics, and Logic: Edmond
La B. Cherbonnier and Other Theorists," Cithara, 17, No. 2 (May 1978),
40-51.
"Analysis and Theology," Sophia, 17,
No. 2 (July 1978), 16-26.
"Philosophic Logic and Theology,"
Iliff Review, 26, No. 1 (Winter 1979), 11-23.
"Story and Theory in Christian Theology:
Two Levels of Language and Logic," Encounter, 41, No. 1 (Summer 1980),
205-218.
"The Christian Story of Creation and
Redemption: Heilsgeschichte Reconsidered," Cithara , 21, No. 1 (Fall
1981), 45-57.
"The Story of Jesus Christ and Process
Theology: Some Reflections," Perspectives in Religious Studies , 11, No. 2
(Summer 1984), 139-151.
"The Doctrine of the Trinity and
Whitehead's Metaphysics," Encounter, 45, No. 4 (Autumn 1984), 287-302.
"Myth, Truth, and Justification in
Religion," Religious Studies , 22, Nos. 3 and 4 (September/December 1986),
447-458.
"Homo Religiosus : From a Semiotic Point of
View," International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 21, No. 2 (1987),
65-81.
"Literal and Metaphorical Uses of Discourse
in the Representation of God," The Thomist, 52, No. 4 (October 1988),
627-644
"Myth, Truth, and Knowledge in the
Discourse of Religion," Dialogue and Alliance, 1, No. 4 (Winter 1988), 23-32.
"Ontological Arguments for Satan and Other
Evil Beings," Dialogue, XXXI (1992), 667-76.
"Religious Experience and the Christian
Experience of God," International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 31,
Nos. 1-2 (1992), 177-186.
"On Divine Perfection," Anglican
Theological Review, LXXV, No. 1 (Winter 1993), 34-47.
"Our Knowledge of God," Perspectives
in Religious Studies, 21, No. 3(Fall 1994), 231-243.
"Divine Poeisis and Abstract
Entities," Religious Studies, 30, No. 3(September 1994), 335-341.
"Imago Dei - Imatitio Dei,"
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 42, No. 3 (1997), 131-141.
“Existential-Hayatological Thieism,”
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 61, No. 3 (June 2007),
181-198.
E.
Reviews
Language and Natural Theology by Bowman L.
Clarke, Journal of American Academy of Religion , XXXVI (June 1968), 167-169.
A Theology of Things by Conrad Bonifazi, Journal
of American Academy of Religion , XXXVI (September 1968), 279-280.
I Believe by Helmut Thielicke, Encounter, Vol.
30, No. 4 (Fall 1969), 392-393.
Christian Reality and Appearance by John A.
Mackay, International Journal for Philosophy of Religion , Vol. II, No. 1
(Spring 1971), 58-59.
The Ontological Argument of Charles Hartshorne
by George L. Goodwin, Journal of American Academy of Religion , XLVIII, No. 2
(June 1980), 297-298. Anselm and Talking About
God by G.R. Evans, Journal of American Academy of Religion , XLVIII, No. 2
(June 1980), 298-299.
The Christian Story: A Narrative Interpretation
of Basic Christian Doctrine by Gabriel Fackre, Journal of American Academy of
Religion, XLIX,
No.
1 (March 1981), 152-153.
Technology, Environment, and Human Values by Ian
G. Barbour, Journal of American Academy of Religion , L, No. 1 (March 1982),
151-152.
Science and Our Troubled Conscience by J. Robert
Nelson, Journal of American Academy of Religion , L, No. 1 (March 1982), 152.
Religion and The One by Frederick Copleston,
Journal of American Academy of Religion , LI, No. 2 (June 1983), 339-340.
The Pedagogy of God's Image: Essays on Symbol
and the Religious Imagination Edited by Robert Masson, Journal of American
Academy of Religion ,
LII, No. 2 (June 1984), 411-412.
Faith and Reason by Anthony Kenney, Journal of
American Academy of Religion , LII, No. 2 (June 1984), 419-420.
Transfiguration: Poetic Metaphor and The
Language of Religious Belief by Frank Burch Brown, Journal of American Academy
of Religion ,
LIII, No. 1 (March 1985), 160-161.
Prospects for Natural Theology, ed. by Eugene
Thomas Long, International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 35, No.2
(April 1994, 120-121.
Word and Spirit, by Ronald L. Hall,
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 36, No. 2, (October 1994),
125-126.
The Stem of Jesse, by Will D. Campbell, Georgia
Journal, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Summer 1995), 68.
Boundaries of Our Habitation, by Delwin Brown,
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, Vol. 39, No. 2 (April 1996),
121-123.
Together Bound, by Frank G. Kirkpatrick,
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, Vol. 39, No. 3 (June 1996),
189-191.
Twentieth-Century Western Philosophy of
Religion, by Eugene Thomas Long, International Journal for Philosophy of
Religion,
Vol. 49, No. 2 (April 2001), 123-126.
Analytic Philosophy of Religion by James F.
Harris, International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, Vol. 55 (2004),
193-195.
LECTURES
AND PAPERS PRESENTED TO PROFESSIONAL GROUPS
"The Imago Dei and Man Come of Age,"
American Academy of Religion, National Meeting, Dallas, Texas, October 17-20,
1968.
"On Determining What Can Be Said,"
respondent to paper by J. W. Steins, American Academy of Religion, Southeastern
Region,
Columbia, South Carolina, March 28-29,
1969.
"That Cultured Ape Named ‘Man',"
Southern Society for Philosophy of Religion, Tallahassee, Florida, February 26-28,
1970.
"Descriptive Language and the Functions of
the Social Sciences, Theology and Philosophy in the Study of Religion,"
Southern Society for
Philosophy of Religion,
Durham, North Carolina, February 25-27, 1971.
"Descriptive Language and the Term 'God',"
American Academy of Religion, Southeastern Region, New Orleans, Louisiana,
March 17-18, 1972.
"Information Discourse and Theology,"
Society for Philosophy of Religion, Charleston, South Carolina, March 1-3,
1973.
"Fixing Our Beliefs About God," American
Academy of Religion, Southeastern Region, Atlanta, Georgia, March 16-17, 1973.
"Symbolic Logic and the Doctrine of God in
the Nicean Age," American Academy of Religion, National Meeting, Chicago,
Illinois, November 8-11, 1973.
"Musings on the Mystery of God,"
American Academy of Religion, Southeastern Region, Chattanooga, Tennessee,
March 15-16, 1974.
"The Notion of Transcendence and the
Problem of Discourse About God," American Academy of Religion, National
Meeting, Washington D.C.,
October 24-27, 1974.
"The Bible, Metaphysics, and Logic,"
American Academy of Religion, National Meeting, St. Louis, Missouri, October
1975.
"Analysis and Theology," American
Academy of Religion, Southeastern Region, Nashville, Tennessee, March 1976.
"Story and Theology," American Academy
of Religion, Southeastern Region, National Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana,
November 1978.
"On Heilsgeschichte: The Story of Creation
and Redemption," American Academy of Religion, National Meeting, New York,
NY, November 1979.
"Christology and Process Theory,"
American Academy of Religion, Southeastern Region, Atlanta, Georgia, March
1981.
Invited participant in a conference on
Unification Thought and Process Theology sponsored by Claremont School of
Theology at Lake Arrowhead,
California, June 20-24,
1982.
"The Doctrine of the Trinity and
Whitehead's Metaphysics," American Academy of Religion, Southeastern
Region, Atlanta, Georgia, March 1983.
"Our Experience and Knowledge of God,"
Third International God Conference, Puerto Rico, December 30, 1983 - January 4,
1984
and at Society for
Philosophy of Religion, Jacksonville, Florida, February 25-18, 1984.
"Myth and Truth in the Language of
Religion," New ERA Conference, Nashville, Tennessee, January 4-5, 1984.
"Berkley's Pantheism," respondent to
paper by Michael Levine, Society for Philosophy of Religion, Louisville,
Kentucky, March 5-8, 1986.
"Literal and Metaphorical Uses of Discourse
in the Representation of God," American Academy of Religion, National
Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia,
November 22-25, 1986.
"Homo Religiosus: From a Semiotic Point of
View," American Academy of Religion, Southeastern Region, Atlanta,
Georgia, March 19-21, 1987.
"Religious Experience and the Christian
Experience of God," American Academy of Religion, Southeastern Region,
Macon, GA, March 17-19, 1988.
And at an
Interdisciplinary Conference on the Epistemic Status of Theistic Belief,
Athens, GA, April 14-15, 1988.
"On Divine Perfection," First
International Conference on Philosophical Theology, Oxford University, August
12-15, 1988.
"Ontological Arguments for Satan and Other
Evil Beings," American Academy of Religion, SE Region, Atlanta, GA, March
10-12, 1989.
"On David Griffin’s View of Process
Theology as Empirical, Rational, and Speculative," Process Theology and Methodology
at Iliff School of Theology,
Denver, Colorado,
February 23-26, 1989.
"Modalism Revisited: Persons and
Symbols," respondent to paper by Jane Mary Trau, Society for Philosophy of
Religion, New Orleans, LA, March 1-3, 1990.
"Peircean Semiotics, Religion, and
Theological Realism," Highlands Institute for American Religious Thought,
Highlands, NC, June 19-24, 1990
and American Academy of
Religion, National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, November 17-20, 1990.
"Our Knowledge of God," President
Address of American Academy of Religion, SE Region, Atlanta, GA, March 13-15,
1992.
"Divine Poeisis and Abstract
Entities," presented at SE Region of the American Academy of Religion,
Charleston, SC, March 19-21, 1993.
"The Unfolding Drama of the Bible and Its
Philosophical Interpretation," Presidential Address of the Society for
Philosophy of Religion, Hilton Head, SC,
Feb. 23-25, 1995.
"A Pascalian Rejoinder to the Presumption
of Atheism," respondent to paper by R. Douglas Geivett, The Society for
Philosophy of Religion, Atlanta, GA,
February 29-March 2,
1996.
"Imago Dei - Imitatio Dei," presented
at SE Region of the American Academy of Religion, Columbia, SC, March 15-17,
1996.
Invited participant on a symposium on the
History of Philosophy in the South: The Significance of Bowman L. Clarke’s
Philosophical Work.
Southern Society for
Philosophy and Psychology, March 27, 1997.
"The Splendor of Divine Perfection,"
Society for Philosophy of Religion, Charleston SC, 2-4 March 2000.
"Hartshorne’s Significance for Current Research
Programs," American Academy of Religion S.E. Atlanta, GA, 10-12 March
2000.
"Religious Faith and Pragmatic
Semiotics," Highlands Institute for American Religious and Philosophical
Thought, Highlands, NC, 23-27 June 2000.
"Personal Reflections on the Work of
Frederick Ferre," Invited Symposium on the Philosophy of Frederick Ferre.
American Academy of Religion S.E.,
Atlanta, Georgia, 8-10
March 2002.
"Peircean Abduction and Philosophical
Theology," Invited Symposium on the Philosophy of Frederick Ferre.
American Academy of Religion S.E.,
Atlanta, Georgia, 8-10
March 2002.
"What Does It mean to be a Christian? An
Experiment in Christian Pragmatism: A Response," Society for the
Philosophy of Religion,
Savannah, Georgia, 21-23
February 2002.
"Nietzsche and Christians with Beautiful
Feet: A Response." Invited participant for the conference "Philosophy
of Religion at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century.
Columbia, South
Carolina, 5-6 April 2002.
PROFESSIONAL
AND PUBLIC SERVICE
Served on a variety of University and
Departmental Committees
Presented a variety of lectures on Religious
Studies, Theology and related fields in churches and
community related
programs in the Athens area and the Southeastern Region.
Participant in several programs for educational
T.V. in Georgia (WGTV) and South Carolina.
Humanist Participant in a variety of symposia,
regionally and nationally.
Vice-President of Inter-Seminary Movement
Atlanta Area, Student Government of Candler
School of Theology,
1958-59
Associate Director, United Christian Fellowship,
Bowling Green State University, Bowling
Green, Ohio 1959-62
Board of Directors of Felton Williams Mission,
Atlanta, Georgia, 1968 -
Served on Credit Evaluation Committee with Vice
President for Instruction to evaluate Atlanta
Baptist College, 12
January 1969.
Interviewer for the Fund for Theological
Education and the Black Protestant Theological
Fellowship Programs of the Rockefeller
Foundation, 1969 -
University Council 1973-1976
United Fund Board of Athens, 1974-80.
Board of Directors of Athens Y.M.C.A., 1974-86.
Participant in Georgia Alumni Seminar on
Renaissance, Feb. 7-9, 1975.
Consultant for the Committee for the Humanities
in Georgia, 1975 -
Scholarship Board of the University of Georgia
Army R.O.T.C., 1976 -
Chairperson of Humanities and Fine Arts
Subcommittee of University Curriculum Committee, 1976
Board of Directors of the Friends of the Georgia
Museum of Art, 1980-93
Gave the Third Annual Schacht Lecture on
"Holistic Education and the Celebration of Life" at
Athens Academy, Athens,
Georgia, April 8, 1981.
Board of Directors of Hope Haven School, 1981-94
Board of Trustees of Athens Academy, 1982-87.
Vice-President, Board of Directors of the
Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art, 1982-83.
Secretary, Board of Directors of Hope Haven
School, 1982-84.
President, Board of Directors of the Friends of
the Georgia Museum of Art,1983-84, 1987-88.
President, Board of Directors of Hope Haven
School, 1984-85, 1985-86.
Vice-President, Board of Directors of Hope Haven
School, 1989-90.
Invited participant to Symposium IV,
"Diversity and Common Ground in Higher Education."
Sponsored by The
University Center in Georgia, February 16-17, 1990.
Dean's Committee for the Humanities, University
of Georgia, 1990-92.
Faculty Senate of College of Arts &
Sciences, 1990-93
Fulbright Scholarship Committee, 1991-92
Arts & Sciences Environmental Literacy
Board, 1991-93
Honors Council, 1992-present
Franklin College Outreach Program, 1993-present
Arts and Sciences Program Review Team for the
Department of Philosophy
Return to top