Douglas Sweeney became the second dean of Beeson Divinity School in 2019. In this role, he shepherds the institution by providing strategic leadership and facilitating its work to prepare men and women for gospel ministry. Before coming to Beeson, Sweeney taught at Aquinas College, Yale Divinity School, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, the University of Heidelberg, and several other schools in the United States and abroad. He is the author or editor of more than 20 books on the history of Christian doctrine, early modern Protestant history, American church history, Christology and global evangelicalism. His latest book is called The Substance of Our Faith: Foundations for the History of Christian Doctrine (Baker Academic). It is the first of two volumes on the global history of doctrine, or the history of the teaching of the Christian faith in churches all around the world since the time of the apostles. Sweeney is an evangelical Lutheran affiliated with Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ. He is married to Wilma, and they have one adult son, David, and daughter-in-law, Stephanie.
Education
- PhD, Vanderbilt University
- MA, Vanderbilt University
- MA, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
- BA, Wheaton College
Selected Books
- The Substance of Our Faith: Foundations for the History of Christian Doctrine. Baker Academic, 2023.
- The Bible in Early Transatlantic Pietism and Evangelicalism, Pietist, Moravian, and Anabaptist Studies. Co-editor. University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 2022.
- Hearing and Doing the Word: The Drama of Evangelical Hermeneutics. Co-editor. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2021.
- The Oxford Handbook of Jonathan Edwards. Co-editor. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021.
- Jonathan Edwards and Scripture. Co-editor with David P. Barshinger. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.
- Edwards the Exegete: Biblical Interpretation and Anglo-Protestant Culture on the Edge of Enlightenment. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.
- After Jonathan Edwards: The Courses of the New England Theology. Co-editor with Oliver D. Crisp. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.
- The Essential Edwards Collection. Co-author with Owen Strachan. Chicago: Moody Press, 2010.
- Jonathan Edwards and the Ministry of the Word: A Model of Faith and Thought. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2009.
- The American Evangelical Story: A History of the Movement. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006.
- Nathaniel Taylor, New Haven Theology and the Legacy of Jonathan Edwards. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Selected Presentations
- "American Evangelicals and Racial and Ethnic Partiality" for the EFCA.
- "Jonathan Edwards on the Affections & Eudaimonism" for Covenant College.
Research Interests
- Historical Theology
- History of Christianity
- Global Evangelical Movements
- Early Modern Protestant History
- Christology
- Jonathan Edwards
Involvement
- Didaktikos editorial board
- The Works of Andrew Fuller editorial board
- National Association of Evangelicals Board of Directors
- Center for Pastor Theologians Board
- Executive Director, Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology
- Jonathan Edwards Studies Editorial Board
- Honorary President, Jonathan Edwards Conference, Korea
