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October 2004 |
Professor's book on Wesley translated into Chinese
INDIANAPOLIS - A University of Indianapolis religion professor has just seen his successful book about John Wesley translated in to Chinese.
As If the Heart Mattered: A Wesleyan Spirituality (Upper Room Books) written by Gregory S. Clapper first appeared in English in 1997. The book is now in its third English printing and has been very well received by both the church and academe. Its latest printing carries back cover endorsements from Richard Heitzenrater of Duke University, the world's foremost expert on John Wesley's thought, as well as Professor Robert Mulholland of Asbury Seminary.
Clapper, an Elder in Iowa, has long been active in international scholarly circles, having attended the last five Oxford Institutes of Methodist Theological Studies held at Oxford University in England. During one of those Oxford Institutes, Clapper's book came to the attention of a professor at the Methodist Seminary in Hong Kong, Lung Kwong Lo, who thought it would be an important and useful way of interpreting the Wesleyan tradition to Chinese-speaking Methodists. Lo provided the foreword for the translation.
The book is organized around an image that John Wesley used to summarize what was most important in Christianity. Wesley compared Christianity to a house, with the porch being repentance, the door as faith, and the house itself as holiness or love. Clapper has successfully used his book in the classroom at U of I as well as at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, and it has been adopted as a text in many schools across the country. Written in an accessible style, the book also has been used widely in local churches.
Clapper's writing and teaching have become known to many in Indiana since he joined the U of I faculty in 1998. He has taught in the ministerial Course of Study several times and for the last two years has been teaching the required United Methodist History and Doctrine course at Christian Theological Seminary. He also teaches a course on the theology of John Wesley in alternate years at CTS.
Clapper, who attends Christ UMC in Indianapolis, has another book published by Upper Room Books, When the World Breaks Your Heart: Spiritual Ways of Living with Tragedy. His next book, Living Your Heart's Desire: God's Call and Our Vocation, also will be published by Upper Room in March 2005.
Clapper has a master of divinity degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Emory University, where he specialized in the study of Wesley.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008