Joseph Mathews Legacy

FILES BEING ADDED IN 2024

The files shared on this page tell the story of Joseph Wesley Mathews life from 1911-1977.  Mathews was the director of the Order Ecumenical, Ecumenical Institute and Institute of Cultural Affairs from 1963-1977. Most of the files shared here were donated by the Institutes to the Wesley Theological Seminary in 2009.  We are grateful for a partnership with the Seminary and the E.Stanley Jones Foundation to have this story shared with the world.

1932 – 1950

In this paper, How My Theology Has Changed in the Last Decade (December 19, 1946), Mathews lays out three periods of his life during the decade:

• Pre-War Period – his studies at:

  • • 1932  Lincoln Memorial University

    • 1935  Asbury College (one year)

    • 1937 Biblical Seminary, New York, NY (Broadway Temple Church)

    • 1938 Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, New Jersey

    • Christian Idea of God (outline), 1940s

    • Union Theological Seminary, New York New York

• War Period – WWII Preaching Mission

• Post-War Period

  • • Following the war, Mathew studied at Union for nine months when he wrote about his changing theology.

    • Dissertation Draft, including Table of Contents and Introduction, Yale University 1948

    • Dissertation on John Wesley:  Chapter 1: The Human Constitution, Chapter 2: The Life of Love, Chapter 3: The Knowledge of Faith, Concluding Remarks

    • Letter to H.R. Niebuhr Proposing Publishing a HRN book of essays, August 31, 1051

1960     Christian Faith and Life Community

1963    Ecumenical Institute Director