Melville Y. Stewart

Melville Y. Stewart is known for his work in philosophy of religion, science and religion, and Eastern thought, principally Confucian thought. His writings in philosophy of religion operate on the assumption that core beliefs of the Christian faith are coherent, and further can be supported by substantial evidence and cogent arguments. On matters relating to science and religion, he assumes further that religious practices of inquiry can be viewed as compatible with the scientific. Focus on comparative philosophy and religion is an attempt to promote intercultural and inter-religious dialogue and understanding by bringing to light points of intersection between or among disparate points of view East and West.

Midway in his philosophical career his attention shifted from domestic philosophical engagement to the international arena. He initiated philosophical symposia beginning in Russia in 1993 and China in 1994, thereby providing opportunities for international dialogue with a focus on Christian theism as a viable option .

Two grants from the Templeton Foundation, one in 2005, and another running from 2006-2009, funded a 5-part series on the science and religion topic. Teams of top Western scholars were invited to 5 leading Chinese universities, Wuhan, Fudan, Shandong, Peking and Tsinghua, for meaningful dialogue on this hot-button issue. The Series engaged top scholars in the Chinese academy as co-planners and as co-editors of a 5-volume Chinese edition of the 70 papers presented at the Series. Stewart edited the 2-volume English edition titled, Science and Religion in Dialogue. The influence of his work gained the recognition of the Society of Christian Philosophers (SCP), and Chinese scholars. While serving as a Templeton Scholar at Fudan University in 2006, he and Professor Yingjin Xu (Fudan University) co-authored the Dictionary of Western Philosophy, English, Pinyin, Chinese.

A. Family

Stewart was born in Boston, June 19, 1935. He was next to the youngest in a family of 2 girls and 7 boys. His father, Charles Norris immigrated from Nova Scotia and pursued the culinary art in Boston, and his mother, Nellie Yorke was a gifted soprano and worked for John Hancock in Boston. Stewart's wife, Donna Mae studied nursing at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and upon graduation served as a nurse at various hospitals until her retirement in 2001.

B. Education

Stewart attended Hyde Park High School, Hyde Park (Boston suburb), Massachusetts and graduated in 1954 with a special interest in math. He received a B.A. in philosophy from Gordon College in 1958. In 1961 he received an M.Div. and was awarded the Green Prize in apologetics from Westminster Theological Seminary Philadelphia, PA. In 1968 he received an S.T.M. in Philosophy of Religion at Andover Newton Theological School (Newton Centre, Massachusetts), cross-registering at Harvard Divinity School and Boston University School of Theology. He received an M.A. in philosophy from the University of Connecticut in 1972, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Minnesota, (Minneapolis), in 1983. His dissertation was titled, The Greater-Good Defense. On his first sabbatical at Oxford University, (Oxford, England) in 1986, he polished sections of his dissertation and submitted the manuscript, The Greater-Good Defence, An Essay on the Rationality of Faith, to Macmillan of London and St. Martin's of New York. It was accepted for publication in the John Hick Library of Philosophy and Religion. This publication was to help open doors to the academy in Russia and China.

C. Areas of interest

Stewart's main areas of interest include philosophy of religion, science and religion, and Chinese philosophy with a special focus on Confucian thought.

D. Teaching career

Stewart taught at Bethel University (Minnesota) (1972–1999), chaired the Department (1985–1992), received the Bethel College Distinguished Scholarship Award for 1995–1996, and in 1999 became Emeritus Professor of Philosophy. While continuing to teach in the U.S. in retirement, he set a priority on teaching opportunities in China.

Two earlier experiences were salutary to his interest in connecting with scholars and teaching at universities outside the U.S. The first was an invitation to teach philosophy during a year-long sabbatical at St. Petersburg State University, (St. Petersburg, Russia) fall and spring terms of 1992-93. While at St. Petersburg State University, he conducted the first Russian Symposium sponsored by St. Petersburg School of Religion and Philosophy working with Dr. Natalia Pecherskaya, Rector of the School. This initial conference was followed by others (1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2008) sponsored by the Society of Christian Philosophers (SCP). The year of the second conference (1997), Professor Eleonore Stump of St. Louis University, then President of the SCP, formed the Russia Committee and appointed Stewart Chair.

Another took place while teaching at St. Petersburg State University in the spring of 1993. Stewart was invited to give a short lecture series at Peking University. During his visit he proposed an East/West philosophy conference for the fall of 1994. The first symposium was held at Peking University and included 11 Chinese and 11 Western philosophers. A China Committee was formed by Stump and Stewart was appointed chair. SCP symposia have been taking place in China every year since except 2003, the year of the SARS virus.

A second invitation to teach outside the U.S. came in 1996-97, when Stewart received a Pew Charitable Trust Award to teach at Peking University (affectionately called "Beida"), Beijing. While a Pew Scholar, he along with Zhang Zhigang conducted the Peking III Symposium from which a book followed containing the proceedings.

While at Bethel his leadership expanded to include serving on the Executive Committee of the SCP (1996–98), serving as a member of the American Philosophical Association (APA) Committee for International Cooperation from 1998-2001, and serving on the Board of Trustees of The MacLaurin Institute, St. Paul, MN (1991-2001).

His next term outside the U.S. after his Pew appointment at Beida came in the fall of 2001. He received a Fulbright Award to teach at Beida for a second time. Other invitations soon followed. In 2004, he received two awards from the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, one to teach the spring term at Beida, and the other to teach the fall term at Shandong University, Jinan.

In 2005, in recognition of his teaching and conducting SCP symposia in China, a reception was held in his honor at the Central Division of the SCP in Chicago, April 28, 2005. A presentation was made by Professor Linda Zagzebski, President of the SCP, and by Professor Zhao Dunhua, Dean of the Philosophy and Religious Studies Department at Beida.

In 2005 Stewart initiated a shift from directing SCP symposia to directing the new Science and Religion Series. Spiked by the enthusiastic response to the Science and Religion focus of the SCP symposium held at Xiamen University in 2000, Stewart applied for and received a John Templeton Grant to teach and conduct a Science and Religion Series at Wuhan University, Wuhan. The success of the Series at Wuhan University prompted Stewart to apply for a mega-grant from the Templeton Foundation for a Series that included Fudan University in Shanghai, 2006, Shandong University in Jinan, 2007, Peking University in Beijing, 2008, and Tsinghua University in Beijing, 2009. The new proposal was quickly approved, and in short order the schedule came together with an enthusiastic affirmation from the invited host universities.

While on Science and Religion appointments, Stewart received invitations from the President of Peking University to attend and present papers at three Beijing International Forums (2004, 2005, and 2007).

His teaching appointments in Russia and China led to various international venues significantly expanding Stewart's influence. It was an expansion that included the presentation of papers at 28 universities outside the U.S., 14 of them in China and 7 in Russia. Collaboratives were initiated with the intent of bringing scholars together for dialogue. In Russia there were 2 co-editors engaged in Russian publications, and 9 in China, one of them Yingjin Xu of Fudan University also serving as a co-author. University lectures delivered outside the U.S. include well-known universities in former Soviet Block countries such as Vilnius University, (Vilnius, Lithuania) (1993), the Latvian Academy of Sciences, (Riga, Latvia) (1993), the European Humanities University, (Minsk, Belarus) (1993), and prestigious universities in the United Kingdom, including the University of Edinburgh, (Edinburgh, Scotland) (1993), Oxford University (Oxford, England)(1998), and the University of London, (London, England), (1998). Top Asian universities have been extending invitations to give papers/lectures, including Tokyo Christian University (Tokyo, Japan, 1997), the University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, 1997), Hong Kong Baptist University (Hong Kong, 1997), Renmin University of China (Beijing, numerous visits), Beijing Normal University (Beijing, numerous visits), and Minzu University of China (Beijing, numerous visits).

The most recent Science and Religion Series held at 5 of China's top universities, (Wuhan University, Fudan University, Shandong University, Peking University, and Tsinghua University), led to a multi-volume work in two languages: a 5-volume Chinese edition (see items 12 and 13 under Books), and an English 2-volume edition, Science and Religion in Dialogue published by Wiley-Blackwell of Oxford, (see items 14 and 15 under Books). The English edition is included in Blackwell's Reference Online Library (BRO).

In April 2009 Stewart gave a public lecture at Texas A&M University (College Station) on "Confucianism and Christianity," and read a paper at the Confucius Institute Academic Symposium, "Elements of Ancient Chinese Monotheism and the Ancient Hebrew Tradition."

In recognition of the importance of the Chinese edition of the Science and Religion Series, Stewart was awarded a Nagel Institute grant to fund the translation and publication of Volumes 3-5 of the Chinese edition of the Science and Religion Series. Both the SCP symposia and proceedings publications, and the Science and Religion Series and publications represent an international effort to provide cutting-edge scholarship in the areas of philosophy of religion, epistemology, metaphysics, and science and religion for the academy East and West to promote understanding of pressing substantive issues relating to the human condition. His long list of international initiatives has led to multiferious international engagements in the academy, and a multilingual collection of books give a clear and cogent account of the Christian faith for a worldwide audience.

E. Books

1. The Greater-Good Defence, An Essay on the Rationality of Faith, London:Macmillan//New York: St. Martin's, 1993. ISBN 0-312-08095-6.

2. and Daniel Clendenin (eds) Проблемы Христианской Философии (Problems in Christian Philosophy), Moscow: Progress Academy Press, 1994. ISBN 5-85864-071-0.

3. (ed) Philosophy of Religion, An Anthology of Contemporary Views, Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers,1996, second printing, Wadsworth Press, 1999, 《当代西方宗教哲学》, Chinese Edition, Peking University Press, the Waiming Translation Library, 2001, English, J & B, ISBN 0-534-54263-8, Wadsworth, ISBN 0-86720-512-1, Chinese, ISBN 7-301-04731-2.

4. and Zhang Zhigang (eds) 《东西方宗教伦理及其他》(East & West Religious Ethics and Other Essays), Beijing: Central Compilation and Translation Press (CCTP), 1997. ISBN 7-80109-198-1/B 10.

5. and Zhang Zhigang (eds) The Symposium of Chinese-American Philosophy and Religious Studies: Volume 1, East & West Philosophy of Religion, Bethesda: International Scholars Publications, 1998. ISBN 1-57309-260.

6. and Zhao Dunhua (eds) 《欧美哲学与宗教讲演录》(Lectures on European and American Philosophy and Religion), Beijing: Peking University Press, 1998. ISBN 7-301-03657-4.

7. and Natalia Pecherskays (eds) Искупление (The Atonement), St. Petersburg School of Religion and Philosophy Publishers, 1999. ISBN 5-900291-14-6.

8. and Zhou Jianzhang, Kelly James Clark (eds) 《科学与宗教的对话》(A Dialogue Between Science and Religion), Xiamen: Xiamen University Press, 2000. ISBN 7-5615-1989-3/B-76.

9. (ed) The Trinity: East/West Dialogue, Dordrecht: Kluwer, 2003. ISBN 1-4020-1728-6.

10. and Fu Youde, Kelly James Clark (eds) 《跨宗教对话:中国与西方》(Interfaith Dialogue: East and West), Beijing: Social Science Publishers, 2004. ISBN 7-5004-4201-7/B.

11. and Xing Taotao (eds) Philosophy of Religion, Beijing: Peking University Press, 2005. ISBN 7-301-09572-4/B-0333.

12. and Changchi Hao (eds) 《科学与宗教的对话》(Science and Religion in Dialogue), Beijing: Peking University Press, 2007. ISBN 978-7-301-12811-4.

13. and Xu Yingjin (eds) 《科学与宗教：二十一 世纪时对话》(Science and Religion: 21st Century Dialogue), Shanghai: Fudan University Press, 2008. ISBN 978-7-309-06310-3

14. (ed) Science and Religion in Dialogue, Volume One, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, 2009. ISBN 9781405189217

15. (ed) Science and Religion in Dialogue, Volume Two, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, 2009. ISBN 9781405189217.

16. and Xu Yingjin (co-authors) Dictionary of Western Philosophy, English/Pinyin/Chinese,, Beijing: Peking University Press, 2009. ISBN 978-7-301-16393-1

F. Notes

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, "Philosophy of Religion", major philosophers of religion, Answers.com/topic/philosphy-of-religion; New World Encyclopedia, "Philosophy of Religion", some major philosophers of religion, newworldencyclopedia.org.

Wiley-Blackwell, Melville Y. Stewart.
Confucius Institute Academic Symposium, Texas A & M University.
A reception was held in Chicago, Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, February, 2005, Issue 4, p. 45. Also see the book review of Professor Changchi Hao of the first volume in the Chinese edition of the Series in the Science Times, circulation, 100,000. 
Peking University Press, 2009.
The 1954 Blue Book, John J. Buckley, Director, 1954.
Hypernikon, 1958, Gordon College, Winnie Durfee, editor.
Westminster Theological Seminary, Spring, 1961.
Who's Who in the Midwest, 1992-1993, 23rd edition, R.R. Bowker,  Wilmette, IL 60091.
Ibid.
Bethel University 2007-2008 Catalog.
University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, MI, 1416.
Books, entry #1.
Distinguished Faculty Award Convocation (program), February 28, 1997, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN.
Проблемы Христианской Философии (Problems in Christian Philosophy), Books, entry #2, p.nbsp&3.
Books, entry #5.
Books, entry #4.
Department of Philosophy, Department of Religious Studies, Peking University, Fulbright recognition event, p. 77.
Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, February 2005, Issue 4, p. 45.
Beijing Forum, 2004, Philosophical Dialogue and Cultural Exchangea, August 23–24; Beijing Forum, 2005; "Complementarity in Science and Religion", in Dialogue of Philosophies, Religions and Civilizations in the Era of Globalization, Chinese Philosophical Studies, XXV, Zhao Dunhua (ed);  Beijing Forum, 2007, p. 30.
"Stewart to present paper at prestigious universities", Clarion, May 13, 1998, p. 3.
Volumes 3, 4, 5 are forthcoming.
Wiley-Blackwell Reference Online Library.
Texas A & M University, The Confucian Institute Academic Symposium, April 9, 2009.