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John Clover Monsma

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Rev. John Clover Monsma (December 14, 1890 – April 24, 1970) was a Dutch-American Protestant (Presbyterian) minister turned writer, editor and journalist on religious issues, best known as the author of the book "The Evidence of God in an Expanding Universe [ar]."[1][2]

He was also a radio commentator, and served as pastor at the Presbyterian Church.[3] He worked as a priest for a period of time, and then he turned his attention to studying political and social issues, and paid special attention to studying the relationship between religion and science throughout history.[4]

Biography

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He was born in the Netherlands on 14 December 1890. In 1902, he immigrated to the United States and stayed in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He attended Calvin Seminary graduating in 1917. In the same year, he became a minister at Summit, Illinois.[3] In 1919, he embroiled the congregation in his dream of launching a Kuyperian daily newspaper in Chicago. The body, with the concurrence of Classis Illinois, granted him an indefinite leave of absence, but when the enterprise failed in 1921, the consistory revoked the leave. Monsma thereupon resigned from the ministry, which action went directly against the church order. The next year, he sought to withdraw his hasty resignation letter, but the consistory would not hear of it, having received many sharp letters from their former cleric.[5]

Works

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He has authored several books, including:[6][3]

  • What Calvinism Has Done for America (1919)[7]
  • The Story of the Church (1931)[8]
  • The Shepherd King: a Romance of Abraham and the Ancient Near East (1935)[9]
  • The Evidence of God in an Expanding Universe: Forty American Scientists Declare their Affirmative Views on Religion (1958)[10][Note 1]
  • Science and Religion: Twenty-Three Prominent Churchmen Express their Opinions (1962)[12][Note 2]
  • Religion and Birth Control: Twenty-One Medical Specialists Write in Plain Language about Control of Conception, Therapeutic Abortion, Sterilization, Natural Childbirth, Artificial Insemination (1963)
  • Behind the Dim Unknown: 26 Notable Scientists Face a Host of Unsolved Problems (1966)

Death

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He died on 24 April 1970, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at the age of 79.[3]

Notes

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  1. ^ The forty essayists were diverse, middle-ranking scientists: 10 at state universities; 13 at Christian colleges, and 17 in government, industry, or private sectors; 16 were in life and biological science, 3 in medicine, 3 in technology, 11 in math/physics, and 7 in chemistry.[11]
  2. ^ The book was re-published with the title of 'Science and Religion: Twenty Three Outstanding Members of the Clergy Tell How Modern Science has Affected Their Innermost Beliefs.'

References

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  1. ^ Christian Board of Publication (1964). The Christian. Vol. 102. Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). p. 28.
  2. ^ The Universalist Leader. Vol. 28. Universalist Publishing House. 1925. p. 6.
  3. ^ a b c d "John Clover Monsma (1890-1970)". archives.calvin.edu. Heritage Hall, Hekman Library. Archived from the original on 20 Oct 2020.
  4. ^ John Clover Monsma (2 March 2019). "Allah Yatajalla fi 'Asr al-'Ilm". Google Books (in Arabic). Translated by Al-Demerdash 'Abd al-Hameed Sarhan.
  5. ^ Robert P. Swierenga (2002). Dutch Chicago: A History of the Hollanders in the Windy City. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 273. ISBN 9780802813114.
  6. ^ "Monsma, John Clover". WorldCat. Archived from the original on 22 Oct 2020.
  7. ^ John Clover Monsma (1919). What Calvinism Has Done for America. Rand McNally & Company.
  8. ^ John Clover Monsma (1931). The Story of the Church. R.D. Henkle. pp. 315 pages.
  9. ^ "Catalog of Copyright Entries". Google Books. Zondervan Publishing House. 1936.
  10. ^ John Clover Monsma, ed. (1958). The Evidence of God in an Expanding Universe: Forty American Scientists Declare Their Affirmative Views on Religion. G. P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 250 pages.
  11. ^ Larry A. Witham (2005). Where Darwin Meets the Bible: Creationists and Evolutionists in America. Oxford University Press. p. 307. ISBN 9780195182811.
  12. ^ John Clover Monsma (1962). Science and Religion: Twenty-three Prominent Churchmen Express Their Opinions. G. P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 253 pages.
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