Albert Mollegen

This article is about the American religious scholar and author. For his son, the engineer and corporate executive, see Ted Mollegen.

Albert Theodore Mollegen, Sr. (February 17, 1906 – January 22, 1984) was a widely-known apologist for classical Christianity and a proponent of evangelical liberalism.^[1]

Albert Theodore Mollegen, Sr.
Dr. Albert T. Mollegen in the 1960s.
Born	(1906-02-17)February 17, 1906[1] McComb, Mississippi, U.S.
Died	January 22, 1984(1984-01-22) (aged 77)[1]
Notable work	Christianity and Modern Man (1961)

Birth and early years

Mollegen was born in McComb, Mississippi to Charles Henry Mollegen (1880–1912) and Bessie Lee McDonald (1882–1969). His father died when he was very young.

He studied at Mississippi Agricultural & Mechanical College (now Mississippi State University) before graduating from Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. Graduate coursework was completed in New York City. He earned a master's degree at Union Theological Seminary and a doctorate at the General Theological Seminary.^[2]

At Union, Mollegen was one of the first American students of the religious socialist Paul Tillich. He later became one of Tillich's most articulate adherents.^[1]

Career

Mollegen taught New Testament language and literature and Christian ethics at the Virginia Theological Seminary for most of his career. He also lectured at many campuses including the University of Chicago, University of Florida, Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, Southern Methodist University, and Cambridge University.^[2]

In 1947, he founded Christianity and Modern Man, a liberal evangelical organization.^[1]

Throughout his career, Mollegen was invited to preach at various churches throughout the United States. Mollegen strongly believed that the revival of Christian religion clearly rests on the individual having a closer connection to God, and not the clergy.^[3]

He retired from the faculty of the Virginia Theological Seminary in 1974.^[2]

Personal life

His wife, the former Harriette Ione Rush of Meridian, Mississippi, died in 1978. He has a son, A.T. Mollegen Jr. (known as Ted) of Mystic, Conn.; a daughter, Anne Mollegen Smith of New York City, and three grandchildren.^[2]

Works

Books

• Mollegen, Albert T., The faith of Christians (1954)
• Mollegen, Albert T., The Christianity of St. Paul (1956)
• Mollegen, Albert T., Christianity and modern man ; the crisis of secularism (The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1961).

Articles

• Mollegen, Albert T. (1952). "The Religious Basis of Western Socialism". In Egbert, Donald Drew; Persons, Stow (eds.). Socialism and American Life. Vol. 1. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press (published 2016). pp. 97–124. ISBN 978-1-4008-7508-5. JSTOR j.ctt183pqkf.7.
• Mollegen, Albert T., and Charles P. Price, Existentialism: question or answer? (1961)

See also

Christian apologetics

References

1. "Albert Theodore Mollegen". The Episcopal Church. Retrieved 7 November 2022. He was most noted as an apologist for liberal evangelicalism, and in 1947 he founded an association called Christianity and Modern Man.
2. "Va. theologian Albert Mollegen dies at Age 77". Washington Post. Washington, DC. 23 January 1984. Retrieved 7 November 2022. Dr. Mollegen was a widely-known apologist for classical Christianity to modern intellectuals and had lectured widely on campuses.
3. "Guest Urges Evangelism". New York Times. New York, New York. 20 July 1953. p. 15. Retrieved 16 June 2024. The people, not the clergy, must be the "carriers of Christianity," the Rev. Dr. Albert T. Mollegen, guest preacher at St. James Protestant Episcopal Church, Madison Avenue and Seventy-first Street, declared yesterday morning.