Andrew D. Urshan: A Theological Biography

3 reviews for Andrew D. Urshan: A Theological Biography

1. 

   Dr. Vinson Synan, Interim Dean of the Oral Roberts University School of Theology and Mission – July 4, 2017

   Andrew Urshan, one of the foremost early pioneers of Oneness Pentecostalism, has at last been given the recognition he deserves. In his book, Andrew D. Urshan: A Theological Biography, Daniel L. Segraves has written a well-researched and very readable story of the theological influences that shaped Urshan’s life. These included experiences in Presbyterian, Brethren, Nazarene, and Pentecostal churches. His major work was in the Oneness Pentecostal movement where he served as a primary theological and ecclesiastical leader until his death in 1967. This is a most valuable contribution to our understanding of this very significant figure of American Pentecostalism.

2. 

   David K. Bernard, President, Urshan College and Urshan Graduate School of Theology – July 4, 2017

   Andrew D. Urshan, an Assyrian immigrant from Persia to America, was a key figure in early twentieth century Pentecostalism. Daniel Segraves’s theological biography performs a valuable service for the entire Pentecostal movement by examining Urshan’s historical and theological contributions, including his pioneering ministry in Russia and his significant role in the development of Oneness theology. It is an interesting exploration of Eastern roots as well as an inspiring story of faith amid extreme adversity.

3. 

   Amos Yong, Professor of Theology & Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California – July 4, 2017

   This book is a game-changer in scholarship on early Pentecostalism. As a “theological biography,” Andrew D. Urshan breaks new ground not only by unfolding the origins of Oneness Pentecostalism in ways never done before but also complicates, expands, and fills out the historiographic landscape of pentecostal studies in the USA and particularly as that narrative was intertwined with that of the West Asian context. As a “theological biography,” Segraves’s book not just confirms the thesis regarding pentecostal origins being ecumenical that has been argued by Robeck, Hollenweger, Jacobsen and others, but demonstrates the pervasiveness of a far deeper set of ecumenical roots to the movement that stretches across the spectrum of mainline Protestantism to dispensationalist fundamentalism on the one hand, and yet also includes the substantive influences of the (non-Chalcedonian) Persian Church of the East on the other. The multiple layers of inquiry in this book will have serious implications for pentecostal history and theology in the 21st century that will need to be unpacked by its students in the coming decades.