Stephen Charles Mott (born April 9, 1940) is a teacher among Evangelical Christians in the U.S., focusing on the teaching and academic study of social ethics since the early 1970s.[1]

Stephen Charles Mott
Born (1940-04-09) April 9, 1940 (age 84)
OccupationTeacher
Academic background
EducationWheaton College, Illinois
Alma materHarvard University
Doctoral advisorKrister Stendahl
Other advisorsJames Luther Adams
Academic work
DisciplineSocial Ethics
InstitutionsUnited Methodist Church
Notable worksBiblical Ethics and Social Change

Education

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He has a BD degree from Wheaton College, Illinois. He also received a Ph.D. degree from Harvard University, where he studied under New Testament scholar Krister Stendahl and social ethicist James Luther Adams.[2]

Professional career

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He is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church and served as Professor of Christian Social Ethics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts for over 20 years. When he started teaching in the early 1970s, the courses he offered at Gordon-Conwell were unique across all evangelical theological schools in any English-speaking countries at the time.

In 1995 he left his teaching position and became pastor of Cochesett United Methodist Church in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, from which he retired in summer 2005.

Since his retirement, he has served part-time as a volunteer with the Essex County Community Organization, as well as being part of the Leadership Team of Christians Supporting Community Organizing, president of the James Luther Adams Foundation, and on the Board of Directors of North Shore Community Action Programs.[3][4]

Other works

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In 1973 he was one of the signatories of The Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern.

He served as president of the James Luther Adams Foundation until February 2022.[5]

Books

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His most notable books are Biblical Ethics and Social Change (Oxford University Press, rev. ed. 2011 [1982])[6][7] and A Christian Perspective on Political Thought (Oxford University Press, 1993).[8][9]

Biblical Ethics and Social Change has been used as a text in over 100 university courses.[10]

Personal life

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Mott is a son of a church minister.

He was married to Dr. Sandy Mott, a professor in the School of Nursing of Boston College, until her death in 2021. They have three children.[11]

References

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  1. ^ The Rev. Dr. Stephen Charles Mott
  2. ^ Massachusetts Bible Society website
  3. ^ Massachusetts Bible Society website
  4. ^ Salem News website
  5. ^ James Luther Adams Foundation website
  6. ^ Weigel, Peter (2012). "Biblical Ethics and Social Change (2nd Edition). By Stephen Charles Mott. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. xix 240 pp. $29.95 paper". Politics and Religion. 5 (2): 483–485. doi:10.1017/S1755048312000181. S2CID 147017441.
  7. ^ Houston, Walter J. (2012). "Biblical Ethics and Social Change. Second edition. By Stephen Charles Mott". The Journal of Theological Studies. 63 (2): 667–669. doi:10.1093/jts/fls066.
  8. ^ Tinder, Glenn (1994). "A Christian Perspective on Political Thought: By Stephen Charles Mott New York, Oxford University Press, 1993. 338 pp. $55.00 cloth, $29.95 paper". Theology Today. 51 (2): 308–312. doi:10.1177/004057369405100219. S2CID 155718310.
  9. ^ Benne, Robert (1994). "A Biblical Perspective on Politics - Stephen C. Mott: A Christian Perspective on Political Thought. (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. Pp. i, 338. $29.95.)". The Review of Politics. 56 (4): 779–781. doi:10.1017/S0034670500019227. S2CID 144237594.
  10. ^ Massachusetts Bible Society website
  11. ^ James Luther Adams Foundation website