Paul M. van Buren papers

Collection — Box: 1-20

Identifier: SCM 411

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Paul M. van Buren papers consist of university notes, correspondence, organizational materials, course materials, research, sermons and published and unpublished works.

Organizations and affilliations found within this collection include Temple University, University of Basel, Shalom Hartman Institute (SHI), World Council of Churches (WCC), and the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ).

Dates

1948 - 1996

Conditions Governing Access

There are no special restrictions to access of this collection. It may be examined by library patrons under the normal rules and conditions of Special Collections.

Biographical / Historical

Paul van Buren (1924-1998) was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1924. Dr. van Buren served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II. After the war he attended Harvard College where he received a bachelor degree in government in 1948. He continued his education and received a bachelor degree in sacred theology in 1951 from the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was also ordained an Episcopal Priest in 1951 by the Diocese of Massachusetts. In 1957 he received his Doctorate of Theology from the University of Basel in Switzerland. During his time at the University, Paul van Buren studied under Karl Barth.

After completing his doctorate in 1957, Dr. van Buren became an assistant professor of systematic theology at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. From 1964 to 1986 he was a Professor of Religion at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Dr. van Buren was the author of several books and essays. He was well known for writing “The Secular Meaning of the Gospel: Based on an Analysis of Its Language”, published in 1963.