John D. Barton

Professor of Teaching of Religion

Director of the Center for Faith and Learning

Religion and Philosophy Division, Seaver College

TAC 100D

john.barton@pepperdine.edu

310.506.4923

Education

PhD, Philosophy, Makerere University (Kampala, Uganda)
MDiv, Theology, Harding Graduate School of Religion
BA, Religion, Harding University

Research
Awards

Better Religion: A Primer for Interreligious Peacebuilding, Baylor University Press, 2022.
“The Hebrew Bible in the Muslim Imagination,” in Adaptable for Life: The Message of the Old Testament for Contemporary Readers, Cascade Books, 2022.
Review of Robert A. Hunt, Muslim Faith and Values: A Guide for Christians, in Missio Dei: A Journal of Missional Theology and Praxis 11, no. 1 (2020).
Review of Ajith Fernando, Discipling in a Multi-Cultural World, in Missio Dei: A Journal of Missional Theology and Praxis 11, no. 1 (2020).
"Toward a Non-Racist Frame in the Stone-Campbell Tradition." In Restoration and Philosophy. University of Tennessee Press, 2019.
"Love That Casts Out Islamophobia: Formation, Mission, and Christian Engagement with Muslims." Missio Dei: A Journal of Missional Theology and Praxis 10, no. 2 (Summer/Fall 2019).
Review of Monte Cox, Significant Others: Understanding Our Non-Christian Neighbors, in Missio Dei: A Journal of Missional Theology and Praxis 9, no. 1 (Winter–Spring 2018).
A Muslim Sage Among Peers: Fethullah Gulen in Dialogue with Christians. Editor. Blue Dome Press, 2017.
"At the Foot of the Cross, in the Middle of the World: Reflections on Cruciform Mission." Leaven: A Journal of Christian Ministry 23, no. 3 (2015): 124-129.
"Navigating the Degrees in Christian-Muslim Dialogue: A Comparative Review of Lee Camp and Miroslav Volf." Missio Dei: A Journal of Missional Theology and Praxis 4, no. 2 (August 2013).
"The Hermeneutics of Identity in African Philosophical Discourse as a Framework for Understanding Ethnicity in Post-Genocide Rwanda." Philosophia Africana 15, no. 1 (Winter 2013): 1-34.
"Confusion and Communion: Christian Mission and Ethnic Identities in Post-Genocide Rwanda." Missiology: An International Review XL, no. 3 (July 2012): 227-248.
"Beyond Cold Wars and Religious Clashes: Reflections on Peaceful Coexistence." Turkish Review 2/2 (March/April 2012): 118-123.
"Causation in Modern African Philosophical Discourse: Four Perspectives." Philosophia Africana 12/2 (Fall 2009): 107-139.
"The New Faces of Christianity: Reflection in Four Disciplines" (co-authored). Restoration Quarterly 50/ 2 (Second Quarter 2008): 107-120.
"If Mark Could See Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ." In Preaching Mark's Unsettling Messiah. Chalice Press, 2006.
"On Science and Religion: Theories of Causation in Modern Africa and the Postmodern West." Presented to the Africa Working Group at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame. September, 2002.

The Howard A. White Award for Teaching Excellence, Pepperdine University, 2021
Outstanding Alumnus Award, College of Bible and Ministry, Harding University, 2021
President, Board of Trustees, Kibo Group 501(c)3
Board Member, Missio Dei Foundation
Voted "Professor Everyone Should Have." Rochester College Student Body, 2012

Topics

African and Comparative Philosophy
Christian and Interreligious Studies
Interreligious Peacebuilding
Religions of the World

Courses

REL 526: Religions of the World
REL 301: Christian Faith and Religious Diversity
ESEC 610: Faith, Ethics, Diversity, and Philanthropy (GSEP)
LAW 1282 Dispute Resolution and Religion (Straus Institute)