Doctor of Philosophy
University of St. Andrews, Scotland
Master of Divinity
Wartburg Theological Seminary
Bachelor of Arts
University of Guyana
The Rev. Dr. Winston Persaud
The Kent S. Knutson & UELC Professor in Theology & Mission
Director of the Center for Global Theologies
Faculty Biography
Dr. Winston D. Persaud is Professor of Systematic Theology at Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa. He is a graduate of the University of St. Andrews, Scotland (Ph. D., 1980), Wartburg Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity, 1977), and the University of Guyana (BA, 1974). He is a native of Guyana, where he served his home congregation, Redeemer Lutheran Church, prior to joining the Wartburg faculty, in February 1984. His teaching and research are focused on defining and confessing the gospel of Jesus Christ in a world of religious and non-religious alternatives. During his last sabbatical, 2004-05, the primary focus of his research was on reading the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue, USA, documents in light of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (31 October 1999) and Luther and the Religions.Dr. Persaud loves teaching the Christian faith in a variety of settings-in the USA, Guyana, and elsewhere internationally (e.g., seminary classroom, bishop’s academies, pastors’ and rostered-lay leaders’ fora, congregational adult education classes, youth camps and certification and leadership schools, church assemblies)-in ways that are faithful to Scripture, the Christian tradition and the Confessions, and contemporary contexts. He seeks to speak of God’s justifying grace in and through Jesus Christ in a way that makes the technical language of Scripture and the Confessions connect with the questions people are asking.
HT 198W Justification and Justice
HT 394W Liberation Theologies
HT 355W Luther and the Religions
HT 264W Readings in Theology: Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue
HT 140W Systematic Theology
HT 396W The Contemporary Crisis of Defining and Confessing the Gospel
HT 350W The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
HT 340W The Trinity: Dogma, Salvation, and Doxolog
Books:
The Theology of the Cross and Marx’s Anthropology: A View from the Caribbean. New York: Peter Lang. Reprinted by Wipf and Stock, Eugene, Oregon: 2005
Mongraphs:
Globalization of ‘Systematic Theology’ at Wartburg Seminary. This is a joint effort shared with Duane A. Priebe and Faye E. Schott (photocopied, 100+ pages). This syllabus (with an elaborate annotated bibliography) was introduced in spring 1993 and is being continually refined.
Chapters in Books:
“The Bible and God’s Mission,” In Lutheran Study Bible (Augsburg Fortress 2009), 1547-1552.
“LUTHERAN THEOLOGY (in global perspective).” In Global Dictionary of Theology, edited by William A. Dyrness and Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen (Downers Grove, IL: IVP: 2008), 510-514
Chapter, “Lutheran Theology and Post-Colonial Caribbean: Theological Themes in Context.” In The Future of Lutheranism in a Global Context(Augsburg Fortress: 2008), 77-90.
“Imagining the New Community in Christ and the Challenges of Race and Class.” In The Difficult But Indispensable Church, edited by Norma Cook Everist, 191-198. Minneapolis: Fortress Press
“Religious Pluralism in the Americas: Its Theological and Missiological Implications for Christian Witness in the 21st Century.” In Multifaith Challenges Facing the Americas…and Beyond, LWF Studies (February), 119-132
“Hermeneutics of the Bible and Cricket as Text : Reading as an Exile.” In Interpreting Beyond Borders, edited by Fernando Segovia. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 173-188
“Caribbean Response to the Globalization of Theological Education.” In Caribbean Theology: Preparing for the Challenges Ahead, edited by Howard Gregory, 35-49. Kingston, Jamaica: The Press University of the West Indies
“The Cross of Jesus Christ, the Unity of the Church, and Human Suffering.” In The Scandal of a Crucified World, edited by Yacob Tesfai, 111-129. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis/li>
Journals:
See Dr. Persaud’s Curriculum Vitae for his complete and extensive list of published journal articles.
Dr. Persaud has extensive knowledge in the following categories and is able to serve as a resource on:
- Christian Witness in a Pluralistic World – Cross Cultural Challenges
- Contemporary Crisis of Defining and Confessing the Gospel
- “Cricket as Text” and Biblical and Theological Interpretation of Christian Faith
- Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
- Doctrine of the Trinity: Salvation and Doxology
- Liberation Theology, Caribbean Theology, Justification and Justice
- Lutheran Roman Catholic Dialogue, USA
- Luther and the Religions
- Luther’s Theology of the Cross and Marx’s Anthropology
- Theological Perspectives on Global Realities
It is important that Christians gain a sense of the oneness of the Church throughout the world, and at the same time understand our theological/cultural roots and their shaping influence on the present. This will help us to put our particular traditions in perspective in relation to the plural contexts in which the gospel of Jesus Christ is formulated and confessed and in which the mission of the Church is carried out.