Background
Gregory Scott was born on October 3, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois, United States to the family of a recording studio executive Allen Bernard Clapper and a homemaker and real estate manager Martha Garrett.
Gregory Scott Clapper graduated from Carthage College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974.
Gregory Scott Clapper graduated from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Master of Arts degree in 1977.
Clapper received his Master of Divinity degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in 1979.
Clapper received his Doctor of Philosophy degree from Emory University in 1985.
(As If the Heart Mattered expounds on John Wesley's image ...)
As If the Heart Mattered expounds on John Wesley's image of religion as a house by exploring three main parts: the porch of repentance, the door of faith, and holiness (the house itself). Useful study helps include references to John Wesley sermons and Charles Wesley hymns. But this approach to spiritual life transcends Methodism and provides essential biblical truth applicable to all Christians. Questions for reflection or discussion are provided at the end of each chapter. "Gregory Clapper creatively uses Wesley's model of the spiritual journey with solid biblical interpretation to provide a liberating approach to Christian spirituality. He wonderfully integrates the individual spiritual pilgrimage both into the life of the church and life in the world." - M. Robert Mulholland, Vice President, Asbury Theological Seminary "This book reaffirms the traditional terminology of heart religion, such as repentance, faith, and holiness, in such a way as to show how the affections of the heart are vital not only to personal formation but also to effective human relationships that lead to transformative action in the world." - Richard P. Heitzenrater, Professor of Church History and Wesley Studies, The Divinity School, Duke University Gregory S. Clapper is Professor of Religion and Philosophy at the University of Indianapolis and is Affiliate Professor of United Methodist Studies at Christian Theological Seminary. He has authored many articles and four books.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JK2XAII/?tag=2022091-20
1997
(When United Airlines Flight 232 crashed in Sioux City, Io...)
When United Airlines Flight 232 crashed in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1989, 112 people died, and 184 people survived. In this book Gregory S. Clapper, both a college professor and a chaplain in the National Guard, reflects on his ministry in the aftermath of this tragic event. Processing his chaplain experiences through the lens of his theological training, he reflects on six different resources from the Christian tradition that he saw transform people's lives during and after this tragedy.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DJX7UOI/?tag=2022091-20
1999
(Many of us follow a seemingly arbitrary and rushed path t...)
Many of us follow a seemingly arbitrary and rushed path to a paycheck. Once you're out of school, whether it's high school or college, you're expected to go to work. You work hard to pay your dues then, one day, you feel stuck. You feel restless and like a mercenary: the "it's-just-a-job" mentality. Soon, these feelings of alienation and cynicism spill over into the rest of your life. Clapper goes beyond the usual career counseling formula in Living Your Heart's Desire. Reading this book will not tell you which employment ads you should answer or even which career will be best for you. Clapper explains why it's more helpful instead to understand the theology behind work, calling, and human freedom. You'll discover a variety of visions of what it means for you to lead a life of Christian faithfulness in all realms of existence. "We must ask if the life we are living is a worthy expression of gratitude for what God has done for us," Clapper writes. "Our most important response is the shape of our entire life. It is, in short, our vocation." Easy to read and relevant to today's economy and world (with many references and lessons from movies), this book can help you lead a more fulfilled, rewarding, and joyful Christian life regardless of how you earn a paycheck.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0835898059/?tag=2022091-20
2005
(John Wesley has arguably influenced more American Christi...)
John Wesley has arguably influenced more American Christians than any other Protestant interpreter. One reason for this wide influence is that Wesley often spoke about the “heart” and its “affections”—that realm of life where all humans experience their deepest satisfactions, as well as some of their deepest conundrums. However, one of the problems of interpreting and appropriating Wesley is that we have been blinded to Wesley's actual views about “heart religion” by contemporary stereotypes about “affections” or “emotions.” Because of this, it is rare that either Wesley's friends or his critics appreciate his sophisticated understanding of affective reality. To make clear what Wesley meant when he emphasized the renewal of the heart, Gregory S. Clapper summarizes some recent paradigm-changing accounts of the nature of “emotion” produced by contemporary philosophers and theologians, and then applies them to Wesley's conception of the heart and its affections. These accounts of emotion throw new light on Wesley's vision of Christianity as a renewal of the heart and make it possible to reclaim the language of the heart, not as a pandering or manipulative rhetoric, but as the framework for a comprehensive theological vision of Christian life and thought.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FK3J5XA/?tag=2022091-20
2010
Gregory Scott was born on October 3, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois, United States to the family of a recording studio executive Allen Bernard Clapper and a homemaker and real estate manager Martha Garrett.
After studying philosophy and psychology as an undergraduate at Carthage College in 1974 and Masters degree student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1977, Clapper received his Master of Divinity degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in 1979 and Doctor of Philosophy degree from Emory University in 1985. His dissertation, directed by Don E. Saliers, was entitled “John Wesley on Religious Affections.”
Gregory Clapper serves as Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Indianapolis. His teaching interests include Systematic Theology; Christian Spiritual Formation; Wesleyan Studies; Historical Theology, especially the thought of Augustine, Edwards, Wesley, Schleiermacher and Kierkegaard; Character Ethics; Philosophy of Religion; Christian Political Thought.
Clapper's career includes plenty of professorship positions at various universities across the United States. He's also the author of a number of theological books.
Being an ordained clergyman served as a Senior Minister at Trinity United Methodist Church in Waverly, Iowa in 1991-1994 and, since 1989, a Chaplain at Alabama Air National Guard retiring in 2013 in a rank of Colonel.
(As If the Heart Mattered expounds on John Wesley's image ...)
1997(When United Airlines Flight 232 crashed in Sioux City, Io...)
1999(John Wesley has arguably influenced more American Christi...)
2010(Many of us follow a seemingly arbitrary and rushed path t...)
2005
United Methodist Academy for Spiritual Formation , United States
1988 - 1990
Society of John Wesley Fellows , United States
American Academy of Religion , United States
United Methodist Historical Society , United States
American Association of University Professors , United States
Wesleyan Theological Society , United States
Gregory Clapper married a teacher of English as a second language Jody Rigg on October 30, 1973. They have two daughters Laura and Jenna.