Biographical Information:
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen joined the Fuller faculty as associate professor of systematic theology in 2000 and was named full professor in 2003. He also holds a teaching position at the University of Helsinki as Dozent of Ecumenics.
Prior to coming to Fuller, Kärkkäinen served as president and professor at IsoKirja College in Keuruu, Finland. He has taught and lived with his family on three continents: Europe, Asia (Thailand), and North America (the U.S.) He has also lectured and served as visiting professor in various schools around the world. He travels widely and has a command of several languages.
A prolific writer, Kärkkäinen has published 11 books in English (and seven in his native language, Finnish), including The Trinity: Global Perspectives (2007), One With God: Salvation as Deification and Justification (2004), and Trinity and Religious Pluralism: The Doctrine of the Trinity in Christian Theology of Religions (2004), as well as more than 100 articles, which have appeared in international scholarly journals. He is also the editor (with William Dyrness) of Global Dictionary of Theology (2008) and most recently, of The Spirit in the World: Emerging Pentecostal Theologies in Global Contexts (2009). Kärkkäinen was appointed to three editorial boards in 2008, which include the Strategic Initiatives in Systematic Theology series by InterVarsity Press, the Studies in Systematic Theology series by Brill Press (Leiden, Netherlands), and the International Journal of Systematic Theology. He is a member of three working groups of the World Council of Churches and has participated in numerous international consultations. He is also an external examiner for Wales University.
Courses Taught:
MT590 Project: Mission Theology
MT800 Tutorial in Mission Theology
MT801 Methods in Mission Theology
ST501 Systematic Theology 1: Theology and Anthropology
ST502 Systematic Theology 2: Christolology and Soteriology
ST503 Systematic Theology 3: Ecclesiology and Eschatology
ST523 Theological Challenges of Religious Plurality
ST538/838 Ecclesiology: Current Trends
ST568/868 The Theology of W. Pannenberg
TH536 The Theology of Jurgen Moltmann
TH550 World Religions in Christian Perspective
Areas of Expertise, Research, Writing, and Teaching:
Pneumatology, ecclesiology, ecumenics, Pannenberg's theology, Luther studies, Pentecostal-Charismatic theologies, theology of religions and missions, intercultural theologies