Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen
Professor of Systematic Theology
MA, Fuller Theological Seminary
MEd, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland
DrTheol, University of Helsinki
DrTheol, Habil, University of Helsinki
Courses Taught
Master’s level courses:
HT501: The Church’s Understanding of God and Christ in its Theological Reflection
HT503: The Church’s Understanding of Church, Humanity, and the Christian Life in its Theological Reflection
HT504: Modern Theology in a Global Context
ST501: Systematic Theology 1: Theology and Anthropology
ST502: Systematic Theology 2: Christology and Soteriology
ST503: Systematic Theology 3: Ecclesiology and Eschatology
ST523: Theological Challenges of Religious Plurality
ST525: Pneumatology: Current Trends and Historical Developments
ST5XX: Lesslie Newbigin’s Missional Theology
TH550: World Religions in Christian Perspective
PhD seminars:
ST829/529: Theological Method
ST838/538: Ecclesiology: Current Developments Worldwide
ST855/575: Christian Theology of Religions
ST868/568: The Systematic Theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg
ST886/586: Contemporary Perspectives on the Trinity
TH836/536: The Constructive Theology of Jürgen Moltmann
TH846/546: Theological Anthropology in Theological and Scientific Perspectives (with Prof. Nancey Murphy
TH866/559: Pneumatology: Theologies of the Holy Spirit
TH563: Science and Religion (with Prof. Nancey Murphy)
Courses taught at the University of Helsinki (either in English or Finnish):
The Trinity in Contemporary Theology
The Doctrine of Atonement in Tradition and Contemporary Constructive Theology
Pneumatology: History and Current Developments
Theological Anthropology in Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Ecclesiology in Current Ecumenical Theology
Pentecostal-Charismatic Theologies and their Ecumenical Implications
Campus Affiliations
Awards
Patricia Codron Award for the theology book of the year in interdisciplinary studies for Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World and, in particular, for Creation and Humanity (2014), Pacific Coast Theological Society, Berkeley, CA, Nov 2015.
Areas of Expertise
Pneumatology, ecclesiology, ecumenics, Pannenberg’s theology, Luther studies, Pentecostal-charismatic theologies, theology of religions and missions, intercultural theologies, comparative theologyVideos
Current Research
“The highest-level theological education for the third millennium has to be mature enough to live in the sometimes painful dynamic tension between affirming tradition and questioning its presuppositions, embracing the biblical authority and challenging our deepest hermeneutical assumptions, as well as retrieving the ancient sources and applying to their study the most recent critical tools.”
Dr. Kärkkäinen, in his lecture “Discerning the Mind of Christ in a Pluralistic World: Theological Education in a New Environment,” available here.
Bio
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 Docent 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 (USA). 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 authored or edited about twenty books in English (and seven in his native language, Finnish), including most recently Christian Theology in the Pluralistic World: A Global Introduction (2019) and Doing the Work of Comparative Theology: A Primer for Christians (2020). His other works include 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 150 articles that have appeared in international scholarly journals. He also edited the Global Dictionary of Theology (with William Dyrness, 2008), The Spirit in the World: Emerging Pentecostal Theologies in Global Contexts (2009), and Holy Spirit and Salvation: The Sources of Christian Theology (2010). He recently completed a five-volume series covering all topics of systematic theology titled A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, published by Eerdmans (2013–2017): volume 1: Christ and Reconciliation (2013); 2: Trinity and Revelation (2014); 3: Creation and Humanity (2015); 4: Spirit and Salvation (2016); and 5: Community and Hope (2017). Kärkkäinen is a member of several editorial boards, including the Strategic Initiatives in Systematic Theology series by InterVarsity Press, the Studies in Systematic Theology series by E.J. Brill, and is a reviewer for the International Journal of Systematic Theology.
He has participated in a number of working groups of the World Council of Churches, most recently on “Christian Self-Understanding and Religious Plurality,” and has participated in numerous international theological, missiological, and interfaith consultations, including Edinburgh 2010 and the Conference on World Mission and Evangelism of the World Council of Churches (Athens, 2005). His involvement in Muslim-Christian issues includes the Building Bridges seminars. His ecumenical experience also includes long-term participation in several international bilateral dialogues. For years he served as an external examiner for Wales University.
Kärkkäinen is ordained by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (Minister of Word and Sacrament, 2015) and has served since 2014 as associate Pastor (part-time) for the Finnish Lutheran Church in California and Texas (ELCA).
Featured Publications
