His obituary begins, “Dr. Edwin Luther Copeland, missionary, educator, scholar, beloved husband and father, died on November 19, 2011, in Raleigh, North Carolina.” Today on the tenth anniversary of his passing, I am posting this blog article in fond memory of Dr. Copeland, who was my much-respected colleague, good personal friend, and meritorious mentor.
Getting to Know Luther Copeland
Even though I don’t remember any
details, I probably first heard about Dr. Copeland when I was a graduate
student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was a professor of
Christian Missions and World Religions at Southeastern Seminary in North
Carolina at that time.
It is also quite likely that I read his small “study
course” book Christianity and World Religions not long after it was published
in 1963. But I first saw Dr. Copeland at the 1965 Baptist World Congress, which
met in Miami Beach. I was impressed with his ideas articulated in opposition to
those of Dr. Cal Guy, the Missions professor at Southwestern Seminary in Texas.
I first met Dr. Copeland in person early in 1976 when
he became Chancellor of Seinan Gakuin, the school system in Japan where I had
been teaching since 1968. Because of our missionary “furlough” in 1976-77, it
was mainly from the summer of 1977 to the spring of 1980 that I really got to
know him—and to become very fond of him.
Early in 1979, he nominated me to be Dean of Religious
Activities at Seinan Gakuin University, so we had extensive contact during the
academic year that began on April 1. During that busy year, I came to admire
him greatly and profited much from his wisdom and mature expression of the
Christian faith.
Learning
More about Luther Copeland
By
the time he and his talented wife Louise left Japan in 1980, I had learned much
about Dr. Copeland. I learned much more about him over 20 years later after he
published his memoirs.
Early
on, I learned that Dr. Copeland was born in 1916 in West Virginia, and I knew
that he worked in the logging business with his father before starting to
college. In 1944 at the age of 28, he graduated from Furman University. Two
years later he graduated from Southern Seminary and then earned his Ph.D.
degree at Yale University in 1949.
In
1946, Luther and Louise Tadlock were married, and they became the parents of
five children. They were appointed Southern Baptist missionaries to Japan in
1948. In November 1952, he became the fifth chancellor of Seinan Gakuin, the
school system that was established in the year of his birth.
The
Copelands returned to the U.S. in 1956 when Luther was employed to teach at
Southeastern Seminary. But then he was elected as the 12th
Chancellor of Seinan Gakuin in 1975, succeeding his (and my) friend Max Garrott
for the second time.**
After
completing that term of service, Luther moved out of the Chancellor’s office on March 31, 1980. Sixteen years and one day later, I had the great
privilege and challenge of moving into that office.
In
2001, Dr. Copeland self-published a book titled Memoirs of a Geezer: From
the Timber Woods and Back. It is 375 pages long and contains 48
“illustrations.” I found it noteworthy that on the last page of that book, published
just before his 85th birthday, Luther wrote,
I am convinced that for most of us, our God is too small. If God has created everything that is, surely God is interested in all the creation. I often pray that God will make my interests as broad as God’s interests.
Holding
Fond Memories of Luther Copeland
Though
there is so much more I could write here, I will briefly mention just
three reasons I was and remain fond of Luther Copeland.
* He
was a man with both intellectual curiosity and intellectual honesty.
*
He was a man who never “put on airs” but related to everyone as a human being
of equal worth.
*
He was a committed Christian who embraced the breadth of God’s love over the
narrowness often seen in historical Christianity.
Knowing
Luther Copeland helped me to strive for those same characteristics.
_____
** On June 20, 2020, the 110th anniversary
of his birth, I posted a blog article titled “In Fond
Memory of Max Garrott.”
Thank you for your article on Luther Copeland. And for sharing us this article as you shared it to me whenever I shared a book or a picture of Luther Copeland's books and testimony. I enjoyed his books as much as Max Garrott's books that I learned a lot from Dr. Copeland. I first heard of him by my friend and coworker who met personally both Dr. Copeland and Dr. F. Calvin Parker before they passed away and through my friend, I got to buy and study Dr. Copeland's books. My friend now is serving in Japan in Shinagawa Baptist Church and is doing a good work with his Japanese wife who in her graduation, Mrs. Harriett Parker visited her graduation. Reminding me through their stories that the world is not as big as we tend to think and for that reason, I am eternally grateful learning the lives of the heroes of the faith in Japan that may God's peace be upon Dr. Copeland and the other missionaries before me.I look forward finishing more of his books soon, including the World Religions books by Dr. Copeland. My favorite book from Dr. Copeland was "World Mission and World Survival" as I learned more strategies on mission work in Japan. Psalm 116:15.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, Steven--and thanks for mentioning your favorite book by Dr. Copeland. (I would like to have written more about his book.) That book was published in 1985 and was also titled "World Mission, World Survival: The Challenge and Urgency of Global Missions Today." When I taught a missions courses at Midwestern Seminary while on "furlough" in 1986-87, that is one of the books I encouraged my students to read.
DeleteDr. Copeland's daughter Beth, who is one of my Facebook friends, posted the following on FB this morning:
ReplyDelete"Leroy Seat, thank you for remembering and writing about my father on the 10-year anniversary of his death. My family and I appreciate your kind attention to his legacy."
I, too, admired Luther Copeland, and consider his "talented" wife Louise, as you called her, one of the best friends I ever had. Louise was a committed feminist back in the 70's when they were with us in Japan. Though she would speak out with strong feelings for the cause of women, her sweet way of speaking was always still intact. I admired that a lot. We shared our personal feelings once on a trip to Kyoto together, and I appreciated her trusting me in that way. We did not have a lot of time together, but I still miss having a friend like Louise Copeland.
ReplyDeleteHere are important comments from Thinking Friend Glenn Hinson in Kentucky:
ReplyDelete"Thank you for remembering Luther Copeland and for giving some of the key events in his life and key ideas in his thought. He served as a visiting professor at Southern [Baptist Theological Seminary]. I will always be grateful for his expansive view of missions and world religions, and his courage."
From what I wrote, it may seem to some of you that the Chancellors of Seinan Gakuin are usually American missionaries, but two of the three Chancellors between 1980 and 1996 were Japanese.
ReplyDeleteI was happy to receive last night these comments from Thinking Friend Wade Paris, who now lives in Bolivar, Mo."
ReplyDelete"Thank you so much for the fond remembrance of Dr. Copeland. He was my missions professor at Southeastern. He was a kind and capable man and professor. I remember him best because he delivered the address at my graduation there. His message was simple but challenging: He had several points 'as you embark on your ministry I could advise you ...,' then he listed several things but said, 'No I won't advise that. Instead I will charge you to keep your integrity it will give you great joy and without it you will be unable to minister.'
"Integrity! How appropriate. He was a prophet!"