Author Description

This is a short, chronological development of Roy A. Cheville's theological thought, beliefs, and activities. It is biographical and bibliographical but not comprehensively so. The theological topics important to him embraced God, the universe, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the church, anthropology, redemption, Zion, and others. Underlying these central concerns were his philosophies and methods involving personalism, process, functionalism, and sociohistorical method. This study identifies to some extent who influenced him and who might have influenced, This is difficult because people are not candid about such things; textual evidence is often coincidental and footnotes are scarce. Cheville chose not to write an extended autobiography; instead, hr left at least one short narrative account and many chronological outlines of his life. His legacy includes shelves of published and unpublished writings, outlines and notes. As teacher and minister, Brother Cheville had thousands of friends. Paradoxically, only a few can be named in this book. Another paradox is that Cheville used disarmingly simple language to describe complex ideas. In this spirit I have tried to be straightforward in my writing.