Wilson, Andrew
Professor of Scriptural Studies
Director of Scriptural Research
Dr. Andrew Wilson’s approach to Scriptural Studies is theological and ecumenical. His Old Testament courses explore what the scriptures mean and have meant to diverse communities of faith—the people of ancient Israel for whom they were written, the early Christians who read them in the light of Christ, and today’s believers—Jews, Christians of all stripes, and Unificationists. He challenges students to become interpreters of the Bible who can infuse it with new life for today’s believers and seekers of truth.
Dr. Wilson is a prolific scholar, whose books and papers cover diverse topics ranging from religion and peace to character education to the theory of the spirit world. Being well-acquainted with Jewish attitudes and thought, he has written on the problems of Jewish relations with the Unification Movement for the past 30 years and has been a frequent participant in MEPI (Middle East Peace Initiative) activities in Israel.
Wilson's efforts on behalf of inter-religious harmony led him to write World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts, which has become a standard work of interfaith scholarship and a resource for interfaith worship. He has also been writing and teaching in the area of feminist theology, especially on relating to God as Heavenly Mother.
As a committed Unificationist, Wilson gives regular courses on Divine Principle and other denominational topics. He contributed his interfaith scholarship to writing a second volume of World Scripture that includes a broad selection of Rev. Sun Myung Moon's words. That book was adopted by the church as one of its eight official textbooks. Also, in recent years he has written and lectured passionately in defense of Mrs. Moon's leadership of the church.
Dr. Wilson joined the faculty of UTS in 1985.
Education
- Ph.D., Harvard University
- M.T.S., Harvard Divinity School
- Dipl. R.E., Unification Theological Seminary
- B.A., Harvard University
Publications
Books:
- World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts (1991)
- World Scripture and the Teachings of Sun Myung Moon (2007)
- True Family Values (1996)
- The Problem of Circumcision: Sexual, Social and Theological Perspectives (2018)
- Unification Ontology and its Realization (2020)
- True Family Values, 3rd Edition (2006)
- Cultivating Heart and Character (2000)
- The Nations in Deutero-Isaiah (1986)
Articles:
- Journal of Unification Studies (complete listing of articles)
- Applied Unificationism Blog (listing of articles)
- "Theological Developments in the FFWPU since the Death of Rev. Moon," in Acta Comparanda, Subsidia VI, The Life and Legacy of Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Movements in Scholarly Perspective, Edited by Chris Vonck.
- “An Analysis of Makovsky’s Border Proposal in Light of Palestinian Needs,” Digest of Middle East Studies 23/2 (2014):215-234
- “The Ten Commandments of Peacemaking,” American Clergy 2/3 (Summer 2004): 32-35.
- “Removing the Curse of the Cross: A Towards a New Relationship between Judaism and Christianity,” Global Peace (Meerut, India) 3/1 (2003):6-14.
- “Waging Peace with Islam,” The Washington Times, November 4, 2001.
- "The Sexual Interpretation of the Human Fall." In Unification Theology in Comparative Perspectives, edited by Anthony J. Guerra. Barrytown, New York: Unification Theological Seminary, 1987, 51-70.
Blog Articles:
- “America’s Roadblock to Peace in the Middle East.” World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org. january 9, 2014.
- “Time for Netanyahu to Reach across the Aisle.” World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org. june 26, 2013.
- “Prospects for Peace: Obama’s visit to Israel.” World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org. march 20, 2013.
- “It's up to Israel to Restart Peace Negotiations.” World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org. february 26, 2013.
- “Israel Can Win in Gaza, but not now.” World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org. november 16, 2012
- “As Palestine seeks observer state status, a call for restraint.” World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org. november 14, 2012
- “The Palestinians want to negotiate.” World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org. october 15, 2012
- “Why the quartet turned its back on the middle east.” World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org. august 28, 2012
- "Israeli settlements: Sooner or later concessions must be made." World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org.august 10, 2012
- "A failure to leverage: Missed opportunities in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org.august 3, 2012
- "Netanyahu’s “Israeli comfort”." World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org.april 19, 2012
- "Netanyahu: Too big for his britches." World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org.march 28, 2012
- "Israel twisting in the wind." World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org.march 15, 2012
- "Holding Israel and Palestine accountable." World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org.february 28, 2012
- "The struggle for Netanyahu’s soul." World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org.february 8, 2012
- "A call for Palestinian patience." World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org.january 20, 2012
- "Israel’s tussle with Europe." World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org.january 12, 2012
- "Israel and Palestine: changing the terms of agreement." World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org.december 5, 2011
- "Signs of a thaw in the middle east." World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org.november 9, 2011
- "The middle east’s childish games." World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org.november 2, 2011
- "Givat Hamatos: A settlement too far." World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org.october 26, 2011
- "A step by step guide to Israel-Palestine border talks." World Policy Institute. www.worldpolicy.org.october 20, 2011
Courses
MIN 5804 A Masters Colloquium
Honors / Awards / Memberships
- Led the translation committee that produced Exposition of the Divine Principle (1996)
- Editor of the Journal of Unification Studies, an annual journal of Unification-inspired thought.
