Campus in the evening

John Allan Knight, J.D., Ph.D.

Sprigg Visiting Professor of Philosophical Theology and Ethics

John Allan Knight, J.D., Ph.D. is the Sprigg Visiting Professor of Philosophical Theology and Ethics and Director of Faculty Research at Virginia Theological Seminary.

John Allan Knight, Ph.D. holds degrees from Southern Nazarene University and George Washington University Law School. After law school, he worked for several years as an associate attorney for a large firm in Washington, DC before accepting a position at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where he argued and won a number of commodities fraud cases in the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal. He then studied at the University of Chicago, earning both an M.Div. and a Ph.D., writing his dissertation under the direction of David Tracy.

While writing his dissertation, Knight served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Christian Ethics at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO. After receiving his Ph.D., he taught at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY, where, until December 31, 2021, he was Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Coordinator of the Academic Lecture Series, and chair of the Marcellin Board for Catholic Studies.

He is the co-editor of The Craft of Innovative Theology: Argument and Process (Wiley-Blackwell, 2022) and the author of Liberalism vs. Postliberalism: The Great Divide in Twentieth-Century Theology (Oxford, 2012) and a number of articles in both scholarly and popular publications. He is currently working on a book on self-deception and original sin. He lives in Alexandria, VA with his wife Melody Knowles and two children, Ella and Johnny.

Linked Publications

in Models of God and Alternative Ultimate Realities, ed. Jeanine Diller & Asa Kasher (Dordrecht: Springer, 2013), 207-24.

Coming soon

Virginia Theological Seminary is the largest of the accredited seminaries of the Episcopal Church. Founded in 1823, VTS prepares men and women from around the world for service in the Church, both as ordained and lay ministers. VTS offers a number of professional degree programs and diplomas, including a Master in Divinity (M.Div.), a Master of Arts, a Doctor of Ministry in Ministry, a Doctor of Ministry in Educational Leadership, a Doctor of Ministry in Christian Spirituality, and several non-degree programs.

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