La Salle University Religion Professor Geffrey Kelly Receives Faculty Distinguished Scholar Award

To Professor Geffrey Kelly, religious studies is more than the subject he teaches at La Salle University, it is his passion. “Religious studies is more than pious devotions. Knowledge of religion is essential in order to understand the root courses of so many conflicts in our troubled world today and the demands religious faith makes on our moral behavior as well as the ethical conduct of our nation,” said Kelly.

In recognition for his exemplary scholarly achievements and research, Kelly received the University’s Faculty Distinguished Scholar Award at the recent Fall Convocation.

For more than 30 years, Kelly has been one of the leading scholars of the life and theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who is considered the most famous martyr of the German Resistance to Adolf Hitler and Nazism. “He had been an outspoken champion of pacifism and nonviolent resistance to evil during the period of the 1930’s and especially to Hitler’s belligerent rearming of Germany,” said Kelly. “His willingness to risk reputation and even his life to rescue Germany and the world from the systemic evil of Nazism was made possible not by the thought of political gain, but by his Christian faith and that sense of moral responsibility.”

Kelly has authored numerous books and articles on Bonhoeffer, in addition to serving two terms as President of the International Bonhoeffer Society (English Language section). Two of his books, Liberating Faith: Bonhoeffer’s Message for Today, and A Testament to Freedom: The Essential Writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (co-authored with F. Burton Nelson) were named “Book of the Month” by Religious Book Club.

In addition to his research, Kelly has received numerous awards for his teaching, including the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching and the Dr. Roland Holroyd Award for Distinguished Teaching and Service.

“Geff is a wonderful – and demanding – teacher who genuinely cares about his students. He clearly makes a profound impact on them because they keep in touch with him long after they graduate from La Salle,” said Margaret McGuinness, Ph.D., chair of La Salle’s Religion Department.

Kelly’s most recent book, Is There a God in Health Care?: Toward a New Spirituality of Medicine, was co-authored with La Salle Alumnus, Dr. William F. Haynes, M.D. The book provides an integration of Christian spirituality with the ministry of health care with particular emphasis on life-death issues and biomedical ethics. Kelly is currently working on a new book, tentatively titled, Reading Bonhoeffer: A Guide to His Spiritual Classics and Selected Writings on a Peace Ethic.