Paul Copan

Pledger Family Chair; Professor of Philosophy and Ethics | Professor of Philosophy and Ethics

School: School of Ministry
Department: Philosophy of Religion
Sub-department(s): Philosophy of Religion
Phone:
Ext:
Email:

joined: 2004

Biography

Dr. Paul Copan has a bachelor of arts degree in biblical studies from Columbia International University; a master of arts degree in philosophy of religion and a master of divinity degree, both from Trinity International University; and a doctor of philosophy degree in philosophy from Marquette University. He has been a visiting scholar at Oxford University.

Dr. Copan is the author and editor of over forty books, including True for You, But Not for Me (Bethany House); Is God a Vindictive Bully?, That’s Just Your Interpretation, How Do You Know You’re Not Wrong? When God Goes to Starbucks, Is God a Moral Monster? Understanding the Old Testament God (all with Baker); Loving Wisdom: A Guide to Philosophy and Christian Faith (Eerdmans); and A Little Book for New Philosophers (IVP Academic), He has co-authored Creation Out of Nothing: A Biblical, Philosophical, and Scientific Exploration (Baker Academic), An Introduction to Biblical Ethics: Walking in the Way of Wisdom (IVP Academic), The Gospel in the Marketplace of Ideas (IVP Academic), Did God Really Command Genocide? (Baker), and Is God a Vindictive Bully? (Baker Academic). He has co-edited three books on the historical Jesus and three other books in the philosophy of religion, The Rationality of Theism (Routledge), The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion (Routledge), and Philosophy of Religion: Classic and Contemporary Issues (Blackwell). He has co-edited (with William Craig) Passionate Conviction and Contending with Christianity’s Critics, and Come Let Us Reason (all with B&H Academic), and he is coeditor of The Zondervan Dictionary of Christianity and Science and of The Naturalness of Belief: New Essays on the Rationality of Theism (Lexington Books). He is coeditor of several forthcoming books: Transformed into the Same Image: New Explorations into the Doctrine of Deification (IVP Academic); Christianity Contested: Replies to Critics’ Toughest Objections (Wipf & Stock); and What Is Hell? A Multidisciplinary Evangelical Dialogue (IVP Academic). He also has contributed to over sixty books, and he has written many articles and book reviews for various professional and popular journals.

For six years he served as the president of the Evangelical Philosophical Society, and he is currently chair of Tyndale Fellowship’s Philosophy of Religion Study Group (UK). He is a regular contributor to the Worldview Bulletin—an online Christian worldview resource (https://worldviewbulletin.substack.com/). He has been a visiting scholar at Oxford University in 2017 (Wycliffe Hall) and then again in 2024 (Oriel College).  He regularly speaks on university campuses, at conferences, and to church groups.

Paul and his wife, Jacqueline, have six children, and they reside in West Palm Beach, FL. Paul’s personal website is www.paulcopan.com.

Degrees

PhD in Philosophy of Religion, Marquette University | MA in Philosophy of Religion, Trinity International University | MDiv in Divinity, Trinity International University | BA in Not Specified, Columbia International University