THORNTON, EDWARD E.
Papers, 1920-1997 (bulk 1958-1994).
MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION NUMBER 326
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REPRODUCTION: All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.
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CITATION: Edward E. Thornton papers, MSS 326, Archives and Manuscripts Dept., Pitts Theology Library, Emory University.
Edward Everett Thornton, pastoral educator, was born in the Philippines to Baptist missionary parents on December 23rd, 1925. His family returned to the United States in 1926, and Thornton was educated at Oklahoma Baptist University (B.A., 1947), the University of Oklahoma (M.A., 1948), and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (B.D., 1952 and Ph.D., 1961).
Thornton was licensed to preach at age 17 and became pastor of the Snomac Baptist Church in Oklahoma at age 18. He married Betty June Raburn in 1948 and became pastor of the Little Chief Baptist Church soon after. His first experience in pastoral care was in 1950, when he began working as a psychiatric aide at Norton Memorial Infirmary in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1958, he was appointed Professor of Pastoral Care at the Institute of Religion, Texas Medical Center, Houston, Texas.
Thornton remained at the Institute until 1963. He went on to hold pastoral theology and clinical pastoral education appointments at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania (1963-1970) and at Colgate Rochester / Bexley Hall / Crozer Theological Seminary in Rochester, New York (1970-1975). In 1975 he was named Professor of the Psychology of Religion at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Thornton remained there until his retirement in 1994.
Among Thornton's published works are several books, including Professional Education for Ministry: A History of Clinical Pastoral Education (1970), Being Transformed: An Inner Way of Spiritual Growth (1984), and The Christian Adventure (1991). He is also the editor of A Love That Heals: One Man's Journey with Christ (1984), written by his father, Everett W. Thornton. Thornton also published numerous book chapters, articles, and reviews. He served on the editorial committee for the Journal of Pastoral Care from 1969-1983.
Thornton's professional affiliations include the Society for Pastoral Theology, the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, and the American Association of Marital and Family Therapists.
For more detailed biographical information, see the biographical sketches and C.V. in Box 1, Folder 1.
The Edward E. Thornton papers focus on two aspects of Thornton's professional life: his teaching of masters and Ph.D. level students, and his research on the history of clinical pastoral education. Also included are examples of his published articles and reviews. The papers are organized into four series:
Series 1: Biographical Information, 1951-1997. 1 folder.
This series contains a detailed C.V., several biographical sketches written by Thornton, and a transcript of an interview of Thornton on the topic of transcendence.
Series 2: Teaching Career, 1958-1994. 1.5 cubic ft. Arranged chronologically, then alphabetically.
This series consists of correspondence, syllabi, bibliographies, lecture notes, and other supporting materials for classes taught by Thornton. The files are organized chronologically, tracing Thornton's teaching career from the Institute of Religion through his final position at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. A few files contain general correspondence and miscellaneous administrative materials related to Thornton's appointments.
Materials for individual courses taught by Thornton are divided into two main categories. Folders marked "methods and sources" contain syllabi, bibliographies, and other summary information. Folders marked "samples" contain more specific lecture materials and sample student works.
Series 3: Publications, 1958-1994. .5 cubic ft. Arranged alphabetically and chronologically.
This series includes copies of articles and book reviews written by Thornton. There are also some reviews of books written by him, as well as correspondence related to several of his book projects. At the end of the series are four audio cassette tapes of lectures given by Thornton. See the container list below for more detailed information.
Several books by Thornton were catalogued separately and are housed in the Special Collections department of Pitts Theology Library. These include A Critique of Clinical Pastoral Education (1960), A Love That Heals (1984), Being Transformed: An Inner Way of Spiritual Growth (1984), and The Crisis of Fear (by Thornton and Gerald L. Borchert, 1988)
Series 4: Research Files, 1920s-1995. 2 cubic ft. Arranged alphabetically.
In this series are materials collected by Thornton in the course of his research on the history of clinical pastoral education. Many of these files were compiled in the course of writing Professional Education for Ministry: A History of Clinical Pastoral Education (often referred to in the files as simply A History of Clinical Pastoral Education). However, some of the files contain information on developments in clinical pastoral education after that book appeared in 1970. For example, see the "Current Events" folder (box 3, folder 26).
Included in the files are copies of minutes, by-laws, constitutions, and other materials produced by several professional pastoral care organizations, as well as Thornton's notes on these items. The organizations include the Institute of Pastoral Care, the Council for Clinical Training, and the Southern Baptist Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, among others. There are also files for several institutions at which Thornton worked and which he used as case studies in Professional Education for Ministry.
This series also contains some correspondence related to Thornton's book, and a critique of the book by Robert C. Powell. One folder contains correspondence on Thornton's Ph.D. thesis, A Critique of Clinical Pastoral Education (1960).
Pitts Theology Library holds numerous related collections on pastoral care and clinical pastoral education. For a complete list, see the online subject guide.
BOX FOLDER DESCRIPTION/DATES Series 1: Biographical Information, 1951-1997 1 1 Career Vita and Biographic Note, 1951-1997 Series 2: Teaching Career, 1958-1994 1 2 Pre-Institute of Religion, Administrative Correspondence, 1958-1963 1 3 Institute of Religion, Administrative Correspondence, 1958-1963 1 4 Institute of Religion, M.Div. Seminars, 1958-1963 1 5 Crozer Theological Seminary, Administrative, 1963-1967 1 6-7 Crozer Theological Seminary, Administrative, 1968-1970 1 8 Crozer Theological Seminary, Book Reviews, 1962-1968 1 9 Crozer Theological Seminary, Correspondence, 1963-1970 1 10-11 Crozer Theological Seminary, Education, 1963-1970 1 12 Crozer Theological Seminary, M.Div. Methods and Sources, 1964-1970 1 13 Crozer Theological Seminary, Presentations and Reprints, 1963-1970 1 14 Crozer Theological Seminary, Th.M. Methods and Sources, 1963-1969 1 15 Colgate Rochester/Bexley Hall/Crozer, Administrative, 1970-1975 1 16-17 Colgate Rochester/Bexley Hall/Crozer, Education, 1970-1975 1 18 Colgate Rochester/Bexley Hall/Crozer, M.Div. Methods and Sources, 1970-1975 1 19 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Administrative, 1975-1995 1 20 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Correspondence, 1975-1983 1 21 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Correspondence, 1984-1994 1 22-23 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Education, 1975-1994 1 24 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Lectures and Retreats, Samples, 1979-1990 1 25 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.Div. Methods and Sources, Advanced Pastoral Counseling, 1985 1 26 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.Div. Methods and Sources, Clinical Pastoral Education, 1975-1994 1 27 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.Div. Methods and Sources, M.F.T. Counseling, 1975-1994 1 28 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.Div. Methods and Sources, Pastoral Care, 1977-1994 1 29 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.Div. Methods and Sources, Pastoral Counseling, 1975-1994 1 30 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.Div. Methods and Sources, Psychology of Religious Experience, 1976-1991 2 1 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.Div. Methods and Sources, Religious Dimensions of Personality, 1976-1991 2 2 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.Div. Methods and Sources, Spiritual Formation, 1988-1990, undated 2 3 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.Div. Methods and Sources, Transpersonal Psychology and Spiritual Life, 1979-1993 2 4 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.Div. Samples, Pastoral Care, 1975-1994 2 5 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.Div. Samples, Pastoral Counseling, 1975-1994 2 6-7 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.Div. Samples, Psychology of Religion, 1976-1991 2 8 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.Div. Samples, Spiritual Formation, 1992, undated 2 9-10 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.Div. Samples, Transpersonal Psychology and Spiritual Life, 1993 2 11 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ph.D. Methods and Sources, Freud and Jung, 1983-1992 2 12 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ph.D. Methods and Sources, Pastoral Psychotherapy, 1978-1994 2 13 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ph.D. Methods and Sources, The Psychology of Religious Experience, 1981-1993 2 14 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ph.D. Supervision, Bibliography, 1970-1989 2 15 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Th.M./Ph.D., 1977-1993 Series 3: Publications, 1958-1994 2 16 Being Transformed, Reviews and Correspondence, 1984-1986 2 17 A Love That Heals, Reviews, 1984 2 18 Professional Education for Ministry, Reviews, 1970 2 19-20 Publications, 1958-1969 2 21-22 Publications, 1970-1993 2 23-25 Reprints, 1963-1992 2 26 Reviews, 1970-1994 2 27 To Hell and Beyond: Images of the Spiritual Journey in Dante's Comedy, 1990 2 Audio Tapes: "Seeking Transcendence: Bodysoul." Thornton and Dr. Leslie Kendrick. 1992 March 2. "Lord, Teach Us to Pray." 1992 November 6. Laity Lodge Center for Christian Learning. "Experiencing Presence in Intersession." 1992 November 7. Laity Lodge Center for Christian Learning. "Experiencing Presence in Petitions." 1992 November 7. Laity Lodge Center for Christian Learning. Series 4: Research Files, 1920s-1995 3 1 50th Anniversary of Clinical Pastoral Education, 1975 3 2 A.A.T.S. on Clinical Pastoral Education, 1963-1965 3 3-5 Advisory Committee on Clinical Pastoral Education, 1951-1960 3 6 Boisen, Anton T., "First Annual Report to the Directors.", 1933 3 7-8 Boisen, Anton T., "Types of Mental Illness: A Beginning Course," 1946 3 9-10 Case Studies, Crozer Theological Seminary, 1962-1970 3 10-12 Case Studies, Institute of Religion, 1948-1965 3 13 Case Studies, Miscellaneous, 1947-1970 3 14-15 Case Studies, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1947-1990 3 16 Clinical Pastoral Education, Historical Context, 1920-1950 3 17 Clinical Pastoral Education, Historical Context, undated 3 18-19 Council for Clinical Training, 1930-1939 3 20 Council for Clinical Training, 1940-1949 3 21 Council for Clinical Training, 1950-1955 3 22-23 Council for Clinical Training, 1956-1959 3 24 Council for Clinical Training, 1960-1968 3 25 Council for Clinical Training, Constitution and By-laws, 1952-1957 3 26 Current Events, 1983-1995 3 27-28 Founders of Clinical Pastoral Education, 1920s-1930s 4 1 Georgia Association for Pastoral Care, circa 1960-1968 4 2 Historical Method, undated 4 3-4 History of Clinical Pastoral Education, Correspondence, 1966-1970 4 5 History of Clinical Pastoral Education, Permissions, 1969 4 6 History of Commission, 1988 4 7 Institute of Pastoral Care, 1930-1939 4 8 Institute of Pastoral Care, 1940-1949 4 9-10 Institute of Pastoral Care, 1950-1955 4 11-12 Institute of Pastoral Care, 1956-1959 4 13-14 Institute of Pastoral Care, 1960-1962 4 15 Institute of Pastoral Care, Constitutions and Announcements, 1948-1967 4 16 Journal of Pastoral Care, Historical Notes, 1953-1970 4 17 Lutherans and Clinical Pastoral Education, 1959 4 18 National Conference on Clinical Pastoral Education, Southwest Region, 1956-1960, undated 4 19 Notes, 1959, undated 4 20 Powell's Critique, 1975 4 21 Roman Catholic Clinical Pastoral Education, 1967-1971 4 22 Southern Baptist Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Accreditation Committee, 1960-1967 4 23-25 Southern Baptist Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Minutes and Correspondence, 1958-1967 4 26 Then to Now, 1964-1968 4 27 Thesis, Correspondence and Abstracts, 1959-1961. 4 28-29 Toward A.C.P.E., 1960-1968