Andrew Lars Wilson
- Assistant Professor of Church History, Japan Lutheran College and Seminary
- Director of Studies, Societas Lascasiana
- Founder, Biblioteca Lascasiana
Professional Experience
2018– Assistant Professor of Church History, Japan Lutheran College and Theological Seminary (ルーテル学院大学と神学校) Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan
2020 Visiting Professor of Christianity, International Christian University (Tokyo)
2015 Visiting Professor of English, Sciences Po Paris (Campus Nancy), France, 2015
2011–13 Pastor, International Church of Strasbourg, France
2009–10 Post-Doctoral Fellow, Foundation for Interreligious and Intercultural Research and Dialogue / Theology Faculty, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Education
- 2009 PhD, Church History, Princeton Theological Seminary
- 2004 ThM, Church History, Princeton Theological Seminary
- 2002 MDiv, Luther Theological Seminary
- 1997 BA, Religion, Pacific Lutheran University
Academic Publications
Books and Editions
2025 Translator and editor, Bartolomé de Las Casas’s First Transatlantic Writings (1516-1531): Early American Theology, Prophecy, Economy, with David Orique, Catholic University of America Press (under contract).
2025– ed. Bartolomé de las Casas, Apologia, Digital Critical Edition, Scholastic Text Commentary Archive / Digital Latin Library.
2025– ed. Bartolomé de las Casas, De Thesauris in Peru, Digital Critical Edition, Scholastic Text Commentary Archive / Digital Latin Library.
2016 Here I Walk: A Thousand Miles on Foot to Rome with Martin Luther (Brazos, 2016).
Edited Volumes and Special Issues
2025 Bartolomé de Las Casas, Transatlantic Reformer, with David Orique (Brill, in progress)
2024 “The School of Salamanca in Transatlantic Perspective,” special issue of Estudios Filosóficos, with David Orique (in print)
Peer Reviewed Articles and Book Chapters
2023 “Enlightenment and Revolutionary Uses of Las Casas from Charlesvoix to Pancho Villa,” in David Thomas Orique and Rady Roldán-Figueroa, eds., The Transatlantic Las Casas: Historical Trajectories, Indigenous Cultures, Scholastic Thought, and Reception in History, Studies in the History of Christian Traditions 198 (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2023), 433-448.
2013 “Black Slaves and Messianic Dreams in Las Casas’s Plans for an Abundant Indies,” Zeitschrift Für Missionswissenschaft Und Religionswissenschaft 97 (2013): 102–119
2012 “Willing Assent and Forceful Jurisdiction in Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Provocation toward the Territorial Problem of Interreligious Human Rights Practice,” Eu-Topias 3 (2012): 99–109.
Dissertation
2009 “Black Slaves and Apocalyptic Dreams in Bartolomé de las Casas’s Dreams for an Abundant Indies.”
Dictionary Entries and Proceedings
2023 “Battling Sin, Death, and the Devil with Luther in Global Perspective,” with Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, Lutherjahrbuch 90 (2023): 334–36.
2017 “Spain,” in Dictionary of Luther and the Lutheran Tradition (Baker Academic, 2017), 695-97.
2014 “The Genesis, Development, and Reception of an Ecumenical Pilgrimage,” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 49, no. 3 (2014): 499-505.
2013 “Luther in the Ibero-American World,” Lutherjahrbuch 80 (2013): 287–89.
Book Reviews
2024 Wayne Bowen, Spain and the Protestant Reformation: The Spanish Inquisition and the War for Europe (Routledge, 2023), in Lutheran Quarterly 38, no. 1 (Spring 2024): 95–97.
2020 Gisela H. Kreglinger, The Spirituality of Wine (Eerdmans, 2017), in Lutheran Quarterly 32, no. 1 (2020): 98-99.
2019 Frances Luttikhuizen, Underground Protestantism in Sixteenth Century Spain: A Much Ignored Side of Spanish History (Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 2017), in Lutheran Quarterly 33, no. 1 (2019): 104–106.
2015 Robert Folger, Writing as Poaching: Interpellation and Self-Fashioning in Colonial Relaciones de méritos y services (Brill, 2011), in Sixteenth Century Journal 46, no. 1 (2015): 166–67.
2012 Hans-Albert Genthe, Auf Luthers Spuren Unterwegs: Ein Reise durch Deutschland, die Schweiz und Italian (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2010), in Lutheran Quarterly 26 (2012): 114–17.
2009 Justo L. González and Ondina E. González, Latin American Christianity: A History (Cambridge UP, 2008), in Lutheran Quarterly 23 (2009): 367–70.
2003 Werner Thomas, La represión del protestantismo en España, 1517–1648 and Los protestantes y la Inquisición en España en tiempos de Reforma y Contrarreforma (Leuven UP, 2001), in Sixteenth Century Journal 34, no. 3 (2003): 873–76.
Other Publications
Feature Articles
2022 “Can Bach Give Voice to the Silent Faith of Japan’s Hidden Christians?” Word & World 42, no. 2 (Spring 2022): 196–205.
2022 “Bach as Missionary to Japan,” 1517.org, June 8, 2022.
2018 Review essay of Daniel Lieberman, The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease (Pantheon, 2013), on Lutheran Forum online (May 11, 2018).
2017 “Here I Walk: A Lutheran couple retraces Luther’s 1,000-mile walk to Rome, promoting harmony among Protestants and Catholics,” Saint Anthony Messenger, October 2017.
2017 “Does your town need its own currency?” Strong Towns, 24 July 2017.
2016 “What Endures in Wittenberg: Excavating Luther’s Hometown.” Christian Century 133, no. 22 (October 26, 2016), 11, 13.
2015 “One Thousand Years of Catholics, Lutherans, and Revolutionaries in Strasbourg’s Cathedral,” Lutheran Forum 49, no. 4 (Winter 2015): 60–64.
“John Muir, Nature’s Evangelist,” Lutheran Forum 49, no. 2 (Summer 2015): 59–61.
2014 “Follow the Money: Peter Brown on the Making of Western Christianity,” review essay of Peter Brown, Through the Eye of a Needle: Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West, 350–550 AD (Princeton University Press, 2012). Books and Culture (January/February 2014): 30–32.
2013 “The Unfortunate Fate of Luther in the Ibero-American World.” Lutheran Forum 47, no. 4 (Winter 2013): 29–33.
2011 “With What Right and What Justice?” First Things 218 (December 2011): 47–52.
“Lightly Burdened Pilgrims.” BackpackingLight online, May 5, 2011.
“Into the Unknown, with Sturdy Footwear.” BackpackingLight online, April 4, 2010.
Other Articles and Interviews
2024 「ルターの同時代ラス・カサス」(“Luther’s Contemporary, Las Casas”), ルター雑誌 (Japan Luther Research Society News), April 2024.
2022 「バッハと私」(“Bach and I”), in ルター雑誌 (Japan Luther Research Society News), April 2022.
2018 “Luther’s Time Outside Time: An Interview with Andrew Wilson, Part II,” Histories of Things to Come, April 1, 2018.
2017 “A Protestant Pilgrimage? An Interview with Andrew Wilson, Part I,” Histories of Things to Come, December 25, 2017.
2016 “PTS Alumnus Walks a Thousand Miles in Luther’s Shoes: An interview with Andrew Wilson about his journey and his new book,” Princeton Theological Seminary’s The Quad (November 22, 2016).
2014 “Revisiting C. V. Wedgewood’s The Thirty Years War (NYRB Classics, 2005),” Lutheran Forum online (June 16, 2014).
Research Activities and Responsibilities
Editorial and Scientific Committees
2025– Biblioteca Lascasiana, founder
2023– Bartolomé de Las Casas Society, co-founder
2022– Word & World, editorial board member
2021– 日本ルーテルバッハ研究会 (Japan Lutheran Bach Research Society), co-founder
2013– Via Augustina, advisory academic board member
Conferences and Colloqia Organized
2025 Co-organizer of the Fourth International Conference on Bartolome de las Casas: “From the Indies to Seville Las Casas and the Renovation of Humanism,” Seville, Spain, June 17–23, 2025.
2023 Co-organizer of the Third International Conference on Bartolomé de las Casas: “Las Casas, Transatlantic Reformer,” Providence College, Providence, RI, June 21–25, 2023.
2022 Co-organizer, “Bartolomé de las Casas into the 21st Century: Perspectives and Provocations,” Providence College (online), June 24–25, 2022.
2022 Seminar Convener (with Sarah Hinlicky Wilson), “Battling Sin Death and the Devil with Martin Luther in Global Perspective,” International Congress for Luther Research, Thousand Oaks, CA, August 14–19, 2022.
2012 Seminar Convener, “Luther in the Ibero-American World,” International Congress for Luther Research, Helsinki, Finland, July 2012.
Other Media Projects
2022– Bach in Japan Newsletter, April 2022–present.
2022– The Disentanglement Podcast (with Sarah Hinlicky Wilson), 2022–present
2010 Here I Walk: An Ecumenical Pilgrimage. A 70-day, 1000-mile trek from Erfurt, Germany, to Rome, August-October 2010, on the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s pilgrimage, to draw attention to the figure of Luther and the current state of ecumenical reconciliation between the Lutheran and Catholic churches. Project conception and execution from initial stages through completion, researching Luther’s route and mapping out a contemporary equivalent, website and social media design and development, writing and publishing numerous posts on church history, photography and video components, and dozens of public lectures on the trip afterward.
Invited Conference and Colloquia Presentations
2023 “The Hidden Witness of J.S. Bach in Modern Japan,” Parkville Plus Seminar (Australian School of Divinity), hosted at Australian Lutheran College, Adelaide, South Australia, August 4, 2023.
2023 “The Trinitarian Structure of Bach’s Clavierübung III” (in Japanese), Rikkyo University Summer Seminar in Church Music (online), August 2023.
2023 “The Parallel Lives and Reforms of Martin Luther and Bartolomé de Las Casas,” The Third International Conference on Bartolomé de Las Casas, Providence College, Providence, RI, June 22, 2023.
2022 “A Lutheran Response to Death in Japan” International Congress for Luther Research. Thousand Oaks, CA, August 15, 2022.
2022 “Translator’s Forum,” Bartolomé de Las Casas into the 21st Century: Perspectives and Provocations, Providence College (online), June 2022.
2019 “The Courtrooms of Las Casas,” Second international Conference on Bartolomé de Las Casas, Providence College, Providence, RI, July 15–16, 2019.
2016–17 “Here I Walk: A Thousand Miles to Rome with Martin Luther,” 2016–2017, dozens of presentations for universities, churches, and other groups.
2016 Radio Interview on “The Busted Halo” with Fr. Dave Dwyer and Brett Siddell, May 25, 2016.
2016 Convener, “Interreligious Dialogue and the Challenges to Human Rights,” Alumni Reunion for the Foundation for Interreligious and Intercultural Research and Dialogue, Geneva, Switzerland, June 15–17, 2016.
2014 Invited visiting professor, “Luther on the Ordained Ministry, Priesthood of All Believers, and Worship,” Lutheran Graduate School of Theology, Fianarantsoa, Madagascar, October 2014, with Sarah Hinlicky Wilson.
2013 “The Rise of the Final Judgment in Las Casas’ 1531 Carta al Consejo de las Indias.” Sixteenth Century Studies Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico, October 26, 2013.
2012 “The Strange Fate of Luther in the Ibero-American World,” International Luther Congress, Helsinki, Finland, July 2012.
2010 “Wandern und Pilgern, Gestern und Heute,” (in English), lecture series on “Sustainable Mobility in the 21st Century,” University of Heidelberg, December 6, 2010.
2010 “Willing Assent and Forceful Jurisdiction in Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Provocation toward the Territorial Problem of Interreligious Human Rights Practice,” International Cluster, Roanoke College, November 22, 2010.
2010 “Seventy Days on the Road with Luther,” Colleg Wittenberg, Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany, November 2, 2010 and Center for Religion and Society, Roanoke College, November 18, 2010.
2010 “Pomegranates, Passes, and Pontiffs: A Kinetic View of Luther’s Trip to Rome,” Augsburg College Founders Day Lecture, November 10, 2010, and Lenoir-Rhyne University, Theologians-in-Residence Program, November 14, 2010.
2009 “The Threat of Islam as Background to Bartolomé de Las Casas’s Defense of the Indians,” Institüt für Europäische Geschichte, Mainz, Germany, November 24, 2009.
2008 “Indian Life and Black Slaves in Las Casas’s Vision for a Reformed Indies,” Regional Meeting of the AAR, New Brunswick, NJ, March 2008 and Pacific Lutheran University, October 1, 2008.
Teaching
Courses Taught
ルター神学特講 (Special Topics in Luther’s Theology)
歴史新学ＩＩＩ、ＩＶ (History of Doctrine 3 & 4, A.D. 1400–Present)
命のキリスト教史 (A Christian History of Life)
キリスト教史１＆２ (History of Christianity 1 & 2, New Testament–Present)
旧約聖書精読 (Close Reading the Old Testament)
Introduction to Christianity
Teaching Competencies
Church History – History of Doctrine – Reformation History – Early Modern Transatlantic History – Early Theology of Christian Mission – Early Modern Global Christianity – Theology of Martin Luther – Medieval Theology and Worship – Augustine and Late Antique Rome – American Church History – Enlightenment and Revolutionary Christianity – History of Christian Mission – Bach as Theological Interpreter – Global Christianity
Awards and Distinctions
2016 Book of the Year in Religion and Philosophy, Midwest Independent Publishers Association, 2016, for Here I Walk: A Thousand Miles on Foot to Rome with Martin Luther
2010 Augsburg College Founders Day Lecturer
2010 Lenoir-Rhyne University, theologian in residence, November 2010
2009 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Foundation for Interreligious and Intercultural Research and Dialogue, University of Geneva, 2009–2010
2004–09 Princeton Theological Seminary, Doctoral Studies Fellowship
2000 Goethe Institute Scholar, Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland
1998–2002 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Seminary Educational Grant Program
1998–2002 Presidential Scholar, Luther Theological Seminary
Language Competencies
Spanish (fluent) ∙ French (fluent) ∙ Japanese (intermediate) ∙ German (Advanced, Goethe-Institut Zertifikat Deutsch, 2000) ∙ Greek (reading) ∙ Latin (reading) ∙ Hebrew (basic reading)