D. Elton Trueblood

''David Elton Trueblood'' (1900 - 1994), who was usually known as "Elton Trueblood" or "D. Elton Trueblood", was a noted 20th century American Quaker author and theologian, former chaplain both to Harvard and Stanford universities. Trueblood abandoned this prestige to settle in the Quaker hub community of Richmond, Indiana to help spur the growth of Earlham College from a tiny regional, religious school, and build it into a top flight institution of higher learning. He was a founder of the Earlham School of Religion, a Quaker seminary in Richmond, and part of a renaissance of American Quaker thought and action spurred on partly by the common experiences of Quaker intellectuals as conscientious objectors during World War II, although Trueblood himself was not a pacifist. He actively sought to mentor younger Quakers into his 90's. Trueblood also founded the Yokefellow movement and supported Stephen Ministries. He always maintained an internationalist perspective, serving for many years as the permanent representative from the Global Quaker community to the World Council of Churches, an organization he helped bring into being. In the 1950s, Trueblood served as a senior advisor to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who created a post for him as Director of Religious Information at the U.S. Information Agency (formerly the 'Voice of America'). 'Time' magazine profiled him in this role on March 15, 1954. Later, he served as an advisor to President Richard Nixon. He was a political conservative who supported Nixon's foreign policy, including the Vietnam War, and gave the convocation at the 1972 Republican National Convention. Elton Trueblood wrote 33 books, including: 'The Predicament of Modern Man,' 'Alternative to Futility', 'Foundations for Reconstruction,' 'Signs of Hope,' 'The Logic of Belief', 'Philosophy of Religion,' 'Robert Barclay,' 'Abraham Lincoln: Theologian of American Anguish,' 'The Idea of a College,' 'The People Called Quakers,' 'The Incendiary Fellowship,' 'The Trustworthiness of Religious Experience' (1939 Swarthmore Lecture), 'A Place to Stand', 'Your Other Vocation' and 'The Humor of Christ.' Trueblood's short book, 'The Predicament of Modern Man,' received much attention near the end of World War II. People were searching for spiritual meaning and morality in the face of much suffering during World War II. Elton used the analogy that searching for morality without a foundation in religion was a futile effort, akin to trying to make cut flowers in a vase live forever. Elton wrote a shorter version of this basic thesis for Reader's Digest, which generated volumes of mail - he reportedly responded to every letter. <ref> Newby, p. 68 </ref> Trueblood's books, 'The Logic of Belief' and 'Philosophy of Religion' were considered some of Elton's most rigorous intellectual contributions to the field of philosophy of religion. Trueblood's book on Abraham Lincoln caught the attention of Nancy Reagan, who talked about it in an interview with 'Good Housekeeping' in September 1981. <ref> Newby, p. 152 </ref> Trueblood sought to provide the general audience with a great many readable works to promote a depth of religious thought in all people. One of his final books was an autobiography entitled 'While it is Day', which traced his personal journey from his boyhood in Iowa and placed it in the context of the history of his family long connection with Quakerism.