He grew up in Wisconsin and attended the University of New Mexico earning his B.A. (summa cum laude, 1977) and Rutgers University earning his M.A. and Ph.D. (1983). He has studied or been a visiting scholar at Princeton Theological Seminary; Wycliffe Hall, Oxford; the University of Vienna, Austria; and Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.He is a retired professor of Political Theory, Constitutional Law, and Religion & Politics at the University of Virginia's College at Wise. Along with being a Jeffersonian Scholar with numerous academic books to his credit, he is also an author of the popular book "What Would Jesus Do?" He lives on a farm in Powell Valley, Virginia, and is married to Elaine. They have two children: Gwendolyn and Peter.
