William McElwee Miller

Who was William McElwee Miller?

William McElwee Miller was an American missionary to Persia, and author of several books.

Born in Middlesboro, Kentucky, Miller received a M.A. in 1913 from Washington and Lee University, and a B.D. in 1919 from Princeton Theological Seminary. He went to Persia as a missionary of the Presbyterian Church and, except for a short period around 1932, he remained in Persia until 1962.

As a part of his missionary work, he learned Persian and strove to genuinely understand Islam, particularly Shi'a Islam, Persia and Persian culture. During his missionary work in Persia, he also encountered the Bahá'ís, a large religious minority there. Much of his ministerial work involved developing Christian apologetic responses to these religions.

With respect to the Bahá'í Faith, his 1931, Baha'ism, Its Origin, History and Teachings was the first of two books, and several apologetics articles on the subject. Along with Earl E. Elder he translated Bahá'u'lláh's Kitáb-i-Aqdas, one of the central books of the religion; this translation was published by the Royal Asiatic Society in 1961.