David Brown (theologian)

David William Brown FBA FRSE (born 1948) is an Anglican priest and theologian who currently serves as Professor of Theology, Aesthetics and Culture in the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts and as Wardlaw Professor at St Mary's College, University of St Andrews.

Early life and education

Born in the Borders of Scotland (Galashiels) and brought up on Islay, Brown received his initial degree in Classics at the University of Edinburgh (1970). From 1970 to 2007, his academic career was spent in England. In 1972, Brown received First Class Honours in Philosophy and Theology from Oxford University, and in 1976 he received his Doctorate in Ethics from Cambridge University.

Academic career

Oxford University

From 1976 to 1990 Brown served as Tutor in Theology and Philosophy at Oriel College and University Lecturer in Ethics and Philosophical Theology at Oxford. During this time, he was also ordained as a priest of the Church of England (1977).^[1][2]

Brown's early interests were concerned with the interactions between theology and philosophy, reflected in the two major works, The Divine Trinity (1985) and Continental Philosophy and Modern Theology (1987).^[1]

Durham University

From 1990 to 2007, Brown served as Van Mildert Professor of Divinity at Durham University.^[3] While at Durham, Brown's interests shifted from the engagement between theology and philosophy to the engagement between theology and the wider culture, especially the arts. Between 1999 and 2008, Brown has published five major books with Oxford University Press: Tradition and Imagination (1999), Discipleship and Imagination (2000), God and Enchantment of Place (2004), God and Grace of Body (2007) and God and Mystery in Words (2008).^[1]

From 1998 to 2007, Brown served as Canon as well as Chapter Librarian & Curator at Durham Cathedral,^[4] during which time he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy.^[5]

University of St Andrews

In the autumn of 2007, Brown returned to Scotland to take up his post at the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts (ITIA), St Mary's College.^[5]

From 6–8 September 2010, ITIA held a conference entitled, 'Theology, Aesthetics and Culture: Conversations with the Work of David W Brown', which featured careful theological, historical, biblical, philosophical, and literary engagement with Brown's five major OUP volumes.^[6][7] Among those who delivered papers were:

• Margaret R. Miles (Former Dean of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California)
• William J. Abraham (Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wesley Studies, Southern Methodist University)
• Richard Bauckham (Emeritus Professor University of St Andrews / Ridley Hall, Cambridge)
• Tina Beattie (Professor of Theology & Religious Studies, Roehampton University)
• Gordon Graham (Henry Luce III Professor of Philosophy and the Arts, Princeton Theological Seminary)
• Charles Taliaferro (Professor of Philosophy, St Olaf College)
• Graham Ward (Head of School and Professor in Contextual Theology and Ethics, University of Manchester)
• Jeremy Begbie (Thomas A. Langford Research Professor of Theology, Duke University)
• Gavin Hopps (Research Councils' UK Academic Fellow in the School of Divinity, Assistant Director of ITIA, University of St Andrews)
• Clive Marsh (Senior Lecturer and Director of Learning and Teaching, University of Leicester)
• Ben Quash (Professor of Christianity & the Arts, King's College London)
• Trevor Hart (Professor of Divinity, Director of ITIA, University of St Andrews)^[8][9]

Selected bibliography

• Choices: Ethics and the Christian Blackwell, 1983 (ISBN 0 631 13182-5 & 0 631 13222 8) 167pp.; Spanish translation, 2000.
• The Divine Trinity Duckworth & Open Court (La Salle, Il.), 1985 (ISBN 0 7156 1816 4) 315pp.
• Continental Philosophy and Modern Theology Blackwell, 1987 (ISBN 0 631 15734 4) 250pp.
• Invitation to Theology Blackwell, 1989 (ISBN 0 631 16473 1 & 0 631 16474 X) 182pp.
• The Word To Set You Free: Living Faith and Biblical Criticism SPCK, 1995 (ISBN 0 281 04806 1) 193pp.
• Tradition and Imagination: Revelation and Change Oxford University Press, 1999 (ISBN 978-0-19-826991-5) viii + 402pp.
• Discipleship and Imagination: Tradition and Truth Oxford University Press, 2000 (ISBN 0-19-8270186) viii + 438pp.
• God and Enchantment of Place: Reclaiming Human Experience Oxford University Press, 2004 (ISBN 0 19 927198 4), vii + 436pp.
• Through the Eyes of the Saints: A Pilgrimage through History Continuum, 2005 (ISBN 0 8264 7640 6), xiii + 185pp.
• God and Grace of Body: Sacrament in Ordinary Oxford University Press, 2007 (ISBN 0 19 923182 6), 352 pp.
• God and Mystery in Words: Experience through Metaphor and Drama Oxford University Press, 2008 (ISBN 978 0 19 923183 6), 288pp.

References