David F. Ford
Encyclopedia
David Frank Ford is an academic and public theologian. He has been the Regius Professor of Divinity
at the University of Cambridge
since 1991. His research interests include political theology
, ecumenical
theology, Christian theologians and theologies
, theology and poetry
, the shaping of universities
and of the field of theology and religious studies within universities, hermeneutics, and inter-faith theology and relations. He is the founding director of the Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme and a co-founder of the Society for Scriptural Reasoning
.
in Dublin. His father died when he was 12 years old and he was raised by his mother, Phyllis Mary Elizabeth Ford.
For his undergraduate education, he read classics
at the University of Dublin
, where he was active in politics, debate, and journalism. After completing his degree in classics (Greek and Latin), he interviewed for jobs at British Steel
and Rolls-Royce
, but then was offered a scholarship to St John's College
at the University of Cambridge and decided to study theology for a few years before going into business. He earned his Bachelor's degree in theology at Cambridge and went on to earn his Master of Sacred Theology
degree at Yale Divinity School
; he also did graduate work at the University of Tübingen. He gained his doctorate at Cambridge, writing his dissertation on Karl Barth
and biblical narrative under the direction of Donald MacKinnon
and Stephen Sykes
. The result was the book Barth and God's Story (1981). Ford later received an honorary
Doctor of Divinity
degree from the University of Birmingham
.
, his theology was shaped by a multi-faith experience, and he also became involved in a local Anglican church in the evangelical
tradition. As his housemate was involved in renovating derelict houses, he lived in some of those houses and became a house manager for one of them. In the university's theology department, he became close to theologian Daniel W. Hardy
, and went on to marry Hardy's daughter.
In 1991 he moved to Cambridge to become the Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. He is the first professor in this post who is not in the Anglican ministry
. He helped found and chairs the management committee of the Centre for Advanced Religious and Theological Studies at Cambridge. He is a member of St John's College, a fellow of Selwyn College
, and a foundation member of Trinity College
.
He is highly regarded for his scholarship, wit and humour. He is a sought-after lecturer and preacher, and serves as an advisor to the archbishops of the Anglican Communion
. His books have met with wide appeal; his The Modern Theologians: An Introduction to Christian Theology in the Twentieth Century (Blackwell, 1997), now in its third printing, is the leading textbook on modern Christian theology in the English-speaking world, China
and Korea
. His Theology: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press
, 1999), part of the Very Short Introductions
series, has been translated into many languages, including Chinese
, Korean
, Indonesian
, Romanian
, and Kurdish
.
. Ford assisted in the realization of a development plan which included a new building, a new Centre for Advanced Religious and Theological Studies, new endowed research posts, and the development of the Cambridge Theological Federation (the university's consortium of Anglican, Methodist
, and United Reformed
seminaries). The university went on to add two new posts in Islamic studies
, a new post in New Testament
, and a new endowed post in theology and natural science
. A Roman Catholic institute and institute for Orthodox Christian
theology were added to the consortium of seminaries. The Centre for Jewish-Christian Relations was established in 1998, followed by the Centre for the Study of Muslim-Jewish Relations in 2006.
Ford was introduced to interfaith dialog
ue in the early 1990s while on sabbatical at the Center for Theological Inquiry in Princeton
, where his father-in-law, Hardy, director of the centre, introduced him to Jewish
theologian Peter Ochs
. Hardy and Ford participated in meetings of the early "textual reasoning" group founded by Ochs at the American Academy of Religion
, reading the Tanakh
, Bible, and Quran together with Christian and Muslim scholars. In 1996 Ford, Hardy and Ochs founded the Society for Scriptural Reasoning; Ford has been an active promoter of scriptural reasoning
in subsequent papers and lectures.
In 2002 Ford became the founding director of the Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme. Among his activities are lectures at international conferences on Muslim-Christian relations. In October 2007 he helped launch a letter
by 138 Muslim scholars to 25 Christian leaders, including the Pope
, the Orthodox Patriarchs, the Archbishop of Canterbury
, and the heads of the world alliances of the Lutheran
, Methodist, Baptist and Reformed churches, calling for peace and reconciliation between Christians and Muslims for the survival of the world. The following month, he was one of the signatories on a Christian response seeking Muslim forgiveness.
In 2008 the Sternberg Foundation
awarded Ford its Gold Medal for Inter-Faith Relations.
since 2008. Other professional memberships include the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature
.
He is an editorial board member of Modern Theology
, the Scottish Journal of Theology
, Teaching Theology and Religion, the Irish Theological Quarterly, and the Journal of Anglican Studies. He is an editorial advisory board member for the Current Issues in Theology series published by Cambridge University Press
.
From 2003 to 2008 Ford was an academic member of the World Economic Forum Council of 100 Leaders for West-Islamic World Dialogue. He is an external advisor for the Centre for Christian Studies in Hong Kong
(since 2006), a trustee for the Golden Web Foundation (developer of a global multimedia publishing system with a focus on pre-modern world history, heritage and culture (since 2006), and a consultant for L'Arche Communities, a federation of over 100 communities for people with severe mental disabilities (since 1993).
In 2011 he was one of 1,750 signatories to a letter to US President Barack Obama urging US intervention in the Libyan civil war
.
, part of the Cambridge University Hospital system. They have three children, Rebecca, Rachel and Daniel.
Regius Professor of Divinity
The Regius Professorship of Divinity is one of the oldest and most prestigious of the professorships at the University of Oxford and at the University of Cambridge.Both chairs were founded by Henry VIII...
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
since 1991. His research interests include political theology
Political theology
Political theology or public theology is a branch of both political philosophy and practical theology that investigates the ways in which theological concepts or ways of thinking underlie political, social, economic and cultural discourses....
, ecumenical
Ecumenism
Ecumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
theology, Christian theologians and theologies
Christian theology
- Divisions of Christian theology :There are many methods of categorizing different approaches to Christian theology. For a historical analysis, see the main article on the History of Christian theology.- Sub-disciplines :...
, theology and poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, the shaping of universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
and of the field of theology and religious studies within universities, hermeneutics, and inter-faith theology and relations. He is the founding director of the Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme and a co-founder of the Society for Scriptural Reasoning
Scriptural reasoning
Scriptural Reasoning is one type of interdisciplinary, interfaith scriptural reading. It is an evolving practice in which Christians, Jews, Muslims, and sometimes members of other Abrahamic faiths, meet to study their sacred scriptures together, and to explore the ways in which such study can help...
.
Early life and education
Ford was raised as an Anglican in the Church of IrelandChurch of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
in Dublin. His father died when he was 12 years old and he was raised by his mother, Phyllis Mary Elizabeth Ford.
For his undergraduate education, he read classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
at the University of Dublin
University of Dublin
The University of Dublin , corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin , located in Dublin, Ireland, was effectively founded when in 1592 Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter for Trinity College, Dublin, as "the mother of a university" – this date making it...
, where he was active in politics, debate, and journalism. After completing his degree in classics (Greek and Latin), he interviewed for jobs at British Steel
British Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
and Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
, but then was offered a scholarship to St John's College
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
at the University of Cambridge and decided to study theology for a few years before going into business. He earned his Bachelor's degree in theology at Cambridge and went on to earn his Master of Sacred Theology
Master of Sacred Theology
The Master of Sacred Theology is a second-level graduate degree for those who wish to pursue a year of more advanced coursework focusing on a particular discipline....
degree at Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School is a professional school at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. preparing students for ordained or lay ministry, or for the academy...
; he also did graduate work at the University of Tübingen. He gained his doctorate at Cambridge, writing his dissertation on Karl Barth
Karl Barth
Karl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian whom critics hold to be among the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century; Pope Pius XII described him as the most important theologian since Thomas Aquinas...
and biblical narrative under the direction of Donald MacKinnon
Donald M. MacKinnon
Donald Mackenzie MacKinnon was a Scottish philosopher and theologian. He was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, and held academic appointments in Oxbridge and Scotland - including Regius Professor of Moral Philosophy at Aberdeen University and Norris-Hulse Professor of...
and Stephen Sykes
Stephen Sykes
Stephen Whitefield Sykes retired as Principal of St John's College, Durham at the end of August 2006. He was formerly the Church of England Bishop of Ely and held professorial chairs in divinity at both Durham University and Cambridge University.Sykes studied at St John's College, Cambridge,...
. The result was the book Barth and God's Story (1981). Ford later received an honorary
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
degree from the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
.
Career
From 1976–1991 Ford was a lecturer (later senior lecturer) at the University of Birmingham. Living in the inner cityInner city
The inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term is often applied to the lower-income residential districts in the city centre and nearby areas...
, his theology was shaped by a multi-faith experience, and he also became involved in a local Anglican church in the evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
tradition. As his housemate was involved in renovating derelict houses, he lived in some of those houses and became a house manager for one of them. In the university's theology department, he became close to theologian Daniel W. Hardy
Daniel W. Hardy
Daniel Wayne Hardy was an ordained Anglican Theologian. He died from a Glioblastoma.-His contributions:...
, and went on to marry Hardy's daughter.
In 1991 he moved to Cambridge to become the Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge. He is the first professor in this post who is not in the Anglican ministry
Anglican ministry
The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. "Ministry" commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the threefold order of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglican ministry includes many laypeople who devote themselves...
. He helped found and chairs the management committee of the Centre for Advanced Religious and Theological Studies at Cambridge. He is a member of St John's College, a fellow of Selwyn College
Selwyn College, Cambridge
Selwyn College is a constituent college in the University of Cambridge in England, United Kingdom.The college was founded by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of the Rt Reverend George Selwyn , who rowed on the Cambridge crew in the first Varsity Boat Race in 1829, and went on to become the...
, and a foundation member of Trinity College
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
.
He is highly regarded for his scholarship, wit and humour. He is a sought-after lecturer and preacher, and serves as an advisor to the archbishops of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
. His books have met with wide appeal; his The Modern Theologians: An Introduction to Christian Theology in the Twentieth Century (Blackwell, 1997), now in its third printing, is the leading textbook on modern Christian theology in the English-speaking world, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. His Theology: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 1999), part of the Very Short Introductions
Very Short Introductions
The Very Short Introductions series is a book series published by the Oxford University Press publishing house since 1995. Books in the series offer concise introductions to particular subjects, intended for a general audience but written by experts in the field. The Very Short Introductions...
series, has been translated into many languages, including Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
, Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
, Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
, and Kurdish
Kurdish language
Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
.
Multi-faith and inter-faith work
When Ford came to Cambridge in 1991, the theology department focused almost exclusively on ChristianityChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. Ford assisted in the realization of a development plan which included a new building, a new Centre for Advanced Religious and Theological Studies, new endowed research posts, and the development of the Cambridge Theological Federation (the university's consortium of Anglican, Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
, and United Reformed
United Reformed Church
The United Reformed Church is a Christian church in the United Kingdom. It has approximately 68,000 members in 1,500 congregations with some 700 ministers.-Origins and history:...
seminaries). The university went on to add two new posts in Islamic studies
Islamic studies
In a Muslim context, Islamic studies can be an umbrella term for all virtually all of academia, both originally researched and as defined by the Islamization of knowledge...
, a new post in New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, and a new endowed post in theology and natural science
Natural science
The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
. A Roman Catholic institute and institute for Orthodox Christian
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
theology were added to the consortium of seminaries. The Centre for Jewish-Christian Relations was established in 1998, followed by the Centre for the Study of Muslim-Jewish Relations in 2006.
Ford was introduced to interfaith dialog
Interfaith dialog
The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels...
ue in the early 1990s while on sabbatical at the Center for Theological Inquiry in Princeton
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
, where his father-in-law, Hardy, director of the centre, introduced him to Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
theologian Peter Ochs
Peter Ochs
Peter W. Ochs is the Edgar M. Bronfman Professor of Modern Judaic Studies at the University of Virginia, where he has served since 1997. He is an influential thinker whose interests include Jewish philosophy and theology, modern and postmodern philosophic theology, pragmatism, and semiotics...
. Hardy and Ford participated in meetings of the early "textual reasoning" group founded by Ochs at the American Academy of Religion
American Academy of Religion
The American Academy of Religion is the world's largest association of scholars in the field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association,...
, reading the Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
, Bible, and Quran together with Christian and Muslim scholars. In 1996 Ford, Hardy and Ochs founded the Society for Scriptural Reasoning; Ford has been an active promoter of scriptural reasoning
Scriptural reasoning
Scriptural Reasoning is one type of interdisciplinary, interfaith scriptural reading. It is an evolving practice in which Christians, Jews, Muslims, and sometimes members of other Abrahamic faiths, meet to study their sacred scriptures together, and to explore the ways in which such study can help...
in subsequent papers and lectures.
In 2002 Ford became the founding director of the Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme. Among his activities are lectures at international conferences on Muslim-Christian relations. In October 2007 he helped launch a letter
A Common Word Between Us and You
A Common Word between Us and You is an open letter, dated 13 October 2007, from leaders of the Muslim faith to leaders of the Christian faith. It calls for peace between Muslims and Christians and tries to work for common ground and understanding among both faiths, in line with the Qur'anic...
by 138 Muslim scholars to 25 Christian leaders, including the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
, the Orthodox Patriarchs, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, and the heads of the world alliances of the Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
, Methodist, Baptist and Reformed churches, calling for peace and reconciliation between Christians and Muslims for the survival of the world. The following month, he was one of the signatories on a Christian response seeking Muslim forgiveness.
In 2008 the Sternberg Foundation
Sigmund Sternberg
Sir Sigmund Sternberg, is a British philanthropist, businessman and Labour Party donor.-Early life:Sternberg is Jewish and was born in Hungary. He emigrated to Britain in 1939 and was naturalised as a British citizen in 1947.-Career:...
awarded Ford its Gold Medal for Inter-Faith Relations.
Memberships
Ford is active both within the university and in public life. He has been a trustee for the Center of Theological Inquiry at Princeton since 2007 and a member of the board of advisors for the John Templeton FoundationJohn Templeton Foundation
"The John Templeton Foundation is a philanthropic organizationthat funds inter-disciplinary research about human purpose and ultimate reality. It is usually referred to simply as the Templeton Foundation...
since 2008. Other professional memberships include the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature
Society of Biblical Literature
The Society of Biblical Literature, founded 1880, is a constituent society of the American Council of Learned Societies , with the stated mission to "Foster Biblical Scholarship"...
.
He is an editorial board member of Modern Theology
Modern Theology
Modern Theology is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. It publishes articles, review articles, and book reviews in the area of theology, with an ecumenical editorial policy.- Abstracting and indexing :...
, the Scottish Journal of Theology
Scottish Journal of Theology
Scottish Journal of Theology is a peer-reviewed quarterly academic journal of systematic, historical and biblical theology. Founded in Scotland in 1948, it provides an ecumenical forum for debate, and engages in extensive reviewing of theological and biblical literature...
, Teaching Theology and Religion, the Irish Theological Quarterly, and the Journal of Anglican Studies. He is an editorial advisory board member for the Current Issues in Theology series published by Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
.
From 2003 to 2008 Ford was an academic member of the World Economic Forum Council of 100 Leaders for West-Islamic World Dialogue. He is an external advisor for the Centre for Christian Studies in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
(since 2006), a trustee for the Golden Web Foundation (developer of a global multimedia publishing system with a focus on pre-modern world history, heritage and culture (since 2006), and a consultant for L'Arche Communities, a federation of over 100 communities for people with severe mental disabilities (since 1993).
In 2011 he was one of 1,750 signatories to a letter to US President Barack Obama urging US intervention in the Libyan civil war
2011 Libyan civil war
The 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...
.
Personal
He is married to Rev. Deborah Ford, daughter of the late Daniel W. Hardy. She is an assistant chaplain at Addenbrooke's HospitalAddenbrooke's Hospital
Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned teaching hospital in Cambridge, England, with strong links to the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1766 on Trumpington Street with £4,500 from the will of Dr John Addenbrooke, a fellow of St Catharine's College...
, part of the Cambridge University Hospital system. They have three children, Rebecca, Rachel and Daniel.
Books, monographs
-
- Review by John Webster, Scottish Journal of TheologyScottish Journal of TheologyScottish Journal of Theology is a peer-reviewed quarterly academic journal of systematic, historical and biblical theology. Founded in Scotland in 1948, it provides an ecumenical forum for debate, and engages in extensive reviewing of theological and biblical literature...
(2001), 54: 548-559. (ed. with Mike Higton) (ed. with C. C. Pecknold; includes chapter "An Inter-Faith Wisdom: Scriptural Reasoning Between Jews, Christians and Muslims") - Review in Studies in Christian Ethics (November 2009) 22:4, 504-506. (ed. with Marc Caball, includes chapter "Life, Work, and Reception"); 3d ed. (ed., with Rachel Muers) pub. 2005 (ed. with Graham Stanton) (ed. with Ben Quash and Janet Martin Soskice) (with Susan HowatchSusan HowatchSusan Howatch is an English author. Her writing career has been distinguished by family saga-type novels which describe the lives of related characters for long periods of time...
) 2nd ed. published 2004 (with Daniel W. Hardy). Published in U.S. as Praising and Knowing God, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 2005. (with Frances M. Young) (ed. by David Ford, Deborah Ford, Peter Ochs, published in paperback as Attracting God's Light: A Parting Theology) - Review by Michael Barnes in Thinking Faith: The Online Journal of the British Jesuits, 14 January 2011.
- Review by Jason Byassee in The Christian Century 128:9 (3 May 2011), 33. (with Mike Higton and Simeon Zahl)
- Review by John Webster, Scottish Journal of Theology
Book chapters
- "Tragedy and Atonement" in Christ, Ethics, and Tragedy: Essays in honour of Donald MacKinnon, Kenneth Surin, ed. Cambridge University Press, 1989. ISBN 9780521341370.
- "Third Epoch: The Future of Discourse In Jewish-Christian Relations" (with Peter Ochs), in Challenges in Jewish-Christian Relations, James K. Aitken and Edward Kessler, eds. New York: Paulist Press, 2006, pp. 153-170.
- "Developing Scriptural Reasoning Further", in Scripture, Reason, and the Contemporary Islam-West Encounter: Studying the ‘Other’, Understanding the ‘Self’, Basit Bilal Koshul and Steven Kepnes, eds. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, pp. 201-219.
- "God and Our Public Life: A scriptural wisdom", in Liberating Texts? Sacred Scriptures in Public Life, Sebastian C. H. Kim and Jonathan Draper, eds. London: SPCK, 2008, pp. 29-56.
- "Theology" in The Routledge Companion to the Study of Religions (2nd edition, 2009), John Hinnells, ed. Routledge, ISBN 0415473276.
- "Theology and Religious Studies for a Multifaith and Secular Society", in Theology and Religious Studies in Higher Education: Global Perspectives, Darlene L. Bird and Simon G. Smith, eds. London: Continuum, 2009, pp. 31-43.
- "Paul Ricoeur: A Biblical Philosopher on Jesus", in Jesus and Philosophy: New Essays, Paul K. Moser, ed. Cambridge University Press, 2009, pp. 169-193.
- "Foreword" to New Perspectives for Evangelical Theology: Engaging God, Scripture, and the World. Routledge, 2009.
- "Foreword" in New Perspectives for Evangelical Theology: Engaging with God, Scripture, and the World, Tom Greggs, ed. Routledge, 2010. ISBN 9780415477321.
Selected articles, papers
- "What Happens in the Eucharist?", Scottish Journal of Theology 8:3 (1995), 359-81.
- "A Messiah for the Third Millennium," Modern Theology 16 (2000), 75-90.
- "The Responsibilities of Universities in a Religious and Secular World", in Studies in Christian Ethics 17:1 (April 2044), 22–37, doi: 10.1177/095394680401700102.
- "A Wisdom for Anglican Life: Lambeth 1998 to Lambeth 2008 and Beyond", in Journal of Anglican Studies 4:2 (2006), 137-156.
- “An Interfaith Wisdom: Scriptural Reasoning Between Jews, Christians and Muslims”, in Modern Theology 22:3 (July 2006), 345-366.
- "Gospel in Context: Among Many Faiths", in Pilgrim: Magazine of the Friends of the Church in India, No. 30 (March-April 2007), 3-7.
- "God and Our Public Life: A Scriptural Wisdom", in International Journal of Public Theology 1:1 (2007), 63-81.
- "God’s Power and Human Flourishing: A Biblical Inquiry after Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age", 2008
- "A Muscat Manifesto: Seeking Interfaith Wisdom", Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme and Kalam Research & Media, 2009.
- "Where is Wise Theological Creativity to be Found? Thoughts on 25 Years of Modern Theology and the Twenty-First Century Prospect", in Modern Theology 26:1 (January 2010), 67-75.
- "Faith Seeking Wisdom: How My Mind Has Changed" in The Christian Century (18 November 2010).
Selected lectures
- "Knowledge, Meaning and the World’s Greatest Challenges: Reinventing Cambridge University in the Twenty-first Century", lecture at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, 14 February 2003.
- "The Qur'an: A New Translation", speech given at the launch of The Qur'an: A New Translation at SOAS, University of London, 13 May 2004.
- "Gospel in Many Contexts: Among Many Faiths" at Fulcrum Conference Islington 2006.
- "Faith, Scriptures and Universities in an Inter-Faith and Secular Society", and "'A Fresh Intensity: Inter-Faith Engagement with Scriptures", lectures at The University of Sheffield, February 2007.
- "Seeking Muslim, Christian and Jewish Wisdom in the Fifteenth, Twenty-first and Fifty-eighth centuries: A Muscat Manifesto", lecture at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Muscat, Oman, 20 April 2009. *"What is Required of a Religious Leader Today?", lecture at the Institute of Shariah Studies, Muscat, Oman, 20 April 2009.
- "Jews, Christians and Muslims Meet around their Scriptures: An Inter-Faith Practice for the 21st Century", The Fourth Pope John Paul II Annual Lecture on Interreligious Understanding, 5 April 2011.
Quotes
- "At the heart of healthy inter-faith engagement is a triple dynamic: going deeper into your own faith, deeper into each other's, and deeper into action for the common good of humanity".
- " Few things are likely to be more important for the twenty-first century than wise faith among the world's religious communities. That calls for fuller understanding, better education, and a commitment to the flourishing of our whole planet".