Donald D. Evans
Encyclopedia
Donald Dwight Evans is a Canadian educator, psychotherapist and spiritual counsellor.
He obtained a B.A.
from the University of Toronto
in 1950, following which he earned a B.Phil. from Oxford University and a B.D.
from McGill University
. He was ordained as a pastor in the United Church of Canada
in 1955. He was a professor of divinity at McGill from 1960 to 1964 (during which time he received a D.Phil. from Oxford), an associate professor of philosophy from 1964 to 1968 and full professor from 1968 until 1993.
In a 1983 Religious Studies Review
article Stanley Hauerwas
--then of University of Notre Dame
--and Richard Bondi--then of the Candler School of Theology
--together review three of Evans' major works. These are his 1963 The Logic of Self-involvement, his 1980 Faith, Authenticity, and Morality, and his 1981 Struggle and Fulfillment. These reviewers note that "Many think Donald Evans has gone through a sea change which they view with a good deal of doubt, not for its sincerity but for its direction. Their doubt may be put quite bluntly: Evans got messed up with psychoanalysis
, and whatever personal good this did him, his mind and his thinking went soft." These two reviewers go on to state "that this is not the case" and that "the hard-headed Evans is still there."
These reviewers' earlier-mentioned sea change is clarified to mean that his later two works (Struggle and Fulfillment and Faith, Authenticity, and Morality) find the basis of religious belief in religious experience
, while his other earlier work (The Logic of Self-Involvement) found the meaning of religion within language
itself.
. It is a common identification with the suffering of others. The prominent idea is that both believers and non-believers grieve and rebel against suffering. To explain this term, Evans gives two fictional atheists--Dostoievsky's Ivan Karamazov and Camus
's Dr. Bernard Rieux--as examples of those whose "compassion is compounded with a sense of outrage and revulsion that nature and men should inflict mental and physical toruture on human beings." Evans also quotes D. M. Mackinnon's Christian Faith and Communist Faith (1953) "the man who revolts, determined somehow to affirm in this most desperate situation that God did not so make the world, is met by the mystery of God's own revolt against the world He made." According to Evans, a belief in a God of indignant compassion means a belief in a God who suffers, which is what Bonhoeffer illustrates when—during his incarceration in a Nazi prison—he wrote "Christians stand by God in his hour of grieving."
Logic of Self-involvement: A Philosophical Study of Everyday Language with Special Reference to the Christian Use of Language about God as Creator, 1963, SCM Press
, In Series edited by Ian Ramsey
and John McIntyre
He obtained a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
in 1950, following which he earned a B.Phil. from Oxford University and a B.D.
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
from McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
. He was ordained as a pastor in the United Church of Canada
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
in 1955. He was a professor of divinity at McGill from 1960 to 1964 (during which time he received a D.Phil. from Oxford), an associate professor of philosophy from 1964 to 1968 and full professor from 1968 until 1993.
In a 1983 Religious Studies Review
Religious Studies Review
Religious Studies Review is the journal of the Council of Societies for the Study of Religion , which is based at Rice University. The journal is published quarterly by Wiley-Blackwell....
article Stanley Hauerwas
Stanley Hauerwas
Stanley Hauerwas is a Christian theologian and ethicist. He has taught at the University of Notre Dame and is currently the Gilbert T...
--then of University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
--and Richard Bondi--then of the Candler School of Theology
Candler School of Theology
Candler School of Theology, Emory University, is one of 13 seminaries of the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1914, the school was named after Warren Akin Candler, a former President and Chancellor of Emory University and a Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South...
--together review three of Evans' major works. These are his 1963 The Logic of Self-involvement, his 1980 Faith, Authenticity, and Morality, and his 1981 Struggle and Fulfillment. These reviewers note that "Many think Donald Evans has gone through a sea change which they view with a good deal of doubt, not for its sincerity but for its direction. Their doubt may be put quite bluntly: Evans got messed up with psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
, and whatever personal good this did him, his mind and his thinking went soft." These two reviewers go on to state "that this is not the case" and that "the hard-headed Evans is still there."
These reviewers' earlier-mentioned sea change is clarified to mean that his later two works (Struggle and Fulfillment and Faith, Authenticity, and Morality) find the basis of religious belief in religious experience
Religious experience
Religious experience is a subjective experience in which an individual reports contact with a transcendent reality, an encounter or union with the divine....
, while his other earlier work (The Logic of Self-Involvement) found the meaning of religion within language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
itself.
Indignant compassion
Indignant compassion is experienced by both believers and non-believers in GodGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. It is a common identification with the suffering of others. The prominent idea is that both believers and non-believers grieve and rebel against suffering. To explain this term, Evans gives two fictional atheists--Dostoievsky's Ivan Karamazov and Camus
Albert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
's Dr. Bernard Rieux--as examples of those whose "compassion is compounded with a sense of outrage and revulsion that nature and men should inflict mental and physical toruture on human beings." Evans also quotes D. M. Mackinnon's Christian Faith and Communist Faith (1953) "the man who revolts, determined somehow to affirm in this most desperate situation that God did not so make the world, is met by the mystery of God's own revolt against the world He made." According to Evans, a belief in a God of indignant compassion means a belief in a God who suffers, which is what Bonhoeffer illustrates when—during his incarceration in a Nazi prison—he wrote "Christians stand by God in his hour of grieving."
Quotes
Works
- Faith, Authenticity, and Morality, Toronto Press, 1980, 268 pages
- Struggle and Fulfillment: the Inner Dynamics of Religion and Morality, Fortress Press, 1981 (Collins, 1979), 238 pages
Logic of Self-involvement: A Philosophical Study of Everyday Language with Special Reference to the Christian Use of Language about God as Creator, 1963, SCM Press
SCM Press
SCM Press is a UK-based academic publisher of theology, established more than a century ago. It was purchased by Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd. in 1997. In 1989 the Los Angeles Times described SCM Press as "Britain's leading theological publisher"....
, In Series edited by Ian Ramsey
Ian Ramsey
Ian Thomas Ramsey was Professor of the Philosophy of Religion at the University of Oxford, and Bishop of Durham from 1966 until his death in 1972. He wrote extensively on the problem of religious language, Christian ethics, the relationship between science and religion, and Christian apologetics...
and John McIntyre
John McIntyre (theologian)
John McIntyre CVO was a Scottish minister and theologian.-Biography:McIntyre was born in Glasgow on 20 May 1916 into a working-class family; he was the son of a carpenter...
- Chapter 6 "Differences between scientific and religious assertions" (pp. 101–133) in Science and Religion: New Perspectives on the Dialogue, Editor Ian BarbourIan BarbourIan Graeme Barbour, born 5 October 1923, is an American scholar on the relationship between science and religion. According to the Public Broadcasting Service his mid-1960s Issues in Science and Religion "has been credited with literally creating the contemporary field of science and religion."In...
, Harper & Row, 1968