George Newlands
Encyclopedia
George McLeod Newlands is Emeritus Professor of Divinity at the University of Glasgow
.
liberal
Christian
theologian. He was
Chair of the Theology
, Divinity
& Religious Studies
panel of the UK's Research Assessment Exercise
for 2008, and is currently Vice-President of the Society for the Study of Theology.
at the University of Glasgow
from 1986 to 2008. He was previously a University Lecturer at the University of Cambridge
and Dean of Trinity Hall
(following in the footsteps of Archbishop of Canterbury
Robert Runcie
and Oxford's Regius Professor of Divinity Keith Ward
).He is an Honorary Professorial Research Fellow in Divinity in Glasgow University and an Honorary Fellow of New College, University of Edinburgh.
He was Dean of Glasgow's Faculty of Divinity
from 1988 to 1990, Head of the Department of Theology
and Church History from 1986 to 1992 and Director of the Centre for Literature, Theology and the Arts 1998 to 2002.
He was appointed by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
to be Principal of Trinity College, Glasgow
, the Church's college within the Faculty of Divinity, from 1991 to 1997 and again from 2001 to 2008.
Newlands was educated at Edinburgh University (MA, BD, PhD, DLitt), Heidelberg (from where he traveled to attend the final seminar of Karl Barth
in Basel), Paris, Zurich, and Churchill College, Cambridge (MA).
Newlands published God in Christian Perspective in 1994. Continuing his 'constructive theology' project, he deals with the doctrine of God and-
always a central concern of Newlands- Christology
. This wide-ranging book engages not just with the continental tradition, but with Reformed, Anglican and wider Christian streams of thought, and more recent concerns such as feminism and liberation theology.
Generosity and the Christian Future, the 1995 Henson lectures at the University of Oxford, was published in 1997. Here Newlands returns to his concern about faith, theology, ethics and public issues, such as human rights and pluralism. He begins the book by imagining a tenth Vatican Council in the year 2517 CE, presided over by a Pope who is an American Baptist woman - a typical example of Newlands' humour, familiar to his students, which seeks to illuminate important issues. Recently Newlands has been interested in 20th Century Scottish theology. He edited Scottish Christianity in the Modern World in 2001, and produced a theological biography of John and Donald Baillie in 2002.
He has been exploring 'intercultural theology', and his most recent work reflects once more Christology and an important contemporary theme: Human Rights. This has resulted in Christ and Human Rights (2006) Faith and Human Rights (2008) and Hospitable God (2010.) A collection of essays, Traces of Liberality, was published in 2006. A festschrift
The God of Love and Human Dignity was presented in 2007.
and a priest in the Church of England
. He is a past Convenor of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
's Panel on Doctrine
and has served on the Doctrine Commission of the Church of England, and the Doctrine Committee of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
In May 2006, Newlands was involved in the creation of Affirmation Scotland
a group within the Church of Scotland seeking "to affirm
and celebrate Christ's call for inclusion, generosity and hospitality, and to see the full affirmation of all Christians, progressive and
traditional, straight, gay and lesbian, within the Church of Scotland". He is also associated with OneKirk, a network "committed to working
for an inclusive, affirming and progressive church". Both of these bodies came in the wake of controversies within the Church of Scotland
regarding the blessing
of civil partnerships for gay
and lesbian
people.
Professor of Divinity, Glasgow
Professor of Divinity is an academic position at the University of Glasgow.Although divinity was taught from the foundations of the university in 1451, it was in 1577, as part of James VI's Nova Erectio, that a Chair was established, to be held by the Principal of the University of Glasgow...
.
Background
George Newlands is a ScottishScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
liberal
Liberal Christianity
Liberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically and biblically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onward...
Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
theologian. He was
Chair of the Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, Divinity
Divinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
& Religious Studies
Religious studies
Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
panel of the UK's Research Assessment Exercise
Research Assessment Exercise
The Research Assessment Exercise is an exercise undertaken approximately every 5 years on behalf of the four UK higher education funding councils to evaluate the quality of research undertaken by British higher education institutions...
for 2008, and is currently Vice-President of the Society for the Study of Theology.
Career
Professor Newlands held the Chair of DivinityProfessor of Divinity, Glasgow
Professor of Divinity is an academic position at the University of Glasgow.Although divinity was taught from the foundations of the university in 1451, it was in 1577, as part of James VI's Nova Erectio, that a Chair was established, to be held by the Principal of the University of Glasgow...
at the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
from 1986 to 2008. He was previously a University Lecturer 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...
and Dean of Trinity Hall
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
(following in the footsteps of 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...
Robert Runcie
Robert Runcie
Robert Alexander Kennedy Runcie, Baron Runcie, PC, MC was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1980 to 1991.-Early life:...
and Oxford's Regius Professor of Divinity Keith Ward
Keith Ward
Keith Ward is a British cleric, philosopher, theologian and scholar. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and an ordained priest of the Church of England. He was a canon of Christ Church, Oxford until 2003...
).He is an Honorary Professorial Research Fellow in Divinity in Glasgow University and an Honorary Fellow of New College, University of Edinburgh.
He was Dean of Glasgow's Faculty of Divinity
Divinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
from 1988 to 1990, Head of the Department of Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and Church History from 1986 to 1992 and Director of the Centre for Literature, Theology and the Arts 1998 to 2002.
He was appointed by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body[1] An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland, A Gordon McGillivray, 2nd Edition .-Church courts:As a Presbyterian church,...
to be Principal of Trinity College, Glasgow
Trinity College, Glasgow
Trinity College, Glasgow, Scotland, is the Church of Scotland's College at the University of Glasgow. It provides special supervision of candidates for the ministry through a Principal and a College Council...
, the Church's college within the Faculty of Divinity, from 1991 to 1997 and again from 2001 to 2008.
Newlands was educated at Edinburgh University (MA, BD, PhD, DLitt), Heidelberg (from where he traveled to attend the final seminar of 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...
in Basel), Paris, Zurich, and Churchill College, Cambridge (MA).
Theology
Newlands' first book was Hilary of Poitiers: a Study in Theological Method in 1978. His Theology of the Love of God, followed in 1980. In the wake of 'death of God' theology and the 'myth of God incarnate' controversy during the 1970s, Newlands here attempted a 'constructive theology'. Barth had constructed a theology around the theme of faith, and Moltmann a theology of hope, so Newlands took the third of the Pauline triad to construct a theology around love (which, after all, is also of central concern in Christian theology). Further constructive theology followed with an ecclesiology in The Church of God (1984). A book on ethics followed in 1985- Making Christian Decisions.Newlands published God in Christian Perspective in 1994. Continuing his 'constructive theology' project, he deals with the doctrine of God and-
always a central concern of Newlands- Christology
Christology
Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
. This wide-ranging book engages not just with the continental tradition, but with Reformed, Anglican and wider Christian streams of thought, and more recent concerns such as feminism and liberation theology.
Generosity and the Christian Future, the 1995 Henson lectures at the University of Oxford, was published in 1997. Here Newlands returns to his concern about faith, theology, ethics and public issues, such as human rights and pluralism. He begins the book by imagining a tenth Vatican Council in the year 2517 CE, presided over by a Pope who is an American Baptist woman - a typical example of Newlands' humour, familiar to his students, which seeks to illuminate important issues. Recently Newlands has been interested in 20th Century Scottish theology. He edited Scottish Christianity in the Modern World in 2001, and produced a theological biography of John and Donald Baillie in 2002.
He has been exploring 'intercultural theology', and his most recent work reflects once more Christology and an important contemporary theme: Human Rights. This has resulted in Christ and Human Rights (2006) Faith and Human Rights (2008) and Hospitable God (2010.) A collection of essays, Traces of Liberality, was published in 2006. A festschrift
Festschrift
In academia, a Festschrift , is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory writing...
The God of Love and Human Dignity was presented in 2007.
Ecclesiastical work
Professor Newlands is probably unique in being both an ordained Minister of the Church of ScotlandChurch of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
and a priest in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. He is a past Convenor of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body[1] An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland, A Gordon McGillivray, 2nd Edition .-Church courts:As a Presbyterian church,...
's Panel on Doctrine
Doctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
and has served on the Doctrine Commission of the Church of England, and the Doctrine Committee of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
In May 2006, Newlands was involved in the creation of Affirmation Scotland
Affirmation Scotland
Affirmation Scotland is a group within the Church of Scotland seeking full inclusion of the LGBT communities within the Church.-Background:Affirmation Scotland calls for a Church characterised by grace, compassion and inclusion...
a group within the Church of Scotland seeking "to affirm
and celebrate Christ's call for inclusion, generosity and hospitality, and to see the full affirmation of all Christians, progressive and
traditional, straight, gay and lesbian, within the Church of Scotland". He is also associated with OneKirk, a network "committed to working
for an inclusive, affirming and progressive church". Both of these bodies came in the wake of controversies within the Church of Scotland
regarding the blessing
Blessing
A blessing, is the infusion of something with holiness, spiritual redemption, divine will, or one's hope or approval.- Etymology and Germanic paganism :...
of civil partnerships for gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
people.
Important Publications
- Hospitable God,(with Allen Smith,)Ashgate,London, 2010
- (With Richard Amesbury) Faith and Human Rights, Fortress, Minneapolis, 2008
- Christ and Human Rights, Ashgate, London, 2006
- Traces of Liberality, Collected Essays, Peter Lang, Bern/Frankfurt, 2006
- The Transformative Imagination: Rethinking Intercultural Theology, Ashgate, London, 2004
- John and Donald Baillie - Transatlantic Theology , Peter Lang, New York, 2002
- Fifty Key Christian Thinkers, Routledge, London, 2002
- Scottish Christianity in the Modern World (ed), T & T Clark, Edinburgh, 2001
- Generosity and the Christian Future, SPCK, London, 1997
- God in Christian Perspective, T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1994
- Making Christian Decisions, Mowbray, Oxford, 1985
- The Church of God, Marshall, Morgan & Scott, London, 1984
- Theology of the Love of God, Collins, London, 1980
- Hilary of Poitiers - a study in Theological Method, Peter Lang, Bern, 1978
- (Ed) Explorations in Theology(8), SCM, London, 1980
See also
- Professor of Divinity, GlasgowProfessor of Divinity, GlasgowProfessor of Divinity is an academic position at the University of Glasgow.Although divinity was taught from the foundations of the university in 1451, it was in 1577, as part of James VI's Nova Erectio, that a Chair was established, to be held by the Principal of the University of Glasgow...
- List of Professorships at the University of Glasgow