Henry G. Brinton
Encyclopedia
Henry G. Brinton is a contributor to The Washington Post
and USA Today
, author of the book Balancing Acts: Obligation, Liberation, and Contemporary Christian Conflicts (CSS Publishing, 2006), co-author of Ten Commandments of Faith and Fitness : A Practical Guide for Heath and Wellness (CSS Publishing, 2008), and the senior pastor of Fairfax Presbyterian Church. He was the senior writer for the preaching journal, Homiletics, until 2005. He currently lives in Fairfax, Virginia
outside of Washington, D.C.
Henry and his wife, Nancy Freeborne-Brinton, have two children, Sarah (Sadie) and Samuel Brinton.
. His parents are the late Henry C. Brinton, a NASA scientist, and Mary L. Brinton, a kindergarten teacher. He went to Samuel Ogle Junior High School and, later, Bowie High School
. He then attended Duke University
, where he went on an archaeological dig in Israel
. This caused Henry to turn to the religious life, which he pursued through studies at Yale Divinity School
and parish ministry in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A).
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
and USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, author of the book Balancing Acts: Obligation, Liberation, and Contemporary Christian Conflicts (CSS Publishing, 2006), co-author of Ten Commandments of Faith and Fitness : A Practical Guide for Heath and Wellness (CSS Publishing, 2008), and the senior pastor of Fairfax Presbyterian Church. He was the senior writer for the preaching journal, Homiletics, until 2005. He currently lives in Fairfax, Virginia
Fairfax, Virginia
The City of Fairfax is an independent city forming an enclave within the confines of Fairfax County, in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Although politically independent of the surrounding county, the City is nevertheless the county seat....
outside of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Henry and his wife, Nancy Freeborne-Brinton, have two children, Sarah (Sadie) and Samuel Brinton.
Youth and Young Adulthood
Henry was born on February 21, 1960 in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Bowie, MarylandBowie, Maryland
Bowie is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 54,727 at the 2010 census. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous city and third largest city by area in the state of...
. His parents are the late Henry C. Brinton, a NASA scientist, and Mary L. Brinton, a kindergarten teacher. He went to Samuel Ogle Junior High School and, later, Bowie High School
Bowie High School (Maryland)
Bowie High School is a public high school in Bowie, Maryland. It is part of Prince George's County Public Schools.-Academics:Bowie High School has the second highest student SAT average in Prince George's County, and is rated second on The Washington Post's Advanced Placement Challenge Index....
. He then attended Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, where he went on an archaeological dig in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. This caused Henry to turn to the religious life, which he pursued through studies 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...
and parish ministry in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A).
Balancing Acts
In Balancing Acts, Henry makes the case that most controversies in America have religious roots, grounded in an ongoing struggle between obligation-keepers and liberation-seekers. He believes that obligation and liberation are the two major spiritual themes that animate life in America today, with most people aligning themselves with one of these attitudes. One group focuses on the obligations of religious life and seeks moral clarity, while the other tends to see religion as a liberation movement and stresses God's love for the oppressed. And though one might assume that obligation and liberation are synonyms for conservative and liberal, red state and blue state, they are really new fault lines that cut in unexpected and revealing ways through each camp. In a time of war, for example, it is conservatives who support military action to liberate oppressed people, while liberals speak of the moral obligation of non-violence.External links
- http://www.fairfaxpresby.com Fairfax Presbyterian Church Homepage
- http://www.homileticsonline.com Homiletics Online Homepage
- http://www.csspub.com CSS Publishing Company