James Denney
Encyclopedia
James Denney, D.D.
(1856-1917) was a Scot
tish theologian and preacher.
, Scotland
, 5 February 1856, to Cameronian
(Reformed Presbyterian
) parents. His father was a joiner
and Cameronian deacon. In 1876 the family followed the majority of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland
into union with the Free Church of Scotland
.
He was educated at the Highlanders' Academy, Greenock
, University of Glasgow
, from 1874 to 1879 and then at Free Church College
, Glasgow
until 1883. He won the Moral Philosophy gold medal and Blackstone Prize while at Glasgow University. He was influenced greatly by Edward Caird
and Richard Jebb
and briefly became a student assistant to John Veitch.
Denney was an outstanding student at Free Church College, where he studied under Dr. George C.M. Douglas (Old Testament), Dr. T.M. Lindsay (Church History), Dr. James Candlish (Systematic Theology) and Dr Alexander Balmain Bruce
(New Testament). Denney was greatly influenced by Professor Bruce in particular, adopting his system of apologetics
. Denney said that Professor Bruce "let me see Jesus" rather than cluttering his lectures with abstruse points.
While still a student Denney published his first work, Natural Law in the Spiritual World, by a Brother of the Natural Man. It was a trenchantly critical review of Henry Drummond's Natural Law in the Spiritual World.
of Greenock on 16 May 1883 and was appointed Missioner to the Hill Street Mission of St. John's (Free Church), Glasgow. In 1886 he was called to be pastor of the East Free Church, Broughty Ferry
, where he succeeded his friend and mentor Professor Bruce. At Broughty Ferry Denney was a popular preacher who preached the Gospel to the common people. He married May Carmichael Brown on 1 July 1886. Their marriage was a happy one. According to William Robertson Nicoll
, Denney, previously tempted away from the Evangelical and Reformed faith of his parents, was influenced to return in that direction by his wife's encouraging him to read sermons by C.H. Spurgeon.
Some of his expository sermons preached at Broughty Ferry were published in two volumes of The Expositor's Bible, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll, The Epistles to the Thessalonians in 1892 and The Second Epistle to the Corinthians in 1894. (Amusingly, some copies of the commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians in a later edition of The Expositor's Bible have Denney's name on the covers. The book was in fact written, as the title page makes clear, by Marcus Dods
).
In 1893 Denney was asked to deliver a series of theological lectures at Chicago Theological Seminary
. These were published in 1894 under the title Studies in Theology. Some of his statements on the nature of the Bible were objected to, but otherwise the book was recognised as an important work. Denney was also awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Chicago
.
of the college, the first former student of the institution to receive that honour. Denney became a close friend of the one-time Free Church minister and journalist Sir William Robertson Nicoll, to whose publications he contributed liberally dozens of articles. His wife died in 1907 and Denney felt the loss deeply, from which he never recovered, writing only two major works before his death in the summer of 1917 at the comparatively early age of 61.
cannot be understood unless it is seen as a death for sin, as Christ bearing the penalty in the place of those he came to save. He strongly resisted any attempt to drive a wedge between the substitutionary and ethical aspects of the atonement. In his last book, published posthumously, The Christian Doctrine of Reconciliation, Denney returned to the doctrine of the atonement, but this time, to the surprise of others, he modified his previous views, presenting a '"mellow" utterance on the great theme'.
.
Denney wrote other major works. As well as those already mentioned he contributed a commentary on the Greek Text of Romans
to The Expositor's Greek Testament (edited by W. R. Nicoll, 1900). His Jesus and the Gospel (London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1908) is a careful piece of theological writing demonstrating that there is no disparity between Jesus' own teaching about himself as recorded in the Gospels and the view of Jesus exhibited in the New Testament Epistles. Several of his sermons were published in 1913 under the title The Way Everlasting (London, Hodder and Stoughton).
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....
(1856-1917) was a Scot
Scot
A Scot is a member of an ethnic group indigenous to Scotland, derived from the Latin name of Irish raiders, the Scoti.Scot may also refer to:People with the given name Scot:* Scot Brantley , American football linebacker...
tish theologian and preacher.
Early life
Denney was born in PaisleyPaisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
, Scotland
Scotland
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...
, 5 February 1856, to Cameronian
Cameronian
Cameronian was a name given to a section of the Scottish Covenanters who followed the teachings of Richard Cameron, and who were composed principally of those who signed the Sanquhar Declaration in 1680...
(Reformed Presbyterian
Reformed Presbyterian Church (denominational group)
The Reformed Presbyterian Church is a group of denominations following a form of Protestant Christianity related to Presbyterianism. Reformed Presbyterian congregations are found in several countries, including Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, France, United States of America,...
) parents. His father was a joiner
Joiner
A joiner differs from a carpenter in that joiners cut and fit joints in wood that do not use nails. Joiners usually work in a workshop since the formation of various joints generally requires non-portable machinery. A carpenter normally works on site...
and Cameronian deacon. In 1876 the family followed the majority of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland
Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland
The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland is a Christian denomination. It is the original church of the Reformed Presbyterian tradition . The RPCS formed in 1690 when its members declined to be part of the establishment of the Church of Scotland...
into union with the Free Church of Scotland
Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900)
The Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish denomination which was formed in 1843 by a large withdrawal from the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the "Disruption of 1843"...
.
He was educated at the Highlanders' Academy, Greenock
Greenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
, 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 1874 to 1879 and then at Free Church College
Free Church College
The Free Church College is a theological seminary in Edinburgh connected to the Free Church of Scotland. It traces its origins back to the foundation of New College, Edinburgh at the time of the Disruption of 1843...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
until 1883. He won the Moral Philosophy gold medal and Blackstone Prize while at Glasgow University. He was influenced greatly by Edward Caird
Edward Caird
Edward Caird FRSE was a Scottish philosopher and younger brother of the theologian John Caird.He was the son of engineer John Caird, the proprietor of Caird & Company,...
and Richard Jebb
Richard Jebb
Richard Jebb was an English journalist and author in the field of Empire and colonial nationalism. He was the nephew of the classical scholar and politician, Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb...
and briefly became a student assistant to John Veitch.
Denney was an outstanding student at Free Church College, where he studied under Dr. George C.M. Douglas (Old Testament), Dr. T.M. Lindsay (Church History), Dr. James Candlish (Systematic Theology) and Dr Alexander Balmain Bruce
Alexander Balmain Bruce
Alexander Balmain Bruce was a Scottish churchman and theologian. He was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland.He was born at Aberargie near Perth, Scotland....
(New Testament). Denney was greatly influenced by Professor Bruce in particular, adopting his system of apologetics
Christian apologetics
Christian apologetics is a field of Christian theology that aims to present a rational basis for the Christian faith, defend the faith against objections, and expose the perceived flaws of other world views...
. Denney said that Professor Bruce "let me see Jesus" rather than cluttering his lectures with abstruse points.
While still a student Denney published his first work, Natural Law in the Spiritual World, by a Brother of the Natural Man. It was a trenchantly critical review of Henry Drummond's Natural Law in the Spiritual World.
Ministry
After university he turned to the Ministry. Denney was licensed to preach by the PresbyteryPresbyterian polity
Presbyterian polity is a method of church governance typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or consistory, though other terms, such as church board, may apply...
of Greenock on 16 May 1883 and was appointed Missioner to the Hill Street Mission of St. John's (Free Church), Glasgow. In 1886 he was called to be pastor of the East Free Church, Broughty Ferry
Broughty Ferry
Broughty Ferry is a suburb on the eastern side of the City of Dundee, on the shore of the Firth of Tay in eastern Scotland...
, where he succeeded his friend and mentor Professor Bruce. At Broughty Ferry Denney was a popular preacher who preached the Gospel to the common people. He married May Carmichael Brown on 1 July 1886. Their marriage was a happy one. According to William Robertson Nicoll
William Robertson Nicoll
Sir William Robertson Nicoll CH was a Scottish Free Church minister, journalist, editor, and man of letters.Nicoll was born in Lumsden, Aberdeenshire, the son of a Free Church minister...
, Denney, previously tempted away from the Evangelical and Reformed faith of his parents, was influenced to return in that direction by his wife's encouraging him to read sermons by C.H. Spurgeon.
Some of his expository sermons preached at Broughty Ferry were published in two volumes of The Expositor's Bible, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll, The Epistles to the Thessalonians in 1892 and The Second Epistle to the Corinthians in 1894. (Amusingly, some copies of the commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians in a later edition of The Expositor's Bible have Denney's name on the covers. The book was in fact written, as the title page makes clear, by Marcus Dods
Marcus Dods (theologian)
Marcus Dods was a Scottish divine and biblical scholar. He was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland .-Life:...
).
In 1893 Denney was asked to deliver a series of theological lectures at Chicago Theological Seminary
Chicago Theological Seminary
The Chicago Theological Seminary is a seminary of the United Church of Christ. It prepares women and men for leadership in the church and society through Master of Divinity , Master of Arts in Religious Studies , Master of Sacred Theology , Doctor of Ministry , and Doctor of Philosophy programs...
. These were published in 1894 under the title Studies in Theology. Some of his statements on the nature of the Bible were objected to, but otherwise the book was recognised as an important work. Denney was also awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
.
Academic career
Denney was appointed Professor of Systematic Theology at his old alma mater, Free Church College Glasgow, in 1897, and spent the rest of his life teaching there. In 1900 he transferred to Professor Bruce's old Chair of New Testament Language and Literature, which he held until his death in 1917. In 1915 he was appointed principalDean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the college, the first former student of the institution to receive that honour. Denney became a close friend of the one-time Free Church minister and journalist Sir William Robertson Nicoll, to whose publications he contributed liberally dozens of articles. His wife died in 1907 and Denney felt the loss deeply, from which he never recovered, writing only two major works before his death in the summer of 1917 at the comparatively early age of 61.
Theological position
Denney's greatest contribution to theological literature is in his robust defense of the penal character of the atonement. First expressed in his Studies in Theology, it found its fullest expression in his 1902 work The Death of Christ (London, Hodder and Stoughton, often reprinted), and its follow-up (in later editions included as an appendix in The Death of Christ), The Atonement and the Modern Mind. Denney insists that the death of ChristChrist
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
cannot be understood unless it is seen as a death for sin, as Christ bearing the penalty in the place of those he came to save. He strongly resisted any attempt to drive a wedge between the substitutionary and ethical aspects of the atonement. In his last book, published posthumously, The Christian Doctrine of Reconciliation, Denney returned to the doctrine of the atonement, but this time, to the surprise of others, he modified his previous views, presenting a '"mellow" utterance on the great theme'.
Writings
In addition to his academic oeuvre, he made dozens of contributions to journals and newspapers ranging from erudite theological journals to The Morning Watch, a Sunday-school magazine edited by his friend J. P. StruthersJ. P. Struthers
John Paterson Struthers was Scottish preacher, pastor and children's author. He was a native of Glasgow, born there on 8 April 1851. His parents were devout members of the United Original Secession Church at the time, although in 1865 they joined the Reformed Presbyterian Church...
.
Denney wrote other major works. As well as those already mentioned he contributed a commentary on the Greek Text of Romans
Epistle to the Romans
The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, often shortened to Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that Salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ...
to The Expositor's Greek Testament (edited by W. R. Nicoll, 1900). His Jesus and the Gospel (London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1908) is a careful piece of theological writing demonstrating that there is no disparity between Jesus' own teaching about himself as recorded in the Gospels and the view of Jesus exhibited in the New Testament Epistles. Several of his sermons were published in 1913 under the title The Way Everlasting (London, Hodder and Stoughton).
Sources
- James M. Gordon, James Denney (Milton Keynes, Paternoster, 2006)
- Stuart Mechie, Trinity College, Glasgow (Glasgow, Trinity College, 1956)
- James Moffatt (editor), Letters of Principal James Denney to his Family and Friends (London, Hodder and Stoughton, no date)
- William Robertson Nicoll (editor), Letters of Principal James Denney to W. Robertson Nicoll (London, Hodder and Stoughton, no date)
- T. H. Walker, Principal James Denney, D.D. (London, Marshall Brothers, 1918)