"While within Christianity, the primary focus of reflection and interaction must remain with the Bible, it would be on my view a huge mistake to assume that any interaction thereafter is mediated through an unchanging text. The greater part of divine revelation may still be ahead of us, not behind."
David William Brown FRSE FBA (born 1 July 1948) is an Anglican priest and British scholar of philosophy, theology, religion, and the arts. He taught at the universities of Oxford, Durham, and St. Andrews before retiring in 2015. He is well-known for his “non-punitive theory of purgatory, his defense of specific versions of social Trinitarianism and kenotic Christology, his distinctive theory of divine revelation as mediated fallibly through both tradition and imagination, and his proposals regarding a pervasive sacramentality discerned in nature and human culture alike.”
Brown was born in Galashiels, Scotland and educated at Edinburgh University (MA, Classics, 1970), Oxford University (BA/MA, Philosophy and Theology, 1972), and Cambridge University (PhD, Philosophy, 1975: thesis, ‘Naturalism in Ethics’). He trained for ordained ministry in the Church of England at Westcott House, Cambridge (1975–76).
After his studies at Cambridge Brown returned to Oriel College, Oxford, in 1976 as Fellow and Chaplain until 1990. From 1977 he was College Tutor in Philosophy and Theology, and from 1984 he was also University Lecturer in Ethics and Philosophical Theology. In 1986 he became a member of the Church of England’s Doctrine Commission and contributed to two reports: We Believe in the Holy Spirit (1989) and The Mystery of Salvation (1995). During the latter half of his time on the Commission he also served as its Deputy Chair.
In 1990 Brown was appointed as the Van Mildert Professor of Divinity at Durham University and Residentiary Canon of Durham Cathedral, succeeding Daniel W. Hardy and then in 2007 being succeeded by Mark McIntosh. In 2002, while still at Durham, he was elected as a Fellow of the British Academy, and served as a member of the Council from 2008–11. At Durham Cathedral he served as Canon Librarian.
In 2007 Brown was appointed to a personal chair as Wardlaw Professor of Theology, Aesthetics, and Culture, at St Mary’s College, University of St Andrews. He was simultaneously appointed as a Professorial Fellow of the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts (ITIA), and was acting Director of ITIA in 2014–15.
In 2012 Brown was awarded a D.Litt. from Edinburgh University—not an honorary degree but a higher doctorate earned on the basis of submitted published work—and in the same year was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
David served as President of the Society for the Study of Theology (SST) in 2015–16, and is currently a Wardlaw Professor Emeritus at St Andrews University.
Since he retired in 2015 he has continued active in writing and publishing.
David William Brown FRSE FBA (born 1 July 1948) is an Anglican priest and British scholar of philosophy, theology, religion, and the arts. He taught at the universities of Oxford, Durham, and St. Andrews before retiring in 2015. He is well-known for his “non-punitive theory of purgatory, his defense of specific versions of social Trinitarianism and kenotic Christology, his distinctive theory of divine revelation as mediated fallibly through both tradition and imagination, and his proposals regarding a pervasive sacramentality discerned in nature and human culture alike.”
Brown was born in Galashiels, Scotland and educated at Edinburgh University (MA, Classics, 1970), Oxford University (BA/MA, Philosophy and Theology, 1972), and Cambridge University (PhD, Philosophy, 1975: thesis, ‘Naturalism in Ethics’). He trained for ordained ministry in the Church of England at Westcott House, Cambridge (1975–76).
After his studies at Cambridge Brown returned to Oriel College, Oxford, in 1976 as Fellow and Chaplain until 1990. From 1977 he was College Tutor in Philosophy and Theology, and from 1984 he was also University Lecturer in Ethics and Philosophical Theology. In 1986 he became a member of the Church of England’s Doctrine Commission and contributed to two reports: We Believe in the Holy Spirit (1989) and The Mystery of Salvation (1995). During the latter half of his time on the Commission he also served as its Deputy Chair.
In 1990 Brown was appointed as the Van Mildert Professor of Divinity at Durham University and Residentiary Canon of Durham Cathedral, succeeding Daniel W. Hardy and then in 2007 being succeeded by Mark McIntosh. In 2002, while still at Durham, he was elected as a Fellow of the British Academy, and served as a member of the Council from 2008–11. At Durham Cathedral he served as Canon Librarian.
In 2007 Brown was appointed to a personal chair as Wardlaw Professor of Theology, Aesthetics, and Culture, at St Mary’s College, University of St Andrews. He was simultaneously appointed as a Professorial Fellow of the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts (ITIA), and was acting Director of ITIA in 2014–15.
In 2012 Brown was awarded a D.Litt. from Edinburgh University—not an honorary degree but a higher doctorate earned on the basis of submitted published work—and in the same year was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
David served as President of the Society for the Study of Theology (SST) in 2015–16, and is currently a Wardlaw Professor Emeritus at St Andrews University.
Since he retired in 2015 he has continued active in writing and publishing.
