Theological learning as formation in holy love : the lives and works of Thomas Erskine of Linlathen & Alexander John Scott

This dissertation investigates the lives and works of two underappreciated nineteenth-century Scottish theologians, Thomas Erskine of Linlathen (1788-1870) and Alexander John Scott (1805-1866). In their writings, theological engagements, and cultivation of communities of learning, Erskine and Scott claimed that the pursuit of ‘knowledge of God’ (and thus, theological learning) received its proper orientation when animated by the telos of ‘at·one·ment, with God’, in holy love. Both men held that Christ’s atonement was for the sake of creation’s at·one·ment, with God: ongoing, personal being-in-relationship with God that, much like a good friendship, transforms who and what we love, but also ‘how we know and are known’. I argue that their sometimes-countercultural enactment of at·one·ment retrieves an orientation towards theological learning (and an epistemology appropriate to it) that continues to be relevant for theological education today. In Chapter 1, I provide an historical survey of Western theological education and assess how its objects, modes, and meanings have been circumscribed over the last two centuries. In Chapter 2, I outline Erskine’s atonement theology and his schema of at·one·ment, noting his emphasis on the ontologically and epistemically constitutive nature of being-in-relationship with God. Because friendship is a critical metaphor here, in Chapter 3 I reappraise the fluid interplay of Erskine’s poetics and practices of friendship, elucidating connections between relational theology and the communities of theological learning he cultivated. In Chapter 4, I reconstruct Scott’s ‘practical theological epistemology’ based on writings around his trial before the General Assembly of 1831. In Chapter 5, I trace congruencies between Scott’s emerging at·one·ment, framework and his later educational involvements with women, working class men, and Nonconformists. In Chapter 6, I conclude by assessing how reorienting theological learning through a telos of ‘at·one·ment, with God’, in holy love, helps to reframe contemporary dialogues about theological education

Some modern extensions of liability for negligence : inaugural lecture delivered at Rhodes University

Inaugural lecture delivered at Rhodes UniversityRhodes University Libraries (Digitisation

TheoArtistry:practical perspectives in 'theologically informed art'

This article reviews the TheoArtistry Composers’ Scheme (2016–2018), in light of the developing concept of ‘theologically informed art’. Based at the Institute for Theology, Imagination, and the Arts (ITIA) (University of St Andrews), the scheme partnered emerging theologians and composers to create six new choral settings of Hebrew Bible ‘annunciations’. In addition to producing new music, the project became a practical touchstone for reinvigorating dialogues between theologians and practising artists, as well as Christians and non-Christians. First, the author assesses the scheme’s contributions to the study and practice of theologically informed art in the future. Second, she outlines some methodological issues associated with the scheme’s unique breadth of participants. Finally, she assesses ecclesiological and theological ambiguities within the scheme. The author argues that clarifying these ambiguities expands horizons for future collaborations in theologically informed art

Theological learning as formation in holy love : the lives and works of Thomas Erskine of Linlathen & Alexander John Scott

This dissertation investigates the lives and works of two underappreciated nineteenth-century Scottish theologians, Thomas Erskine of Linlathen (1788-1870) and Alexander John Scott (1805-1866). In their writings, theological engagements, and cultivation of communities of learning, Erskine and Scott claimed that the pursuit of ‘knowledge of God’ (and thus, theological learning) received its proper orientation when animated by the telos of at·one·ment, with God, in holy love. Both men held that Christ’s atonement was for the sake of creation’s at·one·ment, with God: ongoing, personal being-in-relationship with God that, much like a good friendship, transforms who and what we love, but also how we know and are known. I argue that their sometimes-countercultural enactment of at·one·ment retrieves an orientation towards theological learning (and an epistemology appropriate to it) that continues to be relevant for theological education today. In Chapter 1, I provide an historical survey of Western theological education and assess how its objects, modes, and meanings have been circumscribed over the last two centuries. In Chapter 2, I outline Erskine’s atonement theology and his schema of at·one·ment, noting his emphasis on the ontologically and epistemically constitutive nature of being-in-relationship with God. Because friendship is a critical metaphor here, in Chapter 3 I reappraise the fluid interplay of Erskine’s poetics and practices of friendship, elucidating connections between relational theology and the communities of theological learning he cultivated. In Chapter 4, I reconstruct Scott’s ‘practical theological epistemology’ based on writings around his trial before the General Assembly of 1831. In Chapter 5, I trace congruencies between Scott’s emerging at·one·ment, framework and his later educational involvements with women, working class men, and Nonconformists. In Chapter 6, I conclude by assessing how reorienting theological learning through a telos of at·one·ment, with God, in holy love, helps to reframe contemporary dialogues about theological education.<br/