Charles Earle Raven (4 July 1885 – 8 July 1964) was an English

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge, and Master of

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

. His works have been influential in the

history of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural, social, and formal. Science's earliest roots can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Meso ...

publishing on the positive effects that theology has had upon modern science.

Career

Raven was born in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 4 July 1885, and was educated at

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson (rector), Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oa ...

. He obtained an open classical scholarship at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

, and then became lecturer in divinity, fellow and dean of

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

. In 1932, he was elected Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge, a position he held until 1950. He was Master of

(1939–1950). He was a

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, and attained the rank of

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

. During the First World War he served as a chaplain to the forces and what he witnessed led him to take a pacifist position, a subject on which he wrote extensively for the rest of his life. As a

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

, he was an active supporter of the

Peace Pledge Union The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) is a non-governmental organisation that promotes pacifism, based in the United Kingdom. Its members are signatories to the following pledge: "War is a crime against humanity. I renounce war, and am therefore determine ...

and the

Fellowship of Reconciliation The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR or FOR) is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries. They are linked by affiliation to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR). ...

. He first married Margaret Ermyntrude Buchanan Wollaston in 1910, with whom he had four children. Raven was the father of

John Raven John Earle Raven (13 December 1914 – 5 March 1980) was an English classical scholar, notable for his work on presocratic philosophy, and amateur botanist. Early life and education John Raven was born on 13 December 1914 in Cambridge, the son ...

, the

classical scholar Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

, and grandfather of

Andrew Raven Andrew Owen Earle Raven OBE (22 January 1959 – 4 October 2005) was a British conservationism, conservationist and an influential contributor to modern land policy in Scotland. The eldest son of John Raven, a Cambridge University classics don, an ...

and

Sarah Raven Sarah Clare Raven (born 1963) is an English gardener, cook and writer. Background Raven was born in Cambridge, the daughter of John Earle Raven (d. 1980), a classics don and Senior Tutor at King's College, Cambridge, and his wife Faith ''née' ...

. His third marriage was to Hélène Jeanty, a Belgian widow whose husband had been killed by the occupying Germans in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. They met while she was working for the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

(WCC). They worked together on reconciliation between students of different races, a continuation of her WCC work helping displaced Jews and Germans. She outlived Raven, dying on 9 October 1990 and, continuing the charitable work during her lifetime, left £150,000 to Christ's College to support medical students from overseas. Raven was the Gifford Lecturer for 1950–1952 in Natural Religion and Christian Theology, at Edinburgh University. He was president of the

Field Studies Council Field Studies Council is an educational charity based in the UK, which offers opportunities for people to learn about and engage with the outdoors. History It was established as the Council for the Promotion of Field Studies in 1943 with the ...

from 1953 to 1957 and of the

Botanical Society of the British Isles The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) is a scientific society for the study of flora, plant distribution and taxonomy relating to Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The society was founded as the Botani ...

from 1951 to 1955. He won the

James Tait Black Award The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Unit ...

in 1947 for his book ''English Naturalists from Neckam to Ray''. Some of his writings have been described as an early example of

ecotheology Ecotheology is a form of constructive theology that focuses on the interrelationships of religion and nature, particularly in the light of environmental concerns. Ecotheology generally starts from the premise that a relationship exists between ...

Evolution

Raven was an advocate of

non-Darwinian evolution Alternatives to Darwinian evolution have been proposed by scholars investigating biology to explain signs of evolution and the relatedness of different groups of living things. The alternatives in question do not deny that evolutionary changes ove ...

ary theories such as

Lamarckism Lamarckism, also known as Lamarckian inheritance or neo-Lamarckism, is the notion that an organism can pass on to its offspring physical characteristics that the parent organism acquired through use or disuse during its lifetime. It is also calle ...

. He also supported the

theistic evolution Theistic evolution (also known as theistic evolutionism or God-guided evolution) is a theological view that God creates through laws of nature. Its religious teachings are fully compatible with the findings of modern science, including biological ...

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Pierre Teilhard de Chardin ( (); 1 May 1881 – 10 April 1955) was a French Jesuit priest, scientist, paleontologist, theologian, philosopher and teacher. He was Darwinian in outlook and the author of several influential theological and philos ...

. Historian

Peter J. Bowler Peter J. Bowler (born 8 October 1944) is a historian of biology who has written extensively on the history of evolutionary thought, the history of the environmental sciences, and on the history of genetics. His 1984 book, ''Evolution: The His ...

has written that Raven's book ''The Creator Spirit'', "outlined the case for a nonmaterialistic biology as the foundation for a renewed natural theology."

List of selected publications

''What think ye of Christ?''
(1916)
''Christian Socialism, 1848-1854''
(1920) *''Apollinarianism: An Essay on the Christology of the Early Church'' (1923) *''In Praise of Birds'' (1925) *''The Creator Spirit'' (1927)
''Women and the Ministry''
(1929) *''A Wanderer's Way'' (1929)
''The Life and Teaching of Jesus Christ''
(1933) *
''Science, Religion, and the Future''
a course of eight lectures (1943) * *'' Alex Wood: the man and his message'' (1952) *''The Theological Basis of Christian Pacifism. London: The Fellowship of Reconciliation'' (1952) *''Natural Religion and Christian Theology'' (1953) *''Science, Medicine and Morals: A Survey and a Suggestion'' (1959) *''Paul and the Gospel of Jesus'' (1960) *''Teilhard de Chardin: Scientist and Seer'' (1962)

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raven, Charles E. 1885 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Anglican theologians 20th-century Church of England clergy 20th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English theologians Academics from London Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Anglican chaplains Anglican clergy from London Anglican pacifists Anglican socialists Christian socialist theologians Church of England priests Ecotheology English Anglican theologians English Christian pacifists English Christian socialists English evangelicals English military chaplains Evangelical Anglican clergy Evangelical Anglican theologians Evangelical pastors Fellows of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Historians of science Honorary Chaplains to the Queen Lamarckism Masters of Christ's College, Cambridge People from Paddington Regius Professors of Divinity (University of Cambridge) Theistic evolutionists Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge Writers about religion and science Writers from London