John William Drane is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

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 ...

and author. He is probably best known for his two books on the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, ''Introducing the Old Testament'' and ''Introducing the New Testament''.

Biography

Drane studied at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

, where he was a student of

I. Howard Marshall Ian Howard Marshall (12 January 1934 – 12 December 2015) was a Scotland, Scottish New Testament scholar. He was Professor Emeritus of New Testament Exegesis at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He was formerly the chair of the Tyndale Fell ...

, and later obtained a PhD from the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

, where his mentor was

F. F. Bruce Frederick Fyvie Bruce (12 October 1910 – 11 September 1990), usually cited as F. F. Bruce, was a Scottish biblical scholar who supported the historical reliability of the New Testament. His first book, ''New Testament Documents: Are They ...

. His doctoral research focused on

Gnosticism Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people ...

in relation to early Christian thought and practice. He began his academic career working at

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. At the beginning of the 21st century he moved to the Divinity School at the University of Aberdeen. At the end of 2004 he resigned from that post to become a self-employed consultant, working with churches of different denominations. For a period in the 1990s he was chairperson of the National Prayer Breakfast for Scotland. He has been co-chair of the Mission Theology Advisory Group (jointly sponsored by 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

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) is an ecumenical organisation. The members include most of the major churches in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. CTBI is registered at Companies House with number 05661787. Its office is in Cen ...

); and a member of the board of the

Fresh Expressions Fresh Expressions is an international, cross-denominational, creative movement of Christians working alongside existing congregations to cultivate new forms of church for those who have never been involved in church or who have left the church. T ...

initiative of the

. Drane is married to

Olive Fleming Drane The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

, who is also a theologian, and they have three children.

Selected bibliography

* "From one pioneer to another: insights from St Paul", in Dave Male (ed), ''Pioneers 4 Life: explorations in theology and wisdom for pioneering leaders'' (Oxford: BRF 2011), pp. 149–164. * ''Introducing the Bible'', 2nd edition (Minneapolis: Fortress Press 2011). * ''Introducing the Old Testament'', 3rd edition (Oxford: Lion / Minneapolis: Fortress Press 2011). * ‘Resisting McDonaldization: will Fresh Expressions of church inevitably go stale?’, in Viggo Mortensen & Andreas Osterlund Nielsen (eds), ''Walk Humbly with the Lord: Church and Mission engaging Plurality'' (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans 2011), pp. 150–166. * ''Introducing the New Testament'', 3rd edition (Oxford: Lion / Minneapolis: Fortress Press 2010). * ''The World of the Bible'', Oxford: Lion, 2009. * ''After McDonaldization: Mission, Ministry and Christian Discipleship in an Age of Uncertainty'', London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 2008. * "What does maturity in the emerging church look like?", in Steven Croft (ed), ''Mission-shaped Questions: defining issues for today’s church'' (London: Church House Publishing 2008), pp. 90–101. * co-authored with O M Fleming Drane, "Worship and Preaching", in Janet Wootton (ed), ''This is our Story: Free Church Women’s Ministry'' (Peterborough: Epworth Press 2007), pp. 50–67. * "Alpha and Evangelism in Modern and Post-Modern Settings," in ''The Alpha Phenomenon'', Andrew Brookes ed., London: CTBI, 2007, pp. 370–384. * ''Celebrity Culture'', Edinburgh: Rutherford House, 2006. * "From Creeds to Burgers: religious control, spiritual search, and the future of the world", in James R Beckford & John Walliss, ''Theorising Religion'' (London: Ashgate 2006), pp. 120–131. Also in abbreviated form in George Ritzer, ''McDonaldization: the Reader'' 2nd edition (Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press, 2006), pp. 197–202. * "Post-modernity, Truth, and the rise of the Documentary", in ''Theology Notes and News'' 52/2 (2005), pp. 16–21. * ''Do Christians Know How to be Spiritual? The Rise of New Spirituality and the Mission of the Church'', London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 2005. * ''Introducing the Bible: with CD-ROM'', Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2005. * co-authored with O M Fleming Drane, ''Family Fortunes: Faith-full Caring for Today’s Families'' (London: Darton Longman and Todd 2004). * "Contemporary culture and the reinvention of sacramental spirituality", in Geoffrey Rowell & Christine Hall (eds), ''The Gestures of God: explorations in sacramentality'' (London: Continuum 2004), pp. 37–55. * "Community, mystery, and the future of the church", in Simon Holt & Gordon Preece (eds), ''The Bible and the Business of Life: essays in honour of Robert J Banks’s 65th birthday'' (Adelaide: ATF Press 2004), pp. 87–100. * co-authored with Ross Clifford & Philip S. Johnson, ''Beyond Prediction: The Tarot and Your Spirituality'', Oxford: Lion Publishing, 2001. * ''Introducing the New Testament'', rev. ed., Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001. * ''Introducing the Old Testament'', rev. ed., Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001. * ''Cultural Change and Biblical Faith: The Future of the Church. Biblical and Missiological Essays for the New Century''. Carlise: Paternoster Press, 2000. . * ''The McDonaldization of the Church: Spirituality, Creativity, and the Future of the Church'', London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 2000, * ''What is the New Age Still Saying to the Church?'', London: HarperCollins, 1999, * ''The New Lion Encyclopedia of the Bible'', Lion Books,

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Drane, John Scottish Christian theologians Living people Scottish scholars and academics British biblical scholars Year of birth missing (living people)