Theo Hobson (born 1972) is a British
theologian and author.
Biography
He was educated at
St Paul's School in
London; he read
English literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
at the
University of York
, mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £8.0 million
, budget = £403.6 million
, chancellor = Heather Melville
, vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery
, students ...
, then theology at the
University of Cambridge, where he was a member of
Hughes Hall
Hughes Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. It is the oldest of the University of Cambridge's postgraduate colleges. The college also admits undergraduates, though undergraduates admitted by the college must b ...
. He focused on the strongest voices of the
Protestant tradition:
Martin Luther,
Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , , ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical texts on ...
, and
Karl Barth
Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declara ...
. His PhD thesis became the basis of his first book, ''The Rhetorical Word: Protestant Theology and the Rhetoric of Authority'' (2002), a study of the role of authoritative rhetoric in Protestantism.
He gradually turned his attention to
ecclesiology. His next book was ''Against Establishment: An Anglican Polemic'' (2003). In this book he announced that the
Church of England was doomed, and that he considered himself a "post-
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
". His third book is ''Anarchy, Church and Utopia: Rowan Williams on the Church'' (2005), a critique of the archbishop's ecclesiology and perhaps of all ecclesiology. He has written for various journals and newspapers including ''
The Guardian'', ''
The Times'', ''
The Spectator'', and ''
The Tablet''.
His principal interests are the relationship between Protestantism and
secularism, which he believes is more positive than is generally understood; the relationship between theology and literature; and the post-ecclesial renewal of worship. He thinks that large-scale carnival-style celebration must replace church worship. He lives in
Harlesden,
London, and is married with two children.
Hobson has argued that although there is an instinctive mistrust of spectacle in the Protestant church, Catholic-style theatricality is an essential part of religion.
In his 2013 book ''Reinventing Liberal Christianity'' it is proposed that it is possible to be a
political and
secular liberal that avoids the truth claims of
Christianity while retaining the ''
cultus''.
Published works
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
See also
*
Rowan Williams
References
External links
*
''The Guardian'' articles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobson, Theo
1972 births
Alumni of Hughes Hall, Cambridge
Alumni of the University of York
British Christian theologians
Ecclesiologists
Living people
People from Harlesden
The Guardian journalists
People educated at St Paul's School, London