Marva J. Dawn (August 20, 1948April 18, 2021) was an American

Christian theologian Christian theology is the theology of Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theologians use biblical exegesis ...

, author, musician and educator, associated with the

parachurch organization Parachurch organizations are Christian faith-based organizations that work outside and across denominations to engage in social welfare and evangelism. Parachurch organizations seek to come alongside the church and specialize in things that indivi ...

Christians Equipped for Ministry in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

. She also served as Teaching Fellow in Spiritual Theology at

Regent College Regent College is an interdenominational evangelical Christian College of Christian studies, and an affiliated college of the University of British Columbia, located next to the university's campus in the University Endowment Lands west of V ...

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

. Dawn was generally perceived as a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

. She often wrote in a paleo-orthodox style, stressing the importance of Christian tradition and the wisdom of the Church through the centuries.

Biography

Born in

Napoleon, Ohio Napoleon is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Ohio, United States, along the Maumee River 44 miles southwest of Toledo. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 8,749. History The area around the town was once kn ...

as Marva Gersmehl, she later took the surname Dawn as a pseudonym. After completing a B.A. (1970) from Concordia Teachers College, she completed a M.A. (1972) in English from the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

, an M.Div. (1978) in New Testament from Western Evangelical Seminary, and a Th.M. (1983) in Old Testament from

Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS) is a private Lutheran seminary in Berkeley, California. It is affiliated with California Lutheran University and is a member school of the Graduate Theological Union. History Pacific Lutheran Theolo ...

. She then completed an M.A. (1986) and Ph.D. (1992) in Christian Ethics and the Scriptures from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

. She has taught for clergy and worship conferences and at seminaries in North America and internationally. She was married to Myron Sandberg, an elementary school teacher, in 1989. She died in

on April 18, 2021.

Works

Her 1995 book, ''Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down: A Theology of Worship for the Turn-of-the-Century Culture'', which urged a second look at so-called "contemporary Christian worship", caused a stir in

circles, being the first scholarly work from within the evangelical community to seriously question " seeker sensitive" style worship. Dawn claimed that much contemporary worship, which seeks primarily to evangelize through entertainment, is not really Christian worship at all. Rather than focus on bringing people into the church through worship, Dawn argued that worship should instead focus upon the glory and grace of the triune God, not ignoring the artistic treasures and traditions of the Church through the ages. The book remains her most widely read and most talked about work. Dawn continued this exploration in her 1999 book, ''A Royal "Waste" of Time: The Splendor of Worshiping God and Being Church for the World''. In her more recent work, Dawn has drawn on

Albert Borgmann Albert Borgmann (born 1937) is a German-born American philosopher This is a list of American philosophers; of philosophers who are either from, or spent many productive years of their lives in the United States. {, border="0" style="margin:aut ...

's notion of the device paradigm to develop a critique of the church in its capitulation to commodification where worship, for example, becomes a device to attract and please.

List of works

* ''Talking the Walk: Letting Christian Language Live Again'' (2018). Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock. *''The Sense of the Call: A Sabbath way of life for those who serve God, the church, and the world'' (2006). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. * ''How Shall We Worship?: Biblical Guidelines for the Worship Wars'' (2015). Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock. *''In the Beginning, GOD: Creation, Culture, and the Spiritual Life'' (2009). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. * ''Keeping the Sabbath Wholly: Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting'' *''My Soul Waits: Solace for the Lonely in the Psalms'' (2007). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. *''Unfettered Hope: A Call to Faithful Living in an Affluent Society'' (2003). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. * ''Powers, Weakness, and the Tabernacling of God'' (2001). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. (2002 '' Christianity Today'' Book Award in the category of The Church/Pastoral Leadership) *''Morning by Morning: Daily Meditations from the Writings of Marva J. Dawn'' (2001). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. * ''Truly the Community: Romans 12 and How to Be the Church'' (1997; formerly titled ''The Hilarity of Community''). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. * ''The Unnecessary Pastor: Rediscovering the Call'' (2000). With Eugene H. Peterson. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. * ''A Royal Waste of Time: The Splendor of Worshiping God and Being Church for the World'' (1999)''.'' Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. *''I'm Lonely, LORD - How Long?: Meditations on the Psalms'' (1998). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. *''Is It a Lost Cause?: Having the Heart of God for the Church's Children'' (1997). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. *''Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down: A Theology of Worship for This Urgent Time'' (1995). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. *''Joy in our Weakness A Gift of Hope from the Book of Revelation'' (1994). St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House. *''Sexual Character: Beyond Technique to Intimacy'' (1993). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. *''To Walk and Not Faint'' (1980). New York: Christian Herald Books.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dawn, Marva 1948 births 2021 deaths American evangelicals American Lutheran theologians University of Notre Dame alumni People from Napoleon, Ohio Writers from Vancouver, Washington