Jeremy Sutherland Begbie, BA, BD, PhD, LRAM, ARCM, (born 1957) is Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Research Professor of Theology at

Duke Divinity School The Divinity School at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, is one of ten graduate or professional schools within Duke University. It is also one of thirteen seminaries founded and supported by the United Methodist Church. It has 39 regular ...

, Duke University, where he directs Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts. He is a systematic theologian whose primary research interest is the correlation between

theology 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 the arts, in particular the interplay between music and theology. He is also an Affiliated Lecturer in the Faculty of Music at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

Biography

Begbie was born on 15 June 1957.https://divinity.duke.edu/sites/divinity.duke.edu/files/documents/cv/Begbie%20CV%202021_0.pdf He obtained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in philosophy and

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and Bachelor of Divinity and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

. Prior to teaching at Duke Divinity School in 2009, he was the Associate Principal of

Ridley Hall, Cambridge Ridley Hall is a theological college located on the corner of Sidgwick Avenue and Ridley Hall Road in Cambridge (United Kingdom), which trains men and women intending to take Holy Orders as deacon or priest of the Church of England, and membe ...

, as well as an Affiliated Lecturer in the Faculty of Divinity,

. In addition, he was an Honorary Professor at the Institute for Theology, Imagination, and the Arts at St Mary's College,

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, in Scotland, and was the acting Associate Director of the program. He is currently Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Research Professor of Theology at Duke University. He is a Senior Member of

Wolfson College, Cambridge Wolfson College () is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The majority of students at the college are postgraduates. The college also admits "mature" undergraduates (aged 21 and above), with around ...

. He is an ordained minister at 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 Britai ...

. Being a professionally trained musician, he has performed as a pianist, oboist, and a conductor. He is founder of the New Caritas Orchestra, a group professional players of faith.

Research

He is known for his writing and lecturing in theology and the arts, especially music. In September 1997 he founded the ''Theology Through the Arts'' project at the University of Cambridge, whose primary aim was "to discover and demonstrate ways in which the arts can contribute towards the renewal of Christian theology". The project included conversation among artists and theologians, academic lectures, publications, and an international arts festival held in 2000. In 2009, he founded Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts at Duke Divinity School, a project which "promotes and supports the vibrant interplay between Christian theology and the arts by encouraging transformative leadership and enriching theological discussion in the Church, academy, and society." For his book, ''Resounding Truth: Christian Wisdom in the World of Music'', Begbie won the 2008 ''Christianity Today'' Book Award in the theology/ethics category.

Publications

Books

*''Voicing Creation's Praise: Towards A Theology of the Arts'', T&T Clark, 1991. *''Beholding the Glory: Incarnation Through the Arts'' (ed.), DLT/Baker Books, 2000. *''Theology, Music, and Time'', Cambridge University Press, 2000. *''Sounding the Depths: Theology Through the Arts'' (ed.), SCM Press, 2002. *''Resounding Truth: Christian Wisdom in the World of Music'', Baker Academic, 2007. *''Resonant Witness: Conversations Between Theology and Music'' (co ed.), Eerdmans, 2011. *''Art, Imagination and Christian Hope: Patterns of Promise'' (co ed.), Ashgate, 2012. *''Music, Modernity, and God'', Oxford University Press, 2013. *''Redeeming Transcendence: Bearing Witness to the Triune God'', Eerdmans, 2018. *''A Peculiar Orthodoxy: Reflections on Theology and the Arts'', Baker Academic, 2018 *''Theology, Music, and Modernity: Struggles for Freedom'', (co ed.), Oxford University Press, 2021. *''Abundantly More: Theology and the Arts in a Reductionist World'', Baker Academic, 2023 (forthcoming).

Selected articles

* "Who Is This God?--Biblical Inspiration Revisited.” ''Tyndale Bulletin'' 43, 2 (November 1992): 259-282. * "The Theological Potential of Music: A Response to Adrienne Dengerink Chaplin.” ''Christian Scholar's Review'' 33, 1 (Fall 2003): 135-141. *“On the Strange Place of Contemporary Art,” article review of ''On the Strange Place of Religion in Contemporary Art'', James Elkins (New York: Routledge, 2004) and ''God in the Gallery: A Christian Embrace of Modern Art'', Daniel Siedell (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), in ''Image Journal'', Iss. 64 (December 2009): 105–13. *“Modelling Harmony: Music, Theology and Peace-Building” in ''Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology,'' 71.1 (January 2017)

Selected chapters

* "Through Music: Sound Mix." In ''Beholding the Glory: Incarnation Through the Arts,'' ed. Jeremy Begbie. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000. * "Unexplored Eloquencies: Music, Media, Religion and Culture." In ''Mediating Religion: Conversations in Media, Religion and Culture,'' eds. Jolyon Mitchell and Sophia Marriage. London: T&T Clark, 2003. * "Beauty, Sentimentality and the Arts." In ''The Beauty of God: Theology and the Arts,'' eds. Daniel J. Treier, Mark Husbands and Roger Lundin. Downers Grove: IVP, 2007. * "Created Beauty: The Witness of J.S. Bach." In ''The Beauty of God: Theology and the Arts,'' eds. Daniel J. Treier, Mark Husbands and Roger Lundin. Downers Grove: IVP, 2007. * "The Sense of an Ending." In ''A Place for Truth: Leading Thinkers Explore Life's Hardest Questions,'' ed. Dallas Willard. Downers Grove: IVP, 2010. * "The Future: Looking to the Future: A Hopeful Subversion." In ''For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts,'' ed. W. David O. Taylor. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2010. * "The Shape of Things to Come?: Wright Amidst Emerging Ecclesiologies." In ''Jesus, Paul, and the People of God: A Theological Dialogue with N.T. Wright,'' eds. Nicholas Perrin and Richard B. Hays. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2011. * "Confidence and Anxiety in Elgar's Dream of Gerontius." In ''Music and Theology in Nineteenth-Century Britain,'' ed. Martin Clarke. Burlington: Ashgate, 2012. * '"A Semblance More Lucid"? in An Exploration of Trinitarian Space', in George Westhaver (ed.), ''A Transforming Vision'', London: SCM Press, 2018. * Begbie, Jeremy. "“There before Us”: New Creation in Theology and the Arts." In ''The Art of New Creation: Trajectories in Theology and the Arts'', edited by Jeremy Begbie, Daniel Train and W. David O. Taylor, Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP, 2022.

References

External links

*
Duke faculty page Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts Interview with Image Journal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Begbie, Jeremy 1957 births 20th-century Anglican theologians 20th-century English Anglican priests 21st-century Anglican theologians 21st-century English Anglican priests Academics of the University of St Andrews Alumni of Ridley Hall, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British Anglican theologians British classical oboists British conductors (music) British male pianists Duke Divinity School faculty Living people Staff of Ridley Hall, Cambridge Systematic theologians