The Rev Prof Colin Gunton | Higher education
Higher education This article is more than 20 years oldObituaryThe Rev Prof Colin Gunton
This article is more than 20 years oldClassical theologian who sought to expose the intellectual incoherence and ethical confusion of modern societyOne of the most distinctive and powerful voices in British theology, the Rev Prof Colin Gunton, has died suddenly, aged 62. For more than 30 years of prolific writing and inspirational teaching at King's College London, he pioneered a vision of classical Christian theology as a credible intellectual discipline which, far from needing to accommodate itself to modern fashions of thought, provided the resources needed to criticise them.
When he began, his approach was so unfashionable as to appear merely quaint; that it might now be regarded as in the mainstream of English-language theology is due in large part to Gunton's unswerving commit ment and intellectual power. He worked with admirable energy and integrity - even if the admiration of some was grudging.
Gunton applied his position to theology in a dozen monographs and a remarkable stream of articles, lectures and edited volumes. All the classical themes of Christian doctrine were treated, but the doctrine of the Trinity became more and more central to his theological work, as the key resource to expose the intellectual incoherence and ethical confusion of modern western society.
This was developed most powerfully, perhaps, in his magisterial, 1992 Oxford Bampton lectures, published as The One, The Three And The Many: God, Creation And The Culture Of Modernity. A year later, he was delivering another significant series, the Warfield lectures in Princeton, an indication of his growing international reputation. Requests to speak arrived regularly from all parts of the world through the last decade of his life.
Gunton's roots, however, remained local - temperamentally in his devotion to his family and garden, but also intellectually. It is impossible to understand his work without recognising its rootedness in his commitment to Brentwood United Reformed church, where he served cheerfully as associate minister for 28 years and preached regularly (a volume of his sermons was published in 2001).
His academic life was rooted in local community as well; he gave himself generously to his students, respecting them as conversation partners and often as friends. Under his guidance, the King's College research institute in systematic theology became internationally famous as a place where a remarkably high level of intellectual engagement was combined with a profound sense of scholarly community.
Gunton was a stalwart (and past president) of the Society for the Study of Theology, not missing a conference for three decades, rejoicing in after-hours discussions and presiding over groups of senior American professors and neophyte graduate students, all of whom were caught up in his infectious interest and joy in the possibilities of thinking theologically.
Few of his books do not carry a generous tribute to how one or another of his students or colleagues helped him to grasp some point, and he had recently developed the habit of reading his books in draft to a seminar group, genuinely ready to gain further insight from even the most hesitant or junior voice.
The first fruit of this process, The Christian Faith, was a summary of Christian belief, written in preparation for a multi-volume magnum opus, the first chapters of which he had begun to offer to the same group in the weeks before his death.
Notwithstanding his remarkable literary output, his chief professional legacy might be those students and colleagues he inspired to see the possibilities of theology; universities, seminaries and churches in many countries have teachers and ministers who owe their careers to Gunton's mentoring. He would not be pleased with the comparison, but, arguably, not since John Henry Newman has an English theologian generated such a school of followers.
Educated initially at Nottingham high school, Gunton went on to Hertford College, Oxford, where he read classics. He moved to Mansfield College to read theology, and remained there for his doctoral research.
He was appointed to a lectureship at King's College London in 1969, becoming professor of Christian doctrine in 1984, and serving as dean of faculty and head of department. He also convened the doctrine and worship committee of the United Reformed church. In 1999, he was one of the founding editors of the International Journal of Systematic Theology.
Beyond his academic and ecclesial service, he was an energetic rambler, a keen choral singer and a remarkably enthusiastic gardener. His many friends knew his profound Christian faith, his zest for life, his constant cheerfulness and his deep sense of vocation.
He is survived by his wife Jennifer, and by their two daughters and two sons.
Colin Ewart Gunton, theologian, born January 19 1941; died May 6 2003
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