Jeremy Begbie | Scholars@Duke

Jeremy Begbie
Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Research Professor of Theology

Jeremy Begbie teaches systematic theology, and specializes in the interface between theology and the arts. His particular research interests are in the interplay between music and theology.

Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts

Previously Associate Principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge, he has also been Honorary Professor at the University of St Andrews, where he directed the research project, Theology Through the Arts at the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts. He is a Senior Member of Wolfson College and an Affiliated Lecturer in the Faculty of Music at the University of Cambridge.

He studied philosophy and music at Edinburgh University, and theology at Aberdeen and Cambridge. A professionally trained musician, he has performed extensively as a pianist, oboist and conductor. He is an ordained minister of the Church of England, having served for a number of years as assistant pastor of a Church in West London.

He is author of a number of books, including Voicing Creation's Praise: Towards a Theology of the Arts (T & T Clark); Theology, Music and Time (CUP), and most recently, Resounding Truth: Christian Wisdom in the World of Music (Baker/SPCK), which won the Christianity Today 2008 Book Award in the Theology/Ethics Category. He has taught widely in the UK and North America, and delivered multimedia performance-lectures across the world, from Israel to Australia and Hong Kong.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Research Professor of Theology, Divinity School, Duke University 2019 - 2028
Research Professor, Divinity School, Duke University 2012

Contact Information

148 Langford Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Duke Box 90967, Durham, NC 27708
jeremy.begbie@duke.edu (919) 660-3591

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., University of Aberdeen (United Kingdom) 1987
- B.A., University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom) 1977
Previous Appointments & Affiliations
- Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Research Professor of Theology, Divinity School, Duke University 2014 - 2018
- Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Research Professor of Theology, Divinity School, Duke University 2012 - 2013
- Research Professor, Divinity School, Duke University 2009 - 2011
- Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Research Professor of Theology, Divinity School, Duke University 2009 - 2011
Recognition
In the News
- MAR 15, 2021
  
  March Book: Jeremy Begbie, co-author: “Theology, Music, and Modernity: Struggles for Freedom”
- SEP 4, 2019 Divinity School
  
  A Decade of a Transformative Theology and Arts Initiative
- MAY 31, 2019 Duke Divinity School
  
  Words First Written in Blood, Now Transformed Into Music
- MAY 7, 2019
  
  Duke Adds 21 Faculty to Distinguished Faculty Rank
- JUN 29, 2018
  
  Four Faculty Named Distinguished Professors
- JUN 17, 2015
  
  Jeremy Begbie on the Four Ways Music Shape Us
- JUN 17, 2015 Duke Today
  
  Jeremy Begbie on the Four Ways Music Shape Us
- MAR 20, 2014
  
  Passion and Music: Premiere of a St. Luke Passion Caps Four-year Theology and Arts Collaboration
- JAN 29, 2014
  
  Musicians, Poets and Ministers to Collaborate on Divinity School's 'The Word Made Flesh'
- JAN 29, 2014 Duke Today
  
  Musicians, Poets and Ministers to Collaborate on Divinity School's 'The Word Made Flesh'
- OCT 29, 2013
  
  Why Christians Should Care About Art
Expertise
Global Scholarship
- Expertise
  - United Kingdom (Country)
- Research
  - Canada (Country)
Research
Selected Grants
- Theology and the Arts Kenan support awarded by William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust 2018
- Arts & Theology: Duke-Cambridge Partnership awarded by Mary Duke Biddle Foundation 2009 - 2011
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Books
  - Hart, T. A., G. Hopps, and J. Begbie. Art, imagination and Christian hope : patterns of promise: patterns of promise. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2012.
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  - Begbie, J., S. R. Guthrie, and J. D. Witvliet. Resonant witness: conversations between music and theology. Grand Rapids, Mich: William B Eerdmans, 2011.
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  - McSwain, J., and J. Begbie. Movements of grace : the dynamic christo-realism of Barth, Bonhoeffer, and the Torrances: the dynamic christo-realism of Barth, Bonhoeffer, and the Torrances. Eugene, Or: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2010.
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  - Begbie, J. Resounding truth: Christian wisdom in the world of music. London: SPCK, 2008.
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  - Begbie, J. Resounding truth : Christian wisdom in the world of music: Christian wisdom in the world of music. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2007.
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  - Begbie, J., and N. Wolterstorff. Sounding the depths: theology through the arts. London: SCM Pr, 2002.
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  - Begbie, J. Theology, music and time. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ Pr, 2000.
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  - Begbie, J. Beholding the glory: incarnation through the arts. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000.
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  - Begbie, J. Voicing creation's praise: towards a theology of the arts. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1991.
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- Academic Articles
  - Begbie, J. “Pressing at the boundaries of modernity: a review essay.” Christian Scholar’S Review 40, no. 4 (June 1, 2011): 453–65.
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  - Begbie, J. S. ““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, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2008).” Image Journal, no. 64 (2009): 105–13.
  - Begbie, J. “Sound theology: meaning in music.” Christian Century 124, no. 23 (November 13, 2007): 20–25.
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  - Jeremy Begbie, J. “Sound theology.” The Christian Century 124, no. 23 (2007): 20.
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  - Begbie, J. “The theological potential of music: a response to Adrienne Dengerink Chaplin.” Christian Scholar’S Review 33, no. 1 (September 1, 2003): 135–41.
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  - Begbie, J. S. “Calvin. Die Musik und Gottes Wort.” Berliner Theologische Zeitschrift, 2003, 85–103.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Scandalous Art, Scandalous Theology.” Art and Christianity 34 (2003).
  - Begbie, J. “Rediscovering and Re-Imagining the Atonement.” Anvil 11, no. 3 (January 1, 1994): 193–202.
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  - Begbie, J. “Who Is This God?--Biblical Inspiration Revisited.” Tyndale Bulletin 43, no. 2 (November 1, 1992): 259–82.
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  - Begbie, J. S. “The Spirituality of Renewal Music: A Preliminary Exploration.” Anvil 8, no. 3 (1991): 227–39.
  - Begbie, J. S. “The Confessing Church and the Nazis: A Struggle for Theological Truth.” Anvil 2, no. 2 (1985): 117–30.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Music in God’s World.” Books and Culture 13, no. 5 (n.d.): 28–31.
- Book Sections
  - Begbie, J. S. “The Future of Theology Amid the Arts: Some Reformed Reflections.” In Christ Across the Disciplines: Past, Present, Future. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2013.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Natural Theology and Music.” In The Oxford Handbook of Natural Theology, edited by R. R. Manning. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Faithful Feelings: Music and Emotion in Worship.” In Resonant Witness, edited by S. Guthrie and J. S. Begbie, 323–54. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2013.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Openness and Specificity: A Conversation with David Brown on Theology and Classical Music.” In Theology, Aesthetics and Culture: Conversations with the Work of David Brown, edited by R. MacSwain and T. Worley. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
  - Begbie, J. S., and R. Stockitt. “Foreword to Restoring the Shamed: Towards a Theology of Shame.” In Restoring the Shamed: Towards a Theology of Shame. Eugene Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2012.
  - Begbie, J. “Confidence and anxiety in Elgar's Dream of Gerontius.” In Music and Theology in Nineteenth-Century Britain, 197–213. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2012.
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  - Begbie, J. S. “Repetition and Eucharist.” In The Modern Theologians Reader, edited by D. F. Ford, M. Higton, and S. Zahl. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Created Beauty: The Witness of J. S. Bach.” In Resonant Witness, edited by J. S. Begbie and S. Guthrie, 83–108. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2011.
  - Begbie, J. S., and S. R. Guthrie. “Foreword to Creator Spirit: The Holy Spirit and the Art of Becoming Human.” In Creator Spirit: The Holy Spirit and the Art of Becoming Human, vii–viii. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2011.
  - Begbie, J. “The shape of things to come? Wright amidst emerging ecclesiologies.” In Jesus, Paul and the People of God, 183–208. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2011.
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  - Begbie, J. S. “Foreword to Julian of Norwich: Revelations of Divine Love.” In Julian of Norwich: Revelations of Divine Love, edited by H. Backhouse and R. Pipe, xv–xxi. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2010.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Worldview, measurement and ‘the roots of spirituality,’.” In The Archaeology of Measurement: Comprehending Heaven, Earth and Time in Ancient Societies, edited by I. Morley and C. Renfrew, 250–56. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
  - Begbie, J. “The future: looking to the future: a hopeful subversion.” In For the Beauty of the Church, 165–85. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2010.
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  - Begbie, J. “The sense of an ending.” In Place for Truth, 216–38. Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2010.
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  - Begbie, J. S. “Resonances and Challenges: A Response to the Collection.” In Faithful Performances, edited by T. Hart and S. Guthrie, 273–80. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007.
  - Begbie, J. “Beauty, sentimentality and the arts.” In Beauty of God, 45–69. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2007.
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  - Begbie, J. “Created beauty: the witness of J S Bach.” In Beauty of God, 19–44. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2007.
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  - Begbie, J. S. “Music, The Bible and.” In Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of Scripture, edited by K. Vanhoozer, D. Treier, C. Bartholomew, and N. T. Wright, 521–24. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2005.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Worship.” In Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of Scripture, edited by K. Vanhoozer, D. Treier, C. Bartholomew, and N. T. Wright, 856–58. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2005.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Theology and the Arts: Music.” In The Modern Theologians, edited by D. Ford and R. Muers, 719–35. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005.
  - Begbie, J. S. “The Powers of Music in Worship.” In Imagination and Interpretation: Christian Perspectives, edited by H. Boersma, 109–27. Vancouver, British Columbia: Regent College Publishing, 2005.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Moving in Mysterious Waves: Music, Meter, Silence, and Hope.” In Spiritual Information: 100 Perspectives, edited by C. L. Harper, 528–33. Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation Press, 2005.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Music, Mystery and Sacrament.” In The Gestures of God: Explorations in Sacramentality, edited by G. Rowell and C. Hall, 173–91. London: Continuum, 2004.
  - Begbie, J. “Unexplored eloquencies: music, media, religion and culture.” In Mediating Religion, 93–106. London: T&T Clark, 2003.
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  - Begbie, J. S. “Foreword to Art, Artists and Gaugin: The Complete Works of Hans R. Rookmaaker Volume 1.” In Art, Artists and Gaugin: The Complete Works of Hans R. Rookmaaker Volume 1, edited by M. Hengelaar-Rookmaaker, xiii–xiv. Carlisle: Piquant Press, 2002.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Music, Word and Theology Today: Learning from John Calvin.” In Theology in Dialogue: The Impact of the Arts, Humanities and Science on Contemporary Religious Thought, edited by L. Holness and R. Wüstenberg, 3–27. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2002.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Prayer and Music.” In Perspectives on Prayer, edited by F. Watts, 67–80. London: SPCK, 2001.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Play it (Again): Music, Theology and Divine Communication.” In Creative Chords: Studies in Music, Theology and Christian Formation, edited by J. Astley, T. Hone, and M. Savage, 45–75. Leominster: Gracewing, 2000.
  - Begbie, J. S., and C. Gunton. “Christianity and the Arts.” In The Cambridge Companion to Christian Doctrine, 101–18. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Art.” In Dictionary of Ethics, Theology and Society, edited by P. B. Clarke and A. Linzey, 50–54. London/New York: Routledge, 1996.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Theology and the Arts: Music.” In The Modern Theologians, edited by D. Ford, 686–99. Oxford: Blackwell, 1996.
  - Begbie, J. “Theology through music : Tavener, time and eternity.” In Essentials of Christian Community, 23–34. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1996.
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  - Begbie, J. “The ambivalent rainbow : Forsyth, art and creation.” In Justice the True and Only Mercy, 197–219. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1995.
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  - Begbie, J. “The gospel, the arts and our culture.” In Gospel and Contemporary Culture, 58–83. London: Mowbray, 1992.
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  - Begbie, J. “Creation, Christ and culture in Dutch Neo-Calvinism.” In Christ in Our Place, 113–32. Allison Park, Penn: Pickwick Pubns, 1989.
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  - Begbie, J. S. “Calvin.” In The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, edited by J. Bowker, 50–54. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977.
  - Begbie, J. S. “Calvinism.” In The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, edited by J. Bowker, 50–54. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977.
Teaching & Mentoring
Recent Courses
- LTS 875: Theology and Music 2023
- XTIANTHE 815: Theology and Music 2023
- XTIANTHE 972: Advanced Studies in Theology and the Arts 2023
- XTIANTHE 999: Directed Study 2023
- LTS 875: Theology and Music 2022
- WXTIAN 819: Readings in Lesslie Newbigin's Theology 2022
- XTIANTHE 815: Theology and Music 2022
- XTIANTHE 819: Readings in Lesslie Newbigin's Theology 2022
- XTIANTHE 815: Theology and Music 2021
- XTIANTHE 847: Theology of Rowan Williams 2021
- XTIANTHE 999: Directed Study 2021

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Previous Appointments & Affiliations

In the News

Global Scholarship

Expertise

Research

Selected Grants

Selected Publications

Books

Academic Articles

Book Sections

Recent Courses