James Gordon on James Denney - a review. I.
James M. Gordon
James Denney (1856-1917): An Intellectual and Contextual Biography. (Bletchley, Paternoster, 2006) 286 pages, Paperback.
James Denney has long been recognised as one of the most significant theologians of his period, this fact makes it all the more startling that the only biographical works available for Denney until now have both been frankly inadequate, though for different reasons.
The first of these works, T.H. Walker’s ‘Principal James Denney’ (London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1918) suffers from all the problems that are to be expected with a biography written so soon after the death of the subject. It papers over certain aspects of Denney that are of great interest to the historian, and it is somewhat brief.
The second, John Randolph Taylor’s ‘God Loves Like That!’ (London, SCM, 1962) is not a biography at all, it is a survey of Denney’s theology drawn from his published works. Undeniably useful, it does not supply the need for a proper biography. This threw the student of Denney back on the two volumes of his letters, the one to W. Robertson Nicoll (London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1920) and the other more generally to his family and friends, edited by James Moffatt (London, Hodder and Stoughton, no date). While it is profitable to read these volumes, and Denney’s published works, the need of a proper biography was still felt.
So it is somewhat fitting that this year, the 150th anniversary of the birth of James Denney, has finally seen the first decent biography of James Denney come forth from the presses. We were alerted to this by a flyer discovered on the side-table in the dining-room of the LTS. Immediately we dispatched an order, only to recieve a discouraging note intimating that the wait for our copy would be a great deal longer than we had anticipated. We decided to wait. A month or so later a parcel was posted through the letterbox of our rural retreat, proving to be the book in question!
A review was promised, and a review shall be given, God willing, next time.
James Denney (1856-1917): An Intellectual and Contextual Biography. (Bletchley, Paternoster, 2006) 286 pages, Paperback.
James Denney has long been recognised as one of the most significant theologians of his period, this fact makes it all the more startling that the only biographical works available for Denney until now have both been frankly inadequate, though for different reasons.
The first of these works, T.H. Walker’s ‘Principal James Denney’ (London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1918) suffers from all the problems that are to be expected with a biography written so soon after the death of the subject. It papers over certain aspects of Denney that are of great interest to the historian, and it is somewhat brief.
The second, John Randolph Taylor’s ‘God Loves Like That!’ (London, SCM, 1962) is not a biography at all, it is a survey of Denney’s theology drawn from his published works. Undeniably useful, it does not supply the need for a proper biography. This threw the student of Denney back on the two volumes of his letters, the one to W. Robertson Nicoll (London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1920) and the other more generally to his family and friends, edited by James Moffatt (London, Hodder and Stoughton, no date). While it is profitable to read these volumes, and Denney’s published works, the need of a proper biography was still felt.
So it is somewhat fitting that this year, the 150th anniversary of the birth of James Denney, has finally seen the first decent biography of James Denney come forth from the presses. We were alerted to this by a flyer discovered on the side-table in the dining-room of the LTS. Immediately we dispatched an order, only to recieve a discouraging note intimating that the wait for our copy would be a great deal longer than we had anticipated. We decided to wait. A month or so later a parcel was posted through the letterbox of our rural retreat, proving to be the book in question!
A review was promised, and a review shall be given, God willing, next time.
Labels: James Denney
posted by Highland Host at 2:21 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home