Gorringe, Timothy

(T.J. Gorringe, Tim J. Gorringe, Timothy J. Gorringe)

PERSONAL: Male. Hobbies and other interests: Bee keeping, poultry keeping, going to the theater, wine making, political activism.

ADDRESSES: Office—Department of Theology, University of Exeter, Queen's Building, The Queen's Drive, Exeter EX4 4QH, England. E-mail—t.j.gorringe@exeter.ac.uk.

CAREER: Theologist, writer, and educator. Worked in parishes for six years; Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary, India, teacher of theology for seven years; St John's College, Oxford, England, chaplain, fellow, and tutor in theology for nine years; University of St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, reader in contextual theology, 1995–98; University of Exeter, Exeter, England, St Luke's Professor of Theological Studies, 1998–.

WRITINGS:

THEOLOGICAL NONFICTION

Redeeming Time: Atonement through Education foreword by Lesslie Newbigin, Darton, Longman & Todd (London, England), 1986.

(As T.J. Gorringe) Discerning Spirit: A Theology of Revelation, Trinity Press International (Philadelphia, PA), 1990.

(As Timothy J. Gorringe) Capital and the Kingdom: Theological Ethics and Economic Order, Orbis Books (Maryknoll, NY), 1994.

God's Just Vengeance: Crime, Violence, and the Rhetoric of Salvation, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1996.

Fair Shares: Ethics and the Global Economy, Thames & Hudson (New York, NY), 1999.

Karl Barth: Against Hegemony, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1999.

(As T.J. Gorringe) The Education of Desire: Towards a Theology of the Senses, Trinity Press International (Harrisburg, PA), 2002.

(As T.J. Gorringe) A Theology of the Built Environment: Justice, Empowerment, Redemption, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 2002.

(As T.J. Gorringe) Furthering Humanity: A Theology of Culture, Ashgate (Burlington, VT), 2004.

Also author of God's Theatre: A Theology of Providence, SCM, 1991; Alan Ecclestone: Priest As Revolutionary, Cairns, 1994; and Crime, SCM, 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: Timothy Gorringe is a theologian with a strong background in teaching. Nearly all of the books he has written attempt to place everyday items and/or issues within a theological context. For instance, in God's Just Vengeance: Crime, Violence, and the Rhetoric of Salvation, Gorringe provides an exploration of the theological origins of the idea of atonement and how that idea has influenced penal codes and systems (and vice versa). The book is large in its scope, and it traces the theory of atonement and its development from the eleventh century to the present. Gorringe uses this historical approach to show how societal views of crime and punishment have changed over the centuries and how the concept of atonement has factored into these changes. According to Gorringe, once atonement became equated with retribution, penal codes began to reflect this by seeking to punish the perpetrator/s rather than to promote restoration to the damaged party or community. Part of Gorringe's thesis also claims that it is this shift in attitude that moved the Crucifixion to the center of Western theology. Thus, the teachings of Jesus Christ became less central than the fact that Christ 'paid' for the sins of others with his death.

Reviewers were intrigued by God's Just Vengeance; they noted the book's complexity and concluded that it is a valuable tome. Keith Clements, writing in the Journal of Ecclesiastical History, stated that the book "provides an impressively thorough and at times provocative survey." And, although Theological Studies contributor James J. Megivern felt that the the book's thesis was not always "adequately established," he nevertheless concluded that Gorringe "has done a fine piece of detective work." Pointing out the breadth of Gorringe's undertaking, British Journal of Criminology critic Jan A. Nijboer noted that the author's "point of view is not only theological, but also sociological and sometimes psychological." Nijboer ultimately concluded: "Gorringe has written a many layered and well documented, but also complicated book."

In a departure from his usual topic matter, Gorringe published Karl Barth: Against Hegemony. The book is an exploration of the work of theologian Karl Barth (1886–1968), and an attempt to explain Barth's often controversial work in light of the political climate of his time. Stating that this approach was too narrow, Interpretation contributor William W. Young III felt that the book calls for "greater focus on specific cases and a closer analysis of the ideological context" (aside from the political context) of Barth's ideas. Young conceded, however, that the book "enriches understanding of Barth's work as a response to issues and movements of his time." Gorringe's explication "successfully argues that Barth's theology is written to and for a world in crisis," Young added. Other critics also proffered praise for the book and once again remarked upon Gorringe's dense and intricate prose. Writing in the Journal of Religion, Kathryn Tanner concluded that "the virtues of Gorringe's approach come through, indeed, in the nuanced complexity of his analysis of particulars."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

British Journal of Criminology, summer, 1997, Jan A. Nijboer, review of God's Just Vengeance: Crime, Violence, and the Rhetoric of Salvation, p. 461.

First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, April, 2000, review of Karl Barth: Against Hegemony, p. 77.

Interpretation, July, 1996, Michael Novak, review of Capital and the Kingdom: Theological Ethics and Economic Order, p. 326; April, 2001, William W. Young III, review of Karl Barth, p. 212.

Journal of Ecclesiastical History, July, 1998, Keith Clements, review of God's Just Vengeance, p. 573.

Journal of Religion, April, 2003, Kathryn Tanner, review of Karl Barth, p. 298; October, 2003, Ca-bell King, review of A Theology of the Built Environment: Justice, Empowerment, Redemption, p. 642.

Theological Studies, June, 1998, James J. Megivern, review of God's Just Vengeance, p. 357.

ONLINE

Exeter University Web site, http://www.huss.ex.ac.uk/ (March 20, 2006), author profile.