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.
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 A Peculiar Orthodoxy: Reflections on Theology and the Arts (Baker); Redeeming Transcendence: Bearing Witness to the Triune God (Eerdmans), and Theology, Music and Time (CUP). Resounding Truth: Christian Wisdom in the World of Music (Baker/SPCK) won the Christianity Today 2008 Book Award in the Theology/Ethics Category. Most recently, he has published Theology, Music, and Modernity (OUP), and Abundantly More: The Theological Promise of the Arts in a Reductionist World” (Baker). 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.
For more information or to contact Jeremy Begbie, visit jeremybegbie.com.
Speaking Engagements
2024
- February 4, All Saints Church Faith Formation Class, All Saints Durham
- April 3, 2024: Theology, Art, and the Whole Brain
- May 8-12, 2024: Theology Meets Music: Imago Dei, Château d'Argenteuil, Brussels
- July 29-August 2, The Holy Spirit & the Arts, Regent College Summer School, Vancouver, BC
- September 3-5, Sing! The songs of the Bible, Nashville, TN
2023
- January 27, “Sing Ye to the Lord” Dedicatory Hymn Festival, Nashville, TN
- February 8-10, Calvin Symposium on Worship, Grand Rapids, MI
- June 19-23, Music and Spiritual Realities International Workshop: EuARe, St Andrews, Scotland
- September 3-6, Sing! Global "The Great Commission," Nashville, TN
- September 21-23, Radical Vocation Conference, Dallas, TX
Recent Books
In the Media
Begbie on the making of a musical genius: Johann Sebastian Bach
News and Stories
DITA Director Awarded Doctor of Divinity from University of Aberdeen
Begbie was celebrated in a series of ceremonies, uniquely curated to celebrate his accomplishments in the field of theology and the arts.
Theology, Art, and the Whole Brain
DITA hosted best-selling author Dr. Iain McGilchrist for a public conversation about the arts, theology, and brain hemisphere theory wih DITA Director Dr. Jeremy Begbie.
A Decade of DITA
Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts (DITA) is celebrating its first decade at Duke Divinity School, a perfect time to reflect on its transformative leadership in promoting a vibrant interplay between Christian theology and the arts.