Research areas
An earlier interest in interactions between theology and philosophy has now broadened out into one between theology and the wider culture, especially the arts. In my earlier career at Oxford (1976-90), I focused on the relationship with philosophy and this is reflected in my two major books from that period: The Divine Trinity (1985) and Continental Philosophy and Modern Theology (1987). However, thereafter with my appointment first to Durham in 1990 and subsequently to St Andrews in 2007 my interests widened to consideration of theology's relationship with the arts and culture more generally.
That interest is reflected in five books all published by Oxford University Press between 1999 and 2008. In the first two Tradition and Imagination (1999) and Discipleship and Imagination (2000) I explored the way in which the Christian understanding of biblical revelation has been affected by changes in the wider culture and in turn affected that wider culture. The history of art can provide some good examples, for instance in differing treatments across the centuries of the nativity or crucifixion of Christ. The later three then looked at religious experience and the way in which this might be mediated through the arts and culture. God and Enchantment of Place (2004) explored this primarily through landscape painting, geography and architecture, as well as, more briefly, in other neglected areas such as changing attitudes to garden design. God and Grace of Body (2007) examined attitudes to the body as well as music in all its forms (including pop music). Finally, God and Mystery in Words (2008) explored religious experience as mediated through drama and poetry and their expression in worship as liturgy and hymns.
However. a book published initially in French in 2010 La tradition kénotique dans la théologie britannique represented a return to more doctrinal and philosophical issues. An English version becomes available from Baylor University Press in 2011 under the title, Divine Humanity: Kenosis and the Construction of a Christian Theology. More details about its contents are provided in the next section.
Selected publications
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Open access
Liturgical constraints and openness in divine address
Brown, D., 31 Jan 2022, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Studia Liturgica. OnlineFirst, 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Extravagance defended
Brown, D., 19 Mar 2020, (E-pub ahead of print) In: International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church. 20, 1, p. 63-78 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Music, theology, and religious experience
Brown, D., 19 Mar 2020, (E-pub ahead of print) In: International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church. 20, 1, p. 4-7 4 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review
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Supplying theology's missing link
Brown, D. W., Mar 2020, In: New Blackfriars. 101, 1092, p. 153-162 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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The extravagance of music
Brown, D. & Hopps, G., 2018, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. 325 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Divine Generosity and Human Creativity: Theology through Symbol, Painting and Architecture
Brewer, C. R. (Editor), Brown, D. W. & MacSwain, R. C. (Editor), 2017, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. 208 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
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God in a Single Vision: Integrating Philosophy and Theology
Brewer, C. R. (Editor), Brown, D. W. & MacSwain, R. C. (Editor), 2016, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. 192 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Human Sacrifice and Two Imaginative Worlds, Aztec and Christian: Finding God in Evil
Brown, D. W., 2013, Sacrifice and Modern Thought. Meszaros, J. & Zachhuber, J. (eds.). Oxford University Press, p. 180-196Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Experience, Symbol, and Revelation: Continuing the Conversation
Brown, D. W., 2012, Theology, Aesthetics and Culture : Responses to the Work of David Brown. MacSwain, R. & Worley, T. (eds.). 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 265-296 32 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Divine Humanity: Kenosis and the Construction of a Christian Theology
Brown, D. W., 2011, Baylor University Press. 281 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book