Michael Green (theologian) explained
Honorific Prefix: | The Reverend Canon |
Michael Green |
Birth Name: | Edward Michael Bankes Green |
Birth Date: | 20 August 1930 |
Nationality: | British |
Education: | Exeter College, Oxford; Queens' College, Cambridge |
Occupation: | Anglican cleric and theologian |
Notable Works: | Evangelism in the Early Church |
Spouse: | Rosemary |
Children: | 4 |
Module: | Child: | yes | Church: | Church of England |
|
Module2: | Child: | yes | Workplaces: | St Aldate’s, Oxford; Regent College, Vancouver; Holy Trinity, Raleigh, NC; Wycliffe Hall, Oxford; | Main Interests: | Apologetics and evangelism |
|
Edward Michael Bankes Green (20 August 1930[1] – 6 February 2019[2]) was a British theologian, Anglican priest, Christian apologist and author of more than 50 books.[3]
Early life, education and ministry
Green's mother was Australian and his father was Welsh. He became a committed Christian through the Iwerne camps ministry of E. J. H. Nash (known as "Bash").[4] He was educated at Clifton College[5] and Exeter College, Oxford (Bachelor of Arts 1953, Master of Arts 1956) and subsequently at Queens' College, Cambridge (Bachelor of Arts 1957, Master of Arts 1961, Bachelor of Divinity 1966) while preparing for ordained ministry at Ridley Hall. He was admitted to the degree of Doctor of Divinity by the Archbishop of Canterbury (1996) and the University of Toronto (1992). He was ordained deacon in 1957 and priest in 1958.
Green was an assistant curate of Holy Trinity, Eastbourne (1957–60), a tutor at the London College of Divinity (1960–69), Principal of St John's College, Nottingham (1969–75) and Rector of St Aldate's Church, Oxford and chaplain of the Oxford Pastorate (1975–86). He had additionally been an honorary canon of Coventry Cathedral from 1970 to 1978. He then moved to Canada where he was Professor of Evangelism at Regent College, Vancouver from 1987 to 1992. He returned to England to take up the position of advisor to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York for the Springboard Decade of Evangelism. In 1993 he was appointed one of the Six Preachers of Canterbury Cathedral. Despite having officially retired in 1996, he became a Senior Research Fellow and Head of Evangelism and Apologetics at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford in 1997. He lived in the town of Abingdon near Oxford.
Green was married to Rosemary for 61 years, and they had four children: Tim, Sarah, Jenny, and Jonathan.[6]
Apologetics and evangelism
Green was a prolific writer, with much of his work written for a popular reading audience, although he also contributed to academic studies. Many of his best known books discuss the twin topics of evangelism and apologetics.
One of Green's objectives was to equip lay Christian believers in their grasp of the gospel message and to then have confidence to converse with others about faith matters. These practical objectives are clear in books such as Evangelism, Now and Then and Sharing Your Faith With Friends and Family. At a technical level Green contributed an academic study of the praxis and theory of evangelism in Evangelism in the Early Church. This work explores the development of evangelism through the New Testament texts and from the early Church Fathers. He built on those foundational studies in his advocacy of evangelism at a parish church level, both through his personal ministry and in his book Evangelism Through the Local Church.
Green's apologetic work generally focussed on popular misconceptions and objections held by non-Christians. In books such as You Must Be Joking, World on the Run and Why Bother With Jesus, he dealt with attitudes of religious indifference and scepticism. He also addressed a variety of objections concerning religious hypocrisy and religious pluralism as well as popular questions of doubt and unbelief. He also examined the evidences for the life, death and resurrection of Christ in Man Alive and again in the revision of that book, The Day Death Died.
Green also explored academic challenges to faith, such as in the collection of essays he prepared as a reply to Don Cupitt's work on The Myth of God Incarnate, which were published less than six months later under the title The Truth of God Incarnate. In that analysis Green and his colleagues addressed the problems of myth and history as propounded in modern biblical scholarship, especially concerning the relationship between the events of Jesus' ministry and teaching and the doctrine of the Incarnation.
One of Green's more recent works, The Books the Church Suppressed: Fiction and Truth in The Da Vinci Code, is an argument for orthodox Christianity against Gnosticism as presented in The Da Vinci Code. Green here linked Gnosticism with a decline in society. He also claimed that Gnosticism leads to a decline in morality, so that by ordaining a homosexual bishop the Episcopal Church of the United States has itself shown Gnostic tendencies. He considered aspects of apologetic methodology and strategy in his co-authored work with Alister McGrath.
Aside from his apologetic writings, Green also addressed issues of discipleship in the Christian life, ministry and leadership in the church, the doctrine of baptism, pneumatology (study of the Holy Spirit) and demonology. He also wrote non-technical commentaries on certain books of the New Testament. In 2 Peter Reconsidered he provided a solid exegesis and defended the authenticity of the book; through his interpretation he also showed his Arminianism.
Green led a mission to Winchester College in the 1970s, which was followed by the rapid growth of the school's "Christian Forum",[7] an evangelical group which by 1977 numbered around 100 schoolboys, a sixth of the school's total number. The barrister John Smyth regularly attended and addressed the group; according to the Makin Review, published in 2024, Green was told in 1982 by a curate at Winchester College about Smyth's serial sadomasochistic abuse of boys at the school but, in Green's words, was "sworn to secrecy" (section 12.1.10 (s)).[8]
Adventure of Faith is his spiritual autobiography.
Works
Books
- Book: Green . Michael . Called to Serve: ministry and ministers in the church . Christian Foundations . 4 . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1964 . 560313475 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Man Alive . Pocket books . Leicester . Inter-Varsity . 1967 . 9780851103396 . 12173522 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Runaway World . registration . London . Inter-Varsity Press . 1968 . 9780877846888 . 560313524 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . 2 Peter Reconsidered . The Tyndale New Testament Lecture, 1960 . London . Tyndale Press . 1968 . 0851110207 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Evangelism in the Early Church . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1970 . 9780340107072 . 103058 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . New Life, New Lifestyle . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1973 . 9780340355121 . 779105434 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . I Believe in the Holy Spirit . I believe ... . 1 . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1975 . 9780340177679 . 2830638 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . You Must Be Joking: Popular Excuses for Avoiding Jesus Christ . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1976 . 9780340211267 . 3984467 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Evangelism, now and then . London . Inter-Varsity Press . 1979 . 9780851104096 . 16498844 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Why Bother With Jesus? . Hodder Christian paperbacks . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1979 . 9780340240083 . 8099124 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Holloway . David . David Holloway (theologian) . Watson . David C. K. . David Watson (evangelist). Church and Homosexuality: a positive answer to current questions . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1980 . 9780340254837 . 59143579 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . I Believe in Satan's Downfall . I believe ... . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1981 . 9780340265680 . 16562413 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . The Day Death Died: did Jesus Christ really rise from the dead? . London . Inter-Varsity Press . 1982 . 9780851104386 . 60045196 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . To Corinth with Love: the vital relevance today of Pauls's advice to the Corinthian church . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1982 . 9780849931109 . 859945404 . registration .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . The Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude . . Grand Rapids, MI . Eerdmans . 1982 . 9780802822680 . 855192293 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Freed to Serve: training & equipping for ministry . Hodder Christian paperbacks . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1983 . 9780340281956 . 9663756 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . World on the Run . Leicester . Inter-Varsity . 1983 . 9780851104355 . 12461594 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . The Empty Cross of Jesus . Jesus library . Downers Grove, IL . InterVarsity Press . 1984 . 9780877849308 . 11235761 . registration .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Baptism . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1987 . 9780340410561 . 16093252 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Was Jesus who he said he was? . Ann Arbor, MI . Servant Publications . 1989 . 9780892836246 . 19269764 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Evangelism Through the Local Church . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1990 . 9780340529164 . 476403012 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Who Is This Jesus? . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1990 . 9780340546109 . 857996568 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . My God . Guildford, UK . Eagle . 1991 . 9780863470417 . 30158006 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . The Dawn of the New Age . London . Daybreak . 1993 . 9780232519808 . 28255931 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . McGrath . Alister . Alister McGrath . Springboard for Faith . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1993 . 9780340601303 . 29634710 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Stevens . R. Paul . R. Paul Stevens . New Testament Spirituality: true discipleship and spiritual maturity . Guildford, UK . Eagle Publishing . 1994 . 9780863471131 . 1029107313 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . After Alpha . Eastbourne, UK . Kingsway Publications . 1998 . 9780854767779 . 935843070 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . The Message of Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven . . Leicester, UK . Inter-Varsity Press . 2001 . 9780851115368 . 1064106938 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . But Don't All Religions Lead to God?: Navigating the Multi-Faith Maze . Leicester, UK . Inter-Varsity Press . 2002 . 9780851112817 . 50936332 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Thirty Years That Changed the World: The Book of Acts for Today . Grand Rapids, MI . Eerdmans . 2004 . 9780802827661 . 727069164 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . St. Thomas Becket . Leominster, UK . Gracewing . 2004 . 9780852445907 . 60416898 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Avoiding Jesus: Answers for Skeptics, Cynics, and the Curious . Grand Rapids, MI . Baker Books . 2005 . 9780801065613 . 57965803 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Sharing Your Faith With Friends and Family . Grand Rapids, MI . Baker Books . 2005 . 978-0-80106-525-5 . 56904346 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . The Books the Church Suppressed: fiction and truth in The Da Vinci code . Oxford, UK . Monarch Books . 2005 . 9781854246981 . 62890855 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Lies, Lies, Lies!: exposing myths about the real Jesus . Nottingham . Inter-Varsity Press . 2009 . 9781844743919 . 368052166 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Compelled by Joy: a lifelong passion for evangelism . Nottingham . Inter-Varsity Press . 2011 . 9781844745425 . 756593624 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Jesus for Sceptics . Nottingham . Inter-Varsity Press . 2013 . 978-0-95722-123-9 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . 30 Days with Jesus . Bath, UK . Bible Trust . 2018 . 978-1-78690-382-2 .
Edited by
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . The Truth of God Incarnate . Hodder Christian paperbacks . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1977 . 9780340225752 . 925338799. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1977 OLCC 3292512
Chapters
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Jesus in the New Testament . Green . Michael . 3 . The Truth of God Incarnate . Hodder Christian paperbacks . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1977 . 9780340225752 . 925338799 . 36–42 .
- Book: Green . Michael . 3 . Jesus and historical scepticism . Green . Michael . 3 . The Truth of God Incarnate . Hodder Christian paperbacks . London . Hodder & Stoughton . 1977 . 9780340225752 . 925338799 . 115– .
Autobiography
- Adventure of Faith: Reflections on 50 Years of Christian Service, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2001
References
Sources
Book: Evans, John F. . en . A Guide to Biblical Commentaries and Reference Works: 10th Edition . Grand Rapids . Zondervan . 2016 .
External links
Notes and References
- Book: Michael Green in Who's Who. UK Who's Who . 10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U18003 . 978-0-19-954088-4 .
- Web site: Obituary: Canon Michael Green . Church Times online . 15 February 2019 . 21 February 2019.
- Web site: News - Michael Green 1930-2019 . Wycliffe Hall . 7 February 2019 . 22 February 2019.
- Randle Manwaring From Controversy to Co-Existence: Evangelicals in the Church of England 1914–1980 (Cambridge: CUP, 2002) 58
- "Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. p522: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April, 1948
- Web site: Fearon . Matthew . Michael Green (1930-2019): Remembering the infectious joy of this exceptional evangelist . Premier Christianity . 9 February 2019 . 7 February 2019.
- Web site: Pickles . Jan . Woods . Genevieve . Review into the Abuse by John Smyth of Pupils and Former Pupils of Winchester College . Winchester College . 10 November 2024.
- Web site: Makin . Keith . Independent Learning Lessons Review John Smyth QC . Church of England . 10 November 2024.