David Jasper (born 1 August 1951) is a professor emeritus of Literature and Theology at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

Biography

Jasper received multiple degrees from

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

in both English and Theology. He graduated in English from Jesus College (BA, 1972; MA, 1976) and in Theology from

St Stephen's House St Stephen's House is an external theological college with observer status at the University of Oxford, affiliated with the Church of England. From 2003 to 2023 it was a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford. The college typicall ...

(BTh, 1975; MA, 1979).''Crockford's Clerical Directory, 2006-07'', 99th Edition, p 429. He was ordained deacon in 1976 and priest in 1977. He later completed his doctorate at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

(

Hatfield College Hatfield College is one of the constituent colleges of Durham University in England. It occupies a city centre site above the River Wear on the World Heritage Site peninsula, lying adjacent to North Bailey and only a short distance from Durha ...

), where he also served as Chaplain until 1988. He was a founder of the Conference on Literature and Religion at Durham University in 1980. Since then, a series of international meetings have been organised every other year by the organisation, providing a forum for the inter-disciplinary study of literature and theology in contemporary Europe. Jasper was Principal of

St Chad's College St Chad's College is one of the Colleges of Durham University#Types of College, recognised colleges of Durham University. Founded in 1904 as St Chad's Hall for the training of Church of England clergy, the college ceased theological training in ...

from 1989 to 1991, leaving to become Dean of Theology at Glasgow. His recent research has been into some of the earliest of Christian theologians,

hermits A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

and Desert theology. On 26 January 2007 Jasper received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

by the Faculty of Theology at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. In 2014 Jasper became priest in charge of St Cuthbert's Church in

Cambuslang Cambuslang (, from ) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th-largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be cons ...

, combining this job with his academic work.

Publications

*''Coleridge as Poet and Religious Thinker'', (1985) *''The New Testament and the Literary Imagination'', (1987) *''The Study of Literature and Religion: An Introduction'', Second Edition, (1992) *''Rhetoric, Power and Community: An Exercise in Reserve'', (1993) *''Readings in the Canon of Scripture'', (1995) *''The Sacred and Secular Canon in Romanticism'', (1999) *''The Bible and Literature: A Reader'' (with Stephen Prickett), (1999) *''Religion and Literature: A Reader'' (with Robert Detweiler), (2000) *''The Sacred Desert'', (2004) *''A Short Introduction to Hermeneutics'', (2004) *''The Oxford Handbook of English Literature and Theology'' (co-editor with Andrew W. Hass and Elisabeth Jay), (2007) *''The Sacred Body'', (2009) *''The Sacred Community'', (2012) *''The Language of Liturgy'', (2018) *''Heaven in Ordinary: Religion and Poetry in a Secular Age'', (2018)

References

External links

*University of Glasgo

*Centre for the Study of Literature, Theology and the Art

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jasper, David British theologians 20th-century Scottish Episcopalian priests Academics of Durham University 1951 births Living people Academics of the University of Glasgow Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Principals of St Chad's College, Durham Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Alumni of St Stephen's House, Oxford Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham 21st-century Scottish Episcopalian priests