Ian Alexander McFarland (born 1963) is an American

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

theologian who has served since 2019 as Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Theology at Emory University's

Candler School of Theology Candler School of Theology is one of seven graduate schools at Emory University, located in Atlanta metropolitan area, metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. A university-based school of theology, Candler educates Minister (Christi ...

, His books include ''The Hope of Glory: A Theology of Redemption'' (2024), ''The Word Made Flesh: A Theology of the Incarnation'' (2019), ''From Nothing: A Theology of Creation'' (2014), ''In Adam's Fall: A Meditation on the Christian Doctrine of Original Sin'' (2010), and ''The Divine Image: Envisioning the Invisible God'' (2005).

Career

McFarland holds degrees from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

(Hartford),

Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (shortened to UTS or Union) is a Private college, private ecumenical liberal Christian seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated with Columbia University since 1928. Presently, Co ...

(New York), the

Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Chicago, Illinois. LSTC is a member of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS), a consortium of eleven area seminaries ...

, the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. He taught at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

from 1998 to 2005. He taught from 2005 to 2015 at

. From 2015 to 2019 he was the

Regius Professor of Divinity The Regius Professorships of Divinity are amongst the oldest professorships at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. A third chair existed for a period at Trinity College Dublin. The Oxford and Cambridge chairs were founded by ...

at the

. He returned to Candler in 2019. McFarland is editor of the ''

Scottish Journal of Theology The ''Scottish Journal of Theology'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of systematic, historical and biblical theology. It was established in 1948 by Thomas F. Torrance and J. K. S. Reid. Former editors-in-chief include Iain Torrance ( ...

'', a former fellow of Selwyn College, Cambridge, and a member of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...

. He has served as one of the ELCA representatives on rounds 12 and 13 of the U.S. Lutheran–Catholic Dialogue.

Personal life

McFarland is married to oboist Ann Lillya, with whom he has two daughters.

Publications

Books

The Hope of Glory: A Theology of Redemption. Westminster John Knox Press, 2024 The Word Made Flesh: A Theology of the Incarnation. Westminster John Knox Press, 2019 From Nothing: A Theology of Creation. Westminster John Knox, 2014 Co-editor, The Cambridge Dictionary of Christian Theology. Cambridge University Press, 2011 In Adam's Fall: A Meditation on the Christian Doctrine of Original Sin. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010 Editor, Creation and Humanity. Westminster John Knox Press, 2009 The Divine Image: Envisioning the Invisible God. Fortress Press, 2005 Difference and Identity: A Theological Anthropology. Pilgrim Press, 2001 Listening to the Least: Doing Theology from the Outside In. Pilgrim Press, 1998

Chapters and articles

"Christ and Creation," in The T&T Clark Handbook of the Doctrine of Creation. Ed. Jason Goroncy. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2024, pp. 250–259. "The Extra Calvinisticum and the Question of Where God Is," Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Relgionsphilosophie 65/3 (2023): 307-18. "Rethinking Nature and Grace: The Logic of Creation’s Consummation," International Journal of Systematic Theology 24/1 (January 2022): 56-79. "Sin and the Limits of Theology: A Reflection in Conversation with Julian of Norwich and Martin Luther," in International Journal of Systematic Theology 22/2 (April 2020): 147-168. "Being Perfect: A Lutheran Perspective on Moral Formation," in Studies in Christian Ethics 33/1 (2019): 15-26. "The Gift of the Non aliud: Creation from Nothing as a Metaphysics of Abundance," in International Journal of Systematic Theology 21/1 (January 2019): 44-58. ''The Upward Call': The Category of Vocation and the Oddness of Human Nature," in The Christian Doctrine of Humanity, Zondervan, 2018 "The Problem with Evil," Theology Today 74/4. January 1, 2019 "Present in Love: Rethinking Barth on the Divine Perfections," Modern Theology 33/2. April 1, 2017 "Original Sin," in the T&T Clark Companion to the Doctrine of Sin. Bloomsbury T & T Clark, 2016 "What Does It Mean To See Someone? Icons and Identity," in The Image of God in an Image-Driven Age: Explorations in Theological Anthropology. Intervarsity Press, 2016 "'Always and Everywhere': Divine Presence and the Incarnation," in The Gift of Theology: The Contribution of Kathryn Tanner. Fortress, 2015 "Theology of the Will," in The Oxford Handbook of Maximus the Confessor. Oxford University Press, 2015 "The Saving God," in Sanctified by Grace. Bloomsbury, 2014 "Spirit and Incarnation: Toward a Pneumatic Chalcedonianism," in International Journal of Systematic Theology, 16:2. April 1, 2014

References

External links

Amazon.com list of McFarland's published books
1963 births 20th-century American theologians 20th-century Lutherans 20th-century Protestant theologians 21st-century American Protestant theologians 21st-century Lutherans American academic journal editors Academics of the University of Aberdeen American evangelicals American Lutheran theologians Emory University faculty Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Christians Fellows of Selwyn College, Cambridge Regius Professors of Divinity (University of Cambridge) Living people Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago alumni People in Christian ecumenism Systematic theologians Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni Union Theological Seminary alumni Yale University alumni 21st-century American non-fiction writers {{US-theologian-stub