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Welcome to my online home.

My name is Steve Holmes.

I am Head of the School of Divinity (and Principal of St Mary’s College) at the University of St Andrews, where I have worked for the past fourteen years.

I am a Baptist Minister, and presently on the leadership team of St Andrews Baptist Church.

I write and speak a lot, and try to think a bit as well.

 

Please do have a look around, and get in touch using the form at the bottom of this page if you would like to.

Steve Holmes

Steve Holmes

Some online highlights

A blogpost on ‘How to apply for an academic job in the UK’

A reflection on the Sophia Network’s ‘Minding the Gap’ research on the experiences of women in the UK church.

A piece I wrote on technologies of Bible reading for the Bible Society publication Transmission entitled From Scrolls to Scrolling

Some reflections on the Fulcrum website of our Project 3:28 2015 report on gender balance on conference platforms

You can see a video of my Catalyst Live 2014 talk, ‘Hope and History Rhyme’. (Oct. 2014)

 

 

Research

I have published widely across the disciplines of systematic and historical theology, and into practical theology, philosophical theology, and patristics as well. The centre of my research agenda up till now, however, has been historical, focusing on the development of the Reformed and Baptist traditions of theology from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, and on the broader history of the doctrine of God, particularly the idea of God’s triunity. Presently, my research is moving in three particular directions, growing out of this background:

1. I continue to be interested in studying the history and theology of the Baptist denominations. At the moment, I am particularly focused on seventeenth-century General Baptists, and eighteenth-century Particular Baptists. Regarding the former, I have a book in preparation on Matthew Caffyn, the seventeenth-century General Baptist messenger, and some potential collaborative work on Baptist-Quaker controversies in that century; regarding the latter, I am editing Andrew Fuller’s sermons for the new De Gruyter critical edition of his works. In pursuing this project, a student and I have recently deciphered Fuller’s shorthand for the first time.

2. I am working towards a second monograph on the doctrine of the Trinity, which will be more constructive than theological. I will examine a number of areas of Trinitarian doctrine which never achieved particular prominence, but which helpfully highlight some of the controversial issues in Trinitarian doctrine today.

3. Most immediately, I am working on writing up a book using the question of the extent of the atonement as a test case for a methodological proposal about the nature of systematic theology.

You can find a complete list of my research publications on my university webpage here.

PhD Supervision

I have supervised upwards of forty research students, and am happy to accept enquiries from prospective students in the following areas: historical and contemporary theology; Reformed and Baptist traditions; the doctine of God, particularly the divine attributes and the doctrine of the Trinity; soteriology; Evangelical theology.

My teaching

I teach a variety of modules in St Andrews, from first year to MLitt level. Most of my teaching is in the area of historical and systematic theology, although I presently also teach ethics.

I have been a visiting teacher in recent years at Acadia Divinity School, Canada (doctoral seminars) and Westminster Theological Centre, UK (Master’s level).

Speaking

Stephen Holmes Catalyst Live 2014

Stephen Holmes Catalyst Live 2014

I speak regularly at academic, church, and popular conferences. Some details, and links to video and audio online, can be found here.

St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology

I am chair of the editorial board of the St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology, a free, online resource we are in the process of creating, with generous support from the John Templeton Foundation (I am co-PI on the initial enabling grant).

Blog: Shored Fragments

Shored Fragments logo

I kept a blog, called Shored Fragments, for about ten years, but don’t update it any more.

Dignity: taking a stand against gender-based violence

 

dignity

I had some involvement in the BMS World Mission Dignity campaign, addressing issues of gender-based violence around the world. You can order a free DVD with all the resources that we wrote on it.

 

Some organisations I work with:

I teach at the University of St Andrews in the School of Divinity, where I am also Head of School.

I am on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Systematic Theology and The Pacific Journal of Baptist Research.

I am involved with two monograph series, as an editor of the T&T Clark Studies in English Theology series, and on the editorial board of the IVP Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture series.

I am a member of the Doctrine and Unity Commission of the Baptist World Alliance.

I am a trustee of Fusion Scotland, working to support local church work with students.

I recently stepped down as a trustee of The Sophia Network, but continue to support their vision of gender equality at every level of church leadership. I am also involved with Project 3:28, a small collective working towards gender equality in Christian conferences in the UK.

I am on the Councils of the Scottish Bible Society, and of Fusion, an innovative and excellent student ministry.

I am on the leadership team of St Andrews Baptist Church.

Get in touch

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St Mary’s College, the home of the School of Divinity of the University of St Andrews, where I have the privilege to work.