In memoriam John Webster

Readers of this blog will probably by now have heard that my senior colleague John Webster died suddenly yesterday morning. I had the privilege of writing a brief obituary for our School website, which reads as follows:

The Revd Professor John Bainbridge Webster, DD, FRSE 1955-2016

It is with enormous sadness that the School announces the sudden death on Wednesday 25th May of our friend and colleague John Webster, Professor of Divinity.

John was amongst the leading English-language theologians of his generation. Twelve monographs, four major edited volumes, and a host of shorter publications would have established his reputation on their own; when his extensive service to his discipline and the wider academy—founding the International Journal of Systematic Theology; serving on many editorial boards; membership of peer review colleges and learned societies—is added in, the true magnitude of his contribution can begin to be seen.

John’s academic career began at St John’s College, Durham (1982-86), then continued in Canada, at Wycliffe College, Toronto (1986-96). His eminence was recognised in 1996 when he was appointed Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity in the University of Oxford, a post he held until moving to the University of Aberdeen as Professor of Systematic Theology in 2003. He took his chair here in St Andrews in 2013.

We remember John as a warm and generous colleague, whose penetrating intellect was combined with a down-to-earth attitude, a ready sense of humour, and a deep Christian faith. Our thoughts and prayers are with his widow and family at this time.

Other tributes will no doubt follow. Fred Sanders already has an excellent account of John’s theology here. I just want to add some personal reminiscences now. I had known John for a couple of years only when the Society for the Study of Theology met in his then home university of Oxford in 2000. In one plenary session, I found myself seated between him and Tony Thistleton, as the speaker started telling us of the ‘pastoral need’ to ‘forgive God’. Tony turned across me to John and said ‘forgiving God is rather a difficult concept theologically, is it not?’. John’s response was straightforward: ‘It’s not difficult at all; it’s blasphemy. Come on, we’re going for a pint.’

That was not the last conference session we vacated together for the bar. John became a good friend and a mentor to me, particularly after my doktorvater Colin Gunton died equally suddenly, and also in May, thirteen years ago. Nor was it the last time I was to hear John cut dismissively through windy ‘theological’ rhetoric. Indeed, his theological style became more uncompromising as the years went on. Working back from Barth, through a Reformed scholastic tradition (particularly Owen), to a fascination with the intellectual clarity and deep piety of Thomas Aquinas, John became more and more convinced that dogmatic theology well-done began unapologetically with the word of God revealed in the Scriptures and preserved in the faith of the Church. The task of theology is, on John’s telling, to expound that word and that faith carefully and extensively, so that every thought may finally be taken captive to Christ.

John also became more and more focused on ‘theology proper’: the doctrine of God’s life in se. Unfashionably, it was the treatise de deo uno, not trinitarian theology, that captivated him. The careful explication of God’s eternal life through the enumeration and description of the divine perfections was for him the highest calling of the theologian—and an act of praise.

Such summaries of his academic interests make him sound somewhat intellectual and austere. The power of his intellect was unquestionably dazzling, and he was perhaps a little remote from the modern world (he wrote his publications longhand with a fountain pen, then typed them into a computer when finished for editors who demanded electronic copy). John was never remote from people though: a zest for life, an easy sense of humour, a gift for devastating one-line summaries of fellow theologians, and a genuine interest in his students and colleagues were all as much a part of him as his intellectual interests.

Giving himself to the careful explication of God’s eternal life, he then viewed all else sub specie aeternitatis. I remember him a couple of years back, in conversation at the end of a seminar in our College Hall here in St Mary’s, commenting almost in passing about the brevity of life, over in the blink of an eye compared to the endless ages of joy that would follow the resurrection (and, he believed with the church down the ages, would be enjoyed in anticipation by the soul between death and bodily resurrection). This was not rhetorical or homiletic affectation; it was a simple and honest reflection of how he had come to view life, having devoted himself for so long to the task of understanding all things in the light of God’s grace and glory.

Because of this, he was also deeply humble and uninterested in worldly advancement. Academic honours came regularly, but he never sought them, and the Church of England, and Episcopal Church of Scotland, hardly noticed what a gift they had been given in John Webster.

I mourn a colleague, friend, and mentor; I grieve for what our discipline will now never gain from his pen; I pray for his widow and family—but I believe to remember John as he would have wanted to be remembered, none of these can be the final note. He now knows the beginnings of an eternity of joy unspeakable, and his theology remains an invitation for us all to look beyond death to the promise of endless life and joy.

‘Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.’ (Ps. 116:15)

 

 

12 Comments

  1. Jim West
    May 26, 2016

    Thank you for these lovely sentiments. I echo them.

  2. Paul Lavender
    May 26, 2016

    Memory Eternal!

    Thank you Steve.

  3. Sten-Erik Armitage
    May 26, 2016

    Thank you for these words Professor Holmes. This loss has hit me hard. Although I’ve only known John these past 2.5 years, he has left his mark on me. I’m thankful for the hours I spent with him, yet I long for more. Death is the enemy. This is not as it should be. I look forward to the day death shall die, and we can join Prof Webster at the feet of the greatest teacher.

  4. Jim Gordon
    May 26, 2016

    Thank you Steve, for this warm appreciation and for so well articulating the Christian gladness that shines through our sadness at John’s passing.

  5. Andrew Esqueda
    May 26, 2016

    Thanks for these incredible words about an incredible theoligan, and surely an incredible human being

  6. D. Densil Morgan
    May 26, 2016

    What a blow; what a loss.

    But thanks for such a clear and heartfelt tribute

  7. Dennis Ngien
    May 27, 2016

    John B. Webster spoke at my Centre for Mentorship and Theological Reflection annual event over 10 years ago, held at Tyndale university College and Seminary Chapel.
    His lecture on Sacramental Piety at the event appealed to a wide audience, bridging the gap between theology and spirituality. His personal interactions with me at the University of Toronto where I was a PhD student (1988-93) was most encouraging and memorable. What an immense loss, but heaven’s gain.!
    A virtual salutation to John, who now enjoys the beatific vision of God in heaven!

    With gratitude,
    Dennis Ngien, Professor of Systematic Theology,
    Tyndale University College and Seminary; Research Professor, Wycliffe College, U of Toronto.

  8. Rob Fennell
    May 27, 2016

    A very fine tribute – thank you.

  9. Forrest Buckner
    May 27, 2016

    Thank you Steve. This was a gift to read.
    Grace and peace to you and your family,
    Forrest

  10. Simon Hattrell
    May 28, 2016

    I had the privilege of spending a couple of hours in conversation with John in Sep 2013 on a visit to St Andrews from Tasmania.

    I had begun translating some of the works of Pierre Maury (known for his friendship with Karl Barth and having a huge influence on the eventual shape of Barth’s Doctrine of Election – CD II/2) and had been corresponding with him about this publishing project. He was very encouraging and generous with his time and had only recently written a short commendation of the collection.

    I first discovered John in 2002 and always found him such a balanced theologian, whom I deeply appreciated. How sad that with his expanding corpus of constructive written work, we will now never get to read his planned five-volume systematic theology.

    Simon Hattrell

    Coordinator of Distance Study for the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania.

  11. James Charlton
    Jun 3, 2016

    Since I come from a Gospel Hall background, it was a shock to arrive in Cambridge and to meet an Evangelical who not only drank beer but smoked a pipe! John was at Clare College and I was at Fitzwilliam, but we met at Tyndale House (courtesy of Dick France). John became my tutor. I still value his extensive, finely hand-written notes. He guided me to an acceptable ‘examination style’. I’m not sure I would’ve got through without him. John introduced me to Gadamer, who in turn led me to a kind of openness which influenced my book, Non-dualism in Eckhart, Julian of Norwich and Traherne. I delayed my gratitude to John, for years … and now it’s too late. — Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, thank you for our brother John Webster.

  12. Eric Griffin
    Jun 25, 2016

    John was my Th.D. degree director at Toronto, and I shall miss him sorely. Always one to call a spade a bloody shovel.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. A Rembrance: John Webster – Theology Forum - […] find a fine summary of John’s theology by Fred Sanders here and a eulogy by Stephen Holmes here. The…
  2. Professor John Webster (1955–2016) | Acts and More - […] by many; two particularly good ones are from Andy Goodliff and John’s St Andrew’s colleague, Steve Holmes. We thank…
  3. John Webster (1955-2016) | After Existentialism, Light - […] There are already some very fine pieces written in remembrance of this extraordinary theologian. Steve Holmes, Fred Sanders, Travis McMaken,…
  4. John Webster, 1955-2016 – Theologians, Inc. - […] In Memoriam John Webster – Steve Holmes […]
  5. In Memoriam John Webster | Fulcrum Anglican - […] We are grateful for permission to reproduce this tribute which first appeared on Steve Holmes' blog […]
  6. Remembering John Webster - […] Steve Holmes: “I had known John for a couple of years only when the Society for the Study of…
  7. Boldness, Joy, and Humility in God - […] you will read this week in the many remembrances of Webster will consistently highlight his humility. Since I did…
  8. John Webster (1955–2016): Reflections from One of His Students -IKTHUS.NET - […] has been and will be said about his life and achievements elsewhere by those who knew him better than…
  9. John Webster (1955–2016): Reflections from One of His Students - Gospel X - […] has been and will be said about his life and achievements elsewhere by those who knew him better than…
  10. In Memoriam 2016 – EerdWord - […] a tribute by Steve […]

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