John Swinton (theologian)

John Swinton (born 1957) is a Scottish theologian. He is the Chair in Divinity and Religious Studies at the School of Divinity, History, and Philosophy, University of Aberdeen. John is founder of the university's Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability. John is an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland and Master of Christ’s College, the university's theological college. Swinton is a major figure in the development of disability theology. In 2016 he was awarded the Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing for his book Dementia: Living in the Memories of God.

John is Professor in Practical Theology and Pastoral care. He also serves as an honorary professor of nursing in the Centre for Advanced Studies in Nursing at Aberdeen University. In 2004 he founded the university's Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability. The Centre has a dual focus: the relationship between spirituality and health and the theology of disability.

In 2012 Swinton was appointed Master of Christ’s College in Aberdeen by The Church of Scotland. In 2014 he established the Centre for Ministry Studies, a joint project between Christ’s College and the University of Aberdeen. It provides a broad range of education and training for both lay and ordained people.

Swinton has given numerous public lectures. In 2020 he gave the annual May MacLeod lecture at the United Theological College in Sydney.

Selected works

• Dementia: Living in the Memories of God (2012) Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. Published in the UK (2012) London: SCM Press
• Mental Health: The Inclusive Church Resource (2014) Darton, Longman & Todd (with Jean Vanier)
• Brock, BR. & Swinton, J. (eds) (2012). Disability in the Christian Tradition: A Reader Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
• Living Well and Dying Faithfully: Christian Practices for End-Of-Life Care (2009) (Edited text with Richard Payne) Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
• Living Gently in a Violent World: The Prophetic Witness of Weakness (2008) (With Stanley Hauerwas and Jean Vanier) IVP
• Raging With Compassion: Pastoral responses to the problem of evil(2007) Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-2997-X
• Theology, Disability and the New Genetics: Why Science Needs the Church (2007) (Edited text with Dr. Brian Brock) London: T&T Clarke.
• Practical Theology and Qualitative Research (2006) London: SCM Press (With Dr. Harriet Mowat) ISBN 0-334-02980-5
• Critical Reflections on Stanley Hauerwas’ Essays on Disability: Disabling society, enabling theology (2005) (Edited text with Stanley Hauerwas) New York: Haworth Press. ISBN 0-7890-2722-4
• Spirituality in Mental Health Care: Rediscovering a “forgotten” dimension (2001) Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London. ISBN 1-85302-804-5
• Resurrecting the Person: Friendship and the care of people with severe mental health problems (2000) Abingdon Press, Nashville. ISBN 0-687-08228-5.
• The Spiritual Dimension of Pastoral Care: Practical theology in a multidisciplinary context (2000) (Edited Text with David Willows) Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London. ISBN 1-85302-892-4.
• From Bedlam to Shalom: Towards a practical theology of human nature. Interpersonal relationships and mental health care (2000) Peter Lang, New York. ISBN 0-8204-4425-1.

Further reading

• Swinton, John (February 2013). "Scottish theologian and former mental health chaplain John Swinton talks about disability and dementia — and why churches have got this 'inclusion' thing all wrong". The United Church Observer (Interview). Interviewed by Chelsea Temple Jones.
• Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore (23 September 2011). The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Practical Theology. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 480–. ISBN 978-1-4443-4572-8.
• Yong, Amos (2007). Theology and Down Syndrome: Reimagining Disability in Late Modernity. Baylor University Press. pp. 237–. ISBN 978-1-60258-006-0.

External links

• Curriculum vitae
• Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability