Griffith-Jones, Robin 1956–

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Griffith-Jones, Robin 1956–

PERSONAL: Born May 29, 1956, in London, England; son of Mervyn (a lawyer and judge) and Joan Griffith-Jones. Education: Attended Oxford University, New College, 1974–78, and Cambridge University, Christ's College and Westcott House, 1986–89. Religion: "Christian (Episcopalian)."

ADDRESSES: Office—The Temple Church, c/o The Master's House, London EC4Y 7BB, England. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Christie's Fine Art Auctioneers, London, England, worked in Department of English Drawing and Watercolours, 1978–84; The Church of England, Liverpool, England, curate (assistant minister), 1989–92; Lincoln College, Oxford University, Oxford, England, chaplain and teacher, 1992–99; The Temple Church, London, master of the temple, 1999–. Church Times, weekly "Sunday Readings" columnist; The Veil of the Temple (television), producer, 2003. Previously worked among the poor and homeless with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India, and in London, England.

WRITINGS:

The Four Witnesses: The Rebel, the Rabbi, the Chronicler, and the Mystic (theology/history), HarperSanFrancisco (San Francisco, CA), 2000.

The Gospel According to Paul: The Creative Genius Who Brought Jesus to the World, HarperSanFrancisco (San Francisco, CA), 2004.

The Da Vinci Code and the Secrets of the Temple, William B. Eerdmans (Grand Rapids, MI), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS: Robin Griffith-Jones is a minister who strayed from his Christian beliefs as a youth but returned to the church after hearing a lecture on the gospels at Oxford University. In addition to becoming master of the prestigious Temple Church in England, Griffith-Jones has authored several books on Christian theology and history. His first book, The Four Witnesses: The Rebel, the Rabbi, the Chronicler, and the Mystic, focuses on the four gospels of the New Testament. Griffith-Jones contends that each gospel has a somewhat different message in accordance with the time that it was written. In a review in the Library Journal, David Bourquin commented on the book's "refreshingly different content and perspective on the Gospels."

In The Gospel According to Paul: The Creative Genius Who Brought Jesus to the World, the author focuses on what many consider to be the most controversial gospel in the Bible. Critics characterize Paul's message as chauvinistic and somewhat unforgiving, especially concerning homosexuality and the Jewish people. Placing Paul within the context of his times, Griffith-Jones explores Paul's early influence on the development of Christian thought and theology. "The meditative, devotional writing style is easy to read and obviously aimed at a wide general audience," wrote Charlie Murray in the Library Journal. Steven Schroeder, writing in Booklist, commented that Paul "emerges here as a fully human figure."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 1, 2004, Steven Schroeder, review of The Gospel According to Paul: The Creative Genius Who Brought Jesus to the World, p. 1334.

Library Journal, May 1, 2000, David Bourquin, review of The Four Witnesses: The Rebel, the Rabbi, the Chronicler, and the Mystic, p. 118; April 1, 2004, Charlie Murray, review of The Gospel According to Paul, p. 99.

Publishers Weekly, February 23, 2004, review of The Gospel According to Paul, p. 72.