GUNTON, Colin E(wart) 1941-2003

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born January 19, 1941, in Colchester, Essex, England; died May 6, 2003, in Brentwood, Essex, England. Minister, educator, and author. Gunton was a well-known theologian in the United Reformed church who was also a leading educator at King's College, London. His education credentials included a B.A. in humanities from Hertford College, Oxford in 1964, B.A. (1966), M.A. (1967), and D.Phil. (1973) degrees from Mansfield College, and a D.D. from the University of London, received in 1993. Ordained a minister in 1972, Gunton spent his career at King's College, London, beginning as a lecturer in philosophy and religion in 1969 and becoming a professor of Christian doctrine in 1984; he was also dean of the faculty of theology and religious studies from 1988 to 1990 and head of the department from 1994 to 1997. As a theologian Gunton strongly believed in asserting the autonomy of theology, which he felt should be studied separately from other disciplines in the humanities such as philosophy and history. He also turned away from the theological liberalism that characterized much of the thinking in the Anglican Church, feeling that theology should be explicative, not apologetic. An active secretary in the Society for the Study of Theology, he cofounded the International Journal of Systematic Theology and was coeditor of the Theological Review at King's College. He was also a prolific author and editor, and many of his works reflect his interest in particular in the Trinity. Among his books are Yesterday and Today: A Study of Continuities in Christology (1983; second edition, 1997), The Promise of Trinitarian Theology (1991; revised edition, 1997), The Triune Creator: A Historical and Systematic Study (1998), and The Christian Faith: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine (2001).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Independent (London, England), May 22, 2003.

Times (London, England), May 19, 2003.