2009 sees the 70th anniversary of the death of Professor John Oman. To mark the occasion there is to be conference on his life and ideas.

Oman, born in Orkney and alumni of Edinburgh, was a minister of the United Presbyterian Church and subsequently of the Presbyterian Church of England. After parish work in Paisley and Alnwick he was appointed Professor of Theology at Westminster College, Cambridge. He was also Principal of the College and Moderator of the English General Assembly. Oman was a creative theologian and philosopher of religion; his two best known books are Grace and Personality, in which he teaches that God is personal and always treats us as persons, and The Natural and Supernatural, in which he argues that all people have a felt awareness of God that prompts faith. Whilst Oman is not well known today, he was judged at the time of his death as ‘amongst the most original, independent, and impressive theologians of his generation and of his country’.

The anniversary conference is to be held at Westminster College, Cambridge from 15th–17th September 2009 and will feature local and international speakers, including Professors Stephen Bevans, George Newlands, Alan Sell and David Thompson. Topics will include Oman’s Christology, the intellectual and cultural context of his work, his response to Darwinism, and the importance of his work for contemporary missiology.

For enquiries, contact Adam Hood.