Education
Ph.D., The University of Cambridge, 2013 (Candidate)
Master of Letters (Theology), The University of St. Andrews, 2005
Master of Divinity, Princeton Theological Seminary, 2002
Bachelor of Arts (Religion), Pepperdine University, 1997
About David McNutt
"If its task is correctly seen and grasped, theology as a whole, in its parts and in their interconnexion, in its content and method, is, apart from anything else, a peculiarly beautiful science. Indeed, we can confidently say that it is the most beautiful of all the sciences… The theologian who has no joy in his work is not a theologian at all. Sulky faces, morose thoughts and boring ways of speaking are intolerable in this science.” – Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, II/1, 656.
I am passionate about teaching theology because I believe that there is nothing more important or exciting than the triune God's love for humanity, revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
In particular, I am interested in exploring how Christians may live out their faith within the broader cultural context, especially with regard to the relationship between theology and the arts, as is reflected by my doctoral thesis: "Divine Creation and Human Creativity: Karl Barth's Doctrine of Creation and a Reformed Vision of Artistic Creativity."
I am also a certified candidate for ordination to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament within the Presbyterian Church (USA). My wife, Jennifer Powell McNutt, also teaches in the Biblical & Theological Studies Department at Wheaton College. When not spending time with her and our daughter, I enjoy watching films, reading, and slowly improving my golf game.
Courses Taught
- BITH 315 / 316: Christian Thought
- BITH 561: Theological Anthropology
- BITH 565: Christian Theology
- BITH 655: Historical Theology: Reformation
- BITH 675: Advanced Systematic Theology: The Doctrine of the Trinity
Memberships
- American Academy of Religion
- Society for the Study of Theology
- Karl Barth Society of North America
- Society for the Arts in Religious and Theological Studies
Areas of Research
- Systematic Theology (esp. Christology and Trinitarian theology)
- Theology and the Arts / Theological Aesthetics
- Theology and Literature
- Theology and Film
- The Theology of the Reformed Tradition (esp. Calvin, Edwards, and Barth)
- Worship / Liturgical Studies
- Beauty
Articles / Essays
“Idolatry,” in The New Dictionary of Theology (InterVarsity Press; Forthcoming)
“Cut to a Close-Up of Theology: Recent Work in Religion and Film,” in International Journal of Systematic Theology 14:2 (April 2012)
“Faith and Film,” in Religion and the Arts 13:4 (2009)
“I am Jack’s Happy Ending: Fight Club and Tolkien’s Eucatastrophe,” in You Do Not Talk about Fight Club, ed. Read Schuchardt (BenBella Books, 2008)
Book Reviews
Steven Ozment, The Serpent and the Lamb: Cranach, Luther, and the Making of the Reformation in Anglican Theological Review (Forthcoming)
James K. Beilby and Paul R. Eddy, eds., Justification: Five Views in Theology (Forthcoming)
Richard J. Mouw, Abraham Kuyper: A Short and Personal Introduction in Christian Scholar's Review 42:1 (Fall 2012)
Frank Burch Brown, Inclusive yet Discerning: Navigating Worship Artfully in Cultural Encounters 7:2 (2011)
Richard Viladesau, The Triumph of the Cross: The Passion of Christ in Theology and the Arts from the Renaissance to the Counter-Reformation in International Journal of Systematic Theology 12:3 (July 2010)
Rowan Williams, Dostoevsky: Language, Faith, and Fiction in Books and Culture (Online edition, March 2010)
Paul Molnar, Incarnation and Resurrection: Toward a Contemporary Understanding in Theology 113:1 / 871 (January/February 2010)
Bruce McCormack, Orthodox and Modern: Studies in the Theology of Karl Barth in Theology 112:6 / 870 (November 2009)
Robert Wuthnow, All in Sync: How Music and Art are Revitalizing American Religion in Religion and the Arts 13:1 (2009)
Alister McGrath and Joanna Collicut McGrath, The Dawkins Delusion? Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine in Cultural Encounters 4:2 (Summer 2008)
Miroslav Volf, Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace in Cultural Encoutners 4:2 (Summer 2008)
Paul T. Nimmo, Being in Action: The Theological Shape of Barth’s Ethical Vision in Anvil 25:4 (2008)
Heath White, Postmodernism 101: A First Course for the Curious Christian in Anvil 25:2 (2008)
R. Kevin Seasoltz, Sense of the Sacred: Theological Foundations of Christian Architecture and Art in Cultural Encounters 2:1 (Winter 2005)
Paper Presentations
"The Prayers of U2: A Theology of Music as Creative Prayer," March 18, 2011. Forum on Music and Christian Scholarship, Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL)
"Doing 'Theological Work': Karl Barth and the Possibility of Art as Prayer," April 13, 2010. Society for the Study of Theology Conference, The University of Manchester (Manchester, England)
"Witnesses to Christ: Barth's Christological Doctrine of Creation and Its Implications for the Arts," May 20, 2009. Systematic Theology Seminar, Faculty of Divinity, The University of Cambridge (Cambridge, England)
"These Three are Not One: Beauty in the Theologies of Jonathan Edwards, Karl Barth, and David Bentley Hart," April 24, 2009. Garrett Student Theological Conference: Theological Aesthetics, Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary (Chicago, IL)
"Barth and Art Redux: A Methodological Response," April 2, 2008. Society for the Study of Theology Conference, The University of Durham (Durham, England)
"Inadmissible or Indispensable? Beauty in the Theologies of Karl Barth and David Bentley Hart," September 3, 2007. ITIA 2007 Research Colloquium: The Offence of Beauty, The University of St. Andrews (St. Andrews, Scotland)
"Mischief. Mayhem. Hope: Tolkien's Eucatastrophe through the Narrative Lens of Fight Club," March 28, 2006. ITIA Spring 2006 Research Colloquium: Patterns of Promise: Art, Imagination, and Christian Hope, The University of St. Andrews (St. Andrews, Scotland)
"A Finger, a Flute, and a Fisherman: Applying Karl Barth’s Doctrine of Revelation to the Arts," December 10, 2004. The Institute for Theology, Imagination, and the Arts (ITIA) Seminar, The University of St. Andrews (St. Andrews, Scotland)
"The Word through the Hands: Incorporating the Arts within Karl Barth's Doctrine of Revelation," December 6, 2004. The Scottish Barth Colloquium, The University of St. Andrews (St. Andrews, Scotland)