Roger Newell
Roger NewellProfessor of Religious Studies
Telephone: 503-554-2660
E-mail: rnewell@georgefox.edu
Classes Roger is Currently Teaching
Specialities: Pastoral Ministry, Reformed Theology, C. S. Lewis, T. F. Torrance
Education
B.A., Westmont College; M.Div., Fuller Theological Seminary; Ph.D., University of Aberdeen. George Fox University 1997-
Following doctoral studies with James Torrance in Aberdeen, Scotland, and eight years as a pastor in Durham, England, my family and I returned to the Pacific Northwest in 1992, where I served as an associate pastor in charge of Christian education at a Presbyterian church in Portland. In 1997 I came to the Christian education post here at George Fox where it has been a joy to work alongside fine colleagues.
Let me say a word or several about classes I teach. In the General education program, I enjoy the opportunity to teach Bible Survey and to discuss questions like: Is grace a New Testament invention? How do we read a document which is at once a genuinely human document as well as a divine one?Why are so many Psalms "laments?" Why does the book of Proverbs contain wisdom from a pagan king's mother? Was Jesus' birth really accompanied by innkeepers, late night arrivals and an angel choir? What does the New Testament teach about the ancient institution of slavery? Why are there four gospels instead of one? How shall we interpret the controversial parts of Revelation? The list is endless.
In the Christian Foundation class we study the history of the church and how Christians have sought to witness to their faith for over 20 centuries.The excitement and the struggles of believers from Athanasius to Augustine to Bonhoeffer and Desmond Tutu is a story that continues to challenge and raise questions for discipleship today.
In "Christian Discipling" we seek to discover the meaning of the church's mission today as a "sign, instrument and foretaste" of the kingdom of God.
In "Perspectives in Christian Education" we form a lived parable of a community in which everyone is a teacher and everyone is a learner.
"Shared praxis" is a unique journey through four semesters exploring the meaning of Christian ministry through internship woven together with theology.
Some special interests of mine include: C. S. Lewis, the history of Reformed theology, and German Political Theology. When not reading theology books, I may be caught riding my bicycle or walking in Champoeg park. My wife, Sue, teaches in the social work department. I have two adult daughters: the younger is in grad school in the Netherlands; the older in St. Andrews, Scotland.
- Roger