Edward Michael Bankes Green, known as
Michael Green, is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
theologianChristian theology is discourse concerning Christian faith. Christian theologians use Biblical exegesis, rational analysis and argument to understand, explain, test, critique, defend or promote Christianity...
, Anglican
priestA priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which may also apply to such persons collectively.Priests and priestesses...
,
Christian apologistChristian apologetics is a field of Christian theology that aims to present a rational basis for the Christian faith, defend the faith against objections, and expose the perceived flaws of other world views...
and author of more than fifty
ChristianChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
books. He is serving as the Canon
MissionerA Christian mission has been widely defined, since the Lausanne Congress of 1974, as that which is designed "to form a viable indigenous church-planting and world changing movement." This definition is motivated by a theologically imperative theme of the Bible to make God known, as outlined in the...
of Holy Trinity Church in
Raleigh, North CarolinaRaleigh is the capital city of the state of North Carolina, the seat of Wake County and the second largest city in North Carolina. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S...
through 2007.
Education and career
Michael Green was born in 1930. His mother was Australian and his father was Welsh. He was converted through the ministry of
E J H NashEric John Hewitson Nash , was an Evangelical Church of England clergyman. His ministry of Christian evangelism in the top thirty public schools was highly influential in the post-war Evangelical resurgence.-Ministry:...
("Bash"). Educated at
Clifton CollegeClifton College is an independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1862. In its early years it was notable for emphasising science in the curriculum, and for being less concerned with social elitism, e.g. by admitting day-boys on equal terms and providing a dedicated boarding house...
. He studied at
Exeter College, OxfordExeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
(
Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences or both....
1953,
Master of ArtsIn the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts is awarded to Bachelors of Arts of those universities on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university .There is no examination or study required for the degree beyond...
1956), and subsequently at
Queens' College, CambridgeQueens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was first founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou , and refounded in 1465 by Elizabeth Woodville...
(
Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences or both....
1957,
Master of ArtsIn the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts is awarded to Bachelors of Arts of those universities on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university .There is no examination or study required for the degree beyond...
1961,
Bachelor of DivinityIn Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
1966) while preparing for ordained ministry at Ridley Hall. He has been admitted to the degree of
Doctor of DivinityDoctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
by the
Archbishop of CanterburyLambeth degrees are academic degrees conferred by the Archbishop of Canterbury under the authority of the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533 as successor of the papal legate in England...
(1996) and the
University of TorontoThe University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated north of the city's Financial District on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. The university was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in the...
(1992). He was ordained deacon in 1957, priest in 1958.
He served as
Assistant CurateFrom the Latin curatus , a curate is a person who is invested with the care, or cure , of souls of a parish. In this sense it correctly means a parish priest. In Anglican churches, however, the term is usually used for an assistant priest or deacon...
of
EastbourneEastbourne is a large town and borough of East Sussex, on the south coast of England, with an estimated population of 106,652 as of 2009. The area has seen human activity since the stone age and it remained one of small settlements until the 19th century when its four hamlets gradually merged to...
Holy Trinity 1957-60, Tutor at
London College of DivinityLondon School of Theology is an evangelical theological college based in Northwood in the London Borough of Hillingdon....
1960-69, Principal of
St John's College, NottinghamSt John's College, situated in Bramcote, Nottingham, is a Church of England theological college. The college stands in the open evangelical tradition and states that its “core purpose is to inspire, equip and grow Christians to serve and lead in God’s mission.”St. John’s trains Anglican ordinands,...
1969-75, and Rector of
St Aldate's, OxfordSt Aldate's is a street in central Oxford, England. It is named after the obscure Saint Aldate, although it has also been suggested that the name is a corruption of 'old gate', referring to the south gate in the city walls. There is a church dedicated to Aldate on the west side of the street, in...
1975-86. He had additionally been an Honorary Canon of
Coventry CathedralCoventry Cathedral, also known as St Michael's Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry, in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The current bishop is the Right Revd Dr Christopher Cocksworth....
from 1970 until 1978. He then moved to
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where he was Professor of Evangelism at
Regent CollegeRegent College is an international graduate school of Christian Studies, located next to the campus of the University of British Columbia in the University Endowment Lands west of Vancouver, British Columbia, and is an affiliated college of that university....
,
VancouverVancouver is a coastal city and major seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The city is bounded by English Bay, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River, the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is named after Captain George Vancouver, a...
from 1987 until 1992. He returned to
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to take up the position of Advisor to the
Archbishop of CanterburyAlso see Leaders of ChristianityThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, the see that churches must be in communion with in order to be...
and the
Archbishop of YorkArchbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
for the
Springboard Decade of EvangelismEvangelism is the practice of attempting to convert people to a religion. The term is used most often in reference to Christianity's religions, since they mandate that their followers make efforts to recruit as many people as possible into their faith...
. In 1993 he was appointed Six Preacher of
Canterbury CathedralCanterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion...
. Despite having officially retired in 1996, he became Senior Research Fellow and Head of Evangelism and Apologetics at
Wycliffe Hall, OxfordWycliffe Hall is a Church of England theological college and a Permanent Private Hall of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located on the Banbury Road in central North Oxford, between Norham Gardens and Norham Road....
in 1997 and lives in the village of
MarstonMarston is a village and associated suburb of Oxford, England, lying to the northeast of the city, within the A40 Northern Bypass...
, near
OxfordOxford is a city, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. The city has a population of just under 165,000, with 151,000 living within the district boundary. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre...
.
He is married to Rosemary, and they have four adult children, Sarah (who lives in Northern Ireland), Jenny, Tim, and Jonathan.
Apologetics & evangelism
Green has been a prolific writer, with much of his work written for a popular reading audience, although he has also contributed to academic studies. Many of his best known books discuss the twin topics of evangelism and
apologeticsApologetics is the whole of the consensus of the views of those who defend a position in an argument of long standing. The term comes from the Greek word apologia , meaning a speaking in defense....
.
One of Green's objectives has been to equip lay Christian believers in their grasp of the gospel message, and to then have confidence to converse with others about faith matters. These practical objectives are very clear in books such as
Evangelism, Now and Then and
Sharing Your Faith With Friends and Family. At a technical level Green has contributed a valuable academic study of the
praxisPraxis may refer to:In education:* Praxis test, a teacher certification exam* Praxis School, a school of Marxist philosophyIn entertainment:* Praxis , a Bill Laswell musical project...
and theory of evangelism in
Evangelism in the Early Church. This work explores the development of evangelism through the New Testament texts and from the early church fathers, and is a basic text in Christian missions. He has built on those foundational studies in his advocacy of evangelism at a parish church level, both through his personal ministry and in his book
Evangelism Through the Local Church.
His apologetic work has generally focussed on popular misconceptions and objections held by non-Christians. In books such as
You Must Be Joking,
World on the Run and
Why Bother With Jesus, Green deals with attitudes of religious indifference and scepticism. He also addresses a variety of objections concerning religious hypocrisy,
religious pluralismReligious pluralism is a loosely defined expression concerning acceptance of different religions, and is used in a number of related ways:...
, and popular questions of doubt and unbelief. He has also examined the evidences for the life, death and resurrection of Christ in
Man Alive and again in the revision of that book
The Day Death Died.
Green has also explored academic challenges to faith, such as in the collection of essays he prepared as a reply to
Don CupittDon Cupitt is an English philosopher of religion and scholar of Christian theology. He is an Anglican priest and an emeritus professor of the University of Cambridge, though is better known as a popular writer, broadcaster and commentator...
's work on
The Myth of God Incarnate. In that analysis Green and his colleagues addressed the problems of myth and history as propounded in modern biblical scholarship, especially concerning the relationship between the events of Jesus' ministry and teaching, and the doctrine of the
IncarnationIncarnation which literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh, refers to the conception and birth of a sentient creature who is the material manifestation of an entity or force whose original nature is immaterial....
.
His recent work
The Books the Church Suppressed: Fiction and Truth in The Da Vinci Code is an argument for Orthodox Christianity against Gnosticism, as it is presented in
The Da Vinci Code. Green here links Gnosticism with a decline in society (pp 152-4). He also claims that Gnosticism leads to a decline in morality, so that by ordaining a homosexual bishop, the Episcopal Church of the United States has itself shown Gnostic tendencies (pp 154-161).
He has considered aspects of apologetic methodology and strategy in his co-authored work with
Alister McGrathAlister Edgar McGrath is a Christian theologian, who holds both a DPhil and an earned Doctor of Divinity degree from Oxford. He is noted for his work in historical, systematic and scientific theology....
.
Aside from his apologetic writings, Green has also addressed issues of discipleship in the Christian life, ministry and leadership in the church, the doctrine of
baptismIn Christianity, baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted to membership of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered.The usual form of baptism among the earliest Christians was for the...
, pneumatology (the Holy Spirit) and
demonologyDemonology is the systematic study of demons or beliefs about demons. Insofar as it involves exegesis, demonology is an orthodox branch of theology. It is the branch of theology relating to superhuman beings who are not gods...
. He has also written non-technical commentaries on certain books of the New Testament.
Adventure of Faith is his spiritual autobiography.
Humorous reference
Michael Green was a good-natured victim of the
Hoax letter writers- Henry Root :Henry Root is the creation of writer William Donaldson who wrote to numerous public figures with unusual or outlandish questions and requests...
The Reverend Toby Forward and The Reverend David Johnson, writing under the pseudonym Francis Wagstaffe. They describe him as "the famous evangelist and mild arsonist" in letters to
Euston FilmsEuston Films was a British film and television production company. It was a subsidiary company of Thames Television, and operated from the 1970s to the 1990s, producing various series for Thames, which were screened nationally on the ITV network...
,
Roy JenkinsRoy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician. Once prominent as a Labour Member of Parliament and government minister in the 1960s and 1970s, he became the first British President of the European Commission and one of the four principal founders of the Social...
, and
Hodder & StoughtonHodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hodder Headline.The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
. They received a letter from Dr Green in which he admitted, "I had a fairly wild time before becoming a committed Christian: that included things like a little mild arson, but not fornication!" (p. 71) There was a serious point behind his repudiating any involvement with fornication: as Rector of
St Aldate'sSt Aldate's is a street in central Oxford, England. It is named after the obscure Saint Aldate, although it has also been suggested that the name is a corruption of 'old gate', referring to the south gate in the city walls. There is a church dedicated to Aldate on the west side of the street, in...
he famously had a sofa in his study, "where scores of people knelt to entrust their lives to Christ!" (ibid.)
- See Toby Forward and David Johnson, eds, The Spiritual Quest of Francis Wagstaffe (Leominster
Leominster is a market town in Herefordshire, England, located approximately north of Hereford and south of Ludlow, at . It is the second largest town in the county with a population of approximately 11,000 people , and is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River...
: Gracewing, 1994), pp. 70, 71, 72-3, 74, 98, 123, 196.
Autobiography
- Adventure of Faith: Reflections on 50 Years of Christian Service, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2001 ISBN 0-00-710542-8
External links
- 'GREEN, Canon Edward Michael Bankes', in Crockford's Clerical Directory (97th edn, London
[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
: Church House Publishing, 2001), p. 298
- Wycliffe Hall biography
- Zacharias Trust biography