James Gaston
Thesis title: Saturating a Disenchanted World: De Lubac, Balthasar, Marion and the Call for a Theological Aesthetic
PhD in Practical Theology and Ethics
Year of study: 1
- School of Divinity
Contact details
- Email: j.r.gaston@sms.ed.ac.uk
PhD supervisors:
Qualifications
MTS in Theology and Ethics, Summa Cum Laude (Duke Divinity School, 2019)
BA in Philosophy and Religion, Magna Cum Laude (Christopher Newport University, 2017)
Research summary
James is interested in integrating ressourcement theology, sacramental theology, phenomenology, ontology and theological aesthetics to help alleviate the flattening and disenchantment of western post-Enlightenment Protestantism, particularly Evangelicalism.
Current research interests
Philosophical theology, phenomenology, ressourcement theology, ecclesiology, sacramentology, patristic theology, Christian education, practical theology and ethics.Past research interests
Spiritual pilgrimage, modern theology, Christian existentialism, black theology, iconographyPast project grants
Recipient of Christopher Newport University's Honors Program Grant: Modern Pilgrimage in America
Papers delivered
"On Christian Joy" (Hoaglund Conference, Christopher Newport University, 04/2017)
"Kenosis as Axis Mundi: A Christological Meditation on Jacob, Jabbok, and Judeo-Christian Cosmology" (Worlds Above and Below Conference, University of Otago, 06/2024)
"The Flesh as a Means of Saturating a Disenchanted Church" (Society for the Study of Theology Conference: Flesh and Blood Theologies, University of Warwick, 04/2025)
Gaston, James. “Hidden Life.” The Novel Project. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2021. https://sites.duke.edu/novelproject/archives/category/subject/hidden-life
------. “Kierkegaard and King: How Does Agapic Love Confront the Dangers of Christian Nationalism?” EON Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences 2, no. 1 (January 2024): 32-47. https://eonjournal.org/jahss/assets/files/1706160539.pdf