Andrew Davison at LATC 2025

The first plenary address at LATC 2025 (register now!) will be a wide-ranging introduction to the theology of receiving salvation. This talk, on Wednesday evening, will be by Andrew Davison, Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford. It will be open to the public at no charge, though you do need to register (did I mention you should register for the conference? We need to know how much coffee to order).

Professor Davison took the time to answer a few questions about the subject. Here’s what he had to say:

Q: LATC 2025’s theme is Receiving Redemption, and it focuses on how salvation is received by human persons and communities. Why is this aspect of soteriology worth close theological attention?

A: It’s a fascinating and important topic for several reasons. I’ll stick to three.

First, the topic of how salvation is received is less often discussed or written about today, compared to obviously foundational discussions of salvation in terms of the Incarnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Christ.

Second, this topic is also useful to talk about clearly and charitably because it’s an area where Christians disagree. On those prior questions about Christ, there is happily a good deal of agreement between different Christian traditions, at least in my context. Most likely, whatever sort of Christian you might be, the consensus a focus on the Person and work of Christ, and on the priority of grace. On the question of receiving salvation, however, there is less unanimity: for instance, over the role of the sacraments – such as whether we should normally understand baptism as what bestows salvation, but also whether or how salvation can be received outside the bounds of the church.

As a third point, this topic encourages us to think about what salvation looks like in the life of the Christian and the local Christian community, so it is practically very important. It also has the capacity to gather some strands of discipleship that have become dissociated, such as thinking about sanctification, ethics, spirituality, and the theology of the Lord’s Supper.

Q: The title of your plenary address is “God’s good work brought to completion: What does it mean to receive salvation?” How will you be approaching the conference theme?

A: I have probably said a fair bit about that in responding to the previous question. Since my lecture is kicking off the conference, and is open to the public, I will put some emphasis on surveying the field and bringing together some of the principal questions we might consider. I am also interested in how parts of Christian theology join up, so I will try to show how things we believe in other areas – about God, about Christ, about the Church, about God’s goal for us and the life of the world to come – already provide resources or reference points for exploring our topic, which I take to be something like exploring the experience of salvation, God’s work of salvation, from the human side.

Q: Can you describe how this new talk fits in with your previous theological work?

A: I suppose that almost everything I’ve written bears on this question, even some books that are less well known in the USA, like a book on the practice of blessing people, things, place, or endeavours, or two jointly-authored books, one on the parish or church-in-its-locality as cradle of salvation, and another on care for the dying, since preparation for death, and death itself, should be approached as a step on the path of receiving what God has for us. But the most obvious connections are with my books on participation (since what is salvation but God’s work that brings us to participate in his life and holiness) and sacramental theology. I’ve also been working on a book on the relation of doctrines over the past two years, and (as I mentioned in responding to your previous question) I think that approach can be useful here too.

Q: What are you looking forward to at the conference? Are there any papers or issues that have especially caught your eye?

A: I fear that it would be invidious to single people out, but it’s always rewarding to hear what Kathryn Tanner has to say about anything, and I have appreciated every conversation I’ve ever had with Julie Canlis, both for her scholarship but also because she is such an instigator and encourager of prayerful, theologically-informed, community-focused Christianity on the ground.