Biographical Information:
Robert Johnston joined the faculty of Fuller in 1993, serving as provost until 1995 and now serving as professor of theology and culture. He brought with him 20 years of teaching, ecclesial, and academic administrative experience, including 11 years as dean and provost at North Park College and Theological Seminary.
Johnston has published in a variety of fields, including selected Old Testament topics, evangelical theology, and, most recently, theology and film. His recent books include
Useless Beauty (2004),
Finding God in the Movies (co-written with Catherine Barsotti, 2004),
Life Is Not Work/Work Is Not Life (co-written with J. Walker Smith, 2001), and
Reel Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue, 2nd edition (2000, 2006). He is editor of
Reframing Theology and Film: New Focus for an Emerging Discipline (Baker Academic, 2007), general editor of the Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Baker Books), and co-editor of both the Engaging Culture and the Exegeting Culture series for Baker Academic Books, as well as the Religion and Film series for Routledge. A past president of the American Theological Society and the recipient of two major research grants from the Luce Foundation, Johnston is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Covenant Church.
Courses Taught:
ST501 Systematic Theology 1: Theology and Anthropology
TC521 Theology and Contemporary Literature
TC530 Theology and Film
TC A Theology of General Revelation
Areas of Expertise, Research, Writing, and Teaching:
Theology/religion and the arts, theology and film, the Church and the entertainment industry, theology and the contemporary novel, general revelation, theological hermeneutics, a theology of beauty, the nature of the human, evangelicalism, Old Testament wisdom literature, play.