A philosophy graduate of Liberty University (B.A., 1992), Rob MacSwain studied theology at Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div., 1995) and the University of Edinburgh (M.Th., 1996).  His M.Th. thesis, supervised by Fergus Kerr OP, was on Martin Luther and St. Thomas Aquinas as readers of the Apostle Paul. After teaching religion at Brooks School in North Andover, MA, he entered the ordination process in the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina and completed his Clinical Pastoral Education at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. This was followed by a year of Anglican studies at Virginia Theological Seminary, and an internship as Research Assistant to Archbishop George Carey at Lambeth Palace.

Ordained by Archbishop Carey in Canterbury Cathedral, he then spent three years in parish ministry at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Kinston, NC (Diocese of East Carolina). In 2004 he was awarded an Episcopal Church Foundation Fellowship and began doctoral studies in philosophical theology with Canon Professor David Brown at the University of Durham. In 2007 his supervisor moved to the University of St. Andrews, and so he completed his doctorate there (Ph.D., 2010). His dissertation focused on the religious epistemology of the Anglican theologian Austin Farrer (1904-1968). While still in Durham, he was appointed as the Ramsey Fellow and Chaplain of St. Chad’s College, and held this position from 2005 to 2008.  While in St. Andrews he served as an honorary assistant priest at All Saints’ Scottish Episcopal Church (Diocese of St. Andrews, Dunkeld, and Dunblane).

His teaching and research combine philosophy, theology, ethics, literature, and spirituality with a particular focus on how these five disciplines interact within the Anglican tradition. The author of several articles, book reviews, and poems, he has also co-edited four books: Grammar and Grace: Reformulations of Aquinas and Wittgenstein (with Jeffrey Stout), The Truth-Seeking Heart: Austin Farrer and His Writings (with Ann Loades), The Cambridge Companion to C. S. Lewis (with Michael Ward), and Theology, Aesthetics, and Culture: Responses to the Work of David Brown (with Taylor Worley).

Books

Theology, Aesthetics, and Culture: Responses to the Work of David Brown
This volume is the first attempt to assess the significance of Brown’s remarkable series, and its contributors include some of the most prominent philosophers, theologians, biblical and literary scholars writing today. Aside from its distinguished interdisciplinary line-up, a distinctive feature is sustained consideration of Brown's work on popular culture. It thus provides an exciting and substantial treatment of theology, aesthetics, and culture.

The Cambridge Companion to C. S. Lewis
In this volume, co-editors MacSwain and Ward have assembled an array of top Lewis scholars and other noted intellectuals to assess Lewis's talents and contributions as a poet, classicist, literary theorist, novelist, children's author, memoirist, literary historian, and popular theologian.

The Truth Seeking Heart: Austin Farrer and His Writings
The editors, Loades and MacSwain, let Farrer's "voice" be heard; rather than short samples from Farrer's many works, lengthy selections from larger pieces are placed side-by-side with a number of complete, shorter works — 29 in all.

Grammar and Grace: Reformulations of Aquinas and Wittgenstein
This is a collection of essays on Aquinas and Wittgenstein. It is inspired by, and dedicated to the memory of Victor Preller, whose interpretations of these figures helped to prepare the ground for recent discussions of religious language, knowledge of God, the role of grace in human life, and the ethical significance of virtue.

Videos

Creation, Evolution and God Conference: Purpose and Providence — Where Is It All Headed and Does God Care?

MacSwain CV

Email: rcmacswa@sewanee.edu