Obituary of R.T.

Dick France published in THE TIMES of London, Thursday 23 February 2012

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PROF. REV. ALISTER MCGRATH

Dick France was a New Testament scholar and Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford and known for his thoughtful and gracious brand of evangelicalism. Prof. ALister McGrath was both a friend and colleague, succeeding him as Principal of Wycliffe Hall. R. T. (Dick) France was a leading New Testament scholar and theological educator. Originally a student of classics at Oxford, he brought his linguistic and scholarly tools to the study of the text of the New Testament. His PhD was one of the first to emerge from the University of Bristols newly established Faculty of Theology in the 1960s, and led to his appointment as a part-time lecturer in the New Testament at Tyndale Hall, Bristol, where he had trained for ministry in the Church of England. France was a leading representative of a thoughtful, informed, reflective and gracious evangelicalism. During the 1960s and 1970s, under the leadership of John Stott (obituary July 29, 2011) and his circle, evangelicalism had begun to set to one side its earlier isolationism, and was reconnecting with the life of the Church and the wider academic world. France was an outstanding example of the new style of evangelicalism that began to blossom in that age. Firmly rooted in both his faith and scholarship, he was willing to explore and engage in questions that had hitherto been ignored or feared. By the late 1970s he had established his reputation as a New Testament scholar who was able to hold together the worlds of critical scholarship and personal faith, and became a role model to many younger evangelical scholars, wrestling with issues of biblical interpretation. Richard Thomas France was born in 1938 in Londonderry. After studying at Bradford Grammar School, he went up to Balliol College, Oxford, in 1956 to study Literae Humaniores. In 1960 he moved to Tyndale Hall, Bristol, to prepare for ordination in the Church of England, combining this with his doctoral research at the University of Bristol on Jesus and the Old Testament. He was ordained in 1966 and spent three years serving as curate at St Matthews church, Cambridge. Frances interest in theological education led him to spend his next four years as a lecturer in biblical studies at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in Nigeria. He returned to England in 1973 as librarian of Tyndale House, Cambridge, which was then emerging as a leading research centre for the study of the history and literature of the New Testament. He would remain involved with Tyndale House, eventually becoming its Warden. In 1981 France moved to London Bible College (now London School of Theology), initially as senior lecturer in New Testament. His administrative gifts and strong interpersonal skills led to his being appointed Vice-Principal two years later. His success in that role led to him returning to Oxford in 1989 to succeed Canon G. N. Shaw as Principal of Wycliffe Hall, one of the Church of Englands theological colleges. His scholarly reputation and easy-going manner drew students, allowing him to expand both the student body and the number of teaching staff. France paid

particular attention to developing a good working relationship with the University of Oxford. The respect in which he came to be held within university circles led to him being elected chairman of Oxfords Faculty of Theology for the academic year 199495. Yet Frances period as Principal of Wycliffe Hall was not easy. The influence of John Stott and his circle within Anglican evangelicalism began to lessen in the late 1980s, with louder and less diplomatic voices becoming more prominent. The 1992 decision to ordain women to the priesthood in the Church of England created severe tensions within evangelicalism, which were reflected at Wycliffe Hall. France had, through long reflection on the New Testament, become a firm but diplomatic supporter of the ordination of women, for reasons he set out clearly in his 1995 Didsbury Lectures, published as Women in the Churchs Ministry (1997). It was an uncomfortable situation for him. Frances move in the summer of 1995 from being Principal of Wycliffe Hall to becoming rector of a group of isolated Anglican parishes in the diocese of Hereford, straddling the border between England and Wales, caused surprise at Oxford. Given his obvious gifts, some expected him to become a bishop (many still believe that this was a missed opportunity for the Church). Others thought that he would move to a senior academic appointment in North America, where his reputation was substantial, and his teaching gifts would be fully appreciated. Yet France was committed to a deeper vision of scholarship than that normally associated with the academic world. From the outset, France saw himself as one who was called to interpret and apply the New Testament to the life of the Church. His final appointment allowed him to help ordinary churchgoers to make more sense of their faith, and connect more deeply with the text of the New Testament. As his former colleagues came to realise, France had found a way to relate the Church and scholarship that he found to be more satisfying and productive than what some might consider more prestigious alternatives. France came to be seen as a role model for a growing number of priest-scholars, who were concerned to develop and apply their theology and scholarship in the context of active ministry and service, rather than in isolated academic institutions. In 1999 France retired to Gwynedd in northwest Wales, where he continued his ministry of writing and teaching. Among many other responsibilities he was lecturer for the Bangor diocesan ministry course from 2000 to 2009. Although Frances works published during his career won him many plaudits, his two best works were published after his retirement. His substantial commentaries on Matthews gospel (2007) and the Greek text of Marks gospel (2002) are models of detailed textual engagement and tempered scholarship, coupled with a deep personal commitment to discern the deeper meaning of the text. France had saved the best wine for the last. He is survived by his wife, Barbara (Curly), and a son and daughter. R. T. France, New Testament scholar and educationist, was born on April 2, 1938. He died after a short illness on February 10, 2012, aged 73

CONNECT with the OCCA Professor Alister McGrath is President of the Oxford Centre For Christian Apologetics, the OCCA. Website: www.theocca.org

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Oxford-Centre-for-ChristianApologetics-OCCA-RZIM-Wycliffe-Hall/182944905053367 On Twitter: @theocca The original article appeared here: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/obituaries/article3328378.ece