Ven. Dr. Rob James

Rob is an Associate Professor and is the Director of Anglican Studies and Formation. Rob was ordained Deacon in 2005 and Priest in 2006 in the Church of England. As well as his Church of England career he spent some time working for the UK government on security matters, whilst undertaking unpaid duties for the Church. Alongside his work for Church and State in the UK, he has usually been involved in teaching theology and the study of religion to undergraduates, and to those training for ordination. Before coming to Canada to take up his post at VST, Rob was the Canon Chancellor of Wells Cathedral, Somerset, and prior to that he was the parish priest of a three-point charge in the Diocese of Gloucester. Besides his work at VST, Rob is the Archdeacon of Burrard in the Diocese of New Westminster, a diocese of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Rob holds six degrees from five universities, including a PhD from the University of London on the use of Scripture in Anglicanism. Unusually for a priest, he holds an MLitt in Terrorism Studies from St. Andrews. He has broad academic interests, having published on biblical interpretation, Islamist terrorism and, most recently, New Testament studies. His book The Spiral Gospel: Intratextuality in the Gospel of Luke was published in 2022. Biblical storytelling has been a large part of Rob’s ministry and a book of his stories, Fifty New Testament Stories for Storytellers, is due to be published by Morehouse at the end of 2024. Fifty Old Testament Stories for Storytellers will come out a year to eighteen months afterwards. He is currently working on matters relating to the Gospel of Luke and the Diatessaron (a second century harmonisation of the Gospels), storytelling, and several aspects of Anglican theology and history.

Rob is married to Jean, a High School Mathematics teacher by profession, with a keen interest in conservation volunteering and youth and children’s work. Jean currently works at St. Andrew’s Hall, on the UBC campus, and at a local parish Church. They both like spending time outside, and enjoy living right by Pacific Spirit Park. They are grateful that there are so many places to hike around Vancouver.

Academic Publications and Research

Book:

The Spiral Gospel: Intratextuality in Luke’s Narrative (Cambridge: James Clarke, 2022).

Journal Articles:

‘Variant Readings of Luke 22.15-20 and the Relationship of Codex Bezae to Curetonian Syriac’ in the Journal of Theological Studies. As of September 2024, it is published online, ahead of print publication in October. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/jts/flae045

With Becca Stevens, ‘The Conversion of Loneliness’ in the Journal of Pastoral Theology, currently published online and awaiting print version.

‘Difficult Texts: The author and content of the commandment in 1 John 3.23’ in Theology 127:1 (2024), 38-42.

‘The Species and Purpose of the “Young Man” in Mark 14 and 16’ in The Expository Times 135:3 (2023), 98-106.

‘Spirituality for a Non-Religious Age: St. Francis in Cascadia’ in Christ and Cascadia (2023), https://christandcascadia.com/2023/06/22/spirituality-for-a-non-religious-age/

‘Difficult Texts: Using Dishonesty to Enter Heaven in Luke 16.9’ in Theology 126:3 (2023), 201-4.

Jointly with Becca Stevens, ‘Behold, The Human Being: Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Theology of the Paschal Triduum and the Self in Dementia’ in Theology 126:2 (2023), 103-10.

‘Difficult Texts: the Christology of the Centurion’s words in Luke 23.47’ in Theology 125:3 (2022), 205-208.

‘Intratextuality in Luke: Connecting the Emmaus Road with the Boy in the Temple,’ in The Expository Times, 132:2 (2020), 63-70.

‘Thomas Aquinas’ Teaching on the Necessary Simplicity of God,’ in Theologos, 21:1 (2019), 7-17.

‘Ideology and Narrative in Religiously Inspired Terrorism,’ in Religious Studies and Theology, 32:2 (2013), 243-55.

‘Themes in Spirit Possession in Ugandan Christianity,’ in the International Journal of Modern Anthropology, 6 (2013), 86-98.

‘Faith as Doubting Belief,’ in the Journal of Christian Ministry, 5 (2013), 1-24.

‘Newer Testaments: Tradition, Culture and the Expansion of “Scripture” in Contemporary Africa,’ in Horizons in Biblical Theology, 35:2 (2013), 115-35.

‘Doing it differently: The Bible in Fundamentalism and in African Christianity,’ in Horizons in Biblical Theology, 34:1 (2012), 35-58.

‘The Travels of St. Thomas in the East and the Migration of his Name,’ in E-Theologos, 2: 2 (2011), 133-43.

‘Chatter in the Hizb: The Hizb ut Tahrir web forum: an ideology of violence?,’ in Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, 10: 30 (Winter 2011), 213-35.

‘Engagement, Disengagement and African Theology,’ in The International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society, 1: 1 (2011), 25-36.

Conference Papers:

‘What (not) to do with a lamp? Reconstructing the Syriac Diatessaron’s version of Jesus’ saying’ at the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies, Montreal, June 2024.

‘Satan in Luke 4.8’ at the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies, Toronto, May 2023.

‘Hiddenness, Vocation, and the Soul’ at Not Ashamed, Vancouver, November 2022.

‘Engagement, Disengagement and African Theology’ at Religion and Spirituality in Society, Chicago, February 2011.

Popular publications

Fifty Old Testament Stories for Storytellers, (New York: Morehouse). Forthcoming in 2026.

Fifty New Testament Stories for Storytellers, (New York: Morehouse). Forthcoming in November 2024.

Finding Life: A Pilgrimage Around Wells Cathedral, (Wells: Close Publications, 2022).

You are loved: A short reflection on faith and doubt (Amazon, 2021).