David Atkinson (bishop)

David Atkinson (bishop)
David John Atkinson (born 5 September 1943) is the former Bishop of Thetford.
Early life and education
Atkinson was educated at Maidstone Grammar School and King's College London (he became an Associate of King's College {AKC} and, at other points, a Doctor of Philosophy {PhD}, Master of Letters {MLitt}, Oxford Master of Arts {MA Oxon}, and Bachelor of Science {BSc}). He had a short career as a chemistry teacher.
Ordained ministry
Atkinson was ordained in 1973. His career began with a curacy at St Peter Halliwell, Bolton, after which he was Curate at St John, Harborne, Birmingham, and then Librarian at Latimer House, Oxford. From 1977 he was chaplain (and a Fellow) of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and part-time Lecturer at Wycliffe Hall, then a canon residentiary at Southwark Cathedral and finally (before his elevation to the episcopate) Archdeacon of Lewisham.
He was Bishop of Thetford from 2001 to 2009. In 2009 he became an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Southwark. He has been Northrupp Visiting Professor at Hope College, Holland, Michigan, and Visiting Lecturer at St John's College, Hong Kong, and at the South Asia institute of Advanced Christian Studies. He is a member of the Society of Ordained Scientists, and has served on the Board of Operation Noah. Atkinson is married with two children and eight grandchildren. He retired on 16 September 2009.
On 11 February 2017, Atkinson was one of fourteen retired bishops to sign an open letter to the then-serving bishops of the Church of England. In an unprecedented move, they expressed their opposition to the House of Bishops' report to General Synod on sexuality, which recommended no change to the Church's canons or practices around sexuality. By 13 February, a serving bishop (Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham) and nine further retired bishops had added their signatures; on 15 February, the report was rejected by synod.
Bibliography
He has written a number of books on pastoral theology, Christian ethics and biblical studies.
Prophecy, Grove 1977
The Values of Science, Grove 1980
Tasks for the Church in the Marriage Debate, Latimer 1979
The Moral Teaching of the Apostle Paul, Christian Theology Trust 1991
The Ethics of the Johannine Literature, Christian Theology Trust 1993
Life and Death, Oxford University Press 1985
To Have and To Hold: The Marriage Covenant and the Discipline of Divorce, Collins, and Eerdmans 1979
Homosexuals in the Christian Fellowship, Latimer House and Eerdmans 1979
Bible Speaks Today: Ruth, 1983
Bible Speaks Today: Genesis 1–11, 1990
Bible Speaks Today: Job, 1991
Bible Speaks Today: Proverbs, 1996
Peace in Our Time? (on nuclear deterrence) 1985
Pastoral Ethics (textbook) 1989 revised SPCK 1994
Counselling In Context (with Francis Bridger), Harper Collins 1994, re-issued Darton Longman and Todd 1998 *edited (with David Field) New Dictionary of Christian Ethics and Pastoral Theology, IVP 1995
Jesus, Lamb of God, SPCK 1996
God So Loved the World, (towards a missionary theology) SPCK 1999; chapter in Terry Brown (ed)
Other Voices, Other Worlds, (DLT 2005)
Renewing the Face of the Earth (pastoral and theological response to climate change) Canterbury Press 2008
The Church's Healing Ministry – practical and pastoral reflections Canterbury Press 2011
Hope Rediscovered – biblical wisdom for an anxious world Ekklesia Publishing 2018
The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ Wipf and Stock 2020
A Light for the Pathway: exploring the Psalms Wipf and Stock 2021
Articles
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
Evangelical Dictionary of Ethics
Blackwell Encyclopedia of Modern Christian Thought
References
1943 births
Living people
People educated at Maidstone Grammar School
Alumni of King's College London
Associates of King's College London
Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Archdeacons of Lewisham
21st-century Church of England bishops
Bishops of Thetford
Bible commentators