Knox/Robinson for today

You might be unfamiliar with the term ‘Knox/Robinson’, but you may well have come across the substance of these two men’s teaching if you’ve ever looked into the doctrine of church.

Observers of Anglicanism in Sydney have often remarked on a confident and distinctive approach to the nature and purpose of church, led by such men as Howard Mowll, TC Hammond, Marcus Loane, Donald Robinson and Broughton Knox. The source of this approach is undoubtedly the teaching of Donald Robinson and Broughton Knox at Moore College from the early 1950s until the early 1980s, though both men denied they were teaching anything unusual and could point to others who were saying similar things.1 For us, nearly thirty years after the last published piece by either of them, how should we respond to the theological legacy of Donald Robinson and Broughton Knox? Is it beyond criticism? Should we simply consider it a relic of our past and move on? Or is there room for a critical appreciation that appropriates their insights for a new era, without the kind of selection that distorts the entire package? This article is an abridged version of a talk I gave at NEXUS 2011; an extended version is available online at The Briefing website. To read more, click here.