Dr. David Bennett

Dr. David Bennett is a theologian scholar, speaker, and bestselling author, passionate about renewing the Church’s witness and engaging through thoughtful but compelling responses to today’s ethical, philosophical, and theological questions. He is currently writing a second popular-level book, entitled Holy, Strange, Beautiful: How A God-Shaped Vision of Desire and Sexuality Can Heal Us and Our Divided World on Christian faith, desire, and LGBTQI+ for Tyndale House Publishers.

Having recently completed his doctorate (DPhil) in theology at Oxford University, he now works as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Theology and Religion Faculty, and Associate Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall. His thesis is in the process of being published as a monograph with T&T Clark/Bloomsbury, entitled, Queering the Queer in Contemporary Theology: An Augustinian Ethics of Desire and Gay Celibacy. David specialises in the relationship between the Trinity, Christian ethics, scripture (Pauline letters), patristics (Augustine), critical theologies (queer, liberationist, feminist, disability), discipleship and contemporary Anglican theology, especially the role of desire in knowing God. Visiting for around a month each year, he is a theologian in residence at Reality San Francisco (March-April) and Church of the City, New York (September-October).

Dr. Bennett is from Sydney, Australia where he studied creative writing, journalism, international relations, and French. He moved to Oxford to pursue his studies in theology and train as an apologist from an atheist background. David now holds postgraduate degrees in theology from Oxford University, and a master’s degree in Analytic and Exegetical Theology from the University of St Andrews, Scotland. His bestselling book A War of Loves (Zondervan, 2018) describes his own story of encountering the love of God and meeting the person of Jesus in a pub in the gay quarter of Sydney. He recounts the story of a life of atheistic gay activism to becoming a follower of Jesus, in which he advocates for a positive moral vision of biblical sexuality and discipleship.

Dr. Bennett speaks and writes on a wide range of topics including theology, desire, beauty, gender, theodicy, suffering, ethics, and sexuality. He is frequently asked to appear and speak internationally in a variety of settings including churches, academic conferences, national radio and TV including VICE Australia, and on BBC platforms such as the BBC One Documentary, Young, Gay, Christian. As a gay celibate Christian, he seeks to be a fresh voice on the topics of love, holiness, desire and sexuality in order to show how people can live and flourish through Christ’s cross-shaped teaching. He is passionate about equipping the Church to better love the LGBTQI+ and other minority communities, and the art of showing solidarity to those who are different or other to us. His other interests include French, Latin, church history, writing, travel, cooking, reading books, and living in Christian community.

As a member of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s College of Evangelists, he has spoken for churches and organisations such as the Ashmolean Museum, Oriel College, Wheaton College, Holy Trinity Clapham, St Aldates Church, New Wine Network, HTB, Kings Cross Church London, the Synod of the Church of England, St Edwards School and Magdalen School, Oxford, and much further afield. He offers corporate consulting on theological topics, diversity and inclusion, and ethics, alongside his work in the academy and the Church.