Professor Paul Nimmo

Biography

Paul T Nimmo holds the King’s Chair of Systematic Theology (established in 1620). He joined the University of Aberdeen in 2013, having previously been Meldrum Senior Lecturer in Reformed Theology at Edinburgh. His own studies were undertaken in Cambridge, Edinburgh, Princeton, and Tübingen, and his first academic position was as a post-doctoral Research Assistant and Affiliated Lecturer at Cambridge. Paul received a John Templeton Award in 2009 for his book Being in Action: The Theological Shape of Barth's Ethical Vision, and is also the author of Barth: A Guide for the Perplexed, co-Editor of several works including The Cambridge Companion to Reformed Theology and The Oxford Handbook of Karl Barth, and Editor of the congregational resource Learn: Understanding our Faith, and of Karl Barth and Reformed Theology. His current projects include works on the Lord’s Supper in the theology of Karl Barth, on heaven, and on the doctrine of sanctification.

Paul is a Founding Co-Director of the Aberdeen Centre for Protestant Theology, Senior Editor of International Journal of Systematic Theology, and Series Co-Editor of Explorations in Reformed Theology. He is a member of the Theology and Religious Studies sub-panel for REF 2029. He is the English-language Editor of the Karl Barth Translation Seminar at the Center for Barth Studies in Princeton, and the Chair of the Gifford Lectures Committee at the University of Aberdeen. Paul serves the Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe in an ongoing ecumenical dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, and as co-chair of their current doctrinal conversation on the subject of confessionality. He is Convenor of the Theological Forum of the Church of Scotland, as well as an Associate of the Centre for Ministry Studies and a Trustee of Christ's College; he is also an ordained elder in the Church of Scotland, a member of St Machar's Cathedral, and a lay preacher.

Prizes and Awards

• John Templeton Award for Theological Promise (2009)

Research Overview

My research interests lie primarily in the field of systematic theology, exploring the meaning, coherence, and implications of Christian faith and doctrine. I have a particular concern for the relationship between theology and the life of the church. I would be very happy to hear from anyone thinking about postgraduate research at the University of Aberdeen, whether on campus or at distance, whose interests are similiarly aligned.

Current Research

My principal areas of current research include the following:

• the central loci of Christian doctrine

My research has always gravitated towards the core tenets of lived Christian faith - beliefs about God, Jesus Christ, the Spirit, creation, salvation, the church, and the sacraments - and towards exploring their theological meaning, their dogmatic connectedness, and their current relevance. My work extends beyond tradition-specific enquiry to a broader consideration of the biblical roots, the historical elucidations, the ethical implications, and the constructive implications of these doctrines. I am currently working towards a monograph on the Christian understanding of heaven, as well as on a larger project on the Christian life. 

• the history and theology of the Reformed tradition

I have a long-standing interest in the theology of the Reformed tradition in all its historical and doctrinal diversity and as representing a lived and ecumenical form of Christian faith. As well as co-editing the Cambridge Companion to Reformed Theology with David Fergusson, I have engaged in research articles with the work of figures such as Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin, Heinrich Bullinger, John McLeod Campbell, Herman Bavinck, H. R. Mackintosh, T. F. Torrance, and Markus Barth. I have a particular interest in the way this tradition has been received and furthered in Scotland, and to how it might continue to develop.

• the theology of Karl Barth

I have an especial interest in the theology of Karl Barth. The monograph which I am currently completing is entitled Karl Barth and the Lord's Supper, a book which seeks to think with and after Barth on the eucharist. This research builds explicitly on work I carried out in my first monograph - Being in Action: The Theological Shape of Barth's Ethical Vision. I have published a textbook entitled Karl Barth: A Guide for the Perplexed, and have co-edited the Oxford Handbook of Karl Barth with Professor Paul Dafydd Jones. I have also written a series of research articles and teaching essays on diverse aspects of the work of Barth.

• the theology of Friedrich Schleiermacher

I also have a particular interest in the theology of Friedrich Schleiermacher. I have written a number of research articles on his views of soteriology, justification, and the sacraments, and have published an extended article on his construal of the relationship between Scripture and the work of Jesus Christ. I hope in the future to turn my attention to a series of further articles on diverse aspects of his theology.

List of Publications at June 2024

List of Presentations at June 2024

Past Research

Invited Lectureships

University of Glasgow – The Kerr Lectures (2008)

Title:   'A Theology of Obedience'

Georg-August-Universität Göttingen – Guest Lectureship (2008)

Title:   'Grundthemen der Theologie Karl Barths'

University of St Andrews – The Shaw Lecture (2023)

Title:   Ecumenism – Gospel Imperative, Harsh Reality, and Pilgrim Journey

Knowledge Exchange

At the heart of my work is a desire to encourage the relationship between the study of systematic theology and the life of Christian communities. I am an ordained elder in the Church of Scotland, and participate in diverse ways in the life of the church – locally, nationally, and internationally. My work includes not only regular preaching in local churches but also the diverse forms of service mentioned below:

• Convenor, Theological Forum of the Church of Scotland (2025– )
• Co-Chair, CPCE doctrinal conversation on confessionality (2025– )
• Member, CPCE delegation for ecumenical dialogue with DPCU (2020– )
• Trustee, Board of Christ's College, University of Aberdeen (2019– )
• Associate, Centre for Ministry Studies, University of Aberdeen (2014– )

• Previous Positions: Vice-Convenor, Theological Forum of the Church of Scotland (2022–2025); Member, Theological Forum of the Church of Scotland (2020–2022); Theological Consultant, Ninth General Assembly of the CPCE, Sibiu (Romania) (2024); Theological Adviser, Learn initiative of the Church of Scotland (2014–2018); Member, Joint Commission on Doctrine of the Church of Scotland and the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland (2008–2015); Member, ACTS / Church of Scotland ‘Why Believe?’ Group (2011–2013); Member, Church of Scotland Working Group on Human Sexuality (2009–2012); Placements at St. Columba’s Church (Pont Street, London) (2006–2007), Morningside Parish Church (2005), Parish of the North Isles (Shetland Isles) (2005), Parish of Manish-Scarista (Isle of Harris) (2004), Parish of Bracadale and Duirinish (Isle of Skye) (2003)

Collaborations

• Cambridge Companion to Reformed Theology

co-Editor with David Fergusson (Cambridge); Cambridge: CUP, 2016

• Learn: Understanding our Faith 

Editor; Edinburgh: St Andrew Press, 2017

• Oxford Handbook of Karl Barth

co-Editor with Paul Dafydd Jones (UVa); Oxford: OUP, 2019

• Kenosis: The Self-Emptying of Christ in Scripture and Theology

co-Editor with Keith L. Johnson (Wheaton); Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2022

• The God Who Is For Us: Explorations in Christian Dogmatics

co-Editor with Oliver Crisp (St Andrews); Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2025

Teaching Responsibilities

In the course of my work in Cambridge, in Edinburgh, and now in Aberdeen, I have taught a wide variety of topics in Christian theology, Christian ethics, and church history. In 2008, I was a Guest Lecturer at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, while in 2020, I took part in an Erasmus Staff Mobility Teaching Visit to the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. In 2011, while lecturing at the University of Edinburgh, I won a University-wide Teaching Award that was organised and presented by the Edinburgh University Students' Association. 

In Aberdeen, I have taught and/or teach on the following undergraduate courses:

• SX1017 : Global Issues, Global Religions
• DR1038 : The Rise of Christianity
• DR1/2547 : Introduction to Christian Theology
• DR2057 : Major Christian Thinkers
• DR2/351V : Sacramental Theology
• DR3/402F : Christianity in Scotland – History and Theology of the Church in Scotland
• DR3/452B : Major Themes in Christian Theology
• DR3/452C : Encounters with Great Theologians
• DR406A : Theology of Karl Barth
• DR4085 : These Three are One – the Christian Doctrine of God

I have also taught and/or teach on the following postgraduate Masters courses:

• DR501U : Theology of Karl Barth
• DR501V : The Christian Doctrine of God
• DR503N : Readings in Systematic Theology
• DR504U : Topics in Systematic Theology – God, Christ, and Salvation
• DR553N : The Christian Doctrine of God
• DR553T : Scottish Church History: From Columba to Graham and Beyond
• DR554U : Topics in Systematic Theology – Spirit, Church, and World

Non-course Teaching Responsibilities

When not on research leave, I direct the Research Seminar in Systematic Theology and lead an intermediate-level German Reading Group for students across Divinity. I have also regularly run Development Seminars for Divinity students – these include guest speaker events, doctoral strategy seminars, and professional development workshops. I also serve as a Personal Tutor for students on our undergraduate programmes.