David Pawson
Encyclopedia
J. David Pawson is a prominent Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 teacher based in Great Britain. He is the author of more than thirty books.

Biography

According to his autobiography, Pawson's immediate ancestors were all farmers, Methodist preachers or both - dating back to John Pawson, a friend and follower of John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...

. His father, H. Cecil Pawson, was head of Agriculture at Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...

 and also Vice President of the Methodist conference. From his childhood in the north of England David Pawson had wanted to be a farmer, but by the time he had completed his studies for a B.Sc. in Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 at Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...

, he felt God was calling him into full-time Christian ministry. He then studied for an M.A. in theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 at Wesley House
Wesley House
Wesley House is a Methodist theological college on Jesus Lane in Cambridge, England. It was founded in 1921 as a base for training Methodist ministers within the precincts of the University of Cambridge...

, Cambridge University, and subsequently joined the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 as a chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...

, serving in Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...

.

After leaving the RAF he served as a Methodist minister, but became increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of infant baptism
Infant baptism
Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. In theological discussions, the practice is sometimes referred to as paedobaptism or pedobaptism from the Greek pais meaning "child." The practice is sometimes contrasted with what is called "believer's baptism", or...

. After appearing before a doctrinal committee of the Methodist church, he volunteered to leave the denomination, and did so. Shortly thereafter he accepted an invitation to become the pastor of Gold Hill Baptist Church in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

.

Later, as pastor of Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...

 Baptist Church ('Millmead', which he helped to design), he established a reputation among both evangelicals
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

 and charismatics
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...

 as a Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 teacher. From here his teaching tapes - originally made for the church's sick and elderly members - became popular worldwide. Under his ministry, Millmead became one of the largest Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

 churches in the United Kingdom.

Pawson left Millmead in 1979 and engaged in an itinerant worldwide Bible teaching ministry. As of 2010, Pawson, aged 80, is still preaching at events across the globe.

Teachings

In The Normal Christian Birth, Pawson argued that a biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 initiation into Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 should involve more than a simple 'sinners prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...

'. Whilst accepting the fundamental basis of salvation by faith, he argued that the Biblical model of a person's "birth" into God's kingdom included aspects which are frequently ignored or forgotten today. He proposed four principal steps: repentance towards God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

; believing in Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

, baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

 in water and receiving the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...

. This, according to Pawson, is the biblical pattern for a "normal Christian birth". According to the book itself, "David Pawson advocates a synthesis of the 'liberal' emphasis on repentance, the 'evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

' on faith, the 'sacramental' on baptism and the 'pentecostal' on the Spirit." This work of Pawson has been influential and is taught at a number of theological seminaries and mission stations.

In Leadership is Male, he teaches that leadership
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...

 is a role given by God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

 to men. In so doing, he criticizes men for not taking proper responsibility in important aspects of family and church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...

 life. He argues that modern men too often neglect their social obligations and should return to the Biblical model of manhood. This book's foreword was written by a woman, Elisabeth Elliot. Yet Pawson clearly discriminates against women priests.

In The Road to Hell, Pawson is critical of Annihilationism
Annihilationism
Annihilationism is a Christian belief that apart from salvation the death of human beings results in their total destruction rather than their everlasting torment. It is directly related to the doctrine of conditional immortality, the idea that a human soul is not immortal unless it is given...

, the teaching that the punishment of hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...

 is not eternal. He teaches that people who go to hell experience eternal suffering. According to the book itself, by "challenging the modern alternatives of liberal 'universalism' and evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

 'annihilationism', David Pawson presents the traditional concept of endless torment as soundly biblical."

In Unlocking the Bible, Pawson presents a book by book study of the whole Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

. The book is based on Pawson's belief that the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 should be studied, as it was written, "a book at a time" (certainly not a verse, or even a chapter at a time); and that each book is best understood by discovering why and for whom it was written. It is based on an arranged series of talks in which he set out the background, purpose, meaning and relevance of each book of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

, and was transcribed into written form by Andy Peck. The groundwork for this study was laid in the 1960s and '70s, when Pawson took his congregation through nearly half of the Old Testament and all of the New Testament line by line (recordings of those studies are still distributed).

In When Jesus Returns, he critically considers in the light of scripture the major views on eschatology
Eschatology
Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...

 popular in the church today, specifically the preterist, historicist, futurist and idealist schools of interpreting the Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...

. He rejects postmillennialism
Postmillennialism
In Christian end-times theology, , postmillennialism is an interpretation of chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation which sees Christ's second coming as occurring after the "Millennium", a Golden Age in which Christian ethics prosper...

 in favour of a premillennial
Premillennialism
Premillennialism in Christian end-times theology is the belief that Jesus will literally and physically be on the earth for his millennial reign, at his second coming. The doctrine is called premillennialism because it holds that Jesus’ physical return to earth will occur prior to the inauguration...

 understanding of the Second Coming, so that Jesus will return bodily in power immediately before his reign over the world for a millennium from Jerusalem. He asserts that the supernatural taking up of believers alive at this time (following the 'tribulation' period of persecution), so as to join the returning Christ, fulfils the Rapture prophecies; he argues against a pre-tribulation timing of the rapture. He further argues that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land is a fulfilment of scriptural prophecy, and that prophecies spoken about Israel relate specifically to Israel (not to the church), so that the outstanding prophecies about Israel will be fulfilled before the end of the age.

In Jesus Baptises in One Holy Spirit, Pawson discusses the evidence for the Baptism in the Holy Spirit as a separate event from believing, repentance and water baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

. He argues that a believer does not receive the indwelling Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...

 until s/he is baptized in the Spirit, a distinct experience evidenced by charismatic gifts such as prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...

 or tongues
Glossolalia
Glossolalia or speaking in tongues is the fluid vocalizing of speech-like syllables, often as part of religious practice. The significance of glossolalia has varied with time and place, with some considering it a part of a sacred language...

. This differs from the evangelical view that the Spirit is automatically received when a person believes, and the Pentecostal
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...

 view that receiving the indwelling Spirit (at conversion) and receiving the Baptism in the Spirit are two experiences with different purposes.

In The Challenge of Islam to Christians, Pawson documents the present rapid rise of Islam in the West. He explains what Islam is, arguing that its rejection of Jesus Christ's divinity mean the two faiths cannot be reconciled, and he proposes a Christian response, based on the church purifying itself. The book details Pawson's testing of his premonition that Britain would become Islamic. In comparing the situation to that portrayed by the Hebrew prophet Habakkuk
Habakkuk
Habakkuk , also spelled Habacuc, was a prophet in the Hebrew Bible. The etymology of the name of Habakkuk is not clear. The name is possibly related to the Akkadian khabbaququ, the name of a fragrant plant, or the Hebrew root חבק, meaning "embrace"...

, Pawson implies that the rise of Islam could be impending judgement for the immorality into which Western churches and secular humanist society has sunk.

In Once Saved, Always Saved?, Pawson uses scripture to question the frequent evangelical claim that someone who has once believed in Jesus Christ will end up with Christ in heaven whatever that person subsequently believes or does. (Twelve years earlier, another evangelical, RT Kendall, summed up this claim in a book having the same title without a question mark.) Pawson points to the need to persevere in faith, and to the repeated exhortations in scripture to do so.

In Word and Spirit Together: Uniting Charismatics and Evangelicals (a revision of Fourth Wave), Pawson calls for an end to the division between charismatic
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...

 and Evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

 Christians over the issue of Spiritual Baptism and charismatic gifts. He argues that the charismatic gifts are for the church today but that their practice should be built on a solid scriptural basis. He therefore argues that the two groups should learn from each other, to the benefit of both.

In Defending Christian Zionism, Pawson puts the case that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land is a fulfilment of scriptural prophecy, and that Christians should support the existence of the Jewish State (although not unconditionally its actions) on theological grounds. He also argues that prophecies spoken about Israel relate specifically to Israel (not to the church, as in "replacement theology"). However he criticises Dispensationalism, a largely American movement holding similar views about Israel. Pawson was spurred to write this book by the work of Stephen Sizer
Stephen Sizer
The Reverend Dr Stephen Robert Sizer is the incumbent at Christ Church, Virginia Water, an Anglican parish in Surrey, England. In addition to his parish ministry, he has a number of external roles and is known internationally as an author and speaker specialising in topics relating to the land of...

, an evangelical Anglican who rejects Christian Zionism. A debate can be heard between the two at Pawson/Sizer debate. Pawson's book Israel in the New Testament continues the Christian Zionist theme.

In the Come with me through series, Pawson goes through an entire book of the Bible. This series is also based on the preaching of David Pawson to his congregation back in the 60's and 70's. There are currently just a few titles released in this series with more to come.

Books

  • Christianity Explained, 2006, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 190194946X
  • Explaining Water Baptism, 2000, David Pawson, Sovereign World Ltd, ISBN 1852400838
  • Explaining the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, 2004, David Pawson, Joyce Huggett, Sovereign World, ISBN 1852403837
  • Explaining the Resurrection, 2000, David Pawson, Sovereign World, Ltd, ISBN 1852400897
  • Explaining the Second Coming, 2000, David Pawson, Renew, ISBN 1852401184
  • Hope for the Millennium, 1999, David Pawson, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0340735597
  • Head in the Clouds, 1999, David Pawson, Hodder & Stoughton Religious, ISBN 0340608129
  • Is John 3:16 the Gospel?, 2007, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications International Ltd, ISBN 1901949559
  • Infant Baptism Under Cross-examination, 1976, David Pawson, Colin Buchanan, Grove Books Ltd, ISBN 090171089X
  • Is the Blessing Biblical?, 1996, David Pawson, Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 034066147X
  • Jesus Baptises in One Holy Spirit: When?, How?, Why?, Who?, 1997, David Pawson, Hodder&Stoughton Religious, ISBN 0340693983
  • Jesus Baptises In One Holy Spirit, 2006, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 1901949443
  • Leadership Is Male, 1990, David Pawson, Thomas Nelson Inc, ISBN 0840790236
  • Loose Leaves From My Bible, 1994, David Pawson, North Bank Graphics, ISBN 0952298503
  • Not as Bad as the Truth: Memoirs of an Unorthodox Evangelical, 2006, David Pawson, Hodder Headline, ISBN 0340864273
  • Once Saved, Always Saved?: A Study in Perseverance and Inheritance, David Pawson, Roger Forster, Hodder Headline, 1996, ISBN 0340610662
  • Tell me the truth!, 1977, David Pawson, Harold Shaw, ISBN 087788837X
  • The Road to Hell: Everlasting Torment or Annihilation? 1996, David Pawson, Hodder Headline 1996 and Terra Nova Publications International Ltd 2007, ISBN 034053964X
  • The Normal Christian Birth: How to Give New Believers a Proper Start in Life, David Pawson, Hodder & Stoughton 1989 and Hodder Headline 1991, ISBN 0340489723
  • The Challenge of Islam to Christians, 2003, David Pawson, Hodder Headline, ISBN 0340861894
  • Unlocking the Bible Omnibus: A Unique Overview of the Whole Bible, 2003, David Pawson, HarperCollins UK, ISBN 0007166664
  • When Jesus Returns, 1995, David Pawson, Hodder & Stoughton Religious, ISBN 0340612118
  • Word And Spirit Together, 2007, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 1901949532
  • Where is Jesus now?, 2001, David Pawson, Kingsway Publications, ISBN 0854769307
  • Why Does God Allow Natural Disasters?, 2007, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, 2007, ISBN 1901949567
  • Defending Christian Zionism, 2008, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, 2008, ISBN 9781901949629
  • Practising the Principles of Prayer, 2008, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 9781901949582
  • Living in Hope, 2008, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 9781901949605
  • The God and the Gospel of Righteousness, 2008, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 9781901949599
  • Come with me through Revelation, 2008, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 9781901949612
  • Israel in the New Testament, 2009, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 978-1901949643
  • Come with me through Mark, 2009, David Pawson, Terra Nova Publications, ISBN 9781901949667

External links

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