David Bentley Hart: The Beauty of the Infinite
David Bentley Hart is an American Orthodox Christian philosophical theologian, cultural commentator, and polemicist.
Engaging heavily with classical, medieval and continental European philosophical systems as well as with Dharmic, biblical and patristic texts, Hart’s works have addressed topics ranging from ontology and comparative mythology to theological aesthetics and existentialism.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, his Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Cambridge, and his Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the University of Virginia. He has taught at the University of Virginia, the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota), Duke Divinity School, and Loyola College in Maryland. Hart served as visiting professor at Providence College, where he also previously held the Robert J. Randall Chair in Christian Culture. During the 2014-2015 academic year, Hart was Danforth Chair at Saint Louis University in the Department of Theological Studies. In 2015, he was appointed as Templeton Fellow at the University of Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study.
Hart’s writings span a wide array of topics and genres, from scholarly research and biblical translation to literary fiction. His books include The Beauty of the Infinite (2003); The Doors of the Sea (2005); In the Aftermath (2007); Atheist Delusions (2009); The Experience of God (2013); A Splendid Wickedness (2016); The Dream-Child’s Progress (2017); The Hidden and the Manifest (2017); The New Testament: A Translation (2017), That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation (2019); Theological Territories: A David Bentley Hart Digest (2020); Roland in Moonlight (2021); and Kenogaia (2021). He has two forthcoming titles: You are Gods: On Nature and Supernature (2022), and Tradition and Apocalypse: An Essay on the Future of Christian Belief (2022). He has also published a popular history of Christianity (2007), a volume of short stories, and over 450 articles in such scholarly journals as Modern Theology, The Scottish Journal of Theology, and Pro Ecclesia, as well as in such trade publications as The Times Literary Supplement, The Wall Street Journal, First Things, and Commonweal. In 2011, he was awarded the Michael Ramsey Prize of the Church of England.
Two of his publications, bookending his career thus far (2003, and 2021, respectively), frame a large part of our conversation:
