Learning from Teaching

James Torrance’s teaching style was in many ways outdated, and out of tune with current fashions. It is argued here that he was in fact embodying a pedagogical wisdom thoroughly in keeping with the shape and basic momentum of the Christian faith, one which ought to give us pause for thought in the current educational milieu. This is expounded in relation to his enactment of the gracious givenness of the gospel, his avoidance of totalising systems through focusing on a cluster of pivotal themes, the way in which he inspired his learners, and the sheer consistency between his professional and domestic life.