James Macintosh Houston (born November 21, 1922) is a British-born Canadian Protestant theologian and academic who was Professor of Spiritual Theology and the first Principal of Regent College in Vancouver.
James M. Houston | |
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Born | James Macintosh Houston November 21, 1922 Edinburgh, Scotland |
Title | Principal of Regent College (1970–1978) |
Spouse |
Rita Houston
(m. 1953; died 2014) |
Children | 4 |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | University of Oxford |
Thesis | The Social Geography of the Huerta of Valencia (1950) |
Influences | |
Academic work | |
Discipline | |
School or tradition | Plymouth Brethren Christianity[5] |
Institutions | |
Main interests |
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Born on 21 November 1922,[6] in Edinburgh, Scotland,[citation needed] Houston moved to Oxford in 1945 for doctoral studies in geography at the University of Oxford.[8] He received his doctorate in c. 1950.[9] His thesis was titled The Social Geography of the Huerta of Valencia.[9] Houston was a fellow of Hertford College, Oxford, where he served as a geography lecturer.[10]
Houston emigrated with his wife and four children to North America in 1970, and became one of the founders of Regent College, a graduate school of Christian studies. From 1970 to 1978, he was Principal of the college,[a] and in 1991 he was appointed to the chair. His major areas of interest include the Christian mind, the Trinity, prayer, and spiritual formation. He has published numerous articles in books and scholarly journals.[12] His autobiography, Memoirs of a Joyous Exile and a Worldly Christian, was published in 2020.[13]
Houston currently resides in Vancouver. In addition to his continuation of writing, Houston spends a great deal of time mentoring students. Houston has four children, nine grandchildren, and fifteen great-grandchildren. Houston was the primary caretaker for his wife, Rita, who had dementia in her older years and died on 8 October 2014, at the age of 90.[14][15]