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The Biographical Background of T. F. and J. B. Torrance
Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the doxological nature of the Torrances’ biographies. Many have written about their backgrounds, but this chapter exists to emphasize that the Torrances’ theological program was undergirded by doxological influences. What is worth noting is how much the subject of worship comes up in their upbringing, education, pastoral ministry, and academic calling.
Biography of Thomas F. Torrance
Thomas Forsyth Torrance (born 30th August 1913) and James Bruce Torrance (born 3rd February 1923) along with their other siblings (Mary, Grace, Margaret, and David) were born in Chengdu, China and raised by parents who were British missionaries serving with the American Bible Society. Growing up in that context established the framework for mission and evangelism that provided the groundwork for later theological pursuits. T. F. Torrance’s writings reveal the heart of an evangelist who had a passion for the mission of God.
It was customary for the Torrance family to read three chapters of the Bible a day and five chapters each Sundays for their family devotions. Elmer Colyer states, “Torrance describes his mother as a ‘woman of the greatest spiritual depth, prayer life and theological insight,’ and the real theologian of the family. Being raised in a Christian and missionary home meant that ‘belief in God simply pervaded everything’ and so belief in God ‘always seemed so natural’ to Torrance.”1 This appreciation of the Scriptures provided the foundation for loving Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God. Geoffrey W. Bromiley asserts, “Theological reflection on the gracious ways and works of God should constantly lead to prayers of gratitude and praise.”2 A similar perspective is that the economy of God prompts praise and thanksgiving from those who understand and appreciate what God has done for them in Christ Jesus. This is what was instilled in the Torrance home. Here is how T. F. Torrance described that upbringing:
Through my missionary parents I was imbued from my earliest days with a vivid belief in God. Belief in God was so natural that I could no more doubt the existence of God than the existence of my parents or the world around me. I cannot remember ever having had any doubts about God. Moreover, as long as I can recall my religious outlook was essentially biblical and evangelical, and indeed evangelistic. I used to read three chapters of the Bible every day and five on Sundays, which meant reading through the whole Bible each year. My father who could repeat by heart the Psalms and some of the books of the New Testament (the Epistle to the Romans, for example) encouraged us children to memorize many passages of the Holy Scriptures, which I greatly appreciated later in life. Family prayers led by my father on his knees and the evangelical hymns he taught us to sing nourished our spiritual understanding and growth in faith. I can still repeat in Chinese, “Jesus loves me, this I know; for the Bible tells me so.” I was deeply conscious of the task to which my parents had been called by God to preach the Gospel to heathen people and win them for Christ. This orientation to mission was built into the fabric of my mind, and has never faded—by its essential nature Christian theology has always had for me an evangelistic thrust.3
Both T. F. Torrance and J. B. Torrance often referred to their upbringing as the foundation of their theological pursuits and interests. It was also their missionary context that gave meaning to their theological pursuits. Theology was never a mere academic exercise for either T. F. or J. B. Torrance. It was a matter of heralding the mighty acts of God.4 Theology existed to speak of the Triune God and the incarnation and what God had done for men and women in the saving humanity of Jesus Christ. Both T. F. Torrance and J. B. Torrance honored both their parents and their upbringing frequently throughout their life.
Theological Education5
Between 1927 and 1931, T. F. Torrance focused his attention on the academic subjects that would prepare him for Christian ministry in preparation for becoming a missionary. While at Bellshill Academy, a senior secondary school in Lanarkshire, he focused on Greek, Latin, History, English, and Mathematics.6 This prepared him well for his studies at the University of Edinburgh. There, Torrance studied philosophy and classical languages for the next three years having enrolled for the three-year ordinary degree instead of the four-year honors degree owing to family financial challenges. He studied metaphysics under Norman Kemp Smith, and moral philosophy under Edward Alfred Taylor. Alister McGrath writes, “Although Torrance did not begin the formal study of theology until he entered New College in October 1934, it is clear that his theological development proceeded apace at this earlier stage in his studies.”7
When T. F. Torrance began his studies at New College, Edinburgh in October of 1934, New College was a worshiping community. Some historical background will help us appreciate the context in which both of the Torrances had their theological education. The Free Church of Scotland, for the preparation of its ministers, had built New College as a church college. In 1843, the Free Church of Scotland had broken away from the established Church of Scotland (the “Auld Kirk”). The division was between what had been the “Evangelical” and “Moderate” wings of the Kirk. The evangelical wing formed the “Free Church of Scotland” and built three colleges to prepare its ministers (including New College). They also built a church building in every parish and sent out missionaries to India and Africa. The ministers for the old established Church of Scotland studied under t...
