R. Tudur Jones

R. Tudur Jones (1921-1998) was a Welsh Nationalist and a Protestant Christian. He was the most important Christian scholar in Wales during the 20th century and is hailed as the giant of Protestantism in Wales during a century that saw Wales, as a whole, turn against its traditional reformed protestant theology. 1921 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Welsh nationalism is the Welsh expression of nationalism, a movement that became popular in nineteenth-century Europe and gradually became a global phenomenon in the twentieth century. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The term Christian means belonging to Christ and is derived from the Greek noun Χριστός Khristós which means anointed one, which is itself a translation of the Hebrew word Moshiach (Hebrew: משיח, also written Messiah), (and in Arabic it is pronounced Maseeh مسيح). ... National motto: Cymru am byth (Welsh: Wales for ever) Waless location within the UK Official languages English(100%), Welsh(20. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations historically related by a similar Zwinglian or Calvinist system of doctrine but organizationally independent. ... Theology is literally reasonable discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). By extension, it also refers to the study of other religious topics. ...

Early Life

He was born at Tyddyn Gwyn, Llanystumdwy, North Wales on 28 June 1921 but soon the family moved to Rhyl. Christian faith was the foundation of family life as his parents experienced the spiritual zeal of the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival. The family were members of the local Welsh Congregational Church and while other children recited verses on the Sunday morning, as it is a tradition in Nonconformist Chapels, Tudur Jones would recite a whole chapter! Llanystumdwy is small village on the Lleyn Peninsula in north Wales. ... Rhyl (Welsh: Y Rhyl) is a seaside town located on the Irish Sea, in the administrative county of Denbighshire and the traditional county of Flintshire, North Wales, United Kingdom, at the mouth of the River Clwyd (Welsh: Yr Afon Clwyd). ... The 1904-1905 Welsh Revival was the last full scale Christian Revival the nation of Wales has seen. ... Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs. ...

Despite him being raised as a Christian he realised that didn’t make him a Christian. It is said that the turning point in his life was at an evangelistic crusade at Rhyl Pavilion. That encounter he had at the crusade with God set a young man off on his own crusade that would see him dedicate his life in various ways to glorifying God.

His interest in Church History first started when he was a pupil at Rhyl Grammar School. There his history teacher, S. M. Houghton, taught him about the Puritans and he read Old-Testament Greek with the headmaster. After Grammar School he won a Scholarship to Jesus College, Oxford. His father, however, insisted that he attended an institution of the University of Wales. He graduated in 1942 from the University of Wales, Bangor with a degree in Philosophy. After graduating he went on to follow a post-graduate degree in Theology in Bangor. Six years on, with a BA and a BD under his belt, he left Bangor for Oxford where he researched for his DPhil. The Puritans were members of a group of radical Protestants which developed in England after the Reformation. ... There are at least two instutions bearing the name Jesus College. ... Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... The University of Wales is a federal university founded in 1893. ... The University of Wales, Bangor (UWB) is a constituent institution of the University of Wales based in the small city of Bangor in the county of Gwynedd in North Wales, United Kingdom. ... Philosophy (from a combination of the Greek words philos meaning love and sophia meaning wisdom), as a practice, aims at some kind of understanding, knowledge, or wisdom about fundamental matters such as reality, knowledge, meaning, value, being, and truth. ... Theology is literally reasonable discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). By extension, it also refers to the study of other religious topics. ... Bangor is the name of several places: In the United Kingdom: Bangor, a town in County Down, Northern Ireland Bangor, a city in Gwynedd, Wales (and home of the University of Wales, Bangor) Bangor-Is-y-Coed (a. ...

Career

Returning from Oxford in 1948, now married, he was ordained as minister of Seion (Zion) Welsh Congregationalist Chapel, Aberystwyth. He was not to stay there long. After only two years he left Seion to pursue an academic career. In 1950 he was appointed as tutor in ‘Church History’ at Bala-Bangor (Theological Seminary, Bangor, North Wales). By 1965 he rose to be the principal of Bala-Bangor. That post he held until the Welsh Congregationalists merged their two Colleges, Bala-Bangor and the Memorial College, Aberystwyth in 1988. After his semi-retirement in 1988 he accepted a post as a honorary lecturer in the Theology Department of the University of Wales Bangor, a post he held until 1997. Aberystwyth, viewed from the top of Constitution Hill Aberystwyth (from the Welsh Mouth of the Ystwyth) is a historic market town, administrative centre and seaport of Ceredigion, Wales. ... Aberystwyth, viewed from the top of Constitution Hill Aberystwyth (from the Welsh Mouth of the Ystwyth) is a historic market town, administrative centre and seaport of Ceredigion, Wales. ...

Theology

Most of his publications were of historical nature, nevertheless his theology and his opinion on false doctrine would show its face regularly in his work. He was a firm Calvinist and perhaps one would be tempted to class him as Evangelical (see also his fellow Welsh Christian Scholars Bobi Jones and R Geraint Gruffydd), but he distanced himself from the pietistic evangelicalism that rose from the ashes of the 1904-1905 Revival. In an unadorned church, the 17th century congregation stands to hear the sermon. ... Evangelical has several distinct meanings: In its original sense, it means belonging or related to the Gospel (Greek: euangelion - good news) of the New Testament. ... Emeritus Professor Robert Maynard Jones (born 1929) a Christian and a Welshman, best known as Bobi Jones is probably the most prolific Welsh writer in the history of the language. ... Evangelicalism, in a strictly lexical, but rarely used sense, refers to all things that are implied in belief that Jesus is the savior. ...

Nationalist

Tudur Jones was a Welsh nationalist. He was Vice-President of Plaid Cymru for a period and stood elections in the party’s name in Anglesey during the 1959 and 1964 elections. Nationalism is seen as a ‘dirty’ word, with nationalism being stereotyped with Germany during the Third Reich or perhaps in modern day the ‘ethnic-cleansing’ in the Balkans. Tudur Jones’s nationalism was of a very different kind, it was based on a sense of divine vocation. His nationalistic arguments are best put forward in his book ‘The Desire of Nations’. Tudur Jones’s nationalism as he puts it in his book ‘asks nothing for itself that it does not wish for others’. Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. ... Plaid Cymru (literally meaning, Party of Wales) is a left-of-centre (describing itself as socialist and proud of it) Welsh nationalist party. ... [The Isle of] Anglesey or Anglesea ( Welsh: [Ynys] Môn, pronounced as Uh-niss Mawn, in IPA), is an island and county at the Western extremity of North Wales. ...

Publications

He is listed to have published over 341 books and articles mainly on the history of the Church. Among his main publications on Church history are "Hanes Annibynwyr Cymru" (History of the Welsh Congregationalists) and "Ffydd ac Argyfwng Cenedl – Cristnogaeth a Diwylliant yng Nghymru 1890-1914" (Faith and the crisis of the Nation – Christianity and Culture in Wales 1890-1914). He also published some work giving political discussion such as his book on nationalism "The Desire of Nations". 1890 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Summary

His theology was firmly that of reformed Protestantism; he opposed liberal theology and feared humanism's effect on the people of Wales. He stood firm as a solid Christian voice in a Wales that, by and large, was moving in a more secular direction. He not only contributed to Wales at a spiritual/theological level but he got involved in the nationalist struggle through his leadership role in Plaid Cymru and his support of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg(the Welsh Language Society). Introduction Liberal Christianity, Progressive Christianity or Liberalism is movement of Christianity that is characterised by these points; diversity of opinion less emphasis on the literal interpretation of Scripture an intimate and personal view of God wider scope in their views on salvation (including universalist beliefs) non-traditional views on heaven... Humanism is a general term for many different lines of thought that focus on humanity and issues that are common to human beings. ... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ... What is Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg? Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society) is a pressure group campaigning for the future of the Welsh language. ...

Sources

• Davies, Gwyn : 'Light in the Land - Christianity in Wales 200-2000' : 2002
• Pope, Robert : ‘A Giant of Welsh Protestantism – R. Tudur Jones 1921-1998’ : 2003

Other Welsh Christian Figures

• William Williams Pantycelyn
• Howell Harris
• Daniel Rowland
• Ann Griffiths
• Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones
• Bobi Jones