
Dr Barnabas Aspray
It took a long time for me to realise that I am a philosopher of religion. My first degree was Computer Science at Exeter University. After that I worked as a software engineer for the BBC. Then I went to Vancouver to complete a Masters in biblical studies, then to Cambridge for a systematic theology MPhil. My PhD finally hit the spot. Also done at Cambridge, it explores the theological potential in Paul Ricœur’s philosophy of finitude, especially in relation to evil, transcendence, and creation.
My current project applies philosophical theology to difficult ethical questions around refugees, asylum, and immigration. It is also practical, looking at how Christians around the world are responding to refugees. I’m partnered with Refugee Education UK, a charity which helps refugee and asylum-seeking children and young people build more hopeful futures through education.
Books
Barnabas Aspray, Ricœur at the Limits of Philosophy: God, Creation, and Evil (Cambridge University Press: 2022).
Journal Publications
Barnabas Aspray, ‘“A Throne Will Be Established in Steadfast Love”: Welcoming Refugees and the Davidic Kingdom in Isaiah 16:1–5’, Open Theology 7 (2021): 426–44.
Barnabas Aspray, ‘How Can Phenomenology Address Classic Objections to Liturgy?’, Religions 12, no. 4 (April 2021): 236.
Barnabas Aspray, ‘Y a-t-il une métaphysique ricœurienne ?’, Crossing: The INPR Journal 1 (2020): 73-83.
Barnabas Aspray, ‘“No One Can Serve Two Masters”: The Unity of Philosophy and Theology in Ricœur’s Early Thought’, Open Theology 5, no. 1 (2019): 320–332.
Barnabas Aspray, ‘“Scripture Grows with its Readers”: Doctrinal Development from a Ricœurian Perspective’, Modern Theology 35, no. 4 (2019): 746-759.
Translations
Emmanuel Falque, ‘The All-Seeing: Fraternity and Vision of God in Nicholas of Cusa’, Modern Theology 35, no. 4 (2019): 760-787.
Paul Ricœur, ‘From One Testament to the Other’, Modern Theology 33, no. 2 (2017): 235–42.
Book Chapters
Barnabas Aspray, ‘From Exegesis to Allegory: Ricœur’s Challenge to Biblical Scholarship’, in Reading Scripture with Paul Ricœur, ed. Joseph Edelheit and James Moore (Lanham: Lexington Press, 2021).
Barnabas Aspray, ‘Transforming Heideggerian Finitude? Following Pathways Opened by Falque’, in Transforming the Theological Turn: Phenomenology with Emmanuel Falque, ed. Martin Kočí and Jason Alvis (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).
Dictionary Entries
Three entries (‘Nietzsche’; ‘Biblical Hermeneutics’; ‘Transcendence’) in The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. Andrew Louth, 4th ed., (Oxford: Oxford University Press, forthcoming).
Dr Barnabas Aspray

It took a long time for me to realise that I am a philosopher of religion. My first degree was Computer Science at Exeter University. After that I worked as a software engineer for the BBC. Then I went to Vancouver to complete a Masters in biblical studies, then to Cambridge for a systematic theology MPhil. My PhD finally hit the spot. Also done at Cambridge, it explores the theological potential in Paul Ricœur’s philosophy of finitude, especially in relation to evil, transcendence, and creation.
My current project applies philosophical theology to difficult ethical questions around refugees, asylum, and immigration. It is also practical, looking at how Christians around the world are responding to refugees. I’m partnered with Refugee Education UK, a charity which helps refugee and asylum-seeking children and young people build more hopeful futures through education.
Books
Barnabas Aspray, Ricœur at the Limits of Philosophy: God, Creation, and Evil (Cambridge University Press: 2022).
Journal Publications
Barnabas Aspray, ‘“A Throne Will Be Established in Steadfast Love”: Welcoming Refugees and the Davidic Kingdom in Isaiah 16:1–5’, Open Theology 7 (2021): 426–44.
Barnabas Aspray, ‘How Can Phenomenology Address Classic Objections to Liturgy?’, Religions 12, no. 4 (April 2021): 236.
Barnabas Aspray, ‘Y a-t-il une métaphysique ricœurienne ?’, Crossing: The INPR Journal 1 (2020): 73-83.
Barnabas Aspray, ‘“No One Can Serve Two Masters”: The Unity of Philosophy and Theology in Ricœur’s Early Thought’, Open Theology 5, no. 1 (2019): 320–332.
Barnabas Aspray, ‘“Scripture Grows with its Readers”: Doctrinal Development from a Ricœurian Perspective’, Modern Theology 35, no. 4 (2019): 746-759.
Translations
Emmanuel Falque, ‘The All-Seeing: Fraternity and Vision of God in Nicholas of Cusa’, Modern Theology 35, no. 4 (2019): 760-787.
Paul Ricœur, ‘From One Testament to the Other’, Modern Theology 33, no. 2 (2017): 235–42.
Book Chapters
Barnabas Aspray, ‘From Exegesis to Allegory: Ricœur’s Challenge to Biblical Scholarship’, in Reading Scripture with Paul Ricœur, ed. Joseph Edelheit and James Moore (Lanham: Lexington Press, 2021).
Barnabas Aspray, ‘Transforming Heideggerian Finitude? Following Pathways Opened by Falque’, in Transforming the Theological Turn: Phenomenology with Emmanuel Falque, ed. Martin Kočí and Jason Alvis (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).
Dictionary Entries
Three entries (‘Nietzsche’; ‘Biblical Hermeneutics’; ‘Transcendence’) in The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. Andrew Louth, 4th ed., (Oxford: Oxford University Press, forthcoming).