Jennifer Powell McNutt, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Theology and History of Christianity; Degree Coordinator of the M.A. in History of Christianity and M.A. in Theology | Wheaton College
Wheaton, IL, UNITED STATES
Dr. Jennifer Powell McNutt researches and teaches History of Christianity and Historical Theology with expertise in Reformation Studies.
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Biography
The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Powell McNutt is a tenured, Associate Professor of Theology and History of Christianity at Wheaton College, a Fellow in the Royal Historical Society, and director of Wheaton’s M.A. programs in Theology and History of Christianity. Dr. McNutt received her Ph.D. in History from the University of St. Andrews (Reformation Studies Institute, 2008), M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary (2003), and a B.A. in Religious Studies from Westmont College (2000).
She is the recipient of several academic awards including the Overseas Research Student Award (Universities, U.K.) for her doctoral research and the Sidney E. Mead Prize (American Society of Church History) for her first published article. Her first monograph, Calvin Meets Voltaire: The Clergy of Geneva in the Age of Enlightenment, 1685-1798 (Ashgate, 2014), was awarded the Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize by the American Society of Church History. In 2013-2014, Dr. McNutt was awarded Wheaton’s Leland Ryken Award for Teaching Excellence in the Humanities (2013) for exemplifying excellence in the classroom, a deep commitment to inspiring students to realize the ideals of careful scholarship in their own work, and the integration of the Christian faith and learning in the Humanities. In 2017, Westmont College honored Dr. McNutt with an 80th Anniversary Alumni Award for her work as a professor at Wheaton in cultivating “thoughtful scholars, grateful servants and faithful leaders for global engagement with the academy, church and the world.”
Dr. McNutt is also an ordained Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and is co-president of McNuttshell Ministries, Inc. with her husband, Rev. Dr. David McNutt. She enjoys preaching at churches and chapels, writing for popular outlets, and conducting podcast and video interviews.
If you are interested in booking Dr. McNutt for a speaking engagement, feel free to contact her via email: jennifer.mcnutt@wheaton.edu.
Education (3)
University of St. Andrews: Ph.D., History 2008
Princeton Theological Seminary: M.Div., Divinity 2003
Westmont College: B.A., Religious Studies, Biblical Languages Concentration 2000
Areas of Expertise and Research Interests (15)
History of Christianity
Theology
Historical Theology
The Reformation
The History of the Bible
Religion and Science
The Reformed Tradition
History of Protestant Clergy
Secularization and Modernity
The Enlightenment
Martin Luther
John Calvin
Women in Ministry
History of the Bible
Christian Refugees
Accomplishments and Awards (6)
Christianity Today Science Writing Contest Winner (professional)
2017-11-27
By uncovering historical accounts of Enlightenment-era pastors' interactions with science, this award winning essay titled, “The Clergy Behind Science as We Know It,” confronts myths about the antagonism between religion and science. It is the product of a series of lectures McNutt gave in a course funded by Wheaton’s Faculty Faith and Learning initiative. The essay is published in the magazine’s December 2017 print issue and online.
Westmont College 80th Anniversary Alumni Award (professional)
2017-09-01
Given for those alumni who exemplify Westmont’s mission “to cultivate thoughtful scholars, grateful servants and faithful leaders for global engagement with the academy, church and the world."
Royal Historical Society Fellow (2014-Present) (professional)
Elected to the fellowship by the history guild for book, Calvin Meets Voltaire: The Clergy of Geneva in the Age of Enlightenment (Ashgate, 2014).
Leland Ryken Award for Teaching Excellence in the Humanities (professional)
2013-12-01
Awarded to a distinguished Wheaton College faculty member in the Humanities whose teaching exemplifies excellence in the classroom, a deep commitment to inspiring students to realize the ideals of careful scholarship in their own work, and the integration of the Christian faith and learning.
The Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize (2014) (professional)
Awarded by the American Society of Church History for outstanding scholarship in church history by a first-time author of a monograph: Calvin Meets Voltaire: The Clergy of Geneva in the Age of Enlightenment, 1685-1798 (Ashgate, 2014).
Sidney E. Mead Prize (professional)
2005-01-01
Awarded by the American Society of Church History for the most outstanding essay written by a doctoral student: “Hesitant Steps: Protestant Acceptance of the Gregorian Calendar in Eighteenth-Century Geneva”
Professional Affiliations (7)
- Royal Historical Society : Fellow
- American Historical Association : Member
- Sixteenth Century Society : Member
- American Society of Church History : Member
- American Academy of Religion : Member
- Calvin Studies Society : Member
- Clergy Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Languages (3)
- French
- Biblical Greek
- Latin
Academics and Published Research (24)
Research
Dr. McNutt’s research specializes in the history of the church and Christian thought from the Reformation through the Enlightenment with particular expertise in John Calvin and his clerical legacy, the Reformed tradition, the relationship between Christianity and science, and the history of the Bible and its interpretation. Current contracted projects include co-editing The Oxford Handbook of the Bible and the Reformation (OUP) with Prof. Herman Selderhuis and editing the 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude volume for the Reformation Commentary on Scripture series (InterVarsity Press Academic). She recently published the co-edited volume, The People’s Book: The Reformation and the Bible (IVP, 2017), for the Wheaton Theology Conference series. She is currently researching and writing two monographs: the history of the French Bible from the early-modern period through the Enlightenment and a social history of John Calvin’s thought. Her research has received international grants including the Andrew Mellon Research Fellowship (2015-2016) at the Huntington Library and the Huntington Trinity Hall Exchange Fellowship at the University of Cambridge (2015-2016). Her publications include academic journal articles and book chapters as well as popular ecclesiastical pieces for Christianity Today and Christian History Magazine. In 2017, Dr. McNutt was awarded first place in Christianity Today’s essay contest for her article on how clergy during the Enlightenment contributed to the advancement of modern science.
Books
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The People’s Book: The Bible and the Reformation
Jennifer Powell McNutt and David Lauber, eds.
(IVP, 2017). Wheaton Theology Conference volume, 500th Anniversary of the Reformation
Calvin Meets Voltaire: The Clergy of Geneva during the Age of Enlightenment, 1685-1798
(Ashgate, 2014). Awarded the 2014 Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize, American Society of Church History
Articles
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“Calvin Legends: Hagiology and Demonology”
in Calvin in Context, ed. Ward Holder
(Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2019)
“La théologie protestante au XVIIIe siècle,”
Introduction à l'histoire de la Théologie
(Labor et Fides, forthcoming 2019).
“Interpretations of Genesis 1–2 among the Protestant Reformers”
in Since the Beginning: Interpreting Genesis 1-2 Through the Ages, ed. Kyle Greenwood
(Baker Academic, Sept. 2018).
“Word and Sacrament: The Gordian Knot of Reformation Worship”
in The People’s Book: The Bible and the Reformation, eds Jennifer Powell McNutt and David Lauber
(InterVarsity Press, April 2017), pp. 132-151.
Reformed Preaching in the Age of Enlightenment: A Comparison of Jonathan Erskine’s ‘Enlightened Evangelicalism’ with Geneva’s ‘Reasonable Calvinism’
Intellectual History Review Journal
2016
Replacing Calvin? Calvin's Catechism in Eighteenth-Century Geneva
Calvin and the Book
2015
James, "The Book of Straw," in Reformation Biblical Exegesis: A Comparison of Luther and the Radicals
Reconsidering the Relationship between Biblical and Systematic Theology in the New Testament: Essays by Theologians and New Testament Scholars
2014
The Attempts to Transfer the Genevan Academy to Ireland and America, 1782-1795
The Historical Journal
Jennifer Powell McNutt and Richard Whatmore 2013
The Reformation and Protestantism
in The Book of Books: Biblical Canon, Dissemination, and Its People
Timothy Larsen and Jennifer Powell McNutt 2013
“The Consolation of Criminals: Clergy and State Dynamics in Eighteenth-Century Geneva”
Bulletin de la Société d’histoire et d’archéologie de Genève, 40, pp. 55-66
2010
“Hesitant Steps: Acceptance of the Gregorian Calendar in Eighteenth-Century Geneva”
in Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture Journal, vol. 75, n.3, pp. 544-564.
Sept. 2006. *Essay awarded the Sidney E. Mead Prize (2005), American Society of Church History
Popular Ecclesiastical Articles
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“Forgotten Figures: How Pastors of the Enlightenment Helped Advance Modern Science”
in Christianity Today, Vol. 61, No. 10, p. 43-45; Online
Dec. 2017
“Division is Not Always a Scandal: What to think of the 45,000 denominations that rose from the Reformation”
in Christianity Today Magazine, Vol. 61, No. 1; Online
Jan./Feb. 2017
"A Faith that Could not be Contained: How Reformed Christians Spread Across a Continent"
in Christian History Magazine, Issue 120; Online
2016
“Robust Instruction: John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion”
in Christian History Magazine, 25 Greatest Christian Writings Issue 116; Online
2015
“Think You Had a Bad Day? 10 things to remember from church history when you're discouraged in ministry”
in Leadership Journal online
Nov. 24, 2014
Presentations and Event Appearances
--------------------------- Invited speaking engagements have included the following: Pepperdine University Bible Lectureships (May 2018); The McIntyre Lecture in the History and Philosophy of Science, Wheaton College (April 2018); Calvin Symposium on Worship, Calvin College (Jan. 2018); The Society of Biblical Literature, The Hebrews Group (Nov. 2017); Evangelical Theological Society, Panel Speaker for “Public Theology” (Nov. 2017); McMaster Divinity School, Centre for Post-Christendom Studies (Oct. 2017); Moody Bible Institute, Chapel Address (Oct. 2017); Hope International University (Sept. 2017); Brigham Young University (Sept. 2017); The Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College (Feb. 2016); Faculté de Théologie Protestante de Paris (Nov. 2015); the University of St. Andrews, Reformation History and Intellectual History Seminar Speaker (Oct. 2015); The Huntington Library (July 2015); Yale Divinity School, Church Leadership and Growth Colloquium Speaker (May 2015); Biblica’s Conversations on the Bible (Jan. 2015); The American Scientific Affiliation (Nov. 2014); Westminster Seminary California, Convocation Speaker (Oct. 2014); Calvin Studies Society Colloquium, “Calvin & the Book” hosted at Princeton Theological Seminary (April 2013) Dr. McNutt regularly presents conference papers at the Sixteenth Century Studies conferences and the American Society of Church History conferences. She also preaches, teaches adult education, and leads retreats for Presbyterian churches in the area and beyond, including those outside the Reformed tradition. In these ways, Dr. McNutt is committed to both contributing to the academic conversations within her field of expertise as well as serving the church and enriching the faith of Christians in the areas of Christian History and Theology with her work.
Courses (1)
Mobile Ed: Milestones of the Protestant Reformation
Discover a selection of milestone moments in history that have introduced you to the events, figures, and ideas of the Protestant Reformation. From reformation precursors to the exploration of Erasmus’ publication of the Greek NT, Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses and his translation of the NT. We’ve explored the “radical reformations revolution and re-baptism” and how the Turkish invasion of Europe had an impact on the Protestant Reformation. Delve into “the meeting of Protestants and Catholics at the Colloquy of Regensburg” and the issuing of the Peace of Augsburg. Gain a better understanding of the church today through the church of the past.