Lloyd Geering

Sir Lloyd Geering, ONZ, GNZM, CBE is an internationally renowned, ground-breaking and controversial commentator on theological issues who once faced charges of heresy for his controversial statements.

Geering was born in 1918, and was primarily educated in Otago where he gained a master's degree in mathematics and a Doctor of Divinity. Ordained as a Presbyterian minister, he served in Kurow, Dunedin and Wellington. He started theological teaching in 1956, and was Professor of Old Testament Studies and Principal of Knox College Theological Hall in Dunedin, and later foundation Professor of Religious Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, where he is Emeritus Professor.

In 1967 Geering gained a high profile when he was charged with “doctrinal error” and “disturbing the peace and unity of the [Presbyterian] church”. At that year’s General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, the charges were brought by a group of conservative laymen and a conservative minister, and later dismissed without being much discussed.

In 1968, he was awarded third place for God in the New World at the Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Awards. Numerous books have followed, including Resurrection: A Symbol of Hope (1971), Faith's New Age (1980), Tomorrow's God (1994), The World to Come (1999), and Christianity Without God (2002). His books appeal to both a scholarly and a popular market.

In his autobiography Wrestling with God: The Story of My Life Geering “tells the story of a personal journey set amidst the momentous cultural changes of the twentieth century”.

Geering has been awarded Companion of the British Empire (1988), Principal Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (2001), and in 2007 he was admitted to the Order of New Zealand.