Junius Johnson

Junius Johnson

Junius Johnson is an independent scholar, writer, musician, speaker, and teacher. The author of several books and articles, his work explores the intersections of Christian theology with philosophy, art, and meaning. Deeply devoted to story and the power of music, he is greatly concerned with the imagination, its use, and its destiny in the human encounter with God.

Dr. Johnson is a dynamic and engaging speaker, especially skilled at casting a vision for educators. He brings subtlety, rigor, and humor to keynote lectures and experience, wisdom, and inspiration to faculty enrichment events.

Dr. Johnson also offers real-time online courses in Latin and theological studies, and coaching for graduate students on the various stages of degree completion and the early stages of a scholarly career.

General Interest

Latin Boot Camps

Go here to get information about the next Latin Boot Camps!

Beauty in the Darkness

I recently wrote a piece for Credo magazine entitled “Beauty in the Darkness: A Surprising Encounter with God’s Omnipresence.” You can read it here.

(Don’t) Take and Eat: The Eucharist and Spiritual Reception

I wrote this article for the Living Church in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, when churches around the world were closed due to government orders for citizens to remain at home. In it I reflect on the practice of spiritual communion: to receive the Eucharist even when one is not able to receive the elements.

Read the whole article here.

Wonder: A Quotidian Necessity (Beimfohr-Neuss Lecture at Cornell)

I was invited by the Chesterton House to give their annual Beimfohr-Neuss lecture in 2019. I spoke of the role of wonder in a life worth living.

The video is available here.

Forma Podcast: How to Watch a Summer Blockbuster

Another conversation on movies, with a wider scope. Listen to my conversation with Forma’s Heidi White here.

Academic Work

The Father of Lights: A Theology of Beauty

This book answers the question: “What is a theological account of the experience of the beautiful?” In the course of keying this experience to a memory of God that we have coded into our hearts, the discussion ranges over analogy, language, metaphor, semiotics, sacraments, and icons. What emerges is a theology of the image of […]

“Unlocking Bonaventure: The Collationes in Hexaëmeron as Interpretive Key.” The Thomist 83:2 (2019).

This is a review essay of Jay Hammond’s translation of Bonaventure’s Collationes in Hexaemeron. I explain the importance of this text within the Bonaventurean corpus before assessing Hammond’s accomplishment with the translation. The full text is available here.

“The Eucharistic Horizon of Bonaventure’s Christology: A Speculative Proposal”

This article expands upon elements of Bonaventure’s Christology to develop an account of the Eucharist inspired by Bonaventure’s understanding of the person of Christ. Originally a conference paper, it will appear later this year in a volume of proceedings of that conference. This article appears in Friar, Teacher, Minister, Bishop, Essays in Celebration of the […]

Upcoming Engagements

AAR 2020

More Appearances

Other Updates

Latin Boot Camps

Go here to get information about the next Latin Boot Camps!

The Wisdom of Possibility

This January, I will be offering a 12 week course, taught by Zoom, on the imagination. Read more and register here.