Jeff Mallinson earned a doctorate from the University of Oxford, focusing on the history of philosophy and religion during the sixteenth century. He is an educator, podcaster, speaker, and writer. After 20 years as a professor and administrator in church-related higher education, he scuttled his academic career for the sake of conscience. Despite deconstructing the dogmatism of his youth, he remains interested in genuine conversations with people from all traditions about the history of religion, comparative mystical practices, and—most recently—the value of the Tao Te Ching for helping people find peace after leaving unhealthy religious institutions. He co-hosts Protect Your Noggin with Stacie Mallinson and teaches at an alternative school.
We use taosurfers.com as a hub for the various endeavors of Stacie and Jeff Mallinson, including resources related to Stacie’s work as a death doula and their joint work translating the Tao Te Ching. Click here.
If you want to see where Jeff is at these days, this is a great way to check in on Jeff and Stacie as they seek to understand full spectrum emancipation through the lens of intellectual and religious history (Jeff) and application of mindfulness and yoga to navigate major life events (Stacie).
Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
Doctor of Philosophy—Oxford University, United Kingdom (2001)
• Dissertation: “Fides et Cognitio: The Direction of Religious Epistemology under Theodore Beza”— under Alister McGrath (advisor), with study under philosopher of religion Richard Swinburne, and religious historian Diarmaid MacCulloch
• Areas of additional study: history, Vedanta and Christianity, Taoism, Buddhism, modern theology, philosophy of science, graduate Latin translation, early modern history, medieval scholasticism, Catholic scholasticism, paleography, Anglican ecclesiology
Bachelor of Arts in Religion Concordia University, Irvine California (1996)
EXPERIENCE
A Renaissance School of Arts and Sciences, Portland, OR (2022-present) Middle School Humanities Teacher
Concordia University, Irvine, CA (2012-2022) Chair of History and Political Thought. Previously: Professor of Theology and Philosophy
Trinity Lutheran College, Everett, WA (2008-12) Academic Dean; Professor of Philosophy and Theology
Colorado Christian University, Lakewood, Colorado (2003-08) Dean, School of Theology (Fall 2005-08). Assistant Professor of in Theology/Associate Dean of the School of Business, (Fall 2004-05), Assistant Provost/Faculty Affairs (2003-2004)
Union College, Barbourville, Kentucky (2001-03). Assistant Professor of History and Religion
[Earlier work includes teaching middle school in West Philadelphia and youth programming in Los Angeles County.]
SELECT PUBLICATIONS
With Stacie Mallinson, The Tao Te Ching: A Playfully Sincere Rendition (Taosurfers, 2022).
“Virtue and Vocation,” in Scott Ashmon, Who Am I? Exploring Your Identity Through Your Vocations (NRP, 2020).
“The Ethics of Friendship,” in Scott Keith, ed., Where Two or More or Gathered (NRP, 2019).
Associate Editor, Encyclopedia of Martin Luther and the Reformation (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017).
The Acts of the Colloquy of Montbéliard, trans. C. J. Armstrong, ed. Jeff Mallinson (CPH, 2017).
“Scientology,” in The Christian Difference (CPH, 2017).
Jeff Mallinson and Russell Dawn, “A Genealogy of Lutheran Higher Education,” in The Idea and Practice of a Christian University: A Lutheran Approach, Scott Ashmon ed. (CPH, 2015).
Contributor to Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, eds. George Kurian and Mark Lamport (Rowman and Littlefield, 2016).
Contributor to Encyclopedia of Christian Higher Education, eds. George Kurian and Mark Lamport (Rowman and Littlefield, 2015).
“Eucatastrophe” and filmography in Eric Mazur ed., The Encyclopedia of Religion and Film (ABC-CLIO, 2011).
“Epistemology of the Cross: A Lutheran Response to Philosophical Theisms,” in Korey Maas & Adam Francisco, and Steven Mueller eds., Theologia et Apologia (Wipf & Stock, 2007).
Faith, Reason, and Revelation in Theodore Beza (1519-1605) (Oxford University Press, 2003).
“A Potion too Strong?: Challenges in Translating the Religious Significance of Tolkien’s the Lord of the Rings to Film.” Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 1 (Spring 2002).
Reviews
Review of Registres de la Compagnie des Pasteurs: Tome 14 et dernier (1618-1619). Le synode de Dordrecht. By Nicolas Fornerod et al. (Geneva: Droz, 2012) in Journal of Ecclesiastical History (Volume 66.1, January 2015)
Review of La Réforme en France et en Italie: Contacts, comparisons et contrastes in Renaissance Quarterly 61(3):940-942 (September 2008).
Review of Théodore de Bèze: Poète et Théologien. By Alain Dufour. Cahiers d’Humanisme et Renaissance 78. Geneva: Librarie Droz, 2006. Renaissance Quarterly (Volume 60, Number 3, Fall 2007).
Review of Teaching the Reformation: Ministers and Their Message in Basel, 1529-1629. By Amy Nelson Burnett. Oxford studies in Historical Theology. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Renaissance Quarterly (Volume 60, Number 3, Fall 2007).
Review of Our Sovereign Refuge. The Pastoral Theology of Theodore Beza. By Shawn D. Wright. Journal of Ecclesiastical History (Volume 58, 2007).
Review of Peter Martyr Vermigli’s Commentary on Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics, ed. Emidio Campi and Joseph C. McLelland. The Peter Martyr Library IX. Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies LXXIII. Renaissance Quarterly (Winter, 2006).
Review of Peter Martyr Vermigli and the European Reformations: Semper Reformanda, ed. by Frank James III. Renaissance Quarterly (Winter, 2005).
Review of Constantine, dir. Francis Lawrence. Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 9.1 (April 2005).
Review of Théodore de Bèze, Le Passavant: Édition Critique, Introduction, Traduction et Commentaire, by J. L. R. Ledegang-Keegstra. Renaissance Quarterly (Summer 2005).
Review of Get Up Off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog, by Whiteley, Raewynne J. and Beth Maynard, eds. Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 7 (Summer 2004).
