Westar Institute

Lloyd Geering (1918-2026) was a Principal Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, topping New Zealand’s new year’s honors list for 2001. Previous to 2001, New Zealand granted Imperial Honors, under which Lloyd Geering would have been made a knight commander.

Lloyd Geering was a public figure of considerable renown in New Zealand, where he was in constant demand as a lecturer and as a commentator on religion. In 1966, he published “The Resurrection of Jesus” and as a followup in 1967, “The Immortality of the Soul.” These two ariticles together sparked a two-year public, theological controversy that culminated in charges by the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand—of which he is an ordained minister—of doctrinal error and disturbing the peace of the church. After a dramatic, two-day televised trial, the Assembly judged that no doctrinal error had been proved, dismissed the charges, and declared the case closed. Lloyd continued to the end of his life as an ordained minister in good standing with the Presbyterian Church.

Lloyd was an outstanding scholar of biblical and theological studies. He made several contributions to the field in notable publications, and he helped thousands find a path of faith consistent with the insights of modern science and critical studies. He made many contributions to the life of Westar, especially with his appearances at Westar conferences at which he drew large crowds of listeners. Many of his books, a selection listed below, were published with Westar's Polebridge Press.

PUBLICATIONS

Reimagining God: The Faith Journey of a Modern Heretic (2014)

From the Big Bang to God: Our Awe-Inspiring Journey of Evolution (2013)

Coming Back to Earth: From Gods to God to Gaia (2009)

Christianity Without God (2002)

Christian Faith at the Crossroads (revised 2001)