Archbishop announces Bauerschmidt’s ‘The Love That Is God’ as winner of Michael Ramsey Prize

The Archbishop of Canterbury has announced Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt as the winner of the 2023 Michael Ramsey Prize for contemporary theological writing.

The Love That Is God: An Invitation to the Christian Faith by Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt has been named the winner of the Michael Ramsey Prize 2023. The author received £15,000 and was presented with a medal by the Archbishop of Canterbury at a ceremony held at Lambeth Palace Library on Thursday 14th December.

'The Love That Is God‘ explores the idea that God is love and demonstrates how this radical claim sits at the centre of Jesus’ teachings.

The other shortlisted books were 'God is not a White Man: And Other Revelations' by Chine McDonald, which speaks of the author’s experience as a black woman in white-majority spaces in the UK church and raises urgent questions about racial injustice; and Amy Orr Ewing’s 'Where is God in all the suffering?', which addresses, through personal stories and theological analysis, the relationship between pain and faith.

In reference to the winner, Archbishop Justin Welby said, “I am delighted to award this prize to a book that embodies the heart of Christian faith. ‘God is love’ is a timeless message that drives us deeper into Gods arms and outwards to love others, as Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt expertly unpacks. I am grateful to all the immensely talented writers who featured in the prize this year and greatly enjoyed reading the wide array of excellent writing on the shortlist.”

Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt said, "When I was writing ‘The Love That Is God’, I thought a lot about not just what I wanted to say, but also how I wanted to say it; I wanted to write something for a wide audience that was neither simplistic nor condescending in tone. Winning the Michael Ramsey Prize is particularly gratifying, since it suggests that I succeeded in writing something that was both accessible and made a contribution to the life of the church.”

Paula Gooder, chair of the 2023 judging panel, said “This book seeks to spark our imaginations into what it means to live as people who believe that God is love. Using love as its start, middle and end-point the book takes us on a journey through some of the best writers on Christianity, from Catherine of Siena to Dorothy Day, from John Chrysostom to Martin Luther King Jr, and in doing so shines new light on the mystery of God’s love."

The event was hosted by Elizabeth Oldfield, former Director of think tank ‘Theos’ and current host of The Sacred podcast. The ceremony featured speeches from the chair of the judges and the shortlisted authors. The winning book was published by William B. Eerdmans Publishing in August 2020.

The Michael Ramsey Prize first launched in 2007 and re-launched in 2023. The book award celebrates the most promising contemporary theological writing throughout the church. The Michael Ramsey Prize is awarded by the Archbishop of Canterbury in partnership with the McDonald Agape Foundation.