Vale, Dr Geoffrey Nutting 1936-2017

We in ISCAST mourn the loss of a good friend and colleague who passed away last Friday (25th August) and extend the condolences of the ISCAST community to his wife Solway and to Geoff’s family.

Geoff’s involvement with ISCAST is best described in his own words:

“ISCAST has been, over almost all my final decade, my prime professional forum and network. Religious Studies and Philosophy had, from undergraduate days, been my passion. Admitted as Associate in 2009, and in 2011 elected a Fellow, I contributed papers to seven ISCAST gatherings: Biennial National COSAC conferences, and in the intervening years Victorian State Seminars. In all of this I have valued greatly the inspiration, support and affirmation of the current President, Associate Professor Alan Gijsbers.

With the exception of musical acoustics, which I had taught in an early lecturing career as musicologist, the scientific mindset, with its stress on the measurable, was to me a novel environment. For forty years long, with almost zero science taught in my 1950s English grammar schooling, I had addressed myself strictly to Humanities audiences. ISCAST was an invitation to a broad new vision of existence-in-creation.”

A tribute from ISCAST President, Alan Gijsbers, that captures the essence of a very special person:

“Geoff was an unusual character of great heart, who vigorously pursued the truth as he saw it and sought to serve his Master faithfully and well.  His struggle to understand himself was very open and sometimes quite fraught but this did not stop him from ministering to others out of his own struggles. Resting in peace has a particular resonance with him I think.”

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Geoff’s description of his journey living with Bipolar Disorder over more than 40 years is, at his suggestion, being edited and will be uploaded onto the ISCAST website in the near future.