Hello! I'm Carolyn (legally Whitnall, née Brooker). Eventually I might actually make this site. (Or I might hold out against the dehumanising obligation to make a personal brand of oneself). Either way, for now:
I've just completed a PhD in theology with Aberdeen University via Bristol Baptist College, where I'm part of the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence. The title of my thesis is "The Power of the Bible in Bill Johnson's "Normal Christian Life.""
Paper in the Journal for the Study of Bible and Violence (Volume 1, December 2022): "In the Presence of Whose Enemies?: A Discourse Analysis of a Popular Christian Song in the Context of a “Worship Protest”"
Paper in the JSBV (Volume 4, December 2025): "The Seven Mountain Mandate: A Case Study in “New Apostolic” Approaches to Scripture"
Paper presented at the CSBV "Empire Colloquium," June 2024: "Whose Kingdom Come? Competing Visions of Biblical Socio-Political Responsibility Under an Empire of Global Capital"
Short paper presented in the Theological Ethics stream at SST, April 2025: "Positivity as a Moral Obligation in Bill Johnson's "Normal Christian Life""
Paper presented at the CSBV "Scandalous Scholars" conference, July 2025: "Theological Interpretation of Scripture and the “Diseased Social Imagination” of Western Christianity"
Short paper presented at SST, April 2026, under the conference theme of "failure": "The Failure of Theological Interpretation of Scripture to Heal a "Diseased Social Imagination""
I also write poems, some of which have been published:
"Please Put Your Seats in the Upright Position," at Second Chance Lit.
"Ecclesiography," in The Other Journal.
"Hermeneutics I," in The Anglican Theological Review.
"Prehistory," in The Anglican Theological Review.
Increasingly infrequently I blog here (which is also home to some of my other poems). And I do the odd bit of guest-blogging:
"Uniform Churches and Diverse Christians," over on John Heathershaw's "Security After Christendom" substack. (January 2026).
"Bolz, Bethel and Baked-In Abuse Apologetics," on the CSBV blog. (February 2026).
"Bolz, Bethel and Theological Grooming," on the CSBV blog. (February 2026).
"The Christians Seeking to Invade the Seven Mountains of British Culture (Clue: It's Not Tommy Robinson)," on the CSBV blog. (April 2026).
"The Bright Side and the Rise of the Far Right," for the William Temple Foundation blog. (April 2026).
"Help! I'm accidentally a dominionist: How to take faithful action when the narrative is pushing us to take control," on the CSBV blog. (May 2026).
Increasingly frequently I say stuff in front of other people in a church setting:
"Bible Greatest Hits – Overview": An overview of the Bible through the lens of "home." (Slides).
"The Killing of Jesus": Part of our Thursday Gathering series on the Gospel of Mark. (Slides).
"Community and the Holy Spirit": Part of our Thursday Gathering series on the book of Acts. (Slides).
Once upon a time I was a post-doctoral researcher in the Cryptography Group at the University of Bristol.
Some publications from that time can be found on my DBLP page.
For added confusion, my most-cited publications are in the field of econometrics, from a brief early stint as a research assistant at the Centre for Market and Public Organisation.