John Austin Baker

John Austin Baker (1928–2014) was a prominent Church of England bishop, theologian, and author, serving as Bishop of Salisbury from 1982 to 1993 after roles as rector of St Margaret’s, Westminster, and Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons. An accomplished Old Testament scholar, he wrote influential works like The Foolishness of God (1970), which sympathetically addressed 20th-century challenges to traditional Christian beliefs while affirming sacrificial love as central to faith. Born in Birmingham to a family with strong clerical ties, he studied Classics at Oriel College, Oxford, before entering the ministry.