Daniel Taylor calls himself “a Christian humanist with a fondness for the life of the mind, spiritual pilgrimage, and salty snacks.”
Writer
Taylor’s books range from letters to his (then) young children about life and values to a personal exploration of Celtic Christianity to reflections on the role of doubt and skepticism in religious faith. He also writes fiction, including a series of novels narrated by a troubled man who hears voices, including, perhaps, the voice of God. A recurring topic in all his writing is the role that stories play in shaping our lives.
Learn More
Speaker
He speaks frequently in a variety of venues about such topics as the role of doubt in the life of faith, the shape of a good life, contributing to shalom as our fundamental life purpose, spiritual legacy, Celtic Christianity, and living as a reflective believer in a pluralistic world. He also conducts workshops on writing about your life.
Learn more
Traveler
Along with his wife Jayne, Taylor has led many student and adult trips to places around the world, ranging from Britain to Brazil to Cuba to Australia – and many other evocative places in between. These trips are for reflective people on their own pilgrimages through life who are interested in others who have gone before. You are welcome to join them.
Learn More
”
We live in stories the way fish live in water, breathing them in and out, buoyed up by them, taking from them our sustenance, but rarely conscious of this element in which we exist.
/ Tell me a Story /
Bio
Daniel Taylor was born near San Diego in 1948 and was raised initially in various Southern California towns and cities. He spent five formative years as a boy in the Texas Panhandle, then returned to California for the rest of his boyhood through college. He lived in Atlanta during four years of graduate school and has lived in Minneapolis and St. Paul since 1974. In sum, five years in California, five years in Texas, eleven more years in California (mostly in Santa Barbara), four years in Georgia, and the rest in Minnesota.
Taylor went to Westmont College in Santa Barbara and picked up other degrees from Emory University in Atlanta. He began teaching at Northwestern College (Roseville, MN) in 1974 but soon began a long career at Bethel College (and then University) in Arden Hills, Minnesota that ended in 2010. He also taught briefly at Westmont College, his alma mater.
To relieve the tedium of being too long in one place, Taylor and his wife, Jayne, have led both student and adult tours to places such as England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Australia, Guatemala, Brazil, and Cuba. He continues to lead such tours.
In a similar attempt to keep life interesting, they have produced four children (one born in England) — two daughters and two sons, all now adults.
Taylor published his first book in 1986 and his most recent novel will appear in 2020.. He worked as a stylist for the New Living Translation of the Bible from 1992-2002 while also teaching. He currently spends his days deep in thought, sometimes putting same on paper, currently sinking so low as to be producing novels.