Os Guinness
Os Guinness (born 1941 in Hsiang Cheng, China, the son of medical missionaries) is an English social critic, author, and Christian apologist who holds a doctorate from Oxford. A great-great-great-grandson of Arthur Guinness, the Dublin brewer, he was deeply shaped by his time at L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland under Francis Schaeffer and has been a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum since the late 1980s. Guinness writes at the intersection of Christianity and the public square, addressing themes of vocation, freedom, religious liberty, and the cultural dynamics of late modern Western societies. His book The Call has become a classic on Christian vocation, and his more recent A Free People's Suicide and Last Call for Liberty argue that ordered liberty in the American republic depends on the moral and religious foundations its founders assumed.
Frequently Asked Questions about Os Guinness
Who is Os Guinness?
Os Guinness (born 1941 in China to medical missionary parents) is an English author, social critic, and Christian apologist with a doctorate from Oxford. He co-founded The Trinity Forum in 1991 and has written or edited more than thirty-five books on faith, culture, and public life.
Is Os Guinness related to the Guinness brewing family?
Yes. He is a descendant of Arthur Guinness, the eighteenth-century Dublin brewer. His own branch of the family became known for missionary and philanthropic work, and Os was born in China where his parents served as medical missionaries.
What is Os Guinness known for?
Guinness is best known for The Call, a modern classic on Christian vocation, and for books such as Last Call for Liberty and A Free People's Suicide, which argue that American freedom depends on the moral and religious foundations assumed by its founders. In 2026 he received the William Wilberforce Award at the Colson Center National Conference.
What shaped Os Guinness's thought?
Guinness was deeply influenced by his years at L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland under Francis Schaeffer, as well as by sociologist Peter Berger's work on modernity. His writing combines Christian apologetics with social analysis of Western culture and the public square.