Tavis BohlingerThis article, originally presented orally to a group of Langham-funded Junior Scholars at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, in September 2017, was contributed by Mark W. Elliott, Professor of Historical and Biblical Theology, University of St. Andrews.
One of the most distinguished commentary series of the modern era is the International Critical Commentary, or ICC. The ICC has been around for over 130 years, but the history of the series is a bit hard to trace.
I would say that a biblical scholar is only as good as her resources. A good library or equivalent access to primary texts, lexica, etc. make or break our work.
~Clare K. Rothschild, Professor of Theology, Lewis University
This is a good question. I think the best biblical scholars and theologians make bold propositions while being meticulous in their argumentation.
Logos is on the brink of shipping an exceptional resource for those working in Early Christian studies, and useful for those wishing to expand their research capabilities in the NT. The Eerdman’s Encyclopedia of Early Christian Art and...
Always be willing to see your own weaknesses and strengths and know when to seek help. Always be willing, hoping, to have your argument proved false, but don’t give up. Reconsider, redesign, and rediscover. ~Karen Langton, Postgraduate Researcher...
by Brian J. Orr Introduction The God of the Old Testament wants his enemies’ blood shed for their abominations; the God of the New Testament wants to shed his own blood for his enemies’ abominations. Since the first century, this dilemma has led...
by the Revd Dr Alan Garrow Alan’s work recently enjoyed attention as the focus of the $1,000 Synoptic Problem Challenge—as taken up by Mark Goodacre on Bart Ehrman’s blog (we covered the debate here, here, and here). While having an interest in the...
The Mohr Siebeck Interviews are a chance to hear from some of the most influential authors in Pauline studies of the past few decades. In this short series, we will be hearing from a number of outstanding scholars, including Marvin Pate, Seyoon Kim...
The Mohr Siebeck Interviews are a chance to hear from some of the most influential authors in Pauline studies of the past few decades. In this short series, we will be hearing from a number of outstanding scholars, including Marvin Pate, Seyoon Kim...
The kind of biblical scholar that I admire is someone who has a contagious passion for understanding the text in all of its facets, a calling from God that compels them, and the desire and ability to contribute in meaningful ways to both the academy...
Today, Alan Garrow has now responded to Mark Goodacre in the “$1,000 Bart Ehrman Wager.” We’ve been covering the recent exchange between Bart Ehrman and a mysterious commenter on his blog, “Evan,” who posed a $1,000...
by William Ross, Doctoral Candidate, University of Cambridge To say that interest in Septuagint studies is growing rapidly has been a favorite pastime of Septuagint scholars at least since the foundation of the IOSCS nearly fifty years ago. While...
Mark Goodacre has responded to the mysterious commenter, “Evan,” who posed a $1,000 wager to Bart Ehrman if he wasn’t convinced that Alan Garrow had decisively disproved the existence of Q in this series of videos.
You’ve never read Barth’s lectures on Ephesians. I guarantee you that this is the case, unless, however, you meet the following two criteria: (1) you read German (quite well), and (2) you somehow managed to get a hold of the German edition of 2009...
A mysterious commenter on Bart Ehrman’s blog has offered him a $1,000 challenge regarding Q.
Mark Goodacre has taken up the challenge.
And this all came about because of Alan Garrow.
The key element to any theologian’s lasting success is the ability to approach their task with the wonder and awe of a beginner. Humble curiosity is the lifeblood of all our teaching, research, and writing. Without it we slowly die — and worse...
Just recently in Boston, I had the opportunity to chat with the remarkable Marty Folsom (PhD). Marty is Executive Director of both the Northwest Theological Collaboration and the Pacific Association for Theological Studies, and a long-time educator...
A Willingness to Cross Borders and Boundaries Theology and biblical studies are fields of study formally practiced within institutional frameworks and disciplinary boundaries that tend to hedge off their wider collective impact from faith...
A few things come to mind for biblical students who want to be scholars and teachers:
A good biblical scholar or theologian knows well the primary literature and the original languages.
~Craig A. Evans, John Bisagno Distinguished Professor of Christian Origins, Houston Baptist University
We are part of a common guild, so to be a good scholar in this sense is to be committed to the content of the guild but also the community of the guild. Regarding the content, every scholar brings their individual strengths to the mix so it would be...
The following paper by Stephen Chan was presented at the “Internationale Konferenz über Moltmanns Denken und Sino-Theologie”, held at Chung Yuan University, Taipei, Taiwan. Introduction In his early article on the philosophy of hope, Paul Ricoeur...
I would say something different for biblical scholar and theologian (the two are not always the same), but for biblical scholar: Attention to detail combined with breadth of interest. ~ John M. G. Barclay, Lightfoot Professor of Divinity, The...
I always tell my students, “Context is everything!” Without understanding the historical and literary contexts, it is impossible to interpret the passage well. Words have different meanings in different contexts, and it is very difficult...
In this brief post I’m going to show you just one way that a biblical scholar might use Logos 7 to their advantage. The beauty of this program is its intuitiveness, and the fact that you can arrange your workflow nearly any way that you choose. The...
We’ve had him on theLAB before, but here is Matthew Bates again, this time as part of our series asking, “What makes a good biblical scholar or theologian?” I think some of our best biblical scholars—Hays, Barclay, Wright, and...
We continue our series on the qualities and practices of good biblical scholar with the esteemed Grant Macaskill of Aberdeen University. I’m sensitive to a number of things on the back of the intellectual humility work I’ve done recently, and...
Craig Bartholomew, H. Evan Runner Professor of Philosophy at Redeemer University College, was recently interviewed by Faithlife TV, where he laid down the gauntlet for Christian academics. His message: make your research speak to today’s...
I’ve been asking biblical scholars at every level the following question: “What makes a good biblical scholar or theologian?” Over the next few years (or longer, perhaps), I’ll be posting their responses every Monday...