Tavis BohlingerCollaboration, curiosity, endurance, creativity, passion, courage (willing to challenge stubborn consenses), and dedication. Many of the virtues of a good detective!
A good biblical scholar realizes that others are smarter than he is.
Editor’s note: Crispin Fletcher-Louis has disrupted our normal series on “What makes a good Biblica Scholar or Theologian?” with a title of his own making. We’ll let it slide, because his advice is just that good. Enjoy the...
A good biblical scholar is discerning. This discernment is exercised at key points in the research process. First, a good scholar chooses worthwhile research projects to invest time in. Time is a limited commodity, so choosing the right project is...
Humility: Submit your work on the text and invite the critique and examination of others without defensiveness. Others help to improve your contribution.
Faithlife StaffAdded Rediscovering Paul: An Introduction to His World, Letters, and Theology, 2nd ed., to the Bibliography of the New Perspective on Paul section.
Book Review David B. Capes, Rodney Reeves, and E. Randolph Richards, editors, IVP Academic, 2017. According to the Introduction, the work is intended as a student textbook that covers, in a manageable size, several aspects of Paul: his background...
Theology is a bit like a spider’s web, in the sense that cutting a single strand of a theological framework can drastically alter the shape of the whole.
What makes a good biblical scholar? Well, many things, of course. But one thing I seek to embody in my own work and to impart to my students is fairness to others, especially when I disagree with them.
Although the image of the lone scholar is prominent, it is not really accurate. All of us need other scholars to sharpen our ideas and to gain new viewpoints on the texts. As a result, it is important for scholars to be humble regarding their ideas...
A good biblical scholar or theologian thinks through their writing, page by page, from the perspectives of their various types of expected reader, from scholars, to students, to church ministers and, if appropriate, to church members. ~Peter Oakes...
I’ll never forget the day when I was sitting among other recently admitted post-grads at the University of Aberdeen in the presence of the I. Howard Marshall. Make no mistake about it: although we remained in our chairs, we were sitting at Howard’s...
“Curiosity.”
~Helen Bond, Professor in Christian Origins with Specialisation in New Testament and Director of Research, School of Divinity, Edinburgh University
Have the courage to go wherever the texts and the evidence lead you.
For me personally, a good biblical scholar is someone who enriches the discipline not only, and not even primarily, through his or her publications, but also through the way he or she interacts with colleagues, especially those who do not yet hold...
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.
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...
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...
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...
Added Paula Fredriksen’s latest book Paul: The Pagans’ Apostle to the Bibliography of the Paul Within Judaism section.
Book Review Paula Fredriksen, Yale University Press, 2017, 336 pp. Widely recognized for her works on Augustine and Christian origins, in her latest book Paula Fredriksen turns her full attention to the apostle Paul. She impressively develops a...
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...
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...
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...