A good Biblical theologian is a faithful theologian. Whether or not you recognize it, everyone is a theologian of sorts. We all have thoughts about God whether a Christian, an atheist, a Buddhist, or a Muslim. Everyone speaks words about God. Our...
What makes a good scholar-theologian? Here are seven things:
A good biblical scholar is a sane biblical scholar. What I mean by that is, a good biblical scholar takes time for themselves and does not focus on their research every waking moment of the day; you have to have balance. If you don’t do this...
A good biblical scholar is one who approaches the text with a genuine openness to being corrected by it.
As a junior scholar, I don’t consider myself either a good Bible scholar or theologian (yet!) so I can only offer my own expectations based on my encounters with others. I’ve organized these into six key areas:
I have always appreciated reading and listening to those scholars who have both a command over the relevant, classical languages and a direct knowledge of the primary sources in their disciplines.
We had the great honor of interviewing Noam Neusner recently about his experiences growing up as the son of the most prolific author and scholar in history, Jacob Neusner. Noam offers here some sound advice and fascinating insight that every one of...
Words by Grace Emmett; photos by Tavis Bohlinger (De)Constructing Masculinity, a conference exploring ancient constructions of masculinity through interdisciplinary conversations between the disciplines of Classics and Theology, took place at King’s...
Although I am presently working as a local pastor, and not doing as much scholarly work right now, I learned a lot from my time at the University of Edinburgh during my PhD. As I reflect back on scholars and peers that I respect and consider what...
What makes a good biblical scholar or theologian? What advice would I give students—or have given myself 10 years ago—looking into advanced degrees? For those who are interested or who just compulsively read this blog, here are five suggestions amid...
I think the answer to that question can only be measured based on output. Good scholars can be recognized either through their writing or through their teaching.
I took the first steps of my journey to becoming a biblical scholar because I believed, as I still do, that the Bible is the Word of God, and that as a person of faith, I had an obligation to listen to its words and submit to its authority.
A good theologian knows what they are doing and why they are doing it, asking the vocational questions of what it means to be a theologian and what it means to do their task well. A good theologian keeps these questions close at hand, since they...
by Ryan Lytton *Editor’s note: I recently approached Ryan Lytton (author of the second most viewed post in the history of theLAB) asking him to conduct an interview with Fuller Seminary regarding their upcoming move to Pomona. He responded by...
We recently invited Dr. Mark Tietjen to contribute a series of articles on Søren Kierkegaard, to celebrate the soon-to-be released 26-volume Kierkegaard’s Writings on the Logos Digital Library. This is a monumental occasion, given that it has...
My most salient advice for biblical scholars and theologians is: be aware of the diversity of your discipline, and work hard toward inculcating permeable boundaries for the disciplinary city. Those marginal spaces in the discipline are essential for...
“Humility, faith, faithfulness, worship.”
Words and Photos by Tavis Bohlinger Last Friday morning at 6:45 am I boarded a train in SE London for a 1.5-hour journey to West London, where there lies a quaint, little town called Twickenham. There, at St Mary’s University, I was to meet a...
A good biblical scholar brings the text to life.
From my perspective, a good biblical scholar is someone who is immersed in the primary sources, has a firm grasp of the history of the discipline, and communicates clearly with and listens to the voices of others.
Words and pictures by Tavis Bohlinger This year’s joint meeting of the International Society of Biblical Literature (ISBL) and the European Association of Biblical Studies (EABS) was held in Helsinki during the last few days of July and into...
Plenty of curiosity, along with a good measure of endurance (and occasionally guts) to carry it out.
Peter Malik, Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal/Bethel, Germany
This is a complex question because it requires an attribution of value, which can vary from person to person and generation to generation. But that’s exactly my first point. A good theologian or biblical scholar effectively communicates the...
A few weeks ago, during the recent global heat wave, I was walking the streets of Helsinki chatting with a good friend when he said something that caused me to forget the sweat dripping down my spine and forehead, soaking my blue dress shirt and...
For me, what makes a good biblical scholar or theologian is putting all your cards on the table.
The last few weeks saw numerous job offerings in all subdisciplines at institutions around the world, from South Africa to Belgium, Denver to Latvia.
by Esau McCaulley When I was invited to contribute to theLAB series, “What makes a good Biblical Scholar or Theologian?”, I decided to do something a bit different. While I have my opinions on exegetical method, there are a multitude of...
Short answer: Honesty.
Words and photos by Kevin Grasso With a total of 14 talks from scholars throughout Israel and Canada, and over 60 people in attendance, this year’s Workshop on Biblical Hebrew Linguistics and Philology at the Hebrew University (HU) in Jerusalem was...
Faithfulness without fearfulness.
~Timothy Larsen, McManis Professor Christian Thought, Wheaton College