David Ritsema on “What Makes a Good Biblical Scholar or Theologian?”

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’ve been the beneficiary of wonderful teachers, and without them the guild would not continue. That said, most scholars would measure other scholars on the basis of the quality of literary output.

Here, I think, is a distinction that should also be made between quantity and quality. Profundity is not equal to perspicuity. Thus, good scholars are determined by their good teaching or their good writing.


David Ritsema, PhD, is a Resident Fellow of the B. H. Carroll Theological Institute and Adjunct Faculty, Dallas Baptist University (Graduate School of Ministry). He is also the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Waxahachie.


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Tavis Bohlinger

Dr. Tavis Bohlinger is Editor-in-Chief of the Logos Academic Blog and Creative Director at Reformation Heritage Books. He holds a PhD from Durham University and writes across multiple genres, including academia, poetry, and screenwriting. He lives in Grand Rapids with his wife and three children.

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Written by Tavis Bohlinger
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