Taking a Second Look at Resurrection – Credentials

Do You Believe in the bodily Resurrection of Jesus?

By now, you have discovered that the outline for this series of posts has not been firmly set in stone and while in my last post, I indicated that I would begin to talk about the religious contexts for the idea of resurrection and I will be getting to that soon, I’m still doing some reading. In the interim, I have noticed that while the names of the three major scholars that I will reference are reasonably well known, it is probably helpful to share a bit about who they really are.

N. T. (Tom) Wright is an Anglican pastor serving currently as the Bishop of Durham having been appointed in 2003. Prior to that appointment, Wright was Dean of Lichfield Cathedral from 1994 to 1999. Following that work, Wright was appointed as Canon Theologian of Westminster Abbey in 2000.

As a student, like John Wesley, our Methodist founder, Wright was mostly educated at various colleges associated with Oxford University. From 1978 to 1981 he was a fellow and Chaplain at Downing College, Cambridge, but in 1981 he received his DPhil from Merton College, Oxford, his thesis topic being “The Messiah and the People of God: A Study in Pauline Theology with Particular Reference to the Argument of the Epistle to the Romans.”

As a teacher, Wright served as assistant professor of New Testament Studies at McGill University, Montreal (1981-1986), then as Chaplain, Fellow and Tutor at Worcester College and then again as lecturer in New Testament in the University of Oxford (1986-1993).

Wright is the author of some 50 books including an extensive New Tesatament study series for local congregations. Wright can be said to come from an “open evangelical” perspective which can be seen in contrast with many American evangelicals who tend to be more Calvinistic like John Piper. Wright is a significant Bible historian writing as part of what many define as the “Third Quest for the Historical Jesus.” He has also written significant pieces as part of the emerging movement of Pauline studies. Much of Wright’s pictures of Jesus and Paul are grounded in what is understood by scholars to be true revealed in a historical perspective on first-century Judaism and Christianity.

John Dominic Crossan was born in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, Ireland, in 1934. He was educated in Ireland and the United States, received a Doctorate of Divinity from Maynooth College, Ireland, in 1959, and did post-doctoral research at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome from 1959 to 1961 and at the École Biblique in Jerusalem from 1965 to 1967.

He was a member of a thirteenth-century Roman Catholic religious order, the Servites (Ordo Servorum Mariae), from 1950 to 1969 and an ordained priest from 1957 to 1969. He joined DePaul University, Chicago, in 1969 and remained there until 1995. He is now a Professor Emeritus in its Department of Religious Studies.

He was Co-Chair of the Jesus Seminar from 1985 to 1996 as it met in twice-annual meetings to debate the historicity of the life of Jesus in the gospels. He was Chair of the Parables Seminar in 1972-76, Editor of Semeia. An Experimental Journal for Biblical Criticism in 1980-86, and Chair of the Historical Jesus Section in 1993-1998, within the Society of Biblical Literature, an international scholarly association for biblical study based in the United States.

He has received awards for scholarly excellence from the American Academy of Religion in 1989, DePaul University in 1991 and 1995, and an honorary doctorate from Stetson University, DeLand, FL, in 2003.

In the last forty years he has written some twenty-three books on the historical Jesus, earliest Christianity, and the historical Paul. Five of them have been national religious bestsellers for a combined total of twenty-four months. He has lectured to lay and scholarly audiences across the United States as well as in Ireland and England, Scandinavia and Finland, Australia and New Zealand, Brazil, Japan, and South Africa. He has been interviewed on 200 radio stations, including four times on NPR’s “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross. He has a keen interest in archeology as it speaks to historical research and has led several pilgrimages associated with his writings.

Marcus J. Borg is a layperson presently serving as Canon Theologian at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, OR. Internationally known in both academic and church circles as a biblical and Jesus scholar, he was Hundere Chair of Religion and Culture in the Philosophy Department at Oregon State University until his retirement in 2007.

Borg was born and raised in the Lutheran tradition (Missouri Synod), but converted in his adulthood to the Episcopal church. Borg holds doctoral degrees from Oxford University.

He is the author of some eighteen books. Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time (1994) is the single best-selling book by a contemporary Jesus scholar.

Described by The New York Times as “a leading figure in his generation of Jesus scholars,” he has appeared on numerous times on radio and television programs.

A Fellow of the Jesus Seminar, he has been national chair of the Historical Jesus Section of the Society of Biblical Literature and co-chair of its International New Testament Program Committee, and is past president of the Anglican Association of Biblical Scholars. My review of one of his latest publications part of the Anglican scholars group on the Gospel of Mark can be found on this site.

Borg has lectured widely overseas (England, Scotland, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Israel and South Africa) and in North America, including the Chautauqua and Smithsonian Institutions. In addition to the eighteen books that he has authored or coauthored, he is also the editor or co-editor of several books.

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Over the years, these men have all collaborated. In my last post, I mentioned two books where each one, Borg and Crossan, have written together with Wright studies on this subject of resurrection.

But, it is important to not miss that Borg and Crossan have written books together as well. Together, Borg and Crossan have co-authored a series of books with HarperOne, San Francisco: The Last Week: A Day by Day Account of Jesus’s Final Week in Jerusalem (2006); The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach about the Birth of Jesus (2007); and The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary behind the Church’s Conservative Icon (2009).

Additionally, Borg and Crossan have been involved, like several other progressive scholars, with the new local church curriculum series, Living the Questions. Particularly interesting is their shared work shot on location concerning early Christian origins, Paul and empire.

Some will criticize my choice of these scholars for this series. I certainly find both agreement and issues with all three. They clearly do not speak with one voice. Wright, in particilar has been highly critical of the work of the Jesus Seminar as others like John Piper have been critical of his work. But, in scholarly circles beyond more ideological apolgetics which can be found all over the internet, these men represent a coherent start on the conversation.

I readily acknowlege that there are several women scholars that also discuss these concerns with the idea of resurrection and I do intent to refer to their work as well. I will share more about their credentials at that point.

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Links:

N. T. Wright – Website (Unofficial)

N.T. Wright – Wikipedia Article

John Dominic Crossan – Official Website

John Dominic Crossan – Wikipedia Article

Marcus Borg - Official Website

Marcus Borg – Wikipedia Article

Note: Photos and other biographical materials were drawn from these publically available links.

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Previous Posts in the Series:

Taking a Second Look at Resurrection – Resources