Craig A. Evans | |
---|---|
Born | January 21, 1952 |
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Acadia Divinity College in Wolfville Houston Baptist University |
Known for | Biblical scholar |
Awards | D.Habil. by the Karoli Gaspard Reformed University in Budapest |
Academic background | |
Education | Claremont McKenna College, Western Baptist Seminary |
Alma mater | Claremont Graduate University |
Thesis | Isaiah 6:9–10 in Early Jewish and Christian Interpretation (1983) |
Doctoral advisor | William H. Brownlee |
Academic work | |
Discipline | New Testament studies |
Institutions | McMaster University Trinity Western University Acadia Divinity College Houston Christian University |
Craig Alan Evans (born January 21,1952) is an American biblical scholar. He is a prolific writer with 70 books and over 600 journal articles and reviews to his name. [1]
He earned his B.A in history and philosophy from Claremont McKenna College,a Master of Divinity from Western Baptist Seminary in Portland,Oregon,and his Master of Arts and Ph.D. in Biblical studies from Claremont Graduate University in southern California.
He is John Bisagno Distinguished Professor of Christian Origins at Houston Baptist University. [2] Prior to Houston Baptist,he was Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament and director of the graduate program at Acadia Divinity College in Wolfville,Nova Scotia, [3] a visiting assistant professor of religious studies at McMaster University and a professor of biblical studies at Trinity Western University. [4]
Evans served as editor of the Bulletin for Biblical Research from 1994 to 2005. [5]
Evans published the book Fabricating Jesus:How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels in 2008. In it,he criticizes current scholarship on the historical Jesus,accusing it of distorting the historical figure of Jesus,creating completely unhistorical images of Jesus of Nazareth. The book is critical of scholars such as Bart D. Ehrman,the Jesus Seminar,Robert Eisenman,Morton Smith,James Tabor,Michael Baigent and Elaine Pagels,while also arguing against the use of New Testament apocrypha,which Evans considers late works with no historical value (Gospel of Thomas,Gospel of Peter,Egerton Gospel,Gospel of Judas and Gospel of Mary) or even modern forgeries (Secret Gospel of Mark). Another chapter of the book dismisses The Da Vinci Code by the American novelist Dan Brown,which Evans (and all biblical scholars,in fact[ citation needed ]) sees as nothing more than a sensationalist stunt. [6]
The book's "Advance Praise" section includes endorsements from several prominent scholars of the New Testament,such as James H. Charlesworth,Gerd Theissen,John P. Meier,Darrel L. Bock,Ben Witherington III and James D.G. Dunn. [7]
Evans is the author or editor of over 50 books,some of which are listed below: [4]
The Gospel of John is the fourth of the four canonical gospels in the New Testament. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus and seven "I am" discourses culminating in Thomas' proclamation of the risen Jesus as "my Lord and my God". The gospel's concluding verses set out its purpose, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name."
The Jesus Seminar was a group of about 50 biblical criticism scholars and 100 laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk that originated under the auspices of the Westar Institute. The seminar was very active through the 1980s and 1990s, and into the early 21st century.
The historicity of Jesus is the question of whether Jesus historically existed. The question of historicity was generally settled in scholarship in the early 20th century. Today scholars agree that a Jewish man called Jesus of Nazareth did exist in the Herodian Kingdom of Judea and the subsequent Herodian tetrarchy in the 1st century CE, upon whose life and teachings Christianity was later constructed, but a distinction is made by scholars between 'the Jesus of history' and 'the Christ of faith'.
The term "historical Jesus" refers to the life and teachings of Jesus as interpreted through critical historical methods, in contrast to what are traditionally religious interpretations. It also considers the historical and cultural contexts in which Jesus lived. Virtually all scholars of antiquity accept that Jesus was a historical figure, and the idea that Jesus was a mythical figure has been consistently rejected by the scholarly consensus as a fringe theory. Scholars differ about the beliefs and teachings of Jesus as well as the accuracy of the biblical accounts, with only two events being supported by nearly universal scholarly consensus: Jesus was baptized and Jesus was crucified.
Jesus, also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religion. Most Christians believe Jesus to be the incarnation of God the Son and the awaited messiah, the Christ that is prophesied in the Old Testament.
James Douglas Grant Dunn, also known as Jimmy Dunn, was a British New Testament scholar, who was for many years the Lightfoot Professor of Divinity in the Department of Theology at the University of Durham. He is best known for his work on the New Perspective on Paul, which is also the title of a book he published in 2007.
The baptism of Jesus, the ritual purification of Jesus with water by John the Baptist, was a major event described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament. It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghtas, today located in Jordan.
The Context Group is a working group of international biblical scholars who promote research into the Bible using social-scientific methods such as anthropology and sociology.
Luke–Acts is the composite work of the Gospel according to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament. Both of these books of the Bible are credited to Luke. They also describe the narrative of those who continued to spread Christianity, ministry of Jesus and the subsequent ministry of the apostles and the Apostolic Age.
Richard Thomas France (1938–2012), known as R. T. France or Dick France, was a New Testament scholar and Anglican cleric. He was Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, from 1989 to 1995. He also worked for the London School of Theology.
Graham H. Twelftree is an Australian biblical scholar who currently serves as the Academic Dean of London School of Theology in London, UK.
Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why is a book by Bart D. Ehrman, a New Testament scholar at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Published in 2005 by HarperCollins, the book introduces lay readers to the field of textual criticism of the Bible. Ehrman discusses a number of textual variants that resulted from intentional or accidental manuscript changes during the scriptorium era. The book made it to The New York Times Best Seller List.
The historical reliability of the Gospels is evaluated by experts who have not reached complete consensus. While all four canonical gospels contain some sayings and events that may meet at least one of the five criteria for historical reliability used in biblical studies, the assessment and evaluation of these elements is a matter of ongoing debate.
Nicholas Perrin is an American academic administrator and religious scholar, who served as the 16th president of Trinity International University, a Christian university located in Deerfield, Illinois.
Mark Allan Powell is an American New Testament scholar and professional music critic.
Craig S. Keener is an American Protestant theologian, Biblical scholar and professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary.
John Edgar Goldingay is a British Old Testament scholar and translator and Anglican cleric. He is the David Allan Hubbard Professor Emeritus of Old Testament in the School of Theology of Fuller Theological Seminary in California.
Peter Stuhlmacher is a Protestant theologian, professor emeritus of New Testament studies at the University of Tübingen.
Bruce John Malina was an American biblical scholar, noted for his application of social scientific approaches to the Bible.
Michael F. Bird is an Australian Anglican priest, theologian, and New Testament scholar.