F. David Farnell | |
---|---|
Born | 1958 |
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | New Testament scholar and professor |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | Dallas Theological Seminary |
Thesis | The New Testament Prophetic Gift: its nature and duration (1990) |
Academic work | |
Era | Late 20th and Early 21st Centuries |
F. David Farnell (born 1958) is an American New Testament scholar,Christian minister,and is the new pastor of theological training at Redeemer Bible Church in Phoenix,Arizona. He was formerly professor of New Testament studies at The Master's Seminary. He promotes a conservative approach to New Testament studies. Farnell's works include the book The Jesus Crisis:The Inroads of historical Criticism into Evangelical Scholarship and The Jesus Quest:The Danger from Within. His writings on biblical inerrancy have been endorsed by John F. MacArthur, [1] Albert Mohler, [1] and Paige Patterson. [2] He is also the pastor of Grace Bible Church in Oxnard,California. [3]
He is a contributor and editor for the blog Defending Inerrancy,as well as "Historical" Jesus Search Report, [4] where he writes on his views of the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible. [5] He is also the host of The Danger Zone on World View Weekend Radio Network. [6]
During the 2014 National Apologetics Conference,Farnell addressed the current state in New Testament scholarship. In his lecture,The Battle for the Bible:Responding to the New Attacks on Scripture,he criticized the New Testament scholars Robert H. Gundry,Michael Bird,Craig Blomberg,as well as the apologist William Lane Craig. [7] He has criticized Michael Licona for identifying the canonical gospels with the classical genre of Greco-Roman biography,instead of following Eusebius and Clement in recognizing them as modeled after or fulfilling ancient Hebrew oracles and as eschewing Greek philosophy and historiography. [8] Licona has criticized Farnell for this view and for other conservative views. [9]
Farnell supports the historical-grammatical method in New Testament studies,and specializes in the impact of historical-critical philosophical ideologies in Biblical Criticism and interpretation of the New Testament. [10] [11] He opposes what he regards as a liberal approach to the study of the Bible,and promotes the Protestant doctrine of biblical inerrancy.
Farnell attended San Diego Christian College (formerly Christian Heritage College),where he received a BA in Biblical studies. He graduated with an M.Div. from Talbot School of Theology in 1981. That same year he was awarded the Systematic Theology Award and the Biola University/President's Rotary-Club Award for Academic Achievement. [12] He studied a Th.M. with an emphasis in New Testament under the New Testament scholar Robert Thomas. In 1984 he graduated from the Th.M. program. [13]
He received a Ph.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary, [14] where he studied under New Testament scholar Darrell Bock,and alongside the Greek scholar Daniel B. Wallace. [15]
While completing his master's degree,Farnell served as a teaching assistant in New Testament and Bible exposition at Talbot School of Theology. [16] After his Ph.D. studies he was offered the chair of the Department of Pastoral Theology and Biblical Studies at Southeastern Bible College. [17] Later he became the academic dean of the same institution from 1994 - 1997. [10]
In 1997 he came to The Master's Seminary as associate professor of New Testament. During this time he worked with Robert Thomas to develop the New Testament Department of The Master's Seminary. [10] He was named professor of New Testament in 2007. [10] Since 2008,Farnell is also adjunct professor at Veritas Evangelical Seminary. [13]
In March 2017,Farnell was invited as keynote speaker to the Chafer Theological Seminary Pastor's Conference (Dean Bible Conference). During his appearance,he spoke on "Critical Issues in Inerrancy" by means of four ground breaking sessions:Current Challenges to Orthodox Inerrancy:Dancing on the Edge (part 1, [18] part 2, [19] part 3 [20] ),and Evangelical Critical Scholarship and the Canonical Gospels:What Hath Spinoza Wrought? [21] Other keynote speakers included H. Wayne House and Andy Woods.
In June 2021,Farnell left The Master’s Seminary to form a new pastoral training center in Phoenix,Arizona,under the auspices of Redeemer Bible Church (Redeemeraz.org) [22]
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christianity. The New Testament's background, the first division of the Christian Bible, is called the Old Testament, which is based primarily upon the Hebrew Bible; together they are regarded as sacred scripture by Christians.
Biblical inerrancy is the belief that the Bible "is without error or fault in all its teaching"; or, at least, that "Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact". Some equate inerrancy with biblical infallibility; others do not.
Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible. For its theory and methods, the field draws on disciplines ranging from ancient history, historical criticism, philology, theology, textual criticism, literary criticism, historical backgrounds, mythology, and comparative religion.
Raymond Edward Brown was an American Sulpician priest and prominent biblical scholar. He was a specialist on the hypothetical Johannine community, which he speculated contributed to the authorship of the Gospel of John, and he also wrote studies on the birth and death of Jesus.
Dallas Theological Seminary(DTS) is an evangelical theological seminary in Dallas, Texas. It is known for popularizing the theological system of dispensationalism. DTS has campuses in Dallas, Houston, and Washington, D.C., as well as extension campuses in Atlanta, Austin, San Antonio, Nashville, Northwest Arkansas, Europe, Guatemala, and Australasia and a multilingual online education program.
The Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) is a professional society of Biblical scholars, educators, pastors, and students "devoted to the inerrancy and inspiration of the Scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ" and "dedicated to the oral exchange and written expression of theological thought and research."
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) is an academic divinity school founded in 1897 and located in the northern Chicago suburb of Deerfield, Illinois. It is part of and located on the main campus of Trinity International University. It’s among the most conservative and largest theological educational institutions. Since the reorganization of Trinity in 1963 by Kenneth Kantzer, the school has consistently recruited and retained some of the top scholars in the world to serve as faculty.
Robert Horton Gundry is an American scholar and retired professor of New Testament studies and Koine Greek.
Norman Leo Geisler was an American Christian systematic theologian and philosopher. He was the co-founder of two non-denominational evangelical seminaries.
Darrell L. Bock is an American evangelical New Testament scholar. He is executive director of Cultural Engagement at The Hendricks Center and Senior Research Professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) in Dallas, Texas, United States. Bock received his PhD from Scotland's University of Aberdeen. His supervisor was I. Howard Marshall. Harold Hoehner was an influence in his NT development, as were Martin Hengel and Otto Betz as he was a Humboldt scholar at Tübingen University multiple years.
Talbot School of Theology is an evangelical Christian theological seminary located near Los Angeles. Talbot is one of the nine schools that comprise Biola University, located in La Mirada, California. Talbot is nondenominational and known for its conservative theological positions, particularly its historical adherence to biblical inerrancy.
Michael R. "Mike" Licona is an American New Testament scholar and author. He is Professor of New Testament Studies at Houston Christian University, Extraordinary Associate Professor of Theology at North-West University and the director of Risen Jesus, Inc. Licona specializes in the Resurrection of Jesus, and in the literary analysis of the Gospels as Greco-Roman biographies.
Peter Eric Enns is an American Biblical scholar and theologian. He has written widely on hermeneutics, Christianity and science, historicity of the Bible, and Old Testament interpretation. Outside of his academic work Enns is a contributor to HuffPost and Patheos. He has also worked with Francis Collins' The BioLogos Foundation. His book Inspiration and Incarnation challenged conservative/mainstream Evangelical methods of biblical interpretation. His book The Evolution of Adam questions the belief that Adam was a historical figure. He also wrote The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It and The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More than Our 'Correct' Beliefs.
Robert E. Van Voorst is an American theologian and educator.
Bradford Humes Young, also known as Brad Young, is a professor of Biblical Literature in Judeo Christian Studies at the Graduate Department of Oral Roberts University (ORU). He is also founder and president of the Gospel Research Foundation, Inc.
Mark Allan Powell is an American New Testament scholar and professional music critic.
Eta Linnemann was a German Protestant theologian. In her last years, she broke completely with the theology of her teacher Rudolf Bultmann.
Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of Jewish and Christian writings from ancient times, historical criticism has also been applied to other religious and secular writings from various parts of the world and periods of history.
James Allen Borland is an American evangelical professor of biblical studies and theology at Liberty University and former president of the Evangelical Theological Society.
Paul N. Anderson is an American New Testament scholar conducting research on the historical, cultural, and theological background of the Gospel of John, the historical Jesus, Quakers and Spirituality studies. He is Professor of Biblical and Quaker Studies at George Fox University since 1989 and was a founding member of the John, Jesus, and History Project at the Society of Biblical Literature (2002-2016). He also serves as Extraordinary Professor of Religion at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa and has served as a visiting professor or researcher at Haverford College, Yale Divinity School, Princeton Theological Seminary, the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, the Radboud University of Nijmegen, and Chapman University.