Ben Witherington III
American religion academic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ben Witherington III (born December 30, 1951) is an American Wesleyan-Arminian New Testament scholar. Witherington is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary, a Wesleyan-Holiness seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and an ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church.
Ben Witherington III | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | December 30, 1951 High Point, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Title | Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary |
| Spouse | Ann Witherington |
| Children | 2 (1 deceased) |
| Academic background | |
| Education | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary |
| Alma mater | University of Durham (PhD) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Biblical studies |
Sub-discipline | New Testament studies |
| Institutions | Ashland Theological Seminary Vanderbilt University Duke Divinity School Gordon-Conwell Asbury Theological Seminary |
Notable works | The Jesus Quest, The Paul Quest |
Biography
Witherington was born on December 30, 1951, in High Point, North Carolina.[1] He is son of Ben, a banker and Joyce West, a piano teacher.[1] On June 1, 1977, Witherington married Ann E. Sears, an educator. He had two children, Christy Ann and David Benjamin.[1][2] On January 11, 2012, Witherington's daughter died of a pulmonary embolism.[2]
Witherington attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English,[1][3] along with minors in Philosophy and Religious Studies.[3] He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (1977) and a Ph.D. from Durham University in England (1981).[1][3]
Career
From 1984 to 1995 he was professor of New Testament at Ashland Theological Seminary.[1][3] He is currently "Jean R. Amos" Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary (1995-)[1][3][4] Witherington has also taught at Vanderbilt University, and on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland.[3]
From 1982 to 1983 he had been a faculty member of the Duke Divinity School[1][3] and the High Point College. In 1988, 1990, 1992, he was a visiting professor of the Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary. He was a research fellow (1992), and member (1996) at Robinson College, Cambridge University.[1][3]
He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature,[1][3] Society for the Study of the New Testament[1][3][5] and the Institute for Biblical Research.[1][3]
In 1982, he was ordained as a Methodist elder.[1] Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings in the United States, England, Estonia, Russia, Europe, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia.[6] He has also led tours to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.[3] His books The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest were selected as top biblical studies works by the Evangelical magazine Christianity Today.[1][3] Witherington has been seen on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, The Discovery Channel, A&E and PAX Network.[6] He was featured in the BBC and PBS special entitled The Story of Jesus.[3]
Theology
Witherington is a prominent evangelical scholar.[6] He is Wesleyan Armininan in his theology.[7][8][9][10] In The Problem with Evangelical Theology Witherington strongly challenges the exegetical foundation of Calvinism on each of its distinctive tenets.[11][12] He often insists on the possibility of apostasy of the believer and the related doctrine of conditional preservation of the saints (conditional security).[11][13] He generally refers to the character of God, the nature of his grace and his love as a justification for his soteriology.[10][14] He is also a devout pacifist.[15]
Selected works
Books
Witherington has written over sixty books.
- Witherington III, Ben (1984). Women in the ministry of Jesus: a study of Jesus' attitudes to women and their roles as reflected in his earthly life. Society for New Testament Studies, Monograph Series. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ——— (1988). Women in the Earliest Churches. Society for New Testament Studies, Monograph Series. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ——— (1988). Grace in Galatia: a commentary on St Paul's Letter to the Galatians. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
- ———; Witherington, Ann (1990). Women and the Genesis of Christianity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ——— (1990). The christology of Jesus. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
- ——— (1992). Jesus, Paul and the end of the world: a comparative study in New Testament eschatology. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.
- ——— (1993). Conflict and community in Corinth : a socio-rhetorical commentary on 1 & 2 Corinthians. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans.
- ——— (1994). Friendship and finances in Philippi: the letter of Paul to the Philippians. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International.
- ——— (1994). Paul's narrative thought world: the tapestry of tragedy and triumph. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press.
- ——— (1994). Jesus the Sage: The Pilgrimage of Wisdom. London: T & T Clark.
- ——— (1995). The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
- ——— (1995). John's wisdom: a commentary on the fourth Gospel. Cambridge: Lutterworth Press.
- ——— (1998). The Acts of the Apostles. A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
- ——— (1998). The Paul Quest: The Renewed Search for the Jew of Tarsus. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
- ——— (1998). The many faces of the Christ: the Christologies of the New Testament and beyond. New York: Crossroad.
- ——— (1999). Jesus the Seer: The Progress of Prophecy. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.
- ——— (1999). The realm of the reign: reflections on the dominion of God. Nashville, TN: Discipleship Resources.
- ——— (2000). The Gospel of Mark: a socio-rhetorical commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
- ——— (2001). New Testament History: A Narrative Account. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
- ——— (2001). The shadow of the Almighty: father, son, and spirit in biblical perspectives. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub.
- ——— (2002). The poetry of piety: an annotated anthology of Christian poetry. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
- ——— (2003). The Brother of Jesus: the Dramatic Story & Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus & his Family. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco.
- ——— (2004). Paul's letter to the Romans : a socio-rhetorical commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans.
- ——— (2004). The Gospel Code: Novel Claims About Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Da Vinci. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
- ——— (2006). Matthew. Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys Publishing.
- ——— (2007). What Have They Done with Jesus?. New York: Harper Collins.
- ——— (2007). Making a Meal of It — Rethinking the Theology of the Lord's Supper. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.
- ——— (2007). Troubled Waters — Rethinking the Theology of Baptism. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.
- ——— (2007a). The Problem with Evangelical Theology: Testing the Exegetical Foundations of Calvinism, Dispensationalism, and Wesleyanism. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.
- ——— (2010). Revelation and the end times: unraveling God's message of hope. Nashville: Abingdon Press.
- ——— (2016). New Testament Theology and Ethics. Vol. 1. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.
- ——— (2016). New Testament Theology and Ethics. Vol. 2. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.
Articles
Witherington has written articles in different journals as: Ashland Theological Journal, Bible Q & A, Beliefnet, Bible Review, Biblical Archaeology Review, Christian History, Christianity Today, Journal of Biblical Literature, New Testament Studies, North Carolina Christian Advocate, Quarterly Review, Tyndale Bulletin, UM Publishing House.[16]
- Witherington III, Ben (2012a). "When a Daughter Dies: Walking the Way of Grace in the Midst of Grief". Christianity Today.
