Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Crux Sola: Formed by Scripture to Live like Christ

Home
Evangelical
#50-2-Follow: 50 NT Scholars to Read and Follow—Volker Rabens

#50-2-Follow: 50 NT Scholars to Read and Follow—Volker Rabens

Last updated on: February 29, 2020 at 4:08 pm by Nijay Gupta

#50-2-Follow: 50 NT Scholars to Read and Follow—Volker Rabens 2020-02-29T16:08:30-08:00 Nijay Gupta

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This blog series spotlights 50 NT scholars and their research. The goal of this series is to introduce readers to a wider circle of scholarship than they have encountered. The majority of people on this list are early or mid-career NT scholars who are doing great research and writing.

Introducing

Volker Rabens

Professor of Biblical Theology

YMCA University of Applied Sciences (CVJM-Hochschule, Kassel, Germany)

Explain why you love teaching and/or writing, and why it brings you vocational satisfaction.

I’m an enthusiastic Neutestamentler (student of the New Testament). The ways in which biblical texts reflect on people’s experiences of life, the world and God inspire me to think more deeply about these issues myself. Reading and dialoging with other readers are a continuous means of broadening one’s horizon, and this is what I love passing on and doing together with my students. I have the privilege of teaching in a university of applied sciences that offers double majors in theology and social work, and my hope is that this transformative reading in community empowers our students to engage in transformative work in the world.

What is one “big idea,” emphasis, or theme in your scholarship that you hope impacts the way students and scholars read and understand the NT?

As readers of the New Testament, we need to understand the context of the New Testament and that of our own. In both cases it is necessary to beware of false dichotomies. I think it is important to move beyond the “Judaism-Hellenism divide” when it comes to interpreting the New Testament in its cultural and religious contexts. And we ourselves need to make sure we don’t get absorbed by one or the other traditional or modern school of interpretation of the text. I’ve had the privilege of studying theology in an international context in London as well as working in several German universities. In this way I’ve come to benefit from a broad array of Anglo-American and German perspectives on New Testament studies. I appreciate these contexts of interpretation and hope to foster the dialogue between them.

Who is your academic hero and why?

Several people have inspired me in the way I approach the New Testament. Among the early influences was my NT lecturer Prof. Max Turner who would later become my Doktorvater (doctoral supervisor). He combined academic rigor and exegetical thoroughness with questions of theological and spiritual significance (such as his engagement with Pentecostal scholarship on Luke-Acts). Right in my first year of research he invited me to join him for the British New Testament Conference. These annual conferences became an important source of inspiration during my time as a (part-time) PhD student. One of the things that I enjoyed in particular is the egalitarian ethos of the British New Testament Society that transcends academic hierarchies. Even as a PhD student I was welcomed as a discussion partner among established researchers. A leading scholar who has embodied this spirit for me in an impressive way is Prof. John Barclay.

Name a few academic books that were formative for you as a student.

Alan Culpepper, Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel: A Study in Literary Design (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1983)

Peter Cotterell and Max Turner, Linguistics and Biblical Interpretation (Downers Grove: IVP, 1989).

Max Turner, The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts – Then and Now (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2005, 2nd ed.).

Read Rabens’ Books

The Holy Spirit and Ethics in Paul: Transformation and Empowering for Religious-Ethical Life (WUNT II/283; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010; 2nd rev. ed. 2013; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2014).

The Spirit and Christ in the New Testament and Christian Theology: Essays in Honor of Max Turner (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), edited together with I. Howard Marshall and Cornelis Bennema.

Religions and Trade. Religious Formation, Transformation and Cross-Cultural Exchange between East and West (Dynamics in the History of Religions 5; Leiden: Brill, 2014) edited together with Peter Wick.

Follow Rabens’ Work ONLINE

Academia Page

Follow Rabens on Social Media

Facebook

If you ran into me at SBL, and you didn’t want to talk about New Testament studies, what would you want to talk about?

Well, we could talk about music – I play the drums. Or we could talk about sports – I enjoy trail running. Apart from that, as a family we are fond of international cuisines, e.g., in the Ethiopian restaurant “Addis Ababa” around the corner of our home in Jena.

What is a research/writing project you are working on right now that you are excited about?

I have several writing projects that I am involved in. These include a book on the theology of the Pastoral Epistles (Cambridge University Press) and a biblical-theological volume on the Holy Spirit (for Mohr Siebeck’s TOBITH-series, together with Torsten Uhlig who will write the part on the Hebrew Bible).

Also, I have a co-edited book currently under review with a publisher:

Key Approaches to Biblical Ethics: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue, edited together with Jacqueline Grey, and Mariam Kamell Kovalishyn (currently in peer review; with contributions by Richard S. Briggs, Richard A. Burridge, Charles Cosgrove, Eryl W. Davies, Christian Frevel, John Goldingay, Jacqueline Grey, David P. Gushee, David G. Horrell, Mariam Kamell Kovalishyn, Brian Matz, Volker Rabens, Jan van der Watt, Oda Wischmeyer, Markus Zehnder, and Ruben Zimmermann).

50-2-Follow

Previous Post

February 28, 2020

#50-2-Follow: 50 NT Scholars to Read and Follow—Jonathan T. Pennington

Next Post

March 1, 2020 Paul and the Language of Faith Wins Best Book Award (Outreach Magazine)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category (Mis)Understanding Philippians 10 Things I Can't Live Without 2023 New Books 30 OT HB Scholars to Read and Follow 5 Books Series 50-2-Follow Academia Christian Theologians to Read and Follow Cruciform Scripture: Contributor Reflections Crux Sola TV Editors Behind Great Books in NT Studies Education Gendering the Holy Spirit Gupta FB Live Lectures In Faith and Doubt In Their Own Words Living the King Jesus Gospel My Top 6 OT Commentaries New Testament Resource Guide New Word Biblical Themes Nijay's A Very Library Christmas Shopping Guide Notes from an Editor Notes on New Books NTRG OT in the NT Paul Seminary Now The Bible in God's World The Word Felt Among Us SPENCER Translating Philippians Uncategorized Why I Use Accordance Women in Ministry

Select a Month March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 May 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz