James Dunn (theologian) explained
James Dunn |
Birth Name: | James Douglas Grant Dunn |
Birth Date: | 21 October 1939 |
Birth Place: | Birmingham, England |
Death Place: | Chichester, West Sussex, England |
Other Names: | Jimmy Dunn |
Nationality: | British |
Known For: | New Perspective on Paul |
Discipline: | Biblical studies |
Sub Discipline: | New Testament studies |
Thesis Title: | The Baptism in the Holy Spirit[1] |
Thesis Year: | 1968 |
Doctoral Advisor: | C. F. D. Moule[2] |
Workplaces: | University of Durham |
Notable Works: | The New Perspective on Paul (2007) |
Influences: | E. P. Sanders[3] |
James Douglas Grant Dunn (21 October 1939 - 26 June 2020),[4] 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.
He worked broadly within the Methodist tradition and was a member of the Church of Scotland and the Methodist Church of Great Britain during his life.
Biography
Dunn was born on 21 October 1939[5] in Birmingham, England.
He had the following degrees:
Dunn was licensed as a minister of the Church of Scotland in 1964. He was chaplain to overseas students at Edinburgh University in 1968–70.
In 1970, Dunn became a lecturer in divinity at the University of Nottingham, and was promoted to reader in 1979. Whilst at Nottingham, he served as a Methodist local preacher.
He became Professor of Divinity at Durham University in 1982, and in 1990 became Lightfoot Professor of Divinity at Durham. He retired in 2003, and was succeeded as Lightfoot Professor of Divinity by John M. G. Barclay.
For 2002, Dunn was the President of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, an international body for New Testament study. Only three other British scholars had been made President of the body in the preceding 25 years. In 2006 he became a Fellow of the British Academy.
In 2005 a Festschrift was published dedicated to Dunn, comprising articles by 27 New Testament scholars, examining early Christian communities and their beliefs about the Holy Spirit in Christianity.[6] In 2009 another Festschrift was dedicated to Dunn for his 70th birthday, consisting of two forewords by N. T. Wright and Richard B. Hays and 17 articles all written by his former students who went on to have successful careers in either academic and ministerial fields around the world.[7]
Dunn was especially associated with the New Perspective on Paul, along with N. T. Wright and E. P. Sanders.[8]
Dunn took up Sanders' project of redefining Palestinian Judaism in order to correct the Christian view of Judaism as a religion of works-righteousness. In his Parting of the Ways, Dunn highlighted four pillars of first-century Judaism as monotheism, election and land, Torah and Temple. One of the most important differences to Sanders is that Dunn perceives a fundamental coherence and consistency to Paul's thought. He furthermore criticizes Sanders' understanding of the term justification, arguing that Sanders' understanding suffers from an "individualizing exegesis".
Works
Dunn wrote or edited numerous books and papers, including:
Books
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . Baptism in the Holy Spirit . Studies in Biblical Theology Second Series . 15 . SCM Press . London . 1970 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Jesus and the Spirit . SCM Press . London . 1975 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . The Evidence for Jesus . Westminster Press . Philadelphia, PA . 1985 . 978-0-664-24698-3 . registration .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Christology in the making: a New Testament inquiry into the origins of the doctrine of the incarnation . Westminster Press . Philadelphia, PA . 1980 . 0-664-24356-8 .
- Book: The Kingdom of God and North East England. SCM Press. 1986. 0334008379. Dunn. James D. G.. 3. London.
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Romans 1-8, 9-16 . Word Books . Waco, TX . 1988 . 0-8499-0252-5 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Jesus, Paul, and the Law: studies in Mark and Galatians . Westminster John Knox Press . Louisville, KY . 1990 . 0-664-25095-5 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Unity and diversity in the New Testament: an inquiry into the character of earliest Christianity . SCM Press . London . 1990 . 0-334-02436-6 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . The Partings of the Ways between Christianity and Judaism and their Significance for the Character of Christianity . SCM Press . London . 1991 . 0-334-02508-7 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . The Epistle to Galatians . Hendrickson Publishers . Peabody, Mass . 1993 . 1-56563-036-X .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Paul for Today. The Ethel M. Wood Lecture, 10 March 1993 . London . University of London . 1993 . 9780718711061 . 877271473 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Suggate . Alan M. . The justice of God: a fresh look at the old doctrine of justification by faith . Eerdmans . Grand Rapids, MI . 1994 . 0-8028-0797-6 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon: a commentary on the Greek text . Eerdmans . Grand Rapids, MI . 1996 . 0-8028-2441-2 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . The Acts of the Apostles . Valley Forge, PA . Trinity Press International . 1996 . 9781563381928 . 36519627 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . The Theology of Paul the Apostle . Eerdmans . Grand Rapids, MI . 1998 . 0-8028-3844-8 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . The Cambridge companion to St. Paul . Cambridge University Press . Cambridge, UK . 2003 . 0-521-78694-0 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Rogerson . John W. . John W. Rogerson . Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible . Eerdmans . Grand Rapids, MI . 2003 . 0-8028-3711-5 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Christianity in the Making: Vol. 1, Jesus Remembered . Eerdmans . Grand Rapids, MI . 2003 . 0-8028-3931-2 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . A New Perspective On Jesus: What The Quest For The Historical Jesus Missed . Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology . Baker Academic . Grand Rapids, MI . 2005 . 0-8010-2710-1 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . The New Perspective On Paul . Eerdmans . Grand Rapids, MI . 2007 . 978-0-8028-4562-7 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Christianity in the Making: Vol. 2, Beginning from Jerusalem . Eerdmans . Grand Rapids, MI . 2008 . 978-0-8028-3932-9 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . The Living Word . Fortress Press . Minneapolis, MN . 2009 . 978-0-8006-6355-1 . second .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Did the first Christians worship Jesus? . Society for promoting Christian knowledge . London - Louisville, KY . 2010 . 978-0-281-05928-7.
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Jesus, Paul, and the Gospels . Eerdmans . Grand Rapids, MI . 2011 . 978-0-8028-6645-5.
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . The Oral Gospel Tradition . Eerdmans . Grand Rapids, MI . 2013 . 978-0-8028-6782-7.
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Christianity in the Making: Vol. 3, Neither Jew nor Greek: A Contested Identity . Eerdmans . Grand Rapids, MI . 2015 . 978-0-8028-3933-6 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Jesus according to the New Testament . Eerdmans . Grand Rapids, MI . 2019 . 978-0-8028-7669-0 .
Chapters
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Paul's Understanding of the Death of Jesus . Banks . Robert J. . Robert J. Banks (theologian) . Reconciliation and Hope. New Testament Essays on Atonement and Eschatology Presented to L.L. Morris on his 60th Birthday . Carlisle, UK . The Paternoster Press . 1974 . 125–141 .
- Book: Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Demythologising - The Problem of Myth in the New Testament . Marshall . I. Howard . I. Howard Marshall . New Testament Interpretation: Essays on Principles and Methods . Carlisle, UK . The Paternoster Press . 1977 . 0853644241 . 285–307 .
Journal articles
- Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . 'They believed Philip preaching' (Acts 8:12): a Reply . Irish Biblical Studies . 1 . 3 . July 1979 . 177–183 .
- Dunn . James D. G. . 3 . Demythologizing the Ascension - A Reply to Professor Gooding . Irish Biblical Studies . 3 . 1 . Jan 1981 . 15–27 .
External links
Notes and References
- Dunn . James Douglas Grant . 1968 . The Baptism in the Holy Spirit: A Re-Examination of the New Testament Teaching on the Gift of the Spirit in the Light of Pentacostalism Today . PhD . Cambridge, England . Cambridge University Press.
- Book: Oropeza . B. J. . Robertson . C. K. . Mohrmann . Douglas C. . 2009 . Editors' Preface . Oropeza . B. J. . Robertson . C. K. . Mohrmann . Douglas C. . Jesus and Paul: Global Perspectives in Honour of James D. G. Dunn for His 70th Birthday . London . T&T Clark . xxi . 978-0-567-62953-1.
- Book: Marshall . I. Howard . I. Howard Marshall . Travis . Stephen . Paul . Ian . 2002 . Exploring the New Testament: A Guide to the Letters & Revelation . 2nd . Downers Grove, Illinois . InterVarsity Press . 52 . 978-0-8308-6940-4.
- https://www.christianitytoday.com/scot-mcknight/2020/june/rest-in-peace-jimmy.html Rest in Peace, Jimmy
- http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U151527 DUNN, Prof. James Douglas Grant
- Book: Graham N. Stanton, Bruce W. Longenecker & Stephen Barton (editors) . The Holy Spirit and Christian origins: essays in honor of James D. G. Dunn . . Grand Rapids, MI . 2004 . 0-8028-2822-1 .
- Book: 2009 . Oropeza . B. J. . Robertson . C. K. . Mohrmann . Douglas C. . Jesus and Paul: Global Perspectives in Honour of James D. G. Dunn for His 70th Birthday . London . T&T Clark . 978-0-567-62953-1.
- Scot McKnight and B. J. Oropeza, eds., Perspectives on Paul: Five Views. Grand Rapdis: Baker Academic, 2020, pp. 1-23. Richard N. Longenecker, . Eerdmans, 2011.