Ecclesiastes

By: Dr. Richard Schultz
Date: Friday July 31st 2020 @ 7:30pm

Backgrounder:

While preparing for overseas ministry at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, a course entitled "Hebrew Exegesis of the Prophets" got Richard Schultz excited about the Old Testament, and it has been his academic passion ever since! In God's providence, his German major in college helped equip him for a decade of teaching at the Freie Theologische Hochschule in Giessen, Germany, where he experienced the dramatic political changes in Eastern Europe firsthand.

As the first holder of the Armerding Chair from 1995–2012, his stated mission was to foster a love for the Bible and to articulate and defend Wheaton College's doctrinal affirmation of the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture, giving direction to his course offerings, academic papers, and publications. Serving as department chair from 2002–2005 gave him a new appreciation for the significant and complex role that the Biblical and Theological Studies Department plays within the college as a whole. He was named the Blanchard Professor of Old Testament in the Graduate School in 2012 and considers it a privilege to teach advanced major courses to both undergraduate and graduate students, in addition to serving as a Ph.D. mentor and second reader.

Hebrews

By: Dr. Douglas Moo
Date: Friday July 3rd 2020 @ 7:30pm

Backgrounder:

On a plaque mounted in my office are the words of the great pietist theologian Johann Albrecht Bengel: "Apply yourself wholly to the text; apply the text wholly to yourself."

In my academic career, I have applied myself to the text by teaching New Testament and writing commentaries on the text: James, 2 Peter and Jude, Romans, Galatians, Colossians, and Philemon. I have also sought--undoubtedly less successfully--to apply the text I teach and write about to myself. Yet since the text I deal with is no less than God's word to his people, I must grapple not only with original meaning but with application to myself and to the contemporary church.

Toward that end, I have also been active in my local church, serving as elder most years, in teaching and preaching to the church, and in conducting home Bible studies. My service on the Committee on Bible Translation (the group of scholars charged with revising the text of the NIV) has also been very rewarding. For over twenty years, my ministry was based at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, in Deerfield, IL.

During my time at Wheaton, I have worked mainly with graduate students – especially in the MA in Biblical Exegesis and PhD programs. I seek to model to students a rigorous approach to the Greek text that always asks the "so what" questions of ultimate significance and application. My academic interests revolve around the interface of exegesis and theology. The Pauline and General Letters have been my special focus within the NT canon. My projects over the next few years include the completion of a book on Paul’s theology and the writing of commentaries on Hebrews and Philippians. My wife, Jenny, and I have five grown children and thirteen grandchildren. We enjoy travel and photography together.

Does Job serve God for nothing?

By: Dr. John Walton
Date: Friday June 5th 2020 @7:30pm

Backgrounder:

John H. Walton (born 1952) is an Old Testament scholar and Professor at Wheaton College. He was a professor at Moody Bible Institute for 20 years. He specializes in the Ancient Near Eastern backgrounds of the Old Testament, especially Genesis and its creation account, as well as interpretation of Job.

At Wheaton College he is the primary professor for its M.A in Biblical Exegesis.

Words of comfort from Isaiah

By: Dr. Andrew Abernethy
Date: Friday May 15th 2020 @7:30pm

Backgrounder:

Prior to joining the faculty at Wheaton, Dr. Abernethy was a Lecturer in Old Testament at Ridley College (Melbourne), where he benefited greatly from teaching and living with fellow Christians in a cross-cultural and post-Christian context. At Wheaton, he is excited to see students enjoy getting to know God more through the Old Testament and grow as faithful interpreters of Scripture. Dr. Abernethy's primary research area is the book of Isaiah, though Psalms, the Latter Prophets, biblical theology, and the topic of eating attract his attention too. His most recent book, The Book of Isaiah and God’s Kingdom, intertwines exegesis and biblical theology to offer an entry into the book of Isaiah’s message through the concept of kingdom.