Ben Witherington III

Ben Witherington III is an American New Testament scholar. Witherington is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and an ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church. He has written over thirty books and has made many appearances on radio and television programs, and is frequently featured on the History Channel, Discovery Channel, and other major networks. He also blogs on Patheos.^[1]

Education

Born on December 30, 1951, from High Point, North Carolina, Witherington attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, along with minors in Philosophy and Religious Studies. He holds an M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Durham in England. He is an elected member of Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, a society dedicated to New Testament studies.

Career

Witherington is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, he went on to receive a Master's of Divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Durham in England. He is now considered one of the top evangelical scholars in the world, and is an elected member of the prestigious Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, a society dedicated to New Testament studies.

Witherington has also taught at Ashland Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University, Duke Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell. A popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings not only in the United States but also in England, Estonia, Russia, Europe, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia. He has also led tours to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.

Witherington has written over forty books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, both of which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. He also writes for many church and scholarly publications, and is a frequent contributor to the Patheos website. Along with many interviews on radio networks across the country, Witherington has been seen on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, The Discovery Channel, A&E, and the PAX Network.

He is also a devout pacifist.

Personal life

Witherington is married to Ann Witherington and has two children, Christy and David.^[2] On January 11, 2012 Witherington's daughter died of a pulmonary embolism.^[2]

Selected books

• What Have They Done with Jesus? Harper Collins, 2007^[3]
• Making a Meal of It - Rethinking the Theology of the Lord's Supper, Baylor University Press, 2007^[4]
• Troubled Waters - Rethinking the Theology of Baptism, Baylor University Press, 2007
• The Problem with Evangelical Theology: Testing the Exegetical Foundations of Calvinism, Dispensationalism, and Wesleyanism, Baylor University, 2007, reviewed at Christianity Today^[5]
• The Jesus Quest : The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth. 2nd ed. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1997.
• The Paul Quest : The Renewed Search for the Jew of Tarsus. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1998.
• New Testament History : A Narrative Account. Grand Rapids, Mich. Carlisle, Cumbria, U.K. Paternoster Press,: Baker Academic ;, 2001.
• Women and the Genesis of Christianity, with Ann Witherington, Cambridge [England] ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
• The Gospel Code : Novel Claims About Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Da Vinci. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2004.
• Women in the Earliest Churches, Monograph Series / Society for New Testament Studies. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
• Complete Bibliography

References

External links

• Ben Witherington III Department of Theology page
• Indepth Interview with Ben Witherington, "Beyond Evangelical"
• Ben Witherington on Beliefnet
• Ben Witherington on Seedbed