I received notification late last week that I have been accepted as a doctoral student into Trinity College, Bristol, UK. I will begin this September. Trinity College is in affiliation with the University of Bristol, so if I complete my program my diploma will come from the university. Bristol is located in South West England. I won’t be relocating though since this program allows you to live elsewhere while visiting several weeks a year to earn residency.
My advisors will be Dr. David Wenham of Trinity College (internal) and Dr. Craig A. Evans of Acadia Divinity College (external).
Dr. Wenham received his Ph.D. from Manchester University and he has had a long career as a scholar and academic administrator. Currently, he is a part-time tutor. Wenham is a man who has a reputation for connecting the academy to the church. I appreciate this since I find the divide between the two to be quite concerning. Wenham’s scholarly expertise is the Gospels and Paul. Much of his academic career has been spent examining the connection between Paul and Jesus. (Recently I reviewed Wenham’s Did St. Paul Get Jesus Right? The Gospel of Paul, found here.)
Dr. Craig A. Evans is the Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies at Acadia Divinity College. He received his Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University. He is a recognized authority on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the New Testament, and Christian origins. Evans has been producing high level scholarship on these topics for many years now (see his CV!) and I think he is one of the best scholars in the world. I am humbled and excited to be students of these two fine men.
In the UK a student begins the dissertation process immediately. My proposed dissertation is “Jesus the Spirit-Baptizer: Messiah, the Spirit, and the Juxtaposition between Jesus and John the Baptist in the Context of the First Century”. I have been fascinated with early Jewish and Christian pneumatology for a while now, especially after reading John R. Levison’s Filled with the Spirit (who has become a friend and an important mentor is recent years). I realize that I think of the holy S/spirit through the lens of Christian doctrine (which isn’t necessarily bad, but it can be anachronistic) to the neglect of how spirit language would have been used in the first century, both during the time of Jesus and as the Jesus movement evolved.
Similarly, the figure of John the Baptist is not given adequate attention. This is not to say that there are not fabulous books on John. Recently I had been reading through Joan E. Taylor’s The Immerser: John the Baptist within Second Temple Judaism and Robert E. Webb’s John the Baptizer and Prophet, but there is far more to say about John in my opinion. John is one of the most important figures for the early Jesus movement and all four Gospels and the Book of Acts have something to say about his identity, which means he remains a problematic figure into the late first century, at least. Whenever these works juxtapose Jesus and John the appeal is to Jesus’ identity as the one who will baptized or has baptized with S/spirit. Why? Why does this make Jesus greater than John? Does this solidify Jesus’ identity as the Messiah while disqualifying John from that title? Would this point have been readily received by the earliest readers? My goal is to answer questions such as these and many more.
Now, I am aware of the debate between studying in the US or the UK (or elsewhere). I know there are good reasons for both, but let me say that the two most important factors for me were (1) with whom I would study and (2) what I would study. Trinity College allowed me to study with Wenham and Evans and my proposal was accepted. Aaron White who is a student in the program I am joining has written a nice piece explaining the other important advantages/disadvantages of the program and I think he does a fine job at summarizing the matter so I will point you toward it: Advantages/Disadvantages to Long Distance PhDs.
A parting plea: pray for me! I’m nervous to say the least. I know the job market post-graduation is ugly. I don’t know what the future holds in that regard. I do know I want to do this though and I have the support of those closest to me. That makes me excited.
Congratulations!!
Brian,
Congratulations on your acceptance into a program with two fine mentors. Your dissertation topic sounds like an excellent one to pour three to four years of life into researching.
Don’t let reports of how ugly the job market is scare you. The job market is often defined in terms of tenure track positions at research universities or seminaries in the West. If you are willing to work with a missions agency to teach in a third world country you will see that there are a lot more job opportunities available – and the impact of your teaching will likely be far broader than if you were teaching in the U.S.
Best wishes,
David
Abram
Thank you!
David
I’d be open to teaching a variety of places. Of course, as a married person, it wouldn’t be my decision alone, so I guess it depends on the place, but you are correct that the options are more than the US and Europe.
Why announce this on April 1st? I don’t know whether to say “Congratulations!” or “Good one!” 😉
James
I thought about that a few minutes ago. I wanted to wait until after the busyness of Easter to say something, but I can see how today may cause confusion!
Congrats, Brian. I’m so jealous that you’ll be working with Evans!
Your proposed dissertation topic is intriguing, and I agree that John the Baptizer is not given enough academic attention (by the way, Michael Bird’s profile of the Baptizer in Jesus Among Friends and Enemies is really good!).
I am also excited to see the doctoral studies process unfold from start to finish, especially with someone who is participating in it from a distance. If I do in fact go on to participate in a PhD program, this would most likely be my preferred context. Looking forward to reading about your experience.
I’ll go with congratulations and hope that it is the correct choice. Congratulations!!
Awesome news Brian!
Joshua
Thank you! I am very excited to work with Evans. For a little over a year now he has become a mentor to me. Now it will be in an official capacity.
I’ve seen that chapter title of Bird’s. I need to read it. Thank you for reminding me of it.
I think the distance route will work very well for me. I will make sure to share my thoughts as time progresses.
Paul
Thank you. Trust me, it isn’t an April Fools joke. I’m not creative enough to invent these details!
Andrew
Thank you!
Congratulations! I’m sure you’ll do well both in the program and after receiving your doctorate. God provides!
Exciting days ahead. Congrats!
Nick
Thanks! Very, very true.
Jeff
Thank you!
Congrats, Brian! I’m glad you are following your heart and not being overly concerned with the “practical” aspect of the job market. I never got to either finish (dissertation/exams) or put to work (professionally) my PhD, but do not regret having done the 48 units and related things… incredibly enriching. In a variety of ways, I have no doubt you WILL use it, and probably find a good teaching position specifically… you seem to be particularly dedicated, focused, as well as “efficient.”
As to the John the B. topic, I’m glad to see that. It’s only been a year or 2 that I’ve started to realize there was a lot more of significance than I ever had realized before in the minimal info we have on John and his relation to Jesus, the 2 movements, and then the early “church” in relation to the John movement, etc.
I’ll be eager to follow what you’re digging up, and have one particular curiosity area that I’m sure you’ll deal with heavily: Josephus’ treatment of John, and that in relation to the very minimal (and evidently corrupted, unfortunately) tx of Jesus and Jesus’ followers that he gives. Joshephus is probably, comparably to Luke, biased and agenda-driven among “historians” of the period, so we have to be cautious with inferences. But going by even the max of what he may have said re. Jesus and his “movement” vs. re. John and his movement, death, etc. it appears he MAY have viewed John as the more significant, perhaps more influential (of course to become disproven not too long after his writing, but perhaps a valid observation at the time, if it is a proper inference?) Anyway, there is more than just that in looking at Josephus’ comments on John and his LACK of confirmation for the role and supposed words of John in the Gospels… the two accounts look almost like parallel and unconnected views of John and John’s relation to Jesus. I suspect there indeed WAS some connection, perhaps important influence/overlap, but probably not at all what the Gospels seek to get across.
Awesome news, congrats!
Congrats, bro! If the content of this blog is a glimpse of things to come, then you have nothing to worry about. Praying for you.
This is so cool. I’ve been following your career for some time now and I know you will do well. Can’t wait to read your dissertation some day.
Howard
Thank you for the kind and encouraging words. Scholars of John the Baptist have noted interesting similarities and dissimilarities between how he is presented in the Gospels and Acts and how he is presented by Josephus. There is cross over, but there is a very different focus as well. Of note is that Josephus makes no connection between John and Jesus. Historically, John stands as an important figure in his own right. On the flip side, as Joan E. Taylor has remarked, if all we had was Josephus’ brief allusion to John he’d find his way into a few footnotes, but not much more. So juxtaposing John from these sources allows us to see that he was a unique and influential man, but a man whose legacy has been most preserved by the Jesus movement, even as they attempted to praise and restrain his legacy simultaneously.
Mike
Thank you!
TC
Much appreciated!
Craig
I appreciate it. I hope to create something worth reading!
So happy that that’s worked out. Great supervisors and a great topic. Can’t wait to see the fruit of your study!
Ben
Thanks, I’m glad it worked out as well!
Brian, on a related note, I was recently curious, so applied to a number of graduate schools for Master of Theology/Divinity. I found out Monday I was accepted to two.
Unfortunately, I am going to turn down these opportunities, as I cannot afford to become a student. Even so, it’s nice to know that opportunity existed.