Grant R. Osborne (July 7, 1942 – November 4, 2018) was an American

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

scholar. He was Professor of New Testament at

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) is an academic divinity school founded in 1897 and located in the northern Chicago suburb of Deerfield, Illinois. It is part of and located on the main campus of Trinity International University. It� ...

Biography

Education

Osborne got a B.A. from the Fort Wayne Bible College, a M.A. from the

, and a PhD from the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

. He also has done

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

at the

university of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

and

university of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

Career

Osborne has taught at Winnipeg Theological Seminary and the university of Aberdeen and has pastored churches in Ohio and Illinois. From 1977 to 2016, he has been professor of New Testament at the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He specialized in

biblical hermeneutics Biblical hermeneutics is the study of the principles of interpretation concerning the books of the Bible. It is part of the broader field of hermeneutics, which involves the study of principles of interpretation, both theory and methodology, for ...

, the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

s and the

book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...

. He is best known for his concept of the "hermeneutical spiral", denoting an "upward and constructive process of moving from earlier pre-, understanding to fuller understanding, and the returning back to check and to review the need for correction or change in this preliminary understanding." He was a member of the Bible Translation Committee for the ''Holy Bible:''

New Living Translation The New Living Translation (NLT) is an English translation of the Bible. The origin of the NLT came from a project aiming to revise '' The Living Bible'' (TLB). This effort eventually led to the creation of the NLT—a new translation separat ...

. He served as General Translator for the Gospels and Acts. He was a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the

Evangelical Theological Society The Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) is a professional society of Biblical scholars, educators, pastors, and students "devoted to the inerrancy and inspiration of the Scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ" and "dedicated to the oral exch ...

, and the Institute of Biblical Research. In 2013, a ''

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

'' was published in his honor. '' On the Writing of New Testament Commentaries: Festschrift for Grant R. Osborne on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday'' included contributions from Craig L. Blomberg, D. A. Carson, Scot McKnight, Douglas J. Moo,

Stanley E. Porter Stanley E. Porter (born November 23, 1956) is a Canadian–American academic and New Testament scholar, specializing in the Koine Greek grammar and linguistics of the New Testament. Life and career Porter was born in Long Beach, California, on ...

, and Kevin J. Vanhoozer.

Theology

Osborne held Arminian

soteriological Soteriology (; el, wikt:σωτηρία, σωτηρία ' "salvation" from wikt:σωτήρ, σωτήρ ' "savior, preserver" and wikt:λόγος, λόγος ' "study" or "word") is the study of Doctrine, religious doctrines of salvation. Salvation ...

views. In "A classical Arminian view", he wrote in favour of a possible

apostasy Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that ...

for the genuine believer.

Works

Books

* * * * * * * * * *

Edited by

* *

Chapters

Festschrift

Notes and references

Citations

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborne, Grant R. 1942 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American theologians Alumni of the University of Aberdeen American biblical scholars American Christian theologians Arminian theologians Hermeneutists New Testament scholars Trinity Evangelical Divinity School alumni Writers from Queens, New York Bible commentators