Brant James Pitre (born 1975 in Houma,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

) is an American

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

scholar and Distinguished Research Professor of Scripture at the

Augustine Institute The Augustine Institute (AI), located in Florissant, Missouri, United States, is a private Catholic graduate theology school that offers master's degree programs. In addition, the Institute produces catechetical videos, records audio drama prod ...

. He has written extensively on the

historical Jesus The term ''historical Jesus'' refers to the life and teachings of Jesus as interpreted through critical historical methods, in contrast to what are traditionally religious interpretations. It also considers the historical and cultural context ...

the Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loret ...

Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...

, the

origin of the Eucharist Some Christian denominations place the origin of the Eucharist in the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, at which he is believed to have taken bread and given it to his disciples, telling them to eat of it, because it was his body, and to ...

, and the

canonical Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sen ...

Education

After receiving his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

in 1997, Pitre engaged in biblical studies: he received a G.C. in

biblical archaeology Biblical archaeology is an academic school and a subset of Biblical studies and Levantine archaeology. Biblical archaeology studies archaeological sites from the Ancient Near East and especially the Holy Land (also known as Land of Israel and ...

in 1998 from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

, a

M.T.S. The Master of Arts (MA) in a religious discipline is a graduate degree, offered in seminary or other graduate school, which gives students a basic understanding in theological disciplines. It is often pursued by individuals interested in academi ...

from

Vanderbilt University Divinity School The Vanderbilt Divinity School and Graduate Department of Religion (usually Vanderbilt Divinity School) is an interdenominational divinity school at Vanderbilt University, a major research university located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is one of o ...

in 1999 and, eventually, his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. While at Vanderbilt, Pitre studied under Professor

Amy-Jill Levine Amy-Jill Levine (born 1956) is Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace. She works in biblical studies and is a self described "critic of anti ...

, while at Notre Dame he met and studied under Father

John P. Meier John Paul Meier (August 8, 1942 – October 18, 2022) was an American biblical scholar and Roman Catholic priest. He was author of the series ''A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus'' (5 v.), six other books, and more than 70 articles ...

Career

He was assistant professor of theology at

Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the nam ...

from 2003 to 2005. From 2005 to 2009, he was adjunct professor of Scripture at

Notre Dame Seminary Notre Dame Seminary is a Catholic seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana. It operates under the auspices of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. It serves the other six Catholic dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of New Orleans, six additional dioc ...

, Visiting professor of theology at the

and Donum Dei Professor of Word and Sacrament and assistant professor of theology at

Our Lady of Holy Cross College University of Holy Cross (UHC) is a private Catholic liberal arts college in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It was founded by the Marianites of Holy Cross. History University of Holy Cross was founded in 1916 as a two-year women's ...

. From 2009 to 2018 he served as Professor of Sacred Scripture at

, before moving to his current position at the Augustine Institute. He is a member of the

Society of Biblical Literature The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), founded in 1880 as the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, is an American-based learned society dedicated to the academic study of the Bible and related ancient literature. Its current stated mis ...

, and the

Catholic Biblical Association The Catholic Biblical Association of America (CBA) is an American learned society dedicated to the academic study of the Bible. The suggestion to form a permanent association of biblical scholars was made at the beginning of 1936 at a meeting in ...

. In his works, Pitre has consistently defended the Catholic dogma of

transubstantiation Transubstantiation (; Greek language, Greek: μετουσίωσις ''metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of sacramental bread, bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and ...

, the

perpetual virginity of Mary The perpetual virginity of Mary is a Christian doctrine that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin "before, during and after" the birth of Christ. In Western Christianity, the Catholic Church adheres to the doctrine, as do some Lutherans, Ang ...

, the divinity of Jesus, and traditional authorship of the Gospels. His books have been praised by Bishop

Robert Barron Robert Emmet Barron (born November 19, 1959) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as bishop of the Diocese of Winona–Rochester since 2022. He is the founder of the Catholic ministerial organization Word on Fire, a ...

and several Roman Catholic leaders. He was also a contributor to the ''Dictionary of Jesus And the Gospels'', where he wrote articles about

Jewish eschatology Jewish eschatology is the area of Jewish philosophy, Jewish theology concerned with events that will happen in the Eschatology, end of days and related concepts. This includes the ingathering of the exiled Jewish diaspora, diaspora, the coming ...

in regard to Jesus.

Reception

Brant Pitre's work has been praised by various scholars, including

Dale Allison Dale C. Allison Jr. (born November 25, 1955) is an American historian and Christian theologian. His areas of expertise include the historical Jesus, the Gospel of Matthew, Second Temple Jewish literature, and the history of the interpretation ...

, Chris Tilling, Tucker Ferda, and Christine Jacobi. Matthew Levering described Pitre as "the preeminent Catholic historical-Jesus scholar alive today—and indeed as one of the most important Christian thinkers of the twenty-first century." ''The Imaginative Conservative'' says that Pitre's book ''The Case for Jesus'' is a work of

apologetics Apologetics (from Greek ) is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their f ...

Personal life

Pitre is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and currently lives in Louisiana with his wife Elizabeth and their five children.

Bibliography

* ''Jesus, the Tribulation, and the End of the Exile'',

Mohr Siebeck Mohr Siebeck Verlag is a long-established academic publisher focused on the humanities and social sciences and based in Tübingen, Germany. An independent publisher, it has remained in the same family over four generations. Founded in 1801 in Fr ...

, 2005, , . * * ''Jesus the Bridegroom: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told'',

Crown Publishing The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House that publishes across several fiction and non-fiction categories. Originally founded in 1933 as a remaindered books wholesaler called Outlet Book Company, the firm expanded int ...

, 2014, . * ''Jesus and the Last Supper'',

Eerdmans William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company is a religious publishing house based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1911 by Dutch American William B. Eerdmans and still independently owned with William's daughter-in-law Anita Eerdmans as presid ...

, 2015, . * ''The Case for Jesus: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Christ'', Crown Publishing, 2016, . * ''A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament'',

Ignatius Press Ignatius Press is a Catholic theological publishing house based in San Francisco, California, in the United States. It was founded in 1978 by Father Joseph Fessio, a former pupil of both Henri de Lubac and Pope Benedict XVI. Named after Ignatiu ...

, 2018. * * ''Paul, a New Covenant Jew: Rethinking Pauline Theology'', co-authored with Michael P. Barber and John A. Kincaid, Eerdmans, 2019, . * ''Introduction to the Spiritual Life: Walking the Path of Prayer with Jesus'', Crown Publishing, 2021, . * ''Jesus and Divine Christology'', Eerdmans, 2024, .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitre, Brant 1975 births Living people 20th-century American Roman Catholic theologians 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American Roman Catholic theologians American biblical scholars American male non-fiction writers American religious writers American Roman Catholic writers Louisiana State University alumni Loyola University New Orleans alumni New Testament scholars Roman Catholic biblical scholars Tel Aviv University alumni University of Notre Dame alumni