Richard J. Bauckham
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Richard John Bauckham (; born 22 September 1946) is an English
Anglican scholar Anglican doctrine (also called Episcopal doctrine in some countries) is the body of Christian teachings used to guide the religious and moral practices of Anglicanism. Thomas Cranmer, the guiding Reformer that led to the development of Anglica ...
in
theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
,
historical theology Historical theology is the study of the history of Christian doctrine. Alister McGrath defines historical theology as 'the branch of theological inquiry which aims to explore the historical development of Christian doctrines, and identify the fa ...
and
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 ...
studies, specialising in New Testament
Christology In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...
and the
Gospel of John The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...
. He is a senior scholar at
Ridley Hall, Cambridge Ridley Hall is a theological college located on the corner of Sidgwick Avenue and Ridley Hall Road in Cambridge (United Kingdom), which trains men and women intending to take Holy Orders as deacon or priest of the Church of England, and members ...
. In 2006, Bauckham published his most widely-read work ''
Jesus and the Eyewitnesses ''Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony'' is a book written by biblical scholar and theologian Richard Bauckham and published in 2006 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans). The book challenges the consensus view that, "while the eyew ...
'', a book that defends the
historical reliability of the gospels The historical reliability of the Gospels is evaluated by experts; it is a matter of ongoing debate.: "First, the New Testament Gospels are now viewed as useful, if not essentially reliable, historical sources. Gone is the extreme skepticism t ...
. Bauckham argues that the
synoptic gospels The gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark, and Gospel of Luke, Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical ...
are based "quite closely" on the testimony of eyewitnesses, and the
Gospel of John The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...
is written by an eyewitness. This opposes the view that the four gospels were written later and not via interviews with direct eyewitnesses, but were rather the result of a longer chain of transmission of stories of Jesus filtered through early Christian communities over time. The book was well-received, earning the 2007 ''Christianity Today'' book award in biblical studies and the Michael Ramsey Prize in 2009. Bauckham updated and expanded the book to respond to critics in a second edition, published in 2017.


Life and career

Bauckham was born in London and studied at the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, where he read history at
Clare College Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...
(1966–72) and was a fellow of St John's College (1972–75). He taught theology for one year at the
University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...
and for fifteen years at the
University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
from 1977–1992. At Manchester, he was the Lecturer in the History of Christian Thought. Bauckham moved to the
University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...
in 1992 to be a Professor of New Testament Studies and the
named professorship A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of Financial instrument, financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to Donor intent, the will of its fo ...
of Bishop Wardlaw Professor. He retired in 2007 in order to concentrate on research and writing. He is a fellow of the British Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Bauckham is a senior scholar at Ridley Hall in Cambridge, and a visiting professor at St Mellitus College in London.


Research and teaching areas

Bauckham has been published in a variety of fields in New Testament studies and
early Christianity Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...
. He has also published on the theology of the German theologian
Jürgen Moltmann Jürgen Moltmann (; 8 April 1926 – 3 June 2024) was a German Reformed theologian who was a professor of systematic theology at the University of Tübingen and was known for his books such as the ''Theology of Hope'', ''The Crucified God'', ''G ...
. His current research interests include
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
and
the 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 sense ...
, New Testament
Christology In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...
, and the relevance of
the Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writte ...
to ecological issues. He gave the
Sarum Lectures John Bampton (16902 June 1751) was an English churchman who founded the Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford. Biography Bampton's father was Jasper Bampton of Salisbury. In 1705 at age 16 he was admitted to Trinity College, Oxford, where ...
for 2006 on "Beyond Stewardship: The Bible and the Community of Creation". He also gave a series of the
Scottish Journal of Theology The ''Scottish Journal of Theology'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of systematic, historical and biblical theology. It was established in 1948 by Thomas F. Torrance and J. K. S. Reid. Former editors-in-chief include Iain Torrance ( ...
Lectures in
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
on "The Gospels as History: Comparisons with Ancient and Modern Historiography".


Honours

* ''
Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...
'' Book Award in Biblical Studies (2007) for '' Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony''. *
Burkitt Medal The Burkitt Medal is awarded annually by the British Academy "in recognition of special service to Biblical studies, Biblical Studies". Awards alternate between Hebrew Bible studies (odd years) and New Testament studies (even years). It was establi ...
(2008) in recognition of special service to Biblical Studies. * Michael Ramsey Prize (2009) for ''Jesus and the Eyewitnesses : The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony''. * Franz-Delitzsch-Award (2010) for ''The Jewish World around the New Testament''.


Works


Books

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Chapters

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Journal articles

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Festschrift

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References


External links


Personal website of Richard Bauckham


at
Ridley Hall Ridley Hall is a theological college located on the corner of Sidgwick Avenue and Ridley Hall Road in Cambridge (United Kingdom), which trains men and women intending to take Holy Orders as deacon or priest of the Church of England, and members ...
, Cambridge
Richard Bauckham
(Theopedia) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bauckham, Richard 1946 births New Testament scholars Living people British biblical scholars 20th-century English theologians 21st-century English theologians English Anglican theologians Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester Academics of the University of St Andrews Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Leeds Anglican biblical scholars 20th-century Anglican theologians 21st-century Anglican theologians 20th-century Christian biblical scholars 21st-century Christian biblical scholars