For our annual Harold O.J. Brown Lectures at RTS Charlotte, we are pleased to Welcome Dr. Simon Gathercole, professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Cambridge University.
On March 22, 11AM-2PM, Dr. Gathercole will be giving two lectures (with a provided lunch in between) on the theme of “Jesus in Canonical and Apocryphal Gospels.”
Certainly this lecture will be of great interest to all who want to understand what makes our gospels unique as opposed to the variety of apocryphal gospels in existence. I am particularly interested in this topic myself as I did my Ph.D. research on an apocryphal gospel fragment, P.Oxy. 840 (see my book, The Gospel of the Savior).
Dr. Gathercole’s first degree was in Classics and Theology in Cambridge, after which he pursued doctoral research under the supervision of James D.G. Dunn in Durham. He also studied for short periods at the University of Tübingen and the Jewish Theological Seminary, New York. He previously taught in the University of Aberdeen (2000-2007). He was editor of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament for a number of years and is now a co-editor of the journal Early Christianity.
His main academic interest is the interpretation of the New Testament. Having begun as a classicist and also worked in the field of early Judaism, he is particularly fascinated by the connections between the New Testament and the literature contemporaneous with it. His principal theological interests are christology, and the doctrine of the atonement.
Dr. Gathercole has published numerous book, most recently The Apocryphal Gospels (Penguin Classics, 2022).
Dr. Harold O.J. Brown, after whom the lectures are named, served as John R. Richardson Professor of Theology and Philosophy at the Charlotte campus from 1998 to 2007. Dr. Brown was a leading evangelical voice in the pro-life movement immediately after Roe v. Wade, co-founding the Christian Action Council (now Care Net) with former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop in the 70s. Dr. Brown was a widely respected evangelical scholar during his professional life, writing books, essays and articles in the areas of culture, science, theology and politics.
Past lecturers include Carl Trueman, Rosaria Butterfield, Michael Horton, Russell Moore, Oliver Crisp, Mark Dever, Derek Thomas, Al Mohler, Mark Noll, and George Marsden. In 2020, RTS Charlotte hosted Phil Ryken for our lectures.
If you are interested in joining us for this special event, please register here. Hope to see you there!