Theologians

Peter (P.J.) Williams is the Warden (CEO) of Tyndale House. He was educated at Cambridge University, where he received his MA, MPhil, and PhD in the study of ancient languages related to the Bible. After his PhD, he was on staff in the Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge University (1997–1998), and thereafter taught Hebrew and Old Testament at Cambridge University as Affiliated Lecturer in Hebrew and Aramaic and as Research Fellow in Old Testament at Tyndale House, Cambridge (1998–2003). From 2003 to 2007 he was on the faculty of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, where he became a Senior Lecturer in New Testament and Deputy Head of the School of Divinity, History, and Philosophy. In July 2007 he became the youngest Warden in the history of Tyndale House. He also retains his position as an honorary Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies at the University of Aberdeen and is a member of the Faculty of Divinity in the University of Cambridge. He is a member of the Translation Oversight Committee of the English Standard Version of the Bible.

NETWORK SPEAKERS

Peter Balla is Professor and Head of the New Testament Department of the Faculty of Theology of the Karoli Gaspar Reformed University, Budapest, Hungary. He received his Master of Theology (1988) and PhD (1994) from the University of Edinburgh. His Habilitationsschrift was accepted by the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Budapest in October 2001. Dr Balla's doctoral dissertation, Challenges to New Testament Theology: An Attempt to Justify the Enterprise, was published by Hendrickson in 1998. In 2005, Hendrickson published Dr Balla's habilitation thesis: The Child-Parent Relationship in the New Testament and Its Environment.

William Lane Craig is Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in California. He has doctorates in philosophy (Birmingham UK) and theology (Munich).  Conversant  in philosophy,  theology,  science,  and  history,  he  lectures  and debates widely on university campuses in North America, Europe, and beyond. Dr. Craig has authored or edited over thirty books, including his signature work Reasonable Faith. Many of his articles and debates are available online at www.williamlanecraig.com.

Wayne Grudem is Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies at Phoenix Seminary in Arizona. He previously taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School for 20 years. He has served as the president of the Evangelical Theological Society (1999), as a member of the Translation Oversight Committee for the English Standard Version of the Bible, and was the General Editor for the ESV Study Bible (2008). He has written more than 100 articles for both popular and academic journals, and 17 books, including Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today, The First Epistle of Peter, and Business for the Glory of God. He has also edited Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? Four Views.

Chris Hall is chancellor of Eastern University and dean of Palmer Theological Seminary, the seminary of Eastern University. Chris holds a BA in history from UCLA, MA in biblical studies from Fuller Theological Seminary, ThM from Regent College (Vancouver, B.C.), MPhil from Drew University and  PhD in Systematic and Historical Theology from Drew University. He served in the pastorate in France for five years and in British Columbia for two years.  He also served as Director of Pastoral Care at New Jersey's only state gero-psychiatric hospital.  He has ministered in Asia, Africa, South America, Europe, the Middle-East, Canada, and the United States. He is the author of a number of books, including Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers, Learning Theology with the Church Fathers, Worshiping with the Church Fathers (InterVarsity Press), and The Trinity (with Roger Olson; Eerdmans).  He is an editor-at-large for Christianity Today, is associate editor of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series (IVP), and has published articles and reviews in Christianity Today, Catalyst, Christian History, inMinistry, Books and Culture, Christian Scholars Review, Modern Theology, and Crux. He and his wife Debbie have three grown children. 

Day 1

Translation Before Translation
Peter J. Williams

Discussion of modern Bible translation is typically isolated from discussion of ancient Bible translation and discussion of ancient Bible translation is in turn largely isolated from discussion of ancient translation generally. This session attempts to bring these things together and especially to set the scene for the very earliest attempts to render the Hebrew Pentateuch into Greek in the 3rd century BC. This involves surveying all the cases of simultaneous texts existing in multiple languages (e.g. bilingual or trilingual inscriptions) prior to the famous Rosetta Stone of 196 BC to see if any patterns of translation emerge. Awareness that some translators in antiquity operated without any developed grammatical analysis of one or both languages in any given instance can go a long way to explaining (a) the translation they produced; (b) possible divergencies between the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Pentateuch; (c) instances where the NT seems to us rather 'loose' in its quotation of the OT.

“From Glory to Glory” – 2 Cor 3:18 as a Summary of Paul’s View on the Two Ministries (Covenants) in 2 Cor. 3
Peter Balla

In this session an attempt is made to interpret the expression “from glory to glory” in the last verse in 2 Cor. 3, by reading it in the context of the whole chapter. In 2 Cor. 3:18 Paul concludes his thoughts on his own ministry and on the relationship between the two covenants. Paul’s christological reading of the Old Testament in 2 Cor. 3 may be the key to understanding the two kinds of “glory” he speaks about in v. 18. The session discusses the argument of 2 Cor. 3, the Old Testament background of this chapter, and Paul’s use of the Old Testament in 2 Cor. 3, thus arriving at its conclusion. It is argued that the concluding phrase most likely refers to the two “dispensations,” that is, the two covenants. Those who believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, move from one “glory,” the glory of the Old Covenant, on to another – even greater – “glory,” that of the New Covenant.

Day 2

A Theologian in the Philosophers Den (Combined with Philosophers Network)
Mike Ovey

Day 3

The Influence of the African Fathers on the Early Church
Christopher Hall

Christianity flourished on the continent of Africa in very ancient times. Great bishops of the church such as Cyprian, Athanasius, and Augustine grew up in Africa and served the church in an African context. Other significant biblical exegetes and theologians -- Origen and Tertullian come to mind -- also were African. In this lecture we will explore what particularly characterised early African Christianity. In addition, we will investigate the influence of these ancient African Christians on the broader early church.

Common Objections to Miracles
William Lane Craig

The principal argument against belief in miracles today is not that miracles are impossible but that they are unidentifiable.  David Hume is assumed to have proved that no amount of evidence can be sufficient to warrant belief in a miracle.  In popular culture Hume’s reasoning comes to expression in the slogan, “Extraordinary events require extraordinary evidence.”  This slogan as commonly understood is demonstrably wrong.  Hume did not understand the full probability calculus, which had not yet been developed in his day, and so failed to take account of all the factors involved in calculating the probability of a miraculous event.  An account of all the factors involved shows that it is quite possible for the evidence for a miracle to outweigh any intrinsic improbability thought to attend the miracle itself.

Day 4