11 September 1990 A.D. Prof. F.F. Bruce dies—British New Testament Scholar
11 September 1990 A.D. Prof. F.F. Bruce dies—British New Testament Scholar
Frederick Fyvie Bruce FBA (12
October 1910 – 11 September 1990) was a Biblical scholar and one of the founders of the modern evangelical understanding of the Bible. His first book, New Testament Documents:
Are They Reliable? (1943), was voted by the American evangelical periodical
Christianity Today in 2006 as one of the top 50 books "which had shaped
evangelicals".[1]
Biography
Bruce was born in Elgin,
Moray, in Scotland and educated at the University of Aberdeen, Gonville and Caius
College, Cambridge and the University of Vienna. After teaching Greek for several years, first at the University of Edinburgh and then at the University of Leeds, he became head of the Department of Biblical History and Literature at
the University of Sheffield in 1947. Aberdeen University bestowed an honorary Doctor of Divinity
degree on him in 1957.[2] In 1959 he moved to the University of Manchester where he became Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis. In his career he wrote over 40 books and served as editor of The Evangelical Quarterly and the Palestine Exploration
Quarterly. He retired from teaching in 1978.
Bruce was a distinguished scholar on the life and
ministry of Paul the Apostle and wrote several studies, the best known of which is Paul: Apostle of
the Free Spirit (published in the United States as Paul: Apostle of the
Heart Set Free). He also wrote commentaries on several biblical books
including Romans, Acts of the Apostles, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, the
Gospel and Epistles of John, and the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Bruce was in Christian fellowship at various places
during his life, though his primary commitment was to the Open
Brethren among whom he grew up.[3] He enjoyed the fellowship and acceptance of this group, though he was very
much a maverick in relation to his own personal beliefs. He never accepted the dispensationalism[4] and pretribulationism[citation needed] usually associated with the Brethren, and he was also an
advocate of the public ministry of women[5] – something that Plymouth
Brethren would still disapprove of today.
Most of Bruce's works were scholarly, but he also wrote
several popular works on the Bible. He viewed the New Testament writings as
historically reliable and the truth claims of Christianity as hinging on their
being so. To Bruce this did not mean that the Bible was always precise, or that
this lack of precision could not lead to considerable confusion. He believed,
however, that the passages that were still open to debate were ones that had no
substantial bearing on Christian theology and thinking.
Bruce was honoured with two scholarly works by his
colleagues and former students, one to mark his sixtieth and the other to mark
his seventieth birthday. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy, and served as President of the Society for Old Testament Study, and also
as President of the Society for New Testament Study. He is one of a handful of
scholars thus recognised by his peers in both fields.
Selected writings
·
New Testament Documents: Are
They Reliable? Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,
1981. (First published in 1943 as Are the New Testament Documents Reliable?)
ISBN 0-8028-2219-3
·
The Books and the Parchments. London: Pickering & Inglis, 1950 (2nd edn 1953; 3rd & revised edn
1963; paperback revised edition 1971 ISBN 0-7208-0216-4)
·
The Acts of the Apostles:
The Greek Text With Introduction and Commentary.
Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1951.
·
The Book of the Acts (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids,
MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1954. ISBN 0-8028-2182-0
·
The Epistles to the
Colossians and the Ephesians. (New International
Commentary on the New Testament) Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans,
1957. [title may be incorrect; Bruce wrote the Colossians commentary, and E.K.
Simpson wrote the Ephesians commentary; see the 1984 replacement below entirely
by Bruce]
·
Romans (Tyndale New Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids, MI: William B.
Eerdmans, 1963. ISBN 0-8028-1405-0
·
Epistle to the Hebrews (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids,
MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1964.
·
This is That. Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1968. ISBN 0-85364-168-4 (published in the USA as New
Testament Development of Old Testament Themes. Grand Rapids, MI: William B.
Eerdmans, 1968. ISBN 0-8028-1729-7)
·
The Acts of the Apostles:
The Greek Text With Introduction and Commentary, 2nd
ed. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1970.
·
An Expanded Paraphrase of
the Epistles Of Paul. R.N. Haynes Publishers; 1st
USA edition (1981) 323 pages. ISBN 0-88021-016-8 ISBN 978-0-88021-016-4
·
Galatian Problems. John Rylands Library, 1971.
·
Answers to Questions. Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1972. 0-85364-101-3
·
Jesus and Christian Origins
Outside the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: William
B. Eerdmans, 1974. ISBN 0-8028-1575-8
·
Paul: Apostle of The Free
Spirit. Exeter UK: Paternoster, 1977. ISBN 1-84227-027-3 (published in the USA as Paul:
Apostle of the Heart Set Free. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans,1977. ISBN 0-8028-4778-1)
·
I & II Corinthians (New Century Bible Commentary). Grand Rapids, MI: William B.
Eerdmans, 1980. ISBN 0-8028-1839-0
·
Epistle to the Galatians (New International Greek Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids, MI:
William B. Eerdmans, 1982. ISBN 0-8028-2387-4
·
The Epistles to the
Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians. (New
International Commentary on the New Testament).
Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1984. ISBN 0-8028-2510-9 [This is Bruce's new
commentary on Ephesians and Philemon
along with a revision of his 1957 commentary from the Simpson and Bruce volume
above]
·
Jesus: Lord & Savior. Inter-Varsity, 1986.
·
Romans (Tyndale New Testament Commentary), revised. Grand Rapids, MI:
William B. Eerdmans, 1986. ISBN 0-8028-0062-9
·
Second Thoughts on the Dead
Sea Scrolls. Attic Press, 1986. ISBN 0-85364-017-3 ( download
online copy here)
·
The Book of the Acts, revised (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand
Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1988. ISBN 0-8028-2505-2
·
Epistle to the Hebrews, revised. (New International Commentary on the New Testament) Grand
Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1990. ISBN 0-8028-2514-1
·
The Acts of the Apostles:
The Greek Text With Introduction and Commentary, 3rd
ed. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1990. ISBN 0-8028-0966-9
·
A Mind For What Matters:
Collected Essays. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans,
1990. ISBN 0-8028-0446-2
·
Kaiser, Walter C., Peter H. Davids, F. F. Bruce, and Manfred Brauch.
Hard Sayings of the Bible. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996. ISBN 0-87784-927-7
Articles
·
"What Do We Mean By Biblical Inspiration?" Journal of the Transactions of the
Victoria Institute 78 (1946): 121-139.
·
"Colossian Problems: Part 1: Jews and Christians in the Lycus
Valley," Bibliotheca Sacra 141: 561 (1984): 3-13.
·
"Colossian Problems: Part 2: The 'Christ Hymn' of Colossians
1:15-20," Bibliotheca Sacra 141: 562
(1984): 99-112.
·
"Colossian Problems: Part 4: Christ as Conqueror and Reconciler," Bibliotheca Sacra 141: 564 (1984): 291-301.
·
annual Rylands lectures at
the John Rylands Library, Manchester (published in Bulletin of the John Rylands Library,
vols. 43-60; including "Galatian problems", 5 pts, and "St Paul
in Rome", 5 pts.)
References
2.
^ W.W. Gasque, "Bruce, F(rederick)
F(yvie)", Historical Handbook of Major Bible Interpreters, ed.
Donald K. McKim, InterVarsity Press, 1998, p. 444.
3.
^ Arnold Pickering, "F.F. Bruce as a Fellow-Elder", Christian Brethren Research Fellowship Journal
22 (Nov. 1971), p. 15f.
5.
^ see http://answers.net.nz/Other/bre.3.htm for a criticism of Bruce for supporting Women's Ministry
based on a review of one of his articles
I am a theology bachelors degree student at the Friends Theological College, Kaimosi, Kenya. I am studying PAUL: APOSTLE OF THE HEART SET FREE
ReplyDelete