Professor of New Testament
Degrees
- BA, Rhodes College, 1987
- MDiv, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1992
- MA, Vanderbilt University, 1995
- PhD, Vanderbilt University, 1996
Greg Carey has taught at Lancaster Theological Seminary since 1999, having previously taught at Rhodes College and Winthrop University. In addition to teaching, he directs the seminary’s Master of Arts in Religion program. He holds a BA from Rhodes College, an MDiv from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a PhD from Vanderbilt University (1996). Greg teaches courses on the New Testament and on biblical and contextual interpretation, along with a doctoral seminar devoted to research methodologies. His elective courses include: Luke and Acts, the Parables of Jesus, and Romans.
Greg’s research interests include the book of Revelation and ancient apocalyptic literature, the Gospel of Luke, and public biblical interpretation. He is the author or co-editor of 10 books, including Using Our Outside Voice: Public Biblical Interpretation; Stories Jesus Told: How to Read a Parable. His volume, Death, the End of History, and Beyond: Eschatology in the Bible, will appear in the Spring of 2023.
Teaching and advising students provides Greg’s primary sense of vocation. As a biblical scholar, he aims to help students cultivate their capacity as public interpreters of Scripture.
Greg has served on the editorial boards of Review of Biblical Literature, Horizons in Biblical Theology, and Biblical Interpretation, and held national and international leadership positions in the Society of Biblical Literature. He has appeared on the BBC, PBS, the Discovery Channel, and the History Channel, and has frequently contributed to the Christian Century and other public outlets. He fields media interviews regarding biblical studies and the interface of contemporary Christianity and politics, and he frequently teaches and preaches around the mid-Atlantic.
An Alabama native, Greg is an active layperson in the United Church of Christ, where he has served in national and international ecumenical settings. He is a member of the Open and Affirming Coalition’s National Leadership Team, works for equity in public education funding, and volunteers as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for a young person in foster care.
Selected Publications
Books
Using Our Outside Voice: Public Biblical Interpretation. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2020.
Stories Jesus Told: How to Read a Parable. Nashville: Abingdon, 2019.
Luke: All Flesh Shall See God’s Salvation. T&T Clark Study Guides to the New Testament. New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017 (reprint: 2012).
New Testament Apocalyptic Literature. Core Biblical Studies. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2016.
Soundings in Cultural Criticism: Perspectives and Methods in Culture, Power, and Identity in the New Testament. Co-editor with Francisco Lozada. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013.
Sinners: Jesus and His Earliest Followers. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2009.
Ultimate Things: An Introduction to Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic Literature. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2005.
Vision and Persuasion: Rhetorical Dimensions of Apocalyptic Discourse. Co-editor with L. Gregory Bloomquist. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1999.
Elusive Apocalypse: Reading Authority in the Revelation to John. Studies in American Biblical Hermeneutics 15. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1999.
Selected Articles and Essays
“Early Christianity and the Roman Empire.” Pp. 9-34 in The State of New Testament Studies. Edited by Scot McKnight and Nijay K. Gupta. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019.
“What Counts as ‘Resistance’ in Revelation?” Perspectives in Religious Studies 45 (2018): 199-212.
“Daniel as an Americanized Apocalypse.” Interpretation 71 (2017): 190-203.
“Mass Incarceration, Capital Punishment, and Penal Atonement Theories: Correlation or Something More?” Pp. 205-16 in Thinking Theologically about Mass Incarceration: Biblical Foundations and Justice Imperatives. Edited by Antonios Kireopoulos, Mitzi J. Budde & Matthew D. Lundberg. National Council of Churches Faith and Order Commission Theological Series. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2017.
“Revelation’s Violence Problem: Mapping Essential Questions.” Perspectives in Religious Studies 42 (2015): 295-306.
“Early Christian Apocalyptic Rhetoric.” Pages 218-34 in The Oxford Handbook of Apocalyptic Literature. Edited by John J. Collins. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
“Clarence Jordan as a (White) Interpreter of the Bible.” Pp. 33-43 in Roots in the Cotton Patch: The Clarence Jordan Symposium 2012, Volume 1. Edited by Kirk Lyman-Barner and Cori Lyman-Barner. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2014.
“Moving Things Ahead: A Lukan Redactional Technique and Its Implications for Gospel Origins,” Biblical Interpretation 21 (2013): 2-19.
“Introduction and a Proposal: Culture, Power, and Identity in White New Testament Studies.” Pp. 1-13 in Soundings in Cultural Criticism: Perspectives and Methods in Culture, Power, and Identity in the New Testament. Edited by Francisco Lozada and Greg Carey. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013.
“Finding Happiness in Apocalyptic Literature.” Pp. 203-24 in The Bible and the Pursuit of Happiness: What the Old and New Testaments Teach Us about the Good Life. Edited by Brent A. Strawn. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.