Michael Holmes
Email: holmic@bethel.edu
Job Titles
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University Professor of Biblical Studies and Early Christianity Emeritus, Department Chair
Biblical & Theological Studies , College of Arts and Sciences
Highlight
New Testament and early Christianity, with special interests in New Testament textual criticism and the apostolic fathers
Started at Bethel
1982
Education
- University of California - B.A., 1973
- Trinity Evangelical Divinity School - M.A., 1976
- Princeton Theological Seminary - Ph.D., 1984
Biography
Holmes has taught at Bethel since 1982, and was Chair of the Department of Biblical and Theological Studies from 2001 to 2009. He was previously on the faculty at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Princeton Theological Seminary, and has been Visiting Scholar at Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul. He received his B.A. (in history) from the University of California at Santa Barbara (1973), an M.A. in New Testament from TEDS (1976), and the Ph.D. from Princeton Seminary (1984).
His primary research interests are New Testament textual criticism and the Apostolic Fathers (a collection of early Christian writings). Current projects include a commentary on the Martyrdom of Polycarp and a study of the formation of the New Testament canon.
His publications include several books (see details below), fifty articles, essays, or chapters in books, and more than 230 book reviews (covering more than 250 books in 23 journals). He has presented papers and invited lectures in the U.S., Canada, England, Germany, France, and Belgium. In addition, he has served on dissertation committees at Emory University, Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Notre Dame, and as external reader at the Toronto School of Theology.
He speaks and teaches frequently at Twin Cities churches, universities, and seminaries, has served as an interim pastor, and is a long-term member of Trinity Baptist Church (Maplewood, MN).
A native of California, Holmes also lived in Illinois and New Jersey prior to moving to Minnesota. Hobbies include woodworking, golf, and fishing (see end of file below).
Presentations
"Creation, Transmission, Collection: Reflections on the Textual History of the Pauline Corpus." New Testament Textual Criticism Section, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, November 2013.
"Marcion of Smyrna and the Shaping of Christian Identity in the Martyrdom of Polycarp." Inventing Christianity Program Unit, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, November 2013.
"Intertextual Death: Socrates, Jesus, and Polycarp of Smyrna." History of Interpretation Section, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, November 17, 2012.
"Some Ways the Discipline is Different: A Comparison of SQ1 and SQ2." New Testament Textual Criticism Section, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, November 18, 2012. ["SQ1" and "SQ2" refer to the first and second editions of The Text of the New Testament: Essays on the Status Quaestionis]
"The Remarkable Lives of Saints Ignatius and Polycarp: Answers to Important Questions from the Early Church." Passages Bible Exhibit Lecture Series, Charlotte, NC, October 30, 2012.
"From 'Original Text' to 'Initial Text': The Traditional Goal of New Testament Textual Criticism in Contemporary Discussion." Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, 67th General Meeting, Leuven, Belgium, August 3, 2012.
"Early Christian Literature and Polycarp: Whence and Whither." Apostolic Fathers and Related Early Christian Literature Section, SBL 2012 International Meeting, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (in absentia), July 26, 2012.
"From 'Original Text' to 'Initial Text': The Traditional Goal of New Testament Textual Criticism in Contemporary Discussion." Graduate New Testament Colloquium, Duke University, Durham, NC, April 9, 2012.
"Which Books? Whose Interpretation? Scripture, Hermeneutics, and Canon in Early Christianity," and "From Scrolls to Scrolling: Scripture, Technology, and the Word of God." Fifth annual Cooley Center Lecture Series, The Robert C. Cooley Center for the Study of Early Christianity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Charlotte, NC, January 27-28, 2011.
"From Scrolls to Scrolling: Scripture, Technology, and the Word of God." Department of Religon, Baylor University, January 20, 2010.
"From Scrolls to Scrolling: Scripture, Technology, and the Word of God." University Professor Lecture, Bethel University, Oct. 23, 2009. Accompanying Display: "From Scrolls to Scrolling: The Changing Shape of Scripture." Bethel University Library, Sept. 25-Oct. 25, 2009.
"The Present and Future of New Testament Textual Criticism: A Review of D. C. Parker, An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and Their Texts." New Testament Textual Criticism Section, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, November, 2008.
"Working with an Open Textual Tradition: Challenges in Theory and Practice." Münster Colloquium on the Textual History of the Greek New Testament, Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung, Münster, Germany, August 4, 2008.
"Text and Transmission in the Second Century." Greer-Heard Forum, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, LA, April 5, 2008.
"New Testament Textual Criticism: Current Trends and Issues." SBL Upper Midwest Regional Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, March 28, 2008.
"Remembering Bruce Metzger." New Testament Textual Criticism Section, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, November 18, 2007.
"Westcott and Hort at 125 (and Zuntz at 60): Their Legacies and Our Challenges." New Testament Textual Criticism Section, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2006.
"Text as Artifact: A Response to The Earliest Christian Artifacts: Manuscripts and Christian Origins, by L. W. Hurtado." Papyrology and Early Christian Backgrounds Group / New Testament Textual Criticism Section, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2006.
"Spinning Polycarp in His Grave? Gospel Tradition and the Martyrdom of Polycarp." Invited paper, Early Christian Studies Workshop, University of Chicago, October 17, 2005.
"The Martyrdom of Polycarp and the New Testament Passion Narratives." The New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers Conference, Lincoln College, University of Oxford, April 5-7, 2004.
"The Text of the Epistles Fifty Years After: An Assessment of Günther Zuntz's Contribution to Text-Critical Methodology and History." Inaugural Address, Third Birmingham Colloquium on the Text Critical Study of the New Testament: The Text of Paul. The University of Birmingham, England, April 7-10, 2003.
"The Early History of the Text of Romans: a Preliminary Excavation." Invited paper, Textual Criticism Seminar, Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas General Meeting, Montreal, Canada, July 31-August 4, 2001.
"The Case for Reasoned Eclecticism." Invited Paper, Symposium on New Testament Studies: A Time for Reappraisal. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, North Carolina, April 6-7, 2000.
"Neglected Treasures? The Minuscules in Recent Research." Invited lecture, Dept. of Theology, University of Birmingham, England, May 26, 1998.
"From Nestle to the Editio Critica Maior: A Century's Perspective on the New Testament Minuscule Tradition." Invited lecture, The Bible as Book: The Transmission of the Greek Text. Fourth annual Hampton Court Conference, Herefordshire, England, May 27-30, 1998.
Professional Organizations, Committees, and Boards
He is the Executive Director of the Green Scholars Initiative. greenscholarsinitiative.org
He is a member of the International Greek New Testament Project, a past member of the Editorial Board for New Testament Studies, a book review editor for Religious Studies Review, and chair of the Board of Directors of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (csntm.org).
He holds membership in the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, the Society of Biblical Literature, the Institute for Biblical Research, and the North American Patristics Society.
Research interests
New Testament and early Christianity, with special interests in New Testament textual criticism and the apostolic fathers