University of Heidelberg Professor to Lecture at Princeton Seminary on Psychological Interpretation of the Apostle Paul

Princeton, NJ, February 12, 2007–Gerd Theissen, professor of New Testament theology at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, will deliver Princeton Seminary’s annual Alexander Thompson Lecture on Monday, February 26 at 7:00 p.m. in the Main Lounge of the Mackay Campus Center. The title of his lecture is “The New Perspective on Paul and the Psychological Interpretation of His Thoughts.” It will be followed by a reception in the Private Dining Room.

Theissen is a German Protestant theologian and New Testament scholar, and one of the earliest pioneers in the application of the principles and methods of sociology to the study of the New Testament. His well-known works in this field are The First Followers of Jesus: A Sociological Analysis of the Earliest Christians and The Social Setting of Primitive Christianity. He has never ceased to be a theologian, who has always emphasized the theological as well as the historical significance of his sociological studies, and he has written specifically on the meaning of faith in his books Critical Faith: An Evolutionary Approach, The Religion of the Earliest Churches, Gospel Writing and Church Politics: A Socio-rhetorical Approach, and The Shadow of the Galilean.   

Theissen received the Burkitt Medal for Biblical Studies in 2002 from The British Academy, the national academy for the humanities and the social sciences, in recognition of special service to biblical studies.  

The Reverend Alexander Thompson Memorial Lecture was established to honor Alexander Thompson, a 1909 graduate of the Seminary, with the broad definition of dealing with “some aspect of the Bible.” The lecturer is chosen by the Seminary faculty. Past lecturers included Phyllis Trible, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Hans Wilhelm Frei, Elaine Pagels, Hans Dieter Betz, Carol Ann Newsom, Victor Furnish, and many other notable biblical scholars.

The lecture and reception are open to the public and free of charge. For more information or for directions, call the Communications/Publications Office at 609.497.7760 or visit www.ptsem.edu.

Princeton Theological Seminary was founded in 1812 as the first seminary established by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. It is the largest Presbyterian seminary in the country, with more than 700 students in seven graduate degree programs.