Prof David M. Moffitt

Prof David M. Moffitt

Professor

Researcher profile

Phone
+44 (0)1334 46 2829
Email
dm206@st-andrews.ac.uk

 

Biography

Prof. Moffitt came to St Andrews in 2013, having previously taught New Testament at Duke Divinity School and Campbell University Divinity School. His research interests orbit around the various ways the earliest Christians understood Jesus and their own identities in relation to Jewish scripture, practices, and beliefs. His work is especially focused on the Epistle to the Hebrews and the strategies the text employs to interpret early Christian claims about Jesus’s death, resurrection, and ascension in high-priestly and sacrificial terms. His first book, Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Brill), demonstrates that the Christology and soteriology developed in Hebrews rests upon the author's correlation of the basic narrative of early Christian proclamation (i.e., the story of Jesus’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension) with the ritual process of the Yom Kippur sacrifices, the end goal of which was the maintenance of fellowship between God and God's covenant people (i.e., atonement). He worked with Stefan Alkier to produce an English edition of his book on interpreting the New Testament entitled, New Testament Basics: A Guide for Reading and Interpreting the Text (Fortress). Prof. Moffitt's most recent book, Rethinking the Atonement: New Perspectives on Jesus's Death, Resurrection, and Ascension (Baker Academic), explores some of the ways that Jesus's atoning work is associated not only in his death, but also with his resurrection, ascension, and ongoing intercession. In addition to contributing essays to various edited volumes, Prof. Moffitt’s publications appear in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Biblical Literature, Journal for the Study of the New Testament, New Testament Studies, Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der Älteren Kirche, Journal of Theological Studies, and Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. Prof. Moffitt has been a Fulbright Scholar (Germany 2006–2007). His book Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrews was a recipient of a Manfred LautenschlägerAward for Theological Promise (2013). He also received a British Academy Small Research Grant to engage in research on several mosaics depicting sacrifice located in and around Ravenna.

Teaching

DI2003/2013 Christ, Paul, and the Origins of Christianity

DI3716 Readings in Early Christian Greek Texts

DI4608/4609 The Gospel of Matthew 

DI4616 Atonement (with Dr Madhavi Nevader) 

DI4628/4629 The Epistle to the Hebrews 

DI5156 Hellenistic Greek Readings 

Dissertation and Thesis supervision

Research areas

Prof. Moffitt’s research focuses on the variety of ways the earliest Christians understood Jesus and their own identities in relation to Jewish scripture, practices, and beliefs. His core areas of ongoing research concern the Epistle to the Hebrews, the ways this early Christian sermon develops claims about Jesus’s person in high-priestly and sacrificial terms, and ancient practices of and beliefs about sacrifice. Beyond Hebrews, Prof. Moffitt has particular interests in the ways the early Christian confession of Jesus’s resurrection and ascension influence the theologies of the various books of the New Testament.

PhD supervision

  • Cody Warta
  • Lydia Gerges
  • Sydney Allgood
  • Rainer Thiessen
  • Aogu Suzuki
  • Joel Butcher
  • Tammy Wiese
  • Gwangsoo Lee
  • Josh Johnson

Selected publications

 

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