Reginald H. Fuller
Encyclopedia
Reginald Horace Fuller was an Anglo-American Biblical scholar, ecumenist, and Anglican priest
. His works are recognized for their consequential analysis of New Testament Christology
.
at the University of Cambridge
(B.A., 1937, First Class Hon.
, Classical Tripos
I and Theological Tripos
II; M.A., 1942). He studied at the University of Tübingen, Germany in 1938-39. He prepared for ministry in the Church of England at the Queen's College
, Birmingham (1939–40) and was ordained a deacon in 1940 and a priest in 1941. He met Ilse Barda in 1940 at a wedding. In 1942 they met at another wedding, their own. Fuller was a curate
in England from 1940 to 1950 and lectured in theology at the Queen's College and the University of Birmingham
, 1946-50. He was professor of theology and Hebrew at St. David's College
, Lampeter, Wales (1950–55). He also assisted in raising three daughters.
Fuller became a U.S. resident in 1955. He was professor of New Testament at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary
, Evanston, Ill., languages and literature (1955–1966), Union Theological Seminary
and Columbia
(adj.), NYC (1966–72), and Virginia Theological Seminary
, Alexandria (1972–85; adj., 1994–2002).*
Fuller was a member of World Council of Churches
study commissions (1957–61), Episcopal-Lutheran Conversations (1969–72, 1977–80), Anglican-Lutheran Conversations (1970–72), and Lutheran-Catholic (U.S.) Dialogue Task Force (1971–73), and the New Revised Standard Version
Bible Translation Committee (1981–2006).
Fuller authored some twenty books and over 100 journal articles or book chapters. He also translated such works as Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship (1948) and Letters and Papers from Prison (1953), Jeremias
's Unknown Sayings of Jesus (1957), Bultmann
's Kerygma and Myth, 2 v. (1953 & 1962) and Primitive Christianity (1956), Schweitzer
's Reverence for Life (with Ilse Fuller) (1969), and Bornkamm
's The New Testament: A Guide to Its Writings (1973).
Fuller was a fellow of the American Association of Theological Schools
, 1961-62. He was president of Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, 1983-84. He was recipient of the first annual Ecumenism Award from the Washington Theological Consortium
(2001) and of honorary degrees from among others General Theological Seminary
(S.T.D.), Philadelphia Divinity School
(S.T.D.), and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (D.D.).
Fuller became Professor Emeritus at Virginia Theological Seminary in 1985 and a U.S. citizen in 1995. He was Hon. Canon, St. Paul's Cathedral, Burlington, Vt., and Priest in Residence, Emmanuel Church at Brook Hill
, Richmond, Va.
* Fuller was also visiting professor at nine other seminaries or colleges in the United States, Canada, and Australia: University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn. (1960, ..., 1988, 7 terms), Graduate Theological Union
, Berkeley, Ca.(1975), College of Emmanuel and St. Chad, Saskatoon, Sask., Canada (1978), Union Theological Seminary
, Richmond, Va. (1985), Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest
, Austin, Tx. (1986), Nashotah House
, Wis. (1986, ..., 2004, 7 terms), St. Mark's College of Ministry, Canberra, Australia (1987), and Wesley Theological Seminary
, Washington, D.C. (1990).
, The Foundations of New Testament Christology illustrates aspects of his scholarly publications. The book defines key terms, states assumptions, describes the method used, and develops implications in cumulative fashion. Thus, 'Christology' (the doctrine of Jesus Christ's person) refers to a response to a particular history, not the action of God in Jesus as such nor the history itself. Analysis of New Testament Christology begins with the disciples' belief in the resurrection. It is concerned with "what can be known of the words and works of Jesus" and how these were interpreted. 'Foundations of New Testament Christology' refers to presuppositions of NT writers rather than to the theology
of their finished product (pp. 15–17). The book considers the response of the early church as to conceptual tools available in successive environments of Palestinian Judaism, Hellenistic Judaism, and the Graeco-Roman gentile world. "What can be known" of the historical Jesus and the early church's mission depends on critical methods
and tests applied to documents from the gentile mission. Such methods and tests distinguish the knowledge of early writers about Jesus, their own theology, and other traditions to which they responded (pp. 17–20). The book makes explicit which elements of sources are accepted as going back to each stratum of the early church. It accepts assignment of a tradition to a specific stratum:
With the emergence of a post-Bultmann
school of Biblical criticism
, the concern of the book is "to establish a continuity of the historical Jesus and the christological kerygma
of the post-resurrection church." The real continuity, Fuller felt, "was obscured, if not actually denied, by Bultmann's own work," to the possible disadvantage of the church's proclamation (p. 11). The analysis of the book concludes that the christological foundations of the early church (as recoverable from the New Testament and formulations of church fathers) "are also the foundations of Christology today" (p. 257).
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
. His works are recognized for their consequential analysis of New Testament Christology
Christology
Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
.
Life events
Fuller attended PeterhousePeterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the oldest college of the University, having been founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely...
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
(B.A., 1937, First Class Hon.
British undergraduate degree classification
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
, Classical Tripos
Classical Tripos
The Classical Tripos is the taught course in classics at the University of Cambridge, equivalent to Literae Humaniores at Oxford. It is traditionally a three year degree, but for those who have not studied Latin and Greek at school a four year course has been introduced...
I and Theological Tripos
Tripos
The University of Cambridge, England, divides the different kinds of honours bachelor's degree by Tripos , plural Triposes. The word has an obscure etymology, but may be traced to the three-legged stool candidates once used to sit on when taking oral examinations...
II; M.A., 1942). He studied at the University of Tübingen, Germany in 1938-39. He prepared for ministry in the Church of England at the Queen's College
The Queen's College, Edgbaston
Queen's College , Somerset Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, is an ecumenical theological college which, with the West Midlands Ministerial Training Course, forms the Centre for Ministerial Formation of the Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education...
, Birmingham (1939–40) and was ordained a deacon in 1940 and a priest in 1941. He met Ilse Barda in 1940 at a wedding. In 1942 they met at another wedding, their own. Fuller was a curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
in England from 1940 to 1950 and lectured in theology at the Queen's College and the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
, 1946-50. He was professor of theology and Hebrew at St. David's College
University of Wales, Lampeter
University of Wales, Lampeter is a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822 by royal charter, it is the oldest degree awarding institution in Wales and may be the third oldest in England and Wales after Oxford and Cambridge...
, Lampeter, Wales (1950–55). He also assisted in raising three daughters.
Fuller became a U.S. resident in 1955. He was professor of New Testament at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary
Seabury-Western Theological Seminary
Seabury-Western Theological Seminary is a seminary of The Episcopal Church, located in Evanston, Illinois. It was formed in 1933 by a merger of Western Theological Seminary of Evanston , and Seabury Divinity School of Faribault, Minnesota...
, Evanston, Ill., languages and literature (1955–1966), Union Theological Seminary
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
and Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(adj.), NYC (1966–72), and Virginia Theological Seminary
Virginia Theological Seminary
Virginia Theological Seminary , formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, is the largest accredited Episcopal seminary in the United States. Founded in 1818, VTS is situated on an campus in Alexandria, Virginia, just a few miles from downtown Washington, DC. VTS...
, Alexandria (1972–85; adj., 1994–2002).*
Fuller was a member of World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...
study commissions (1957–61), Episcopal-Lutheran Conversations (1969–72, 1977–80), Anglican-Lutheran Conversations (1970–72), and Lutheran-Catholic (U.S.) Dialogue Task Force (1971–73), and the New Revised Standard Version
New Revised Standard Version
The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible is an English translation of the Bible released in 1989 in the USA. It is a thorough revision of the Revised Standard Version .There are three editions of the NRSV:...
Bible Translation Committee (1981–2006).
Fuller authored some twenty books and over 100 journal articles or book chapters. He also translated such works as Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship (1948) and Letters and Papers from Prison (1953), Jeremias
Joachim Jeremias
Joachim Jeremias was a German Lutheran theologian, scholar of Near Eastern Studies and university professor for New Testament studies. He was abbot of Bursfelde, 1968–1971....
's Unknown Sayings of Jesus (1957), Bultmann
Rudolf Bultmann
Rudolf Karl Bultmann was a German theologian of Lutheran background, who was for three decades professor of New Testament studies at the University of Marburg...
's Kerygma and Myth, 2 v. (1953 & 1962) and Primitive Christianity (1956), Schweitzer
Schweitzer
Schweitzer is a surname which may refer to:* Albert Schweitzer, German polymath, particularly a theologian and physician* Anton Schweitzer, opera composer* Brian Schweitzer, current Democratic Governor of the US state of Montana...
's Reverence for Life (with Ilse Fuller) (1969), and Bornkamm
Günther Bornkamm
Günther Bornkamm was a German New Testament scholar and Professor of New Testament at the University of Heidelberg.He was a student of Rudolf Bultmann with Ernst Käsemann , Ernst Fuchs and Hans Conzelmann ....
's The New Testament: A Guide to Its Writings (1973).
Fuller was a fellow of the American Association of Theological Schools
Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada
The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada is an organization of seminaries and other graduate schools of theology. ATS has its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has more than 250 member institutions...
, 1961-62. He was president of Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, 1983-84. He was recipient of the first annual Ecumenism Award from the Washington Theological Consortium
Washington Theological Consortium
The Washington Theological Consortium is an ecumenical organization with its regular membership composed of Christian theological schools located in or near the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area that cooperate and share resources....
(2001) and of honorary degrees from among others General Theological Seminary
General Theological Seminary
The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church is a seminary of the Episcopal Church in the United States and is located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York....
(S.T.D.), Philadelphia Divinity School
Episcopal Divinity School
The Episcopal Divinity School is a seminary of the Episcopal Church based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Known throughout the Anglican Communion for prophetic teaching and action on issues of civil rights and social justice, its faculty and students have been directly involved in many of the social...
(S.T.D.), and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (D.D.).
Fuller became Professor Emeritus at Virginia Theological Seminary in 1985 and a U.S. citizen in 1995. He was Hon. Canon, St. Paul's Cathedral, Burlington, Vt., and Priest in Residence, Emmanuel Church at Brook Hill
Emmanuel Church at Brook Hill
The Emmanuel Church at Brook Hill, in Henrico County, Virginia, was built between 1859 and 1860. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000...
, Richmond, Va.
* Fuller was also visiting professor at nine other seminaries or colleges in the United States, Canada, and Australia: University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn. (1960, ..., 1988, 7 terms), Graduate Theological Union
Graduate Theological Union
The Graduate Theological Union ' is a consortium of nine independent theological schools, and eleven centers and affiliates. Eight of the theological schools are located in Berkeley, California. The GTU was founded in 1962. It maintains the Graduate Theological Union Library, one of the most...
, Berkeley, Ca.(1975), College of Emmanuel and St. Chad, Saskatoon, Sask., Canada (1978), Union Theological Seminary
Union Theological Seminary & Presbyterian School of Christian Education
Union Presbyterian Seminary, located on the near north side of the city of Richmond, Virginia, is a theological seminary of the Presbyterian Church...
, Richmond, Va. (1985), Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest
Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest
Seminary of the Southwest is one of 11 accredited seminaries of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Founded in 1951 by Bishop John E...
, Austin, Tx. (1986), Nashotah House
Nashotah House
Nashotah House is an Anglo-Catholic seminary of the Episcopal Church located in Nashotah, Wisconsin, approximately 30 miles from Milwaukee, in the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee. The seminary opened its doors in 1842 and received its official charter in 1847...
, Wis. (1986, ..., 2004, 7 terms), St. Mark's College of Ministry, Canberra, Australia (1987), and Wesley Theological Seminary
Wesley Theological Seminary
Wesley Theological Seminary is a United Methodist–affiliated seminary located in Washington, D.C., United States. The school was founded in 1882...
, Washington, D.C. (1990).
The Foundations of New Testament Christology (1965)
Reginald H. Fuller's treatiseTreatise
A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject.-Noteworthy treatises:...
, The Foundations of New Testament Christology illustrates aspects of his scholarly publications. The book defines key terms, states assumptions, describes the method used, and develops implications in cumulative fashion. Thus, 'Christology' (the doctrine of Jesus Christ's person) refers to a response to a particular history, not the action of God in Jesus as such nor the history itself. Analysis of New Testament Christology begins with the disciples' belief in the resurrection. It is concerned with "what can be known of the words and works of Jesus" and how these were interpreted. 'Foundations of New Testament Christology' refers to presuppositions of NT writers rather than to the theology
Biblical Theology
Biblical theology is a discipline within Christian theology which studies the Bible from the perspective of understanding the progressive history of God revealing Himself to humanity following the Fall and throughout the Old Testament and New Testament...
of their finished product (pp. 15–17). The book considers the response of the early church as to conceptual tools available in successive environments of Palestinian Judaism, Hellenistic Judaism, and the Graeco-Roman gentile world. "What can be known" of the historical Jesus and the early church's mission depends on critical methods
Biblical criticism
Biblical criticism is the scholarly "study and investigation of Biblical writings that seeks to make discerning judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work...
and tests applied to documents from the gentile mission. Such methods and tests distinguish the knowledge of early writers about Jesus, their own theology, and other traditions to which they responded (pp. 17–20). The book makes explicit which elements of sources are accepted as going back to each stratum of the early church. It accepts assignment of a tradition to a specific stratum:
- without elaboration in case of wide acceptance
- with a summary of the argument in case wide acceptance is lacking
- with elaboration in case a common assignment is rejected or a new assignment is proposed (p. 21).
With the emergence of a post-Bultmann
Rudolf Bultmann
Rudolf Karl Bultmann was a German theologian of Lutheran background, who was for three decades professor of New Testament studies at the University of Marburg...
school of Biblical criticism
Biblical criticism
Biblical criticism is the scholarly "study and investigation of Biblical writings that seeks to make discerning judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work...
, the concern of the book is "to establish a continuity of the historical Jesus and the christological kerygma
Kerygma
Kerygma is the Greek word used in the New Testament for preaching . It is related to the Greek verb κηρύσσω , to cry or proclaim as a herald, and means proclamation, announcement, or preaching.The New Testament teaches that as Jesus launched his public ministry he entered the synagogue and read from...
of the post-resurrection church." The real continuity, Fuller felt, "was obscured, if not actually denied, by Bultmann's own work," to the possible disadvantage of the church's proclamation (p. 11). The analysis of the book concludes that the christological foundations of the early church (as recoverable from the New Testament and formulations of church fathers) "are also the foundations of Christology today" (p. 257).
Selected publications
- Richard Hanson and Reginald Fuller, 1948, 1960, 2nd ed.. The Church of Rome: A Dissuasive, Seabury.
- G. Ernest WrightG. Ernest WrightGeorge Ernest Wright , was a leading Old Testament scholar and biblical archaeologist. Expert in Ancient Near Eastern archaeology, he was especially known for his work in the study and dating of pottery.-Biography:...
and Reginald H. Fuller, 1957. The Book of the Acts of God: Christian Scholarship Interprets the Bible. Text. Doubleday. - Reginald H. Fuller, 1954, The Mission and Achievement of Jesus: An Examination of the Presuppositions of New Testament Theology, SCM. Table of Contents.
- _____, 1962. The New Testament in Current Study, Scribners.
- _____, 1963. Interpreting the Miracles, Westminster. ISBN 0-334-00681-3 Review cite via JSTORJSTORJSTOR is an online system for archiving academic journals, founded in 1995. It provides its member institutions full-text searches of digitized back issues of several hundred well-known journals, dating back to 1665 in the case of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society...
. - _____, 1964. Untitled review (of Historical Tradition in the Fourth Gospel by C. H. DoddC. H. DoddCharles Harold Dodd was a Welsh New Testament scholar and influential Protestant theologian.He is known for promoting "realized eschatology", the belief that Jesus' references to the kingdom of God meant a present reality rather than a future apocalypse.-Life:Dodd was born in Wrexham,...
), Journal of Bible and Religion 32, (3), pp. 270–271 (via JSTORJSTORJSTOR is an online system for archiving academic journals, founded in 1995. It provides its member institutions full-text searches of digitized back issues of several hundred well-known journals, dating back to 1665 in the case of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society...
). - _____, 1965. The Foundations of New Testament Christology, Scribners. ISBN 0-684-15532-X Reviews from Journal of Biblical LiteratureJournal of Biblical LiteratureThe Journal of Biblical Literature is one of three theological journals published by the Society of Biblical Literature .First published in 1881, JBL is the flagship journal of the field...
(first page) and Theology TodayTheology TodayTheology Today is an academic journal published by SAGE Publications for the Princeton Theological Seminary; it was formerly published by Westminster John Knox. It appears four times a year....
. - _____, 1966. A Critical Introduction to the New Testament, Duckworth. Review cite via JSTORJSTORJSTOR is an online system for archiving academic journals, founded in 1995. It provides its member institutions full-text searches of digitized back issues of several hundred well-known journals, dating back to 1665 in the case of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society...
. - _____, 1967. [Review of Rediscovering the Teaching of Jesus by Norman PerrinNorman PerrinNorman Perrin was Associate Professor of New Testament, at the Divinity School, University of Chicago. Professor Perrin was internationally known for his work on Redaction Criticism of the New Testament....
,] Theology TodayTheology TodayTheology Today is an academic journal published by SAGE Publications for the Princeton Theological Seminary; it was formerly published by Westminster John Knox. It appears four times a year....
, 24(3), pp. 412-14. - _____, 1971, 1980. The Formation of the Resurrection Narratives, Fortress. ISBN 0-8006-1378-3 Review from Theology TodayTheology TodayTheology Today is an academic journal published by SAGE Publications for the Princeton Theological Seminary; it was formerly published by Westminster John Knox. It appears four times a year....
. - _____, 1976. Longer Mark: Forgery, Interpretation, or Old Tradition?, Center for Hermeneutical Studies.
- _____, 1978."The Conception/Birth of Jesus as a Christological Moment," Journal for the Study of the New TestamentJournal for the Study of the New TestamentThe Journal for the Study of the New Testament is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers five times a year in the field of Biblical Studies. The journal's editor is Simon Gathercole...
, 1(1), pp. 37–52. Abstract. - _____, 1984. Preaching the New Lectionary: The Word of God for the Church of Today, Liturgical.
- _____, 1990. He That Cometh: The Birth of Jesus in the New Testament, Morehouse.
- _____, 1993. "Jesus Christ" and "Resurrection of Christ" in Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, ed., The Oxford Companion to the Bible, pp. 356–66, 647-49. Oxford. ISBN 0-19-504645-5
- _____, 1994. Christ and Christianity: Studies in the Formation of Christology, Trinity Press International. ISBN 1-56338-076-5 (table of contents from AmazonAmazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
). - _____, 1998. "Scripture," in John Booty et al., The Study of Anglicanism, pp. 87-100.
- _____, 2006. "Christology," Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia.
- _____, 2008. "Christology," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2008.
- Reginald H. Fuller and Pheme Perkins, 1983. Who Is This Christ?: Gospel Christology and Contemporary Faith, Fortress. ISBN 0-8006-1706-1. Summary from Theology Today.
- Reginald H. Fuller and Daniel Westberg, 2006, 3rd ed., Preaching the Lectionary: The Word of God for the Church Today, Liturgical. ISBN 0-8146-2792-7. Description and chapter-preview links via scroll down.