Roland Deines - Featured Author (EJT)

Dr Roland Deines is Professor of New Testament Studies at the University of Nottingham. His articles, Did Matthew Know He was Writing Scripture? Part 1, and Part 2, were published in the October 2013 and April 2014 issues of European Journal of Theology respectively.

Article Summary - Did Matthew Know He was Writing Scripture? Part 1

The article seeks to demonstrate the possibility that the Gospel of Matthew was written from the outset with the intention to function as Scripture for those who believe in Jesus as the Son of God revealed by the Father to his people (Mt 16:16-17). The argument is based on an understanding of Scripture as deposit of divine revelation. It first demonstrates that God’s revelatory activity, according to the biblical texts, precedes the written memorisation of it. It then refers to the fact that texts and traditions were not preserved in antiquity unless there was a group willing to invest time, energy and costs to do so. In the case of religious texts they became part of a spiritual legacy only if they proved their ability to facilitate meaningful encounters with God beyond their primary historical circumstances. Before approaching the case studies in Part 2 the concept of the ‘cessation of the Spirit’ in the time of Ezra is discussed as misleading if used as an argument for the closing of the canon.

Article Summary - Did Matthew Know He was Writing Scripture? Part 2

The article seeks to demonstrate the possibility that the Gospel of Matthew was from the outset written with the intention that it would function as (Holy) Scripture. Part 1 discussed the understanding of Scripture, within the Biblical texts themselves, as deposit of the revelatory acts of God. Part 2 applies this understanding to various strands of Jewish literature from the second century BC to the second century AD. First Maccabees and the Gospel of Matthew serve as case studies of how the experience of God’s revelatory activity resulted in Scriptures which were intended to commemorate these acts in light of the history of salvation so far and to facilitate meaningful encounters with them for the time to come.

CURRICULUM VITAE Prof Roland Deines, University of Nottingham

• 1961 Born in Herrenberg, Germany
• 1980 Abitur (High school final examination)
• 1980–1981 Army service
• 1981–1986 Study of Protestant Theology at the “Freie Evangelisch-Theologische Akademie” in Basel, Switzerland. Final degree: “Lizentiat der Theologie” (after 5 years of full-time study)
• 1986–1989 Further studies in Theology at the Universities of Basel and Tübingen (Germany). Final degree: “Diplom-Theologe”
• 1990–1991 Graduate Research Student, Hebrew University of Jerusalem (DAAD-scholarship)
• 1991–1995 Research assistant, Institutum Judaicum, University of Tübingen
• 1995–1997 Assistant pastor (curate), Protestant Church of Württemberg
• 1997 Ordination
• 1997 Dr. theol., University of Tübingen; Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Martin Hengel; Title of thesis: Die Pharisäer im Spiegel christlicher und juedischer Forschung seit Wellhausen und Graetz (ca. 1860–1940); Grade: summa cum laude
• 1997–1998 Research assistant, German Protestant Institute of Archaeology, Jerusalem
• 1998–1999 Teaching assistant, University of Tübingen
• 1999–2001 DFG-Scholarship
• 2001–2006 Project coordinator Corpus Judaeo-Hellenisticum Novi Testamenti, Theological Faculty, University of Jena
• 2003–2005 Guest lecturer for three semesters, Ben Gurion-University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel and responsible for “The Deichmann Program for Jewish and Christian Literature of the Hellenistic-Roman Era”, appointed as Adjunct Associate Professor at Ben Gurion-University of the Negev for the academic period 2005/06–2008/09
• 2004 Habilitation, University of Tübingen; Title of thesis: Die Gerechtigkeit der Tora im Reich des Messias. Studien zu Matthäus 5,13–20
• 2004–2006 Privatdozent, University of Tübingen
• 2006–2007 Lecturer in New Testament, University of Nottingham
• 2008 Associate Professor and Reader in NT, University of Nottingham
• since 2009 Professor of New Testament Studies, University of Nottingham

I have been married to my wife Renate for 28 years and we have one son, Rouven, who is now 15 years old.