ROLLIN A. RAMSARAN EDUCATION 1123 Cedar Place Johnson City, TN 37604 (423) 434-0375 Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts Ph.D., Religious Studies: New Testament & Christian Origins, 1994 Dissertation: "The Form and Function of Maxims in Paul's Argumentation: A Study of 1 Corinthians 1-10." Dissertation Advisor: J. Paul Sampley Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California M.A., Theology, 1986. Pacific Christian College, Fullerton, California B.A., Bible/Preaching, 1979. PUBLICATIONS Manuscripts: Liberating Words: Paul's Use of Rhetorical Maxims in 1 Corinthians 1-10. Valley Forge: Trinity, 1996. Essays and Articles: John 3:22-30 ; John 3:31-36 ; and John 4:1-6 in Feasting on the Gospels: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, ed. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox, forthcoming 2014. Believe God, Stand Firm, and Proclaim: Being Addressed in Revelation, Leaven (2013): forthcoming. Religious Experience In Christ and Christ In : Testing the Waters in Galatians, in Experientia, Volume 2: Linking Text and Experience, ed. Colleen Shantz and Rodney A. Werline, 161-180. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2012. Rich Heroic Themes: Spirit, Kingdom, and Prayer in Luke-Acts, Leaven 18/4 (2010): 179-183. Response to Papers by Troels Engberg-Pedersen, Colleen Shantz, Bert Peerbolte, and John B. Miller in Experientia, Volume 1: Inquiry into Religious Experience in Early Judaism and Early Christianity, ed. Frances Flannery, Colleen Shantz, and Rodney A. Werline, 207-212. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2008.
Rollin A. Ramsaran Page 2 Colossians 3:12-17 ; Ephesians 1:3-14 ; and Ephesians 3:1-12 in Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary Year C, Volume 1, ed. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, 158-163; 182-187; 206-211. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox, 2009. In The Steps of the Moralists: Paul s Rhetorical Argumentation in Philippians 4 in Rhetoric, Ethic, and Moral Persuasion in Biblical Discourse, ed. Tom H. Olbricht and Anders Eriksson, 284-300. New York: T & T Clark International, 2005. Moral Philosophy and Friendship as a Background for Paul s Letters in Emmanuel at 40: Heritage and Promise, 314-333. Johnson City, TN: Emmanuel School of Religion Press, 2005. Resisting Imperial Domination and Influence: Paul's Apocalyptic Rhetoric in 1 Corinthians in Paul and the Roman Imperial Order, ed. Richard A. Horsley, 89-101. Harrisburg: Trinity, 2003. Getting to the Point: Maxims in Paul's Moral Reasoning in Paul in the Greco-Roman World, ed. J. Paul Sampley, 429-56. Harrisburg: Trinity, 2003. Living and Dying, Living is Dying (Phil 1:21): Paul's Maxim and Exemplary Argumentation in Philippians" in Rhetorical Argumentation in Biblical Texts: Essays from the Lund 2000 Conference, ed. Anders Eriksson, Tom H. Olbricht, and Walter Überlacker, 325-38. Harrisburg: Trinity, 2002. In Nonessentials, Liberty : A Key Ministry Context from Romans 14:1-15:13, Leaven 8/4 (2000): 164-68. Who is a True Friend?: Lukan Friendship as Paradigm for the Church, Leaven 5/2 (1997): 25-28; 13. More Than an Opinion: Paul's Rhetorical Maxim in First Corinthians 7:25-26, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 57 (1995): 531-41. Reviews (including shorter notes): Review of Pheme Perkins, First Corinthians. Paideia Commentaries on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2012) in The Stone-Campbell Journal (forthcoming). Review of Andrew Martin, Building Classroom Success: Eliminating Academic Fear and Failure (New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010) in Teaching Theology & Religion 15.4 (2012): 388-90.
Rollin A. Ramsaran Page 3 Review of Kate Williams, ed., Pocket Study Skills Series (New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009-10) in Teaching Theology & Religion 15.3 (2012): 289-90. Review of Troels Engberg-Pedersen, Cosmology & Self in the Apostle Paul: The Material Spirit (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010) in Religious Studies Review 37 (2011): 283. Review of William Baker, 1 Corinthians and Ralph P. Martin with Carl N. Toney, 2 Corinthians Cornerstone Biblical Commentary (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale, 2009) in The Stone- Campbell Journal 14 (2011): 314-17. Review of Kuo-Wei Peng, Hate the Evil, Hold Fast to the Good: Structuring Romans 12.1-15.1, Library of New Testament Studies 300 (London: T&T Clark, 2006) in Religious Studies Review (forthcoming). Review of John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan L. Reed, In Search of Paul: How Jesus Apostle Opposed Rome s Empire with God s Kingdom. A New Vision of Paul s Words and World (New York: HarperCollins, 2004) in The Stone-Campbell Journal 10 (2007): 311-12. Review of Will Deming, Paul on Marriage and Celibacy: The Hellenistic Background of 1 Corinthians 7 (2 nd ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004) in The Stone-Campbell Journal 10 (2007): 309-310. Review of Grant R. Osborne, Romans, IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downer s Grove: IVP, 2004) in The Stone-Campbell Journal 8 (2005): 156-57. Review of M. Luther Stirewalt, Jr., Paul, The Letter Writer (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003) in The Stone-Campbell Journal 7 (2004): 314-15. Review of C. K. Robertson, Conflict in Corinth: Redefining the System (New York: Peter Lang, 2001) in Religious Studies Review 30/1 (2004): 72. Review of Michael J. Gorman, Cruciformity: Paul s Narrative Spirituality of the Cross (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001) in Lexington Theological Quarterly 39 (2004): 287-89. Review of Mark J. Goodwin, Paul: Apostle of the Living God (Trinity, 2001) in Religious Studies Review 28 (2002): 377. Review of Jerry L. Sumney, Servants of Satan, False Brothers and Other Opponents of Paul (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999) in Lexington Theological Quarterly 36 (2001): 43-45. Review of Daniel Patte, The Challenge of Discipleship: A Critical Study of the Sermon on the Mount (Harrisburg: Trinity, 1999) in Encounter 63/4 (2002): 450-51.
Rollin A. Ramsaran Page 4 Review of C. J. den Heyer, Paul: A Man of Two Worlds (Harrisburg: Trinity, 2000) in Religious Studies Review 27/2 (2001): 170. Review of Justin L. Meggitt, Paul, Poverty, and Survival (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1998) in Religious Studies Review 26/2 (2000): 193. Review of John D. Harvey, Listening to the Text: Oral Patterning in Paul's Letters (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998) in Review of Biblical Literature (2000): 412-15. Review of Brian S. Rosner, Paul, Scripture, and Ethics: A Study of 1 Corinthians 5-7 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994) in The Stone-Campbell Journal (2000): 148-50. Review of Margaret Y. MacDonald, Early Christian Women and Pagan Opinion: The Power of the Hysterical Woman (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996) in Journal of American Academy of Religion 67/1 (1999): 223-26. Review of Brad H. Young, Paul the Jewish Theologian: A Pharisee among Christians, Jews, and Gentiles (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1997) in Lexington Theological Quarterly 33/3 (1998): 176-77. Review of J. Louis Martyn, Galatians: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, Anchor Bible, Volume 33A (New York: Doubleday, 1997) in The Stone-Campbell Journal 1/2 (1998): 283-85. Review of Alan R. Hunt, The Inspired Body: Paul, the Corinthians, and Divine Inspiration (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1996) in Religious Studies Review 24/1 (1998): 95. Review of C. K. Barrett, Paul: An Introduction to His Thought (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1995) in Horizons in Biblical Theology 18/1 (1996): 112-13. Review of Kevin Quast, The Corinthian Correspondence: An Introduction (New York: Orbis, 1994) in Critical Review of Books in Religion 8 (1995): 283-85. Review of Richard A. Horsley, Sociology and the Jesus Movement (New York: Crossroads, 1989) in Journal of the American Academy of Religion 60/4 (1992): 788-91. Review of Richard A. Horsley, Liberation of Christmas: The Infancy Narratives in Social Context (New York: Crossroads, 1989) in Journal of Biblical Literature 110/1 (1991): 159-62. Review of Bruce J. Malina, Christian Origins and Cultural Anthropology (Atlanta: John Knox, 1986) in The Second Century 7/4 (1989-90): 239-41.
Rollin A. Ramsaran Page 5 PAPERS PRESENTED Believe God, Stand Firm, and Proclaim: Being Addressed in Revelation, Leaven Symposium at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures, Malibu CA, April 30 May 3. Rich Heroic Themes: Spirit, Kingdom, and Prayer, Leaven Symposium at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures, Malibu, CA, May 4-7, 2010. Religious Experience In Christ : A Modest Pauline Appraisal, 2007 Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Religious Experience in Early Judaism and Early Christianity Section, San Diego, CA, November 21, 2007. Keynote Respondent to Papers on Paul and Religious Experience in the Religious Experience in Early Judaism and Early Christianity Section, 2005 Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Philadelphia, November 19, 2005. "From Mind to Message: Oral Performance in 1 Corinthians 15," 2003 Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Wisdom and Apocalypticism in Early Judaism and Early Christianity Group, Atlanta, GA, November 23, 2003. In The Steps of the Moralists: Paul s Rhetorical Argumentation in Philippians 4 (full version), Heidelberg 2002 Conference on Rhetoric, Ethics, and Moral Persuasion in Biblical Discourse, Heidelberg, Germany, July 24, 2002. In The Steps of the Moralists: Paul s Rhetorical Argumentation in Philippians 4 (partial version), The Southeast Commission for the Study of Religion (SBL), Atlanta, GA, March 10, 2002. "Resisting Imperial Domination and Influence: Paul's Apocalyptic Rhetoric in 1 Corinthians," 2000 Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Wisdom and Apocalypticism in Early Judaism and Early Christianity Group, Nashville, TN, November 21, 2000. "Living and Dying, Living is Dying (Phil 1:21): Paul's Maxim and Exemplary Argumentation in Philippians," Lund 2000 Conference on Rhetorical Argumentation in Biblical Texts, Lund, Sweden, July 27, 2000. "'In Non-essentials, Liberty': A Key Ministry Theme from Romans 14:1-15:13," Leaven Symposium at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures, Malibu, CA, May 2-5, 2000. "Paul's Apocalyptic Rhetoric Writ Large: 1 Corinthians," The Southeast Commission for the Study of Religion (SBL), Duke University, Durham, NC, March 12, 1999. Panel participant (with Ben Witherington III and Robert J. Miller) for "The Jesus Seminar from the Future Side," 1998 Staley Lectures, Emory and Henry College, Emory, VA, April 20, 1998.
Rollin A. Ramsaran Page 6 "Crafting Moral Counsel as a Renewed Law-Code: The Structure of Matthew's Sermon on the Mount," The Southeast Commission for the Study of Religion (SBL), University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, March 30, 1998. "1 Corinthians 7:25-26: Paul's Opinion or Rhetorical Maxim?" 1993 Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Pauline Epistles Section, Washington, DC, November 22, 1993. "Paul's Opinion or Ethical Maxim in 1 Corinthians 7:25-26?" 1993 Northeast Regional Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature/Catholic Biblical Association, Boston University School of Theology, Boston, MA, April 23, 1993. "The Identification and Function of Maxims in Paul's Argumentation: A Case Study in 1 Corinthians," The Northeast Regional Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Holy Cross College, Worcester, MA, March 31, 1989. ADDRESSES AND WORKSHOPS GIVEN Adult Forum: "Early Christians and Their Scriptures," St. John's Episcopal Church, Johnson City, TN, November 2, 2008. Workshop: Principles and Strategies for Teaching and Preaching the Acts of the Apostles, Church 2020 Conference, Emmanuel School of Religion, April 14, 2007. Adult Forum (Lenten Lectureship): "Roman Law and the Death of Jesus," St. John's Episcopal Church, Johnson City, TN, April, 2004. Adult Forum (ten-week series): Evening Studies in Paul s Letter to the Philippians, Grandview Christian Church, Johnson City, TN, September through November, 2003. Workshop: Paul s Letter to the Philippians, The Christian Evangelistic Society s Urban Studies, New Hope Christian Church, Pittsburgh, PA, January 13-17, 2003. Address: Meditation Practices Leading to Contentment: Paul s Counsel in Philippians 4, Theta Phi Banquet, Emmanuel School of Religion, Johnson City, TN, May 3, 2002. Adult Forum (four-week series): "Across the Divide: Wrestling with Paul's Moral Reasoning," St. John's Episcopal Church, Johnson City, TN, November, 1998. Address: "Kings in Conflict: The Matthean Infancy Narrative," East Tennessee Ministerial Association of the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, Milligan College, Johnson City, TN, December 9, 1997.
Rollin A. Ramsaran Page 7 Address: "Going Beyond Ourselves: Letting Love Lead the Way (Paul's Letter to Philemon)," Fig Tree Fellowship, Emmanuel School of Religion, Johnson City, TN, October 12, 1996. Workshop: "Christian Thinking in a Non-Christian World," Gatlinburg Collegiate Conference, Gatlinburg, TN, March 2, 1996. Workshop: "New Testament Moral Communities: Guidelines, Freedom, Discipline," Emmanuel School of Religion, Johnson City, TN, October 23, 1995. HONORS, SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS, AND TRAVEL Wabash Center 2010-11 Teaching and Learning Colloquy for Mid-Career Theological School Faculty (summer 2010; winter 2011; summer 2011). The Association of Theological Schools Roundtable Seminar for Mid-Career Faculty, Pittsburgh, PA, March 12-14, 2010. Middle East Travel Seminar (METS) participant, May 21 June 8, 2004 (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Israel, and Greece led by Max Miller and Steve McKenzie). Grove City College Summer Institute on "Market Economics and Religious Faith: Economics, Public Policy, Christian Faith and the Moral Order," Grove City, PA, June 22-26, 1998. The Association of Theological Schools Seminar for Recent Recipients of the Doctorate: "Developing Your Role as a Scholar" (with Sandra M. Schneiders and Ronald J. Sider), San Francisco, CA, March 17-19, 1995. New England/Maritimes Region AAR/Lilly Teaching Workshop, 1993-94. Christian Scholarship Foundation Graduate Fellowship, 1992-94. Boston University Graduate Scholarships, 1988-91. Westwood Christian Foundation: Lloyd N. Morrisett Academic Award, 1981. Pacific Christian College Merit Scholarship, 1976-79. TEACHING COMPETENCIES Survey and beginning courses in the New Testament and Christian Origins, Old Testament/ Hebrew Bible Introduction, Hellenistic Religions, New Testament Apocrypha, Second Temple Judaism, and Koine Greek.
Rollin A. Ramsaran Page 8 Intermediate or advanced courses in Early Christianity in its Social and Cultural Anthropological Setting, The Gospels, Pauline Studies, Pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha, New Testament Interpretation, Greek Reading, and Rhetorical and Moralist Traditions in the New Testament. TEACHING, RESEARCH, AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE Emmanuel Christian Seminary, 2013-present Academic Dean, Dean of Students, Registrar Emmanuel Christian Seminary, 2001-present Professor of New Testament Emmanuel School of Religion (Graduate Seminary), 2008-2010 Academic Dean, Dean of Students, Registrar Boston University School of Theology, 2000-01 Visiting Scholar (Sabbatical Year) Emmanuel School of Religion (Graduate Seminary), 1998-2001 Associate Professor of New Testament. Emmanuel School of Religion (Graduate Seminary), 1994-98 Assistant Professor of New Testament. Boston University College of Liberal Arts, 1991-94 Lecturer in Religious Studies. Boston University Metropolitan College, 1991-92 Part-time Instructor in Religion. University of Massachusetts at Boston, 1990 Instructor in Religion. Boston University Religion Department, 1989-90 Graduate Teaching Fellow. Boston University School of Theology, 1989 Teaching Assistant. Boston University School of Education Teaching Fellow Seminar Series and Training Program, 1989-90 Private Greek Tutor, 1989-92
Rollin A. Ramsaran Page 9 PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS American Academy of Religion Society of Biblical Literature Network of Biblical Storytellers REFERENCES J. Paul Sampley S. Scott Bartchy Richard A. Horsley Joel Marcus Jerry L. Sumney Robert F. Hull