Powell, Mark Allan 1953-

views updated

POWELL, Mark Allan 1953-

PERSONAL:

Born 1953. Education: Texas Lutheran College, B.A., 1975; Trinity Lutheran Seminary (Columbus, OH), M.Div., 1980; Union Theological Seminary (Richmond, VA), Ph.D., 1987. Religion: Lutheran.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Bible Department, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, 2199 East Main St., Columbus, OH 43209. E-mail—mapowell@trinitylutheranseminary.edu.

CAREER:

Theologian. Trinity Lutheran Seminary, began as assistant professor of New Testament, 1987-92, became associate professor 1992—; also served as director of continuing education and postgraduate studies, 1989-92. Ordained minister, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

WRITINGS:

What Are They Saying about Luke?, Paulist Press (New York, NY), 1989.

What Is Narrative Criticism?, Fortress Press (Minneapolis, MN), 1990.

What Are They Saying about Acts?, Paulist Press (New York, NY), 1991.

(With Cecile G. Gray and Melissa C. Curtis) The Bible and Modern Literary Criticism: A Critical Assessment and Annotated Bibliography, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 1992.

God with Us: A Pastoral Theology of Matthew's Gospel, Fortress Press (Minneapolis, MN), 1995.

(Editor with David R. Bauer) Treasures New and Old: Recent Contributions to Matthean Studies, Scholars Press (Atlanta, GA), 1996.

Fortress Introduction to the Gospels, Fortress Press (Minneapolis, MN), 1998.

Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee, Westminster John Knox (Louisville, KY), 1998.

(Editor) The New Testament Today, Westminster John Knox (Louisville, KY), 1999.

(Editor, with others) Who Do You Say That I Am?: Essays on Christology, Westminster John Knox Press (Louisville, KY), 1999.

Chasing the Eastern Star: Adventures in Biblical Reader-response Criticism, Westminster John Knox (Louisville, KY), 2001.

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, Hendrickson (Peabody, MA), 2002.

Contributor of more than one hundred articles on theology and the Bible.

SIDELIGHTS:

Mark Allan Powell is an ordained Lutheran minister and leading New Testament scholar with numerous books and articles to his credit. He joined the faculty of Trinity Lutheran Seminary in 1987, and has held the Leatherman Chair in New Testament since 1998. Powell has done significant research on the historical Jesus and has contributed a great deal to the study of the Bible as literature.

Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee, summarizes past scholarship and explains and evaluates the most important recent work on the subject of the historical Jesus. In a review of the book for Theological Studies, Elliott C. Maloney commented that "It gives excellent analysis of recent historical inquiry into the life of Jesus," and "should be required reading for all seminarians." Critic Mark A. Matson suggested in Interpretation that "Powell has chosen the key scholars to review and has done an excellent job of describing their primary positions, giving enough of their arguments for one to appreciate the basis for their reconstructions," further noting that Powell remains "remarkably unbiased." Powell has done similar work on other New Testament topics, especially on the study of Matthew.

In a different vein, Powell has written Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, which Library Journal reviewer James E. Perone described as "an exhaustive opus on popular Christian music dating from the 1960s to the present." Having once worked as a rock journalist and critic, Powell has an informed appreciation for popular music. In an interview for Christianity Today, Powell explained that his early interest in music influenced his religious work. "As I became a professional theologian and I learned to think of things in what are supposed to be sophisticated and nuanced ways, I have never forgotten how much that music meant to me and how important it was to my faith development." Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music includes entries not only on specifically religious music, but also on artists whose work, Powell believes, deals with more subtle aspects of Christianity. These include such artists as Sam Cook, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Creed, US, and Collective Soul. "What all these people have in common," he explained, "is an intersection of Christian faith and popular music that reveals something about the inter-relationships of religion and culture in the last thirty years in America." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly felt that "readers who appreciate Powell's assertion that contemporary Christian musicians are actually 'amateur theologians' whose perspectives are helping to shape Christian history will marvel at this book's stunning combination of breadth and depth."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

America, February 9, 1991, review of What Are They Saying about Luke?, p. 133.

Booklist, December 15, 2002, review of Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, p. 778.

Catholic Biblical Quarterly, July, 1997, Robert Doran, review of Treasures New and Old: Recent Contributions to Matthean Studies, pp. 600-602.

Interpretation, July, 1991, Walter E. Pilgrim, review of What Are They Saying about Luke?, p. 312; July, 1992, Richard H. Hiers, review of What Is Narrative Criticism?, pp. 329-330; April, 1993, John T. Carroll, review of What Are They Saying about Acts?, p. 196; April, 1994, Elizabeth A. Castelli, review of The Bible and Modern Literary Criticism: A Critical Assessment and Annotated Bibliography, p. 218; January, 1997, John P. Meier, review of God with Us: A Pastoral Theology of Matthew's Gospel, p. 91; July, 1999, Mark A. Matson, review of Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee, p. 309.

Library Journal, January, 1999, Graham Christian, review of Jesus as a Figure in History, p. 108; November 1, 2002, James E. Perone, review of Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, p. 82.

Publishers Weekly, February 15, 1999, review of The New Testament Today, p. 100; July 15, 2002, review of Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, p. 71.

Religious Studies Review, April, 1993, W. Lee Humphreys, review of The Bible and Modern Literary Criticism, p. 141; April, 1997, Fred W. Burnett, review of God With Us, p. 182; October, 1998, Fred W. Burnett, review of Fortress Introduction to the Gospels April, p. 417; 2002, Amos Yong, review of Chasing the Eastern Star: Adventures in Biblical Reader-response Criticism, p. 169.

Theological Studies, March, 2000, Elliott C. Maloney, review of Jesus as a Figure in History, p. 151.

Theology Today, July, 1996, A.K.M. Adam, review of God with Us: A Pastoral Theology of Matthew's Gospel, p. 278; July, 2000, Leander E. Keck, review of Jesus as a Figure in History, pp. 232-228.

Wilson Quarterly, winter, 2003, Randall Balmer, review of Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, p. 121.