There has long been a need for a full biography of the F.F. Bruce, a scholar whose work proved deeply influential on the development of the Evangelical church in the 20th Century. For that reason I was delighted when Paternoster sent me a review copy of Tim Grass’s F.F Bruce: A Life
Having spent a considerable time interviewing friends and colleagues of Bruce around the globe, Tim Grass offers a thorough and at times humourous account of FFB’s life. This is combined with a judicious analysis of both his writings and the development of his thought on a wide range of theological subjects. With such an influential figure it will, I am sure, prove tempting for some to tick-off those subjects on which one agreed or disagreed with Bruce. However, the author attempts to identify how Bruce’s background and upbringing influenced his theology in a number of ways and so will perhaps help readers to recognise their own presuppositions more clearly. The author discusses both Bruce’s strengths and weaknesses and so presents a well-balanced picture of Bruce as a deeply committed Christian and a professional scholar. It is difficult not to be impressed by someone who proofread the entire text of the English translation of Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament whilst travelling on the train to work each day!
The final chapter provides an evaluation of Bruce’s profound influence under three headings: His impact on the Brethren; on evangelicalism generally and, finally, on the world of academic biblical studies. An extensive bibliography of FFB’s works rounds off the volume.
FFB is an inspiration by his example as a biblical scholar seeking to be true to the message of Scripture and I highly commend this book to anyone who, like myself, has benefitted from his works.
Today’s free resource is a rare article by Professor F F Bruce that does not appear in his published bibliographies. As you might expect from Bruce, this short article summarises succinctly the New Testament teaching about the baptism of Jesus and its significance. My thanks to Book Aid for providing a copy of this article…
For the last few weeks I have been assisting Book Aid sort through the library of the late Terence Croft Mitchell (17 June 1929 – 21 April 2019), Keeper of Western Asiatic Antiquities at the British Museum from 1985 to 1989. During his career he accumulated an extensive library of books on biblical archaeology and…
In 1977 Howard Marshall edited a collection of essays on New Testament interpretation contributed by some of the best Evangelical scholars in the UK, many of whom have since gone to their reward, including Marshall himself. The volume has proved to be of enduring value to students, particularly F.F Bruce’s masterful summary of the history of…
Last December I hosted a guest post by Larry Stone, who is organising the reprinting in electronic formats the works of F.F. Bruce. Larry has told me that the process is moving forward. He writes: F.F. Bruce Copyright International plans to publish at least 17 books as ebooks in the fall under the Kingsley Books…
I came across this hard-to-find article y F.F. Bruce on Daniel and the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Library at Spurgeon’s College. It appears online by permission of F.F. Bruce Copyright International, Inc., Bath, England, and Nashville, Tennessee. F.F. Bruce, “The Book of Daniel and the Qumran Community,” E.E. Ellis & M. Wilcox, eds., Neotestametica…
When Robert Hicks, a British book publisher, realized that many of the works of F.F. Bruce were not readily available, he wanted to correct that situation. He believed in the importance of Bruce’s excellent content and in Bruce’s example as a leading evangelical scholar. Of the nearly 60 books and hundreds of magazine articles written…
Thank you Robert for this article. I once had the pleasure to speak to him on the telephone. Very humble and kind man.