Martin Hengel, Gentleman and Scholar, dies aged 82
The Daily Telegraph carries the obituary of the Professor Martin Hengel who died aged 82 on the 2nd of July 2009. I particularly liked this paragraph:
Yet although Hengel was responsible for a radically different approach to the New Testament, his conclusions were always comparatively conservative and reassuring to evangelicals and others seeking confirmation of their Christian beliefs. His criticism of those attempting to apply modern methods of literary criticism to the Bible were often scathing, and he remained firmly in the faith of Lutheran pietism.
You can read the obituary in full here.
Main image: By Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (KNAW), CC BY 3.0, Link
I met Martin Hengel a number of years ago and told him how much I had appreciated, in particular, his work on crucifixion. I felt that it should have had a wide audience in the church. He replied that he too would have liked to see a wider reception of his works, but, as he put it, “I have a problem with footnotes.” I almost laughed, though I have always been delighted with his love for lengthy comments and citations. His Judaism and Hellenism came out as two volumes, with the second, equal in length to the first, being solely endnotes. Presumably he felt that the general public would be put off with his love for citation. I’m not so sure.