In Praise of Great Teachers: Larry Hurtado

The best way to learn from a person who is working out his or her intellectual salvation with fear and trembling is often not in the classroom. By “intellectual” I mean what the German language refers to as “geistliche.” The spiritual and the intellectual hang together, whether we like it or not.

A Jewish or Christian intellectual who does not understand his or her activity as a specific calling has missed the boat. A sense of calling of this kind most often expresses itself in terms of cultural loyalties – sometimes even disloyalities. It is often cause for soul-searching. As it should be.

The Christian bookstore I frequented as a teenager was run by John Koeshall who, along with his wife Anita, later became Assemblies of God missionaries to Europe. John and Anita organized summer backpacking trips to the Rocky mountains of Montana through the bookstore. The summer I went, the guest speaker was a young AG pastor named Larry Hurtado.

What was it like for a group of teenagers and twenty year olds to have Hurtado, who is now professor of New Testament at the University of Edinburgh, as their intellectual-in-residence during a backpacking trip in the pristine wilds of Montana? It was formative. I was a teenage bookworm reading Bonhoeffer, Ellul, and James Daane. I was also (and am) a charismatic; speaking in tongues and prophecy and such were part of my experience. To hear an AG pastor wrestle out loud with questions of faith and doubt and biblical interpretation during that trip gave me permission to do likewise.

It is typical of charismatics to have an awareness of God’s power and presence which scares a lot of other people. It needs to be said: the awareness is subject to the same laws that govern all of human existence. Distortion and self-deception dog it from beginning to end. Larry Hurtado knew that and communicated that, and still did not apologize for being a Pentecostal. That was exactly what I needed at the time.

Whenever former students of a professor get together, guess what they talk about? Anecdotes of a personal nature. Who our teachers are as it relates to what they said: that's what interests us. As it should be.

Comments

[Nick Norelli]

John,

Thanks so much for this anecdote. Larry Hurtado is probably my favorite author and believe it or not I was not aware that he was a Charismatic-Pentecostal. I'm very pleased to find this out. It also pleases me to learn that you are a Charismatic. Over the past few months I have learned that many scholars I greatly respect are Charismatics and I believe this is great because it will certainly help to dispel the common view that people have of us.

[Iyov]

Fascinating post. I would very much like to see any reviews or thoughts you might have on Hurtado's books. (If you care to write about your experiences as a charismatic, it would also be interesting for your readership, much as your gripping series on Calvinism was.)

I found the following sermon/lectures online:

Origins of Christian Worship 1

Origins of Christian Worship 2

Origins of the Eucharist

Sermon on Galatians

Some may also be interested in this three-way debate between Hurtado and Alan Segal and John Kloppenborg.

[JohnFH]

Thanks for the encouragement and links, Iyov.

I've thought long and hard about some of the issues Hurtado, Segal, and Kloppenborg deal with, but not as long and hard as they have. I hesitate to cross swords with them; there would be significant blood on the floor by the end of the day. We shall see what the future holds.

[Rev. David Hurtado]

L.W. Hurtado should not be placed in a "charismatic" context. If you view his work he is an excellent historian who places high value on the impact the whole primitive culture has to form what we consider to be biblical culture. His theology is well developed. Our ability to worship, and serve a Holy God supersedes denomination and worship style.

[Robbie Chung]

I am a student from China,and I'm very appreciating your article about L.W. Hurtado.Though I haven't been abroad ,and don't know what the foreign teachers are like ,but I can still imagine a chrismatic image of a teacher.thanks a lot for your detailed expression.

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