BUIES CREEK, N.C. — David Moffitt, an assistant professor of New Testament and Greek at Campbell University Divinity School, is one of 10 young scholars from around the world named recipients of a prestigious international award for excellence in theological studies.
The Manfred Lautenschläger Award for Theological Promise 2013, sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation, honors the best doctoral or first post-doctoral work on the topic of “God and Spirituality” by scholars 35 or younger. Moffitt received the award for his 2011 book, Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
David Moffitt |
The awards will be presented during a May 31 ceremony at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. The scholars also receive a prize of $10,000 each.
The John Templeton Foundation, based in suburban Philadelphia, describes itself as a “philanthropic catalyst” for discoveries relating to questions of human purpose and ultimate reality.
Moffitt’s book “seeks to show that the confession of Jesus’ bodily resurrection informs the Christology and soteriology of Hebrews,” the Templeton Foundation wrote in announcing the award. “This thesis has the potential to contribute to contemporary Christian reflection on God and spirituality in several important ways.”
Among them is the possible fostering of “Jewish-Christian dialogue by reminding Christians that some of the most fundamental affirmations of Christian faith become incoherent when abstracted from their Jewish roots.”
In a Campbell press release, Moffitt said he was “honored that my book has been recognized as having the potential to make a significant contribution to contemporary theological discourse.”
“I am grateful for the scholarly attention that this award will bring to my work, and I pray that God will use the ideas in the book for the edification of the church,” he added. “I am also thankful to be able to represent Campbell University in this way.”
Moffitt joined the Campbell University Divinity School faculty in 2011. He received doctor of philosophy and master of theology degrees from Duke University, a master of divinity degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a bachelor’s degree from Grove City College. During his doctoral work, he spent a year as a Fulbright Scholar at the Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen in Germany. He has also been a Society of Biblical Literature Regional Scholar.
“In the year and a half that Dr. David Moffitt has been part of the faculty of Campbell University Divinity School, he has proven himself to be not only an outstanding scholar, but also an excellent teacher and a committed minister of the gospel,” said Andy Wakefield, dean of the Campbell University Divinity School. “He exemplifies the commitment shared by all of the faculty to theological education that is Christ-centered, Bible-based and ministry-focused. We are thrilled and proud that Dr. Moffitt has received this well-deserved award.”
Robert Dilday ([email protected]) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.