Fifth University Professor Named

Mark Strauss has been named University Professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary of Bethel University. Strauss is just the fifth faculty member to earn this recognition. The University Professor award at Bethel University honors full-time faculty members for sustained excellence in scholarship, teaching, research, or creative activity in their field.

Since joining the faculty at Bethel Seminary San Diego in 1994, Strauss has had a strong influence on Bible translation, hermeneutics, and countless students, President Jay Barnes stated in an announcement to the Bethel community. “Mark’s influence on the fields of Bible translation, hermeneutics, and developing leaders for the church locally and globally puts him in rare company,” wrote Barnes. “He has the ability to tackle the issues of the day in ways that bring Scripture to bear in helping people to think through challenging concerns. Whether it is the Da Vinci Code, the role of women, or gendered language in Bible translation, he has been masterful in addressing the issues.”

Strauss has written 11 book-length publications, including How to Read the Bible in Changing Timesand the commentary Four Portraits, One Jesus.Scott Duvall, professor of New Testament at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas, describesFour Portraits, One Jesus as “simply the best textbook available for undergrads and beginning grad students in this field of study.”

Glen Scorgie, professor of theology at Bethel Seminary San Diego, states, “Mark Strauss’s greatest gifts and contributions…lie in the sphere of biblical scholarship. He has consistently demonstrated his ability to make important truths accessible to a broad, thoughtful audience….His latest book, How to Read the Bible in Changing Times, is an accessible but substantive invitation to evangelicals to immerse their imaginations in the biblical text and focus on the heart of God revealed therein.”

Strauss has also written 29 articles; participated in multiple video teaching presentations, including Lee Strobel's The Case for Christ; written 20 book reviews; given 26 major invited presentations; served on several key editorial or steering committees, including vice-chair of the Committee on Bible Translation for the New International Version; and taught in various churches, classrooms, camps, and conferences across the country as well as in Australia, Thailand, Uganda, and Malawi. Before coming to Bethel, he taught at San Diego Christian College  and Talbot School of Theology of Biola University, both in California. He holds  a Ph.D. in New Testament from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.