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A compelling devotional by Day1 host Peter Wallace, designed to help people of all ages connect meaningfully with God as revealed in the Psalms.

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Dr. Greg Carey Dr. Greg Carey is Professor of New Testament at Lancaster Theological Seminary in Lancaster, PA.

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United Church of Christ

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Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster, PA

Dr. Greg Carey

United Church of Christ

Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster, PA

Greg Carey has taught at Lancaster Seminary since 1999, having previously taught at Rhodes College and Winthrop University. His publications include numerous studies on the book of Revelation and ancient apocalyptic literature, rhetorical analysis of the New Testament, and  Sinners: Jesus and His Earliest Followers.

Courses in New Testament aim to prepare students as public interpreters of Scripture.  Students engage Scripture not only in its ancient Mediterranean contexts but also as living documents in global conversations.

Greg blogs regularly for the Huffington Post religion section.  A contributing editor to the Odyssey Networks' new lectionary resource, ON Scripture, he also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Bible and Human Transformation and Out In Scripture, an LGBT-friendly lectionary resource.  Greg serves as chair of the Rhetoric and the New Testament Section of the Society of Biblical Literature and as co-chair for the Apocalyptic Literature Section of the Society of Biblical Literature International Meeting. He has appeared in documentaries on the BBC, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic Channel, and most recently the 2011 BBC One documentary, "The Story of Jesus."

An Alabama native, Greg is a graduate of Rhodes College and Vanderbilt University (PhD, 1996). Greg is an active layperson in the United Church of Christ, who serves as Scholar in Residence at Lancaster'sEvangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity. He lives in Lancaster with his daughters Erin and Emily.

 


Latest Content by Dr. Greg Carey

Dr. Greg Carey

Dr. Greg Carey: Jesus and the Torah

Dr. Greg Carey (UCC)

One commonly hears, especially in church, that Jesus routinely transgressed the Torah, the law of Israel. Indeed, at least one New Testament writer agreed, saying that Jesus "abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances" (Ephesians 2:15). So what about Jesus? Did he observe the Torah like most other Jews of his day, or did he transgress it?

Read full article...
Dr. Greg Carey

Dr. Greg Carey: Crossan on Parables and Gospels

Dr. Greg Carey (UCC)

John Dominic Crossan's new book, "The Power of Parable: How Fiction by Jesus Became Fiction aboutJesus," may spark controversy among some churchgoing readers. However, for readers who aspire to take the Gospels seriously, Crossan has some important things to say.

Read full article...

Other Recent Content by Dr. Greg Carey

Dr. Greg Carey Article

March 17, 2012

Dr. Greg Carey: Jesus' Death as Sacrifice?

Dr. Greg Carey (UCC)

There's a problem with penal substitution. Biblical sacrifices do not represent human attempts to purchase forgiveness; instead, they offer a ritual means of acknowledging the costliness of sin and alienation from God. Through sacrifice, God reaches out to mortals and invites their response.
Dr. Greg Carey Article

March 03, 2012

Dr. Greg Carey: What Is the Core of the Gospel?

Dr. Greg Carey (UCC)

I teach at a theological seminary, where we prepare religious leaders for service in the church and the world. Often I'll ask students, "What is your gospel?" That is, what is the core message that directs your ministry? That may sound like an innocent question, yet most seminarians find it intimidating. How does one boil down one's faith to a straightforward proclamation?
Dr. Greg Carey Article

February 18, 2012

Dr. Greg Carey: Revelation: Who Likes It, and Who Doesn't?

Dr. Greg Carey (UCC)

In the third part of his series on the book of Revelation, Dr. Greg Carey asks, If Revelation brings good news for the oppressed, what's not to like? Typically Revelation has faced four major sets of objections.
Dr. Greg Carey Article

February 04, 2012

Dr. Greg Carey: Revelation in Context: Letters and Symbols

Dr. Greg Carey (UCC)

Part 2 of 3 on the Book of Revelation: This might come as a surprise to many, but Revelation's interpreters have arrived at a general consensus regarding why John wrote the Apocalypse, particularly the circumstances surrounding Revelation's composition.
ON Scripture Article

January 18, 2012

ON Scripture: Greg Carey on Mark 1:14-20: Worthy of Their Lives

ON Scripture

Readers almost always gravitate to the same question. Why do Simon and Andrew, then James and John after them, abandon everything to follow Jesus? Mark leaves no doubt as to the immediacy of their response.
Dr. Greg Carey Article

January 05, 2012

Dr. Greg Carey: What Does the Book of Revelation Really Mean?

Dr. Greg Carey (UCC)

The truth is, no academic interpreter of Revelation understands the book as a roadmap for the future, much less as telling contemporary Christians that these are the last days.
Dr. Greg Carey Article

December 16, 2011

Dr. Greg Carey: Partisanship in the Hijacked Church: A Book Review

Dr. Greg Carey (UCC)

In their forthcoming book "Hijacked: Responding to the Partisan Church Divide," Mike Slaughter and Charles E. Gutenson (with help from Robert P. Jones) call Christians, especially evangelicals like themselves, to passionate and charitable engagement with the public sphere.
Dr. Greg Carey Article

December 06, 2011

Dr. Greg Carey: Occupy Jerusalem: How Jesus Got Himself Killed

Dr. Greg Carey (UCC)

The theological question many ask is "Why did Jesus die?" I am asking a different question: How did Jesus get himself killed? This question has theological implications, but it is not simply theological. This is a literary and historical question concerning how human actions led to Jesus' death.
Dr. Greg Carey Article

November 03, 2011

Dr. Greg Carey: Paul Did Not Invent Christianity

Dr. Greg Carey (UCC)

It's not rare to encounter people who claim that Paul "invented" Christianity. The basic idea is that Jesus taught a pure and ethical form of Judaism that focused on God and gracious living, while Paul developed a religion that worshiped Jesus rather than God.
Dr. Greg Carey Article

October 16, 2011

Dr. Greg Carey: The Power and Presence of Women in the Earliest Churches

Dr. Greg Carey (UCC)

In previous posts I reflected on early Christians' passion to keep in touch with one another and on the diversity of early Christian communities. In this final entry I shall reflect on women's contributions to the movement.
ON Scripture Article

September 21, 2011

ON Scripture: Dr. Greg Carey on Ezekiel 18

ON Scripture

In this week's ON Scripture lectionary resource, Dr. Greg Carey writes, "Ezekiel speaks compellingly to the current situation in the United States. But is the prophet’s message true?"
Dr. Greg Carey Article

September 19, 2011

Dr. Greg Carey: Were the First Christians Rich or Poor?

Dr. Greg Carey (UCC)

In an earlier post I reflected on how the earliest groups of Christians built community and stayed in touch with one another despite the challenges of communication in the ancient world. In this post I will address the diversity we encounter in those earliest churches.
ON Scripture Article

August 24, 2011

ON Scripture: Dr. Greg Carey on Matthew 16:21-28

ON Scripture

In this week's ON Scripture column, Dr. Greg Carey writes, "Few Christians abandon everything for the gospel’s sake. Most of us simply fit our Christianity into the open spots on our calendars. But in this passage Jesus links the life of discipleship with his own path."
Dr. Greg Carey Article

August 23, 2011

Dr. Greg Carey: Imagining the First Christians

Dr. Greg Carey (UCC)

The earliest churches displayed one particularly remarkable trait: a passion to keep in touch with one another.