Dr Nicholas Taylor
Honorary Fellow, New College
Contact details
- Web: Academia Page
Background
Nicholas Taylor is a New Testament scholar and a priest of the Scottish Episcopal Church. He is Convenor of the Liturgy Committee of the Church, has served on the Doctrine Committee, and is an Associate Tutor in the Scottish Episcopal Institute. Prior to taking up his current positions, he lectured in the University of Swaziland and at Africa University in Zimbabwe. He was subsequently a Research Fellow in the University of Pretoria and the University of Zululand, and taught at Ripon College Cuddesdon and at King's College, London..
Qualifications
M.A. (Cape Town); M.Th. (Oxford); Ph.D. (Durham)
Responsibilities & affiliations
Member, Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (Society for New Testament Studies); Society for Liturgical Studies
Trustee, Sabeel-Kairos UK; Convenor, Theology Group
Member, Biblical Studies Subject Group, Common Awards, University of Durham
Convenor, Liturgy Committee, Scottish Episcopal Church
Research summary
Nicholas Taylor is a New Testament Scholar and a priest in the Scottish Episcopal Church. He teaches in the Scottish Episcopal Institute, and is Convenor of the Liturgy Committee of the Church. Originally a Pauline scholar and historian of early Christianity, his interests expanded into historical Jesus and Synoptic studies, and subsequently into early Christian worship. More recently, he has explored the interface between scholarship and the life, worship, and ministry of the Church. He is interested also in Christian responses to Zionism, in its Christian and Jewish iterations, and in wider issues of social and economic justice.
Current research interests
Theological Approaches to Zionism Aspects of early Christian Liturgy, with particular attention to the sacraments Funereal and martyrdom motifs in early Christian Baptism ritesPast research interests
Early Christian Baptism and contemporary issues of mission and ministry Eucharist and Ministry in Scripture and the Church, with particular reference to Anglicanism Early Christian Responses to the Crisis posed by Emperor Caligula's order to erect his Statue in the Temple, and the development of Christian Eschatology Relations between the Apostle Paul and the Church of JerusalemConference details
I have attended conferences of the Society of Biblical Literature, the British New Testament Society, Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (Society for New Testament Studies), the New Testament Society of Southern Africa, and the Society for Liturgical Studies, and delivered papers on several occasions.
Papers delivered
“The Kairos Document and the Changing Role of the Church in South Africa”, Anti-Apartheid Movement Conference on the Role of the Church in South Africa, Durham, March 1988
“The Conversion and Apostolic Vocation of Paul”, Society of Biblical Literature, Gregorian University, Rome, July 1991
“Paul’s Apostolic Legitimacy: Autobiographical Reconstruction in Galatians 1-2", British New Testament Conference, Sheffield, 1991
“Paul the Pharisee and Paul the Christian: Interpreting Paul Today in the Light of Cognitive Dissonance Theory”, Conference on New Directions for Biblical Studies, King’s College London, April 1992
“Conversion and Baptism in Primitive Christianity: Identifying Appropriate Social Scientific Paradigms”, Second Sociology of Early Christianity Workshop, Durham, June 1993
“Palestinian Christianity and the Caligula Crisis”, Society of Biblical Literature, Münster, July 1993
“Caligula, the Church of Antioch, and the Gentile Mission”, British New Testament Conference, St Andrews, September 1993
“The Social Nature of Conversion in the Early Christian World”, Context Group, St Andrews, July 1994
“Jesus, Stephen, and the Temple”, Society of Biblical Literature, Leuven, August 1994
“The Temptation of Jesus on the Mountain”, British New Testament Conference, Nottingham, September 1994
“Onesimus: A Study in Conversion and Resocialization”, Fourth Sociology of Early Christianity Workshop, Canadian Learned Societies Conference, Université du Quebec á Montreal, June 1995
“Q, Mark, and Early Palestinian Christian Eschatology”, Society of Biblical Literature, Budapest, July 1995
“Cognitive Dissonance and Early Christianity: The Theory and Its Application Reconsidered”, Fifth Sociology of Early Christianity Workshop, St Mary’s College London, April 1996
“Herodians and Pharisees: Political Alliances in Late Second Temple Judaism”, Society of Biblical Literature, Trinity College Dublin, July 1996
“A Comparison of the Use of Scripture in the Eschatological Sections of Mark and Q”, Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense, Leuven, August 1996
“Jewish Opposition to Caligula”, Society of Biblical Literature, Lausanne, July 1997
“Noah in Scripture and Tradition”, Old Testament Society of South Africa, Durban, October 1997
“The Nature of Eschatology in the Teaching of Jesus”, New Testament Society of South Africa, University of South Africa, Pretoria, April 1998
“The Temptation Traditions in the Synoptic Gospels”, New Testament Society of South Africa, University of South Africa, Pretoria, April 1998
“The Early Christians and the Temple”, Society of Biblical Literature, Cracow, July 1998
“The Temple in Luke-Acts”, Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense, Leuven, July 1998
“Jerusalem and the Temple in Early Christian Eschatology”, New Testament Society of South Africa, Pretoria, November 1998, Port Elizabeth, April 1999
“Early Christian Responses to the Destruction of Jerusalem”, Society of Biblical Literature, Helsinki, July 1999
Response to William L. Petersen, “The First Christians”, Society of Biblical Literature, Helsinki, July 1999
(With Charles A. Wanamaker) “Paul and the Construction of Christian Identity”, Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, Pretoria, August 1999
“Stephen, the Temple, and early Christian Eschatology”, New Testament Society of South Africa, Johannesburg, March 2000
“The Colonial Context of the Jesus Movement and Early Christianity”, New Testament Society of South Africa, Pretoria, April 2001
“Paul and the Historical Jesus Quest”, New Testament Society of South Africa, Potchefstroom, April 2002
“The Jesus Movement and Early Christianity in their Imperial Context: Insights from Colonised Societies in Africa”, Society of Biblical Literature, Berlin, July 2002
“Q and Galilee?”, New Testament Society of South Africa, Pietermaritzburg, April 2003; Symposium on Q-Research, Pretoria, May 2003
“The Destruction of Jerusalem and the Transmission of the Synoptic Eschatological Discourse”, Symposium on Q-Research, University of Pretoria, May 2003
“The Hellenists and Q”, Society of Biblical Literature, Cambridge, July 2003
"John the Baptist and Temple Rejection in the Jesus Movement and Early Christianity", New Testament Society of South Africa, Pretoria, April 2004
“Remember the Poor (Gal. 2:10): A Response to Bruce W. Longenecker”, British New Testament Conference, Edinburgh, September 2004
“Death, Burial, and Baptism: Paul's Teaching on Baptism in Romans 6:3-5 in light of contemporary funereal customs”, Society of Biblical Literature, Edinburgh, July 2006
“Liturgical Presidency: What does Scripture actually say?”, Scripture and Liturgy: The Michael Vasey Conference, Durham, March 2009
“Dying with Christ (Rom 6:3-4) in Light of Contemporary Notions of Death and Afterlife”, Society of Biblical Literature, Tartu, July 2010
“Liturgy and Identity: Conversion-Initiation in Gal 3:26-29”, Society for Liturgical Studies, Mirfield, August 2012
“Liturgy and Theological Method in the Scottish Episcopal Church”, Scottish Religious Cultures Network Conference on the History of Scottish Episcopacy, Glasgow, August 2015
“Anti-Semitism in the New Testament?”, Sabeel-Kairos Theology Group, Glasgow, February 2020
“Land of Promise? The Anglican Communion Network for Interfaith Concerns Report after ten years”, Sabeel-Kairos Theology Group, Hawarden, March 2022
Paul, Antioch and Jerusalem: A Study in Relationships and Authority in Earliest Christianity (JSNTSS 66; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1992; Library of New Testament Studies; London: Bloomsbury, 2015)
Lay Presidency at the Eucharist? An Anglican Approach (Affirming Catholicism; London: Bloomsbury, 2009)
Ronald Taylor, He took, blessed, broke, and gave (ii, revised and expanded edition, Cape Town: PreText, 2010)
What can we know about Jesus? (St Aidan's Lectures; Glasgow: Scottish Episcopal Church, Diocese of Glasgow & Galloway, 2013)
Paul on Baptism: Theology, Mission and Ministry in Context (London: SCM, 2016; Eugene OR: Wipf & Stock, 2017)
(edited with Bridget Nichols), The End of the Church? Essays in Conversation with David Jasper (Durham: Sacristy, 2022)
Articles
“The Composition and Chronology of Second Corinthians”, Journal for the Study of the New Testament 44 (1991) 67-87
“Paul’s Apostolic Legitimacy: Autobiographical Reconstruction in Galatians 1:11-2:14", Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 83 (1993) 65-77
“Palestinian Christianity and the Caligula Crisis: I. Social and Historical Reconstruction”, Journal for the Study of the New Testament 61 (1996) 101-124
“Palestinian Christianity and the Caligula Crisis: II. The Markan Eschatological Discourse”, Journal for the Study of the New Testament 62 (1996) 13-41
“Paulo, Fariseo, Cristiano e Dissonante”, A. J. Blasi & A. Nesti (eds), Guidismo e cristianismo delle origini in prospettiva sociologica. Religioni e Società 24 (1996) 22-39
“Onesimus: A Study in Slavery and Conversion in Early Christianity”, Religion and Theology 3 (1996) 159-181
“Paul for Today: Race, Class, and Gender in Light of Cognitive Dissonance Theory”, N. H. Taylor (ed), Sociology of Early Christianity and Contemporary Christian Life. Listening: Journal of Religion and Culture 32.1 (1997) 22-38
“Paul, Pharisee and Christian: Israel, the Gentiles, and the Law of Moses in Light of Cognitive Dissonance Theory”, Theologia Viatorum 24 (1997) 45-65
“Cognitive Dissonance and Early Christianity: A Theory and its Application Reconsidered”, Religion and Theology 5 (1998) 138-153
“Prolegomena to Reconstructing the Eschatological Teaching of Jesus”, Neotestamentica 33 (1999) 145-60
“Early Christian Expectations Concerning the Return of Jesus: from Imminent Parousia to the Millenium”, Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 104 (1999) 32-43
“Jerusalem and the Temple in early Christian Life and Teaching”, Neotestamentica 33 (1999) 445-61
“Reflections on Advent and Eschatology”, Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 105 (1999) 75-80
“Caligula, the Church of Antioch, and the Gentile Mission”, Religion and Theology 7 (2000) 1-23
“Educating Theological Educators for Africa in the Twenty First Century”, Religion and Theology 7 (2000) 82-86
“Popular Opposition to Caligula in Jewish Palestine”, Journal for the Study of Judaism 32 (2001) 54-70
“The Temptation of Jesus on the Mountain: A Palestinian Christian Polemic against Agrippa I”, Journal for the Study of the New Testament 83 (2001) 27-49
“Pharisees and Herodians: The Historical and Political Background to Mark 3:6; 12:13”, Neotestamentica 34 (2000) 299-310
“Who persecuted the Thessalonian Christians?”, Hervormde Teologiese Studies 58 (2002) 784-801
“Stephen, the Temple, and early Christian Eschatology”, Revue Biblique 110 (2003) 62-85
“Baptism for the Dead (1 Cor 15:29)?”, pp. 111-120 in J. A. Draper, N. H. Taylor & M. T. Speckman (ed), Word, Sacrament, and Community: Festschrift for Professor J.N. Suggit. Neotestamentica 36 (2002)
“Paul and the Historical Jesus Quest”, Neotestamentica 37 (2003) 105-26
“The Destruction of Jerusalem and the Transmission of the Synoptic Eschatological Discourse”, Hervormde Teologiese Studies 59 (2003) 283-311
“Conflict as Context for defining Identity: A Study of Apostleship in the Galatian and Corinthian Letters”, Hervormde Teologiese Studies 59 (2003) 915-945
“Q and Galilee?”, Neotestamentica 37 (2003) 283-311
"The Jerusalem Temple in Luke-Acts", Hervormde Teologiese Studies 60 (2004) 459-85
“Stephen in History and Tradition”, Scripture Bulletin 37.2 (2007) 21-29
“Baptism and Death: Pastoral Liturgy at the Death of an Unbaptized Person”, Anaphora: Journal of the Society for Liturgical Studies 1 (2007) 55-80
"Dying with Christ in Baptism: Issues in the Translation and Interpretation of Rom 6:3-4”, The Bible Translator 59 (2008) 38-49
“Liturgy and Identity: Conversion-Initiation in Galatians 3:26-29”, Anaphora: Journal of the Society for Liturgical Studies 6.2 (2012) 1-18
“Liturgy and Theological Method in the Scottish Episcopal Church”, J. R. Davies & R. S. Spurlock (ed), Studies in the History of Scottish Episcopacy. Records of the Scottish Church History Society 47 (2018) 143-54
“Christianity, Scripture, and Zionism”, Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 2.2 (2018) 7-34
“Baptism, Death, and Funeral Rites: Paul’s Teaching on Baptism in Romans 6: 3-4 in Light of Contemporary Funereal Customs and Beliefs about Death”, Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 2.3 (2018) 3-30
“Episcopacy: Biblical, Patristic, and Reformation Reflections for Today and Tomorrow’s Church”, Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 2.4 (2018) 23-35
“Scripture and Mission”, Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 3.1 (2019) 32-50
“Towards Renewal of the Scottish Liturgy: Some Principles”, Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 3.4 (2019) 8-17
“The Lord’s Prayer in the Eucharist”, Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 3.4 (2019) 57-64
“Issues in Eucharistic Theology”, Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 3.4 (2019) 86-100
“The Fraction and Distribution”, Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 3.4 (2019) 101-107
“Church, Ministry, and Coronavirus”, Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 4.2 (2020) 3-9
(with D. Jasper) “Proclaiming the Gospel of Holy Week and Easter under Lockdown”, Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 4.2 (2020) 99-112
“Professor James D. G. Dunn, FBA, DD (1939-2020)”, Review of Ecumenical Studies 13.1 (2021) 113-16
“Anti-Semitism in the New Testament?”, Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 5.3 (2021) 99-131
(with J. R. Davies) “Sacraments and Ministry in the Scottish Episcopal Church”, Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 6.1 (2022) 69-80
“The Burial of Jesus and Christian Funerals”, Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 6.3 (2022) 31-42
“Evocation of Baptism in Funeral Rites”, Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 6.3 (2022) 65-81
“The Vocation of the Theologian: Marginality and Vision”, Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 7.1 (2023) 7-18
“Biblical Scholarship, Theology and Ministry in the Anglican Tradition”, Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 7.1 (2023) 44-53
"Land of Promise? Some Observations and Reflections on the Report from the Anglican Communion Network for Inter Faith Concerns", Scottish Episcopal Institute Journal 7.3 (2023) 67-178
Chapters in Books
“The Social Nature of Conversion in the Early Christian World”, pp. 128-136 in P. F. Esler (ed), Modelling Early Christianity. London & New York: Routledge, 1995
“Interpretation of Scripture as an Indicator of Socio-Historical Context: The Case of the Eschatological Discourses in Mark and Q”, pp. 459-467 in C. M. Tuckett (ed), The Scriptures in the Gospels: The Use of the Old Testament in the Four Gospels. Leuven: Leuven University Press & Peeters, 1997
“Luke-Acts and the Temple”, pp. 709-721 in J. Verheyden (ed), The Unity of Luke-Acts. Leuven: University Press & Peeters, 1999
“Conflicting Bases of Identity in early Christianity: The Example of Paul”, pp. 577-597 in A. J. Blasi, J. Duhaime, and P.-A. Ducotte (ed), Handbook of Early Christianity: Social Science Approaches. Walnut Creek: Alta Mira Press, 2002
“The Contextualisation of Christianity in the early Church”, pp. 41-54 in E. R. Johnson (ed), Reflections on Christian Faith: An African Context. Mutare: Africa University Press, 2002
“Apostolic Identity and the Conflicts in Corinth and Galatia”, pp. 99-127 in S. E. Porter (ed), Paul and his Opponents. Pauline Studies 2. Leiden: Brill, 2005
“Puteoli”, New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible IV (Nashville: Abingdon, 2009) 692
“Truth and the Biblical Tradition”, D. Jasper & J. A. Wright (ed), Truth and the Church in a Secular Age (London: SCM, 2019) 1-16
“The Anglican Heritage in a Global Communion”, M. T. Speckman & G. O. Westl (ed), Faithful Disciple and Servant Scholar (Johannesburg: Anglican Church of Southern Africa, 2022) 124-31