Jan. 26, 2011
For Immediate Release

By Shelby Lynn Cash, student news writer

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - Campbellsville University School of Theology will present a scholarly paper on racial reconciliation on Monday, Feb. 7, from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Campbellsville University Banquet Hall located inside the Badgett Academic Support Center at 110 University Drive, Campbellsville.

 

The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Jarvis J. Williams, assistant professor of New Testament and Greek, will present the paper titled “A New Race‘in Christ': The Soteriological Foundation underneath Paul's Theology of Racial Reconciliation.” A fuller version of this paper will be published in a scholarly journal in the United Kingdom in June.

Williams said his paper “will first define what ‘race' meant from the perspective of ancient secular texts and from the perspective of religious texts, and it will discuss the differences between secular and Jewish texts and Paul's words.”

“After I've defined what I mean by ‘race,' I will then discuss the issue of ‘racial reconciliation' from the perspective of the apostle Paul. My thesis that I will argue and defend from selected texts authored by the apostle Paul is as follows: ‘The foundation underneath Paul's understanding of racial reconciliation is Jesus' death for Jews and Gentiles; Jews and Gentiles who express faith in Jesus form a ‘new' and ‘distinct' race, and racial reconciliation is central to Paul's gospel,” Williams said.

Williams received his Ph.D. in 2007 from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Williams also has a master of theology and a master of divinity from SBTS and a bachelor of science from the James P. Boyce College.

Williams has published two scholarly books and additional scholarly articles in his field.His publicationshave focused on atonement in Paul's theology and salvation in Paul's theology, but his second book specifically focuses on racial reconciliation and atonement in Paul's theology.

Williams is writing his third, fourth and fifth books. Books three and four focus on atonement in Paul, and will be published in 2012 and 2013. Bookfive focuses on race and the Bible and will be published in 2015. Williams' research interests focus on Paul's letter to the Romans, Paul's understanding of atonement and salvation in early Judaism, and ethnicity/race in the Bible.

Williams is a member of and is involved in the Evangelical Theological Society, the Institute for Biblical Research and the Society of Biblical Literature.
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with over 3,000 students offering 63 undergraduate programs, 17 master's degrees and five postgraduate areas. The website for complete information is Campbellsville.edu.