Hill, Craig C. 1957-

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HILL, Craig C. 1957-

PERSONAL:

Born 1957; married; children: two. Education: Illinois Wesleyan University, B.A.; Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, M.Div.; Oxford University, Ph.D. Hobbies and other interests: Tinkering, electronics, creating pottery, music, art, history, writing.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Wesley Theological Seminary, 4500 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Biblical studies professor, minister. Ordained in the United Methodist Church; served as a pastor in IL and CT; Christ Church, Oxford, England, chaplain; Indiana University, visiting professor; Presbyterian College, assistant professor; Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC, professor of New Testament. Smithsonian Institution, lecturer.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Henry R. Luce Fellow, Yale University Divinity School; visiting fellow, Cambridge University.

WRITINGS:

Hellenists and Hebrews: Reappraising Division Within the Earliest Church, Fortress Press (Minneapolis, MN), 1992.

In God's Time: The Bible and the Future, W. B. Eerdmans (Grand Rapids, MI), 2002.

Contributor to periodicals and to books, including Oxford Bible Commentary.

SIDELIGHTS:

In his books, professor of New Testament studies Craig C. Hill argues against the black-and-white positions often taken on biblical subjects. In Hellenists and Hebrews: Reappraising Division Within the Earliest Church, he offers a correction of the belief that there was a fundamental difference between the liberal Hellenists and more conservative Hebrews in the early church. Casimir Bernas wrote in Religious Studies Review that Hill "makes a convincing case for a much greater doctrinal pluralism in both camps."

As Hill writes in the preface of In God's Time: The Bible and the Future, "this is a book for people who want to come to grips with what the Bible says about the future."

With the coming of the new millennium, the events of September 11, 2001, and the foreshadowings of war, films and books, including the book Left Behind and its associated volumes, reached unprecedented popularity with people who became obsessed with end-of-time prophecies, the concept of the rapture, and interpretations of the Revelation of St. John the Divine. For many, their fears and anxieties were perpetuated by taking these warnings to heart. Hill's volume is written for a lay audience, but David Harris observed in Presbyterian Record that it is valuable "for ministers who are looking for simple material to debunk these theories."

Hill offers an alternative view in chapters on the nature of the Bible, the history of prophecy, interpretation of apocalyptic writings, Jesus's expectations, and other relevant topics, as well as an appendix that examines the subject of rapture. He studies the biblical authors' views of the future, beginning with Genesis. In an interview with Grayson Carter, posted on the book's Web site, Hill said that the volume "considers the origins of their ideas, their development over centuries, and their relevance to faith today. I wrote the book to counter, at least in some small way, what seems like a flood of misinformation about this subject."

In discussing Tim LaHaye, a popular fundamentalist who follows a literal interpretation of the Bible and who believes that Christ will return twice, first to rapture Christians, and next to establish a thousand-year reign on earth, Hill remarked that "no New Testament author mentions a two-stage return of Christ; in fact, quite the opposite."

"Which leads to the second level of disagreement," said Hill; "I am not a fundamentalist. I am convinced that the Bible has to be read in the context of its larger history, social setting, and so on. In the case of eschatology [belief in the End Times], that means taking honest account of the variety of biblical perspectives, as well as the degree to which the biblical authors borrowed ideas from other cultures. Relatively few books on this subject demonstrate any significant acquaintance with the ancient world. As a consequence, they frequently misconstrue and misrepresent the very texts they would understand and honor."

In the second chapter, Hill notes that fundamentalists view the Bible's teachings about the future as a puzzle that will neatly fit together. Hill views them as a mosaic. "The resulting picture owes as much to the artist as to the medium," he said. "It is no accident that there are nearly as many interpretations of these texts as there are interpreters."

In an interview on the Web site of the book's publisher, Hill notes that the Left Behind books are novels and "that as an account of the Bible's teachings about the future … are seriously flawed." He continued, saying that "the problem with this type of apocalyptic speculation is its tendency to encourage disengagement from the world and its problems. On a deep, as well as a surface level, the Left Behind novels are escapist literature. If believers are about to be taken from the earth, there is little incentive for them to shoulder the heavy load of social and political responsibility. Added to this is the deep pessimism inherent in premillennial dispensationalism. The world's problems are only going to get worse, so there is no point in trying to solve them."

A Publishers Weekly contributor called In God's Time "a welcome, comprehensive, and accessible guide" and added that Hill "leads his readers through this difficult material with ease and expertise, sensitivity and a sense of humor."