Resseguie, James L. 1945- (James Lynn Resseguie)

PERSONAL:

Born January 1, 1945, in Buffalo, NY; married Dianne Laverne Paulson, 1970; children: Timothy, Carin, Jay. Education: University of California, Berkeley, A.B., 1967; Princeton Theological Seminary, M.Div., 1972; Fuller Theological Seminary, Ph.D., 1978. Religion: Presbyterian.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Winebrenner Theological Seminary, 950 N. Main St., Findlay, OH 45840. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Minister, educator, and author. Ordained Presbyterian minister, 1976. Winebrenner Theological Seminary, Findlay, OH, assistant professor, 1976-78, associate professor, 1979-83, J. Russell Bucher professor of the New Testament, 1984, dean of academic and student affairs/registrar, 1990-97, vice president of academic and student affairs, beginning 1997. University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Fulbright professor, 1990. Military service: Peace Corps, Cameroon, 1967-69.

MEMBER:

Society of Biblical Literature.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Named Outstanding Educator, 1990, 1997, and 2001.

WRITINGS:

Revelation Unsealed: A Narrative Critical Approach to John's Apocalypse, Brill (Boston, MA), 1998.

The Strange Gospel: Narrative Design and Point of View in John, Brill (Boston, MA), 2001.

Spiritual Landscape: Images of the Spiritual Life in the Gospel of Luke, Hendrickson Publishers (Peabody, MA), 2004.

Narrative Criticism of the New Testament: An Introduction, Baker Academic (Grand Rapids, MI), 2005.

Contributor to books, including Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, 2000; and Dictionary of Biblical Criticism and Interpretation. Contributor to professional journals.

SIDELIGHTS:

James L. Resseguie is an ordained Presbyterian minister, scholar, and theologian. He earned his A.B. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1967, going on to earn his M.Div. from the Princeton Theological Seminary in 1972. After earning his Ph.D from the Fuller Theological Seminary in 1978, Resseguie began working at the Winebrenner Theological Seminary, ultimately becoming the vice president of academic and student affairs. Resseguie is the author of books on topics related to the New Testament. His first full-length book, Revelation Unsealed: A Narrative Critical Approach to John's Apocalypse, was published in 1998. Four years later, his second book, The Strange Gospel: Narrative Design and Point of View in John, was published.

In The Strange Gospel, Resseguie examines the Gospel of John, especially its subjective nature. He clearly feels that this aspect of the Gospel of John has been overlooked in other scholarly works, which focus more on the objective passages. According to David R. Bauer in Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Resseguie "offers the fullest discussion available on John's evaluative point of view." Discussing Resseguie's arguments, Bauer stated that "although the main value of Resseguie's book is his specific explication of evaluative point of view in the Johannine narrative, this volume offers numerous penetrating insights into the meaning of individual passages." Bauer also felt that the author provides "a serious dialogue with the history of interpretation." Bauer concluded his review by calling The Strange Gospel "a stimulating, penetrating study" that is "a solid contribution to the narrative-critical study of John's Gospel."

Moving on to the Gospel of Luke, Resseguie's third book is Spiritual Landscape: Images of the Spiritual Life in the Gospel of Luke. Like The Strange Gospel, Resseguie's third book is a work of narrative criticism. In it, Resseguie explores how the everyday aspects of life, such as eating, drinking, and clothing as they are portrayed in Luke, are all closely intertwined with spirituality. Spiritual Landscape was widely reviewed and acclaimed. For instance, John T. Carroll, critiquing the book in Interpretation, applauded the fact that Resseguie "provides copious notes." Carroll ultimately called the volume "a creative and suggestive book, which will instruct—and challenge—readers who hope to gain fresh insight into Luke's Gospel." Robert F. O'Toole, writing in Theological Studies, was also complimentary in his assessment. O'Toole stated that "the strength of [Resseguie's] book lies in its potential benefit to the reader's spiritual life." Commenting on the overall value of the book, O'Toole noted that the author's "way of interpreting biblical texts will definitely interest scholars and prove spiritually helpful to many readers."

Following Spiritual Landscape, Resseguie published Narrative Criticism of the New Testament: An Introduction in 2005. In this book Resseguie gives an overview of the technique he employed in his book-length reviews of the Gospels of John and Luke. Resseguie even discusses secular works in this book, such as "Hills Like White Elephants," a short story by Ernest Hemingway. Reviews of the book were laudatory. Keith H. Reeves, examining Narrative Criticism of the New Testament in Interpretation, felt that "pastors could draw upon [the book] for sermon preparation." Reeves added that "while the book does not claim to be a commentary, Resseguie's elucidation of the text is often very insightful and ‘preachable.’" Anglican Theological Review contributor Bradley Pace seconded Reeves's opinion of the book's value. Pace called Narrative Criticism of the New Testament "thorough and readable" and "a fine introduction" to the topic. Pace also commented on the book's "clear exposition," ultimately concluding: "This book would be useful for an introductory class on biblical literature, or for anyone interested in making a first attempt at applying literary-critical methods to the Bible."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Anglican Theological Review, summer, 2007, Bradley Pace, review of Narrative Criticism of the New Testament: An Introduction.

Biblical Archaeology Review, January 1, 2004, review of Spiritual Landscape: Images of the Spiritual Life in the Gospel of Luke.

Catholic Biblical Quarterly, July 1, 2003, David R. Bauer, review of The Strange Gospel: Narrative Design and Point of View in John, p. 476.

Interpretation, April 1, 2006, John T. Carroll, review of Spiritual Landscape, p. 228; October 1, 2007, Keith H. Reeves, review of Narrative Criticism of the New Testament, p. 450.

Theological Studies, September 1, 2005, Robert F. O'Toole, review of Spiritual Landscape, p. 711.