Weaver, Walter P. 1934-

PERSONAL:

Born February 11, 1934, in Elkin, NC; son of L. Stacy (a college president) and Elizabeth H. (a homemaker) Weaver; married Peggy Johnson, June 9, 1956; children: Walter P., Jr., Katherine J. Weaver Holland, Laura M. Weaver Whitt. Ethnicity: "White." Education: Duke University, A.B., 1956, B.D., 1962; Drew University, Ph.D., 1968; DeVry Institute of Technology, certificate in home electronic technology, 1976. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Methodist. Hobbies and other interests: Electronic technology, golf.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Lakeland, FL. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Minister of Methodist churches in Durham, NC, 1958-62, and Adelphia, NJ, 1962-65; Greensboro College, Greensboro, NC, assistant professor, 1965-69, associate professor, 1969-72, chaplain, 1965-72; Florida Southern College, Lakeland, associate professor, 1972-86, professor of religion and philosophy, 1987-89, Pendergrass Professor of Religion, 1989-97, professor emeritus, 1997—, department chair, 1985-96, chair of Humanities Division, 1986-96. Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton, NJ, fellow. Military service: U.S. Navy, Office of Naval Research, 1956-58; became lieutenant junior grade.

MEMBER:

Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Eta Sigma.

WRITINGS:

Mark, Abingdon (Nashville, TN), 1987.

(Editor and contributor) Perspectives on Christology, Exodus Press (Nashville, TN), 1988, revised edition published as Earthing Christologies: From Jesus' Parables to Jesus the Parable, Trinity Press International (Harrisburg, PA), 1995.

(Editor, with James H. Charlesworth, and contributor) What Has Archaeology to Do with Faith?, Trinity Press International (Harrisburg PA), 1992.

(Editor, with James H. Charlesworth, and contributor) The Old and the New Testaments: Their Relationship and the Intertestamental Literature, Trinity Press International (Harrisburg PA), 1993.

(Editor, with James H. Charlesworth, and contributor) Images of Jesus Today, Trinity Press International (Harrisburg PA), 1994.

(Editor, with James H. Charlesworth) The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Christian Faith, Trinity Press International (Harrisburg PA), 1998.

The Historical Jesus in the Twentieth Century, 1900-1950, Trinity Press International (Harrisburg PA), 1999.

(Editor, with James H. Charlesworth, and contributor) Jesus Two Thousand Years Later, Trinity Press International (Harrisburg PA), 2000.

Jesus and His Biographers, BIBAL Press (North Richland Hills, TX), 2005.

Contributor to periodicals, including Christian Advocate and Lakeland Ledger.

SIDELIGHTS:

Walter P. Weaver once told CA: "I have been interested in the question of the ‘historical Jesus’ since graduate school days. Most of my career has been focused on teaching and administration, but I have recently committed myself to increased activity in publication. I enjoy research, even more writing. Discovering something previously unknown is, as it is said these days, ‘a rush.’ Embracing and articulating the glories of the English language is in itself a joy. To possess also the capability to have these experiences in someone else's language is a twofold pleasure. So I discover, and I write, because it is simply great fun. The material rewards are modest, as is inevitably the case in a scholarly endeavor.

"In theological studies I acknowledge the influence of some great teachers, like Hugh Anderson of Scotland and Howard Clark Kee of the United States. Kee, especially, instilled in me the core of such scholarly talents that I possess. Indirectly the great German scholar Rudolf Bultmann influenced me in a number of ways, including his efforts to provide a ‘demythologized’ Christian message and his reading of the historical Jesus. I have moved beyond Bultmann at a large number of places, but I think you can do that only after going through him.

"As to how I carry on my work, research has to be thorough, if not exhaustive, which is an improbable goal in any project. The major way in which to determine that thoroughness is to notice when the same sources keep cropping up in your research. In my book The Historical Jesus in the Twentieth Century, 1900-1950, for example, there was an immense amount of literature involved, but there came a point when the same names and works appeared repeatedly. If the goal is, as I considered in my work, to allow a generation to speak for itself, then this ‘inductive’ kind of model will inevitably establish the structure of your research. Only after this lengthy process can you begin to write. I do not attempt to force writing; I let it simmer in my mind for whatever period seems subjectively necessary, and only then do I begin setting down words. I approach the task on a daily basis, but not every day produces something worthwhile. Sometimes the best ideas crop up in the least likely times and places—maybe driving somewhere, playing golf. Take whatever you get."

Weaver later added: "I noted in an earlier edition of Contemporary Authors an interest in returning to my undergraduate roots in English literature and producing some fictional works of various sorts. I have written two short stories, two stage dramas, two novellas, and am working also on a piece that takes its location in a nursing home, where a group of four men—the gang of four—by word and deed support the proposition that humor functions as an antidote to madness. I have made little effort so far to publish these works, but I think I am at a point where the work has acquired some sophistication and may be worthy of publication."