Dr. Matthew W. Bates Joins Faculty of Northern Seminary

Press Release from Northern Seminary

Northern Seminary is excited to announce the addition of Dr. Matthew W. Bates to the faculty as Professor of New Testament. In his role, Dr. Bates will co-lead the Master of Arts in New Testament and Doctor of Ministry in New Testament Context programs in partnership with Dr. Nijay Gupta.

Dr. Bates comes to Northern with stellar credentials, including serving as Professor of Theology at Quincy University and authoring the award-winning Why the Gospel? Living the Good News of King Jesus with Purpose (Eerdmans), which took top honors in Christianity Today’s Popular Theology category this year. In the book, Dr. Bates invites readers to consider how we can transform our lives and communities through alliegance and devotion to King Jesus.

“We are delighted that Dr. Matthew Bates is coming to Northern,” said Dr. Mark Quanstrom, Dean of Faculty at Northern. “He brings outstanding New Testament scholarship to contemporary theological conversation and to relevant cultural issues in service to the church. The ecclesial implications of the King Jesus Gospel will continue to be a major consideration at Northern Seminary.”

Dr. Bates earned his PhD from the University of Notre Dame in 2010. There, he specialized in Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity. His primary research training is the New Testament and second-century Christianity with secondary in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) and Second Temple Judaism. Upon graduation, he was named the winner of the Shaheen Award in the humanities, the top graduation prize at Notre Dame, competitive across all disciplines.

Dr. Bates’s research interests include the Apostle Paul, Jesus, soteriology, early Christology, the Trinity, prosopological exegesis, the use of the Old Testament in the New, theological interpretation of Scripture, and Justin Martyr. He is also author of the award-winning Salvation by Allegiance Alone and co-founder and co-host of the OnScript podcast, which is the most listened to New Testament podcast.

“Matt Bates is not just a renowned scholar, but also a kind and humble person who deeply loves the church,” said Dr. Gupta, who serves as Professor of New Testament at Northern. “When I considered ideal colleagues at Northern Seminary, Matt was top of the list. I am excited to work with Matt in our New Testament programs.”

“I’ve long admired Northern Seminary and its world-class faculty, so I’m thrilled to join the team,” Dr. Bates said of his appointment. “I can think of no greater way to build on Scot McKnight’s legacy than to help a future generation of pastors and scholars promote allegiance to King Jesus in the church. I love teaching the New Testament, so I can’t wait to get started with new cohorts of Masters and DMin students at Northern.”

The addition of Dr. Bates to the Northern faculty positions Northern Seminary to continue to lead the way in providing an academically rigorous and accessible education to those looking to broaden their understanding of the historical, cultural, religious, and social contexts of the New Testament and how these impact life and ministry today. Dr. Bates will join Northern Seminary in the Fall of 2024.

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About Northern Seminary

Northern Seminary was founded in 1913 to educate Christian leaders to be personally whole, spiritually mature, biblically grounded, theologically competent, pastoral, evangelistic, and prophetic. Since that time, over 4,000 students have graduated; today, alumni serve in 50 states and 30 countries. Northern offers Masters and Doctoral degrees to students through live-streaming classes and on-site intensive classes.