In Memoriam: L.D. Hurst, NT Scholar

Lincoln Hurst was first and foremost a world-class scholar. After graduating with a degree in History from Trinity International College, Hurst attended the rarified institutions of Princeton Theological Seminary and Mansfield College, Oxford. There he worked along side New Testament titans, Bruce Metzger and G.B. Caird. This experience honed his skills and prepared him for his future career as a New Testament scholar and associate professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Davis. His time at Oxford with Caird especially shaped his theological views and provided the intellectual stimulus for his later writings. All of Hurst’s major works: Glory of Christ in the New Testament, The Epistle to the Hebrews: Its Background of Thought, and New Testament Theology were significantly influenced by Caird. It was George Caird who suggested and supervised Lincoln’s PhD thesis on the historical and philosophical background to the Letter to the Hebrews. In 1990, this thesis became the basis Hurst’s first solo book, The Epistle to the Hebrews: Its Background of Thought.

Deeply indebted, and hoping to surprise his friend and mentor, Hurst (with coeditor N.T. Wright) compiled a series of essays celebrating Caird’s birthday. Lincoln worked hard to keep the book a secret, even when George unexpectedly appeared while Hurst was sharing the project’s details to Caird’s wife, Molly. There is no evidence to prove that Caird ever found out about the book.

After Caird’s sudden and untimely death, it was Lincoln who picked up the banner and carried on Caird’s unpublished work, New Testament Theology finishing approximately sixty-percent of the book.

Hurst was dedicated to preserving Caird’s memory; during the final months of his life (even up to the day he died), Hurst spent hours contributing to Caird’s Wikipedia entry.

Hurst’s most enduring work (although not fully recognized and appreciated) will be his articles on Hebrews and Philippians. In agreement with the Chalcedon Creed, Hurst believed that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. Yet he came to this Christological conclusion by non-conventional means, causing rigorous debate along the way.

In his article, Christ, Adam, and Preexistence Revisited, goes against mainstream (often considered liberal) scholarship arguing that Jesus was in the form of God prior to his earthly life. Hurst also draws his reader’s attention that this ‘high Christology’ was written early in the Church’s history. A fact that many liberal scholars and revisionist historians fail to recognize.

On the other hand, Hurst was not afraid to rock the Evangelical/Fundamentalist boat when he disagreed with their positions. This is seen particularly in his interpretation and analysis of chapters 1 and 2 of Hebrews. Here Hurst argues that these chapters are primarily concerned with the human Jesus not the divine Jesus.

How can we explain this seeming contradiction? Was Hurst a conservative or a liberal scholar? The answer is neither. Hurst’s theological views were too well-reasoned and nuanced to fit easily into simple categories. Hurst prided himself on being a maverick. And mavericks by nature are not constrained by others opinions or superficial categories. He was a free spirit, dedicated to following truth wherever it might lead him rather than being bludgeoned down the path of conformity by the weapons of academic acceptance or Church dogma.

In the end, Hurst exemplified what a true Biblical scholar should be. He believed in ‘pure’ exegesis, the New Testament scholar should highly himself or herself to the task of determining the original meaning of the original author of the New Testament document.

Hurst also had a rare gift for teaching. His New Testament courses at UC Davis were very popular and his classes were always packed.

It is a sad irony that many years later Hurst too, would die from a sudden heart attack, leaving much of his scholarly work left unfinished.

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