Revd Dr David Wenham MA PhD
Vice-Principal Tutor in New Testament
David Wenham joined the Trinity faculty in summer 2008. He was brought up in Bristol, and then studied theology in Cambridge University. He went on to do research on the Gospels for his PhD at Manchester University, before taking up the position of Theological Students' Secretary with the Universities' and Colleges' Christian Fellowship (UCCF, formerly Inter-Varsity Fellowship). He then taught in India for five years at Union Biblical Seminary, returning in 1979 to Tyndale House in Cambridge where he directed the Gospels Research Project. He was a lay reader in Histon Parish Church near Cambridge, and did part-time ordination training at Ridley Hall.
He moved to Wycliffe Hall in Oxford in 1983, and taught New Testament in the Hall and the University for 24 years. He served as Dean and Vice-Principal for several years, and was also for seven years Assistant Priest in rural parishes near Oxford.
He gets particular pleasure out of seeking to make the Bible intelligible and exciting in classroom and parish contexts. His latest book (June 2010 and written at a popular level) looks at the relationship between Jesus' and Paul's teaching in the New Testament, and aims to show that Paul did not distort or invent Jesus' teaching, as is often claimed.
David has published widely on the Gospels and on Paul. He is chairman of the New Testament Group of the Tyndale Fellowship, and a member of the Society for New Testament Studies. He has recently been honoured by the University of Bristol with the title Research Fellow.
David is married to Clare. They have two married sons and three grandchildren. David's interests include the family, gardening, walking the dog, walking generally, reading, India and current affairs.
Research interests include
History of Jesus
Origins of the Gospels
Jesus' parables
The Sermon on the Mount
Paul and Jesus
Publications (selected)
Books
Did St Paul Get Jesus Right? The Gospel According to Paul (Oxford: Lion Hudson, 2010).
Paul and Jesus: The True Story (London: SPCK, 2002).
Exploring the New Testament, D. Wenham and S. Walton (London: SPCK, 2001).
The Parables of Jesus (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1989).
Paul: Follower of Jesus or Founder of Christianity? (Cambridge: Eerdmans, 1995).
Gospel Perspectives (Continuum International Publishing Group, 1984).
Booklets
John's Gospel: Good News for Today (RTSF, 1997) available on http://theologynetwork.org.
Paul and the Historical Jesus (Grove, 1998)
Articles
Among his many articles, some of the most recent are:
‘The Purpose of Luke-Acts: Israel's Story in the Context of the Roman Empire' in Reading Luke: Interpretation, Reflection, Formation, eds C Bartholomew, A.C.Thiselton (Carlisle: Paternoster, 2006)
‘The Rock on which to build: some mainly Pauline observations about the Sermon on the Mount' in Built upon the rock: Studies in the Gospel of Matthew, eds D.Gurtner and J.Nolland (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007)
'The Sevenfold Form of the Lord's Prayer', Expository Times, vol. 121, May 2010.
Email David Wenham
