User:Colemanabaker

I am a biblical scholar and ordained minister. I was born and raised in west and north central Texas. I attended college and seminary at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, where I met Darla, whom I married in 1997. Since then, I have served three different congregations as pastor until moving to Fort Worth, Texas to pursue my Ph.D. in New Testament at Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University. I completed my PhD in May 2010 and now teach Bible at Tarrant County College.

I identify myself within the Christian tradition, but don’t confuse me with the conservative evangelical types that seem to be the loudest in our culture. My understanding of and approach to the Christian faith is rooted in intellectual and academic conversations. I view much, if not most, of the Christian tradition as metaphor; metaphor spoken in the language of the first century CE Mediterranean world, a world vastly different from our own.

My research and writing, therefore, includes aspects of both. In some writings, I focus more upon the ancient world and how the texts of the early Christians may have been understood by those who first read and heard them. In others, I focus on the postmodern context and address question of how the biblical texts should be understood today.

visit my website at colemanabaker.com