Robert W. Funk (July 18, 1926 – September 3, 2005) was an American biblical scholar, founder of the

Jesus Seminar The Jesus Seminar was a group of about 50 critical biblical scholars and 100 laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk that originated under the auspices of the Westar Institute.''Making Sense of the New Testament'' by Craig Blomberg (Mar 1, 2004) ...

and the nonprofit

Westar Institute The Westar Institute, founded by Robert W. Funk in 1985, is a member-supported nonprofit educational institute with a twofold mission: * To foster collaborative, cumulative research in religious studies * To communicate the results of the scholar ...

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area ...

. Funk sought to promote research and education on what he called biblical literacy. His approach to

hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate c ...

was historical-critical, with a strongly

skeptical Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

view of orthodox Christian belief, particularly concerning the

historical Jesus The term "historical Jesus" refers to the reconstruction of the life and teachings of Jesus by critical historical methods, in contrast to religious interpretations. It also considers the historical and cultural contexts in which Jesus lived. ...

.Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. "The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide". Fortress Press. 1998. translated from German (1996 edition). p. 321 He and his associates described Jesus' parables as containing shocking messages that contradicted established religious attitudes.

Career

Funk had a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

and

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communic ...

and its affiliated

Christian Theological Seminary Christian Theological Seminary is an ecumenical seminary related to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It provides five degree-level education courses, three dual-degree programs, a Doctor of Ministry ...

in 1950 and 1951, a PhD in 1953 from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

and was a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

and a Senior

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

. He taught at the

American School of Oriental Research The American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR), founded in 1900 as the American School of Oriental Study and Research in Palestine, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in Alexandria, Virginia which supports the research and teaching of ...

in Jerusalem, was chairman of the graduate department of religion at Vanderbilt University and executive secretary of the

Society of Biblical Literature The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), founded in 1880 as the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, is an American-based learned society dedicated to the academic study of the Bible and related ancient literature. Its current stated mis ...

. He was founder and first executive director of Scholars Press (1974–1980).

Works

Books

* - translator and revisor * * * * * * * * *

As editor

Articles and chapters

* *

References

External links

Obituary in the Los Angeles Times 7 September 2005

Robert Funk page at the Westar Institute

Obituary in Boston Globe
1926 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers 20th-century biblical scholars 21st-century biblical scholars American biblical scholars American Christian theologians Butler University alumni Deaths from respiratory failure Grammarians of Ancient Greek New Testament scholars People from Santa Rosa, California Vanderbilt University alumni Hermeneutists Place of birth missing Members of the Jesus Seminar Religious naturalists Fulbright alumni {{US-theologian-stub