Roy Alvin Harrisville II (April 22, 1922 – July 25, 2023) was an American Lutheran theologian who wrote extensively on the interpretation of the New Testament.
Harrisville was educated at Luther Theological Seminary, 1947 (in Saint Paul, Minnesota), Princeton Seminary, 1953, Princeton, New Jersey, and the University of Tübingen in Germany. He served as a pastor in Mason City, Iowa, before joining the faculty of Luther Theological Seminary as professor of New Testament (1958-1992). During his tenure at Luther Seminary, Roy received the Lutheran World Federation Scholarship, the Association of Theological Schools Fellowship, and the Fredrik A. Schoitz Fellowship. He is co-founder of Dialog, A Journal of Theology, and member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, the American Association of University Professors, and honorary member of Det Teologiske Menighetsfakultet.
Harrisville's view on the nature of scripture and the interaction between human writers and the Holy Spirit helped shape the preaching and theology of Lutherans in North America for over 40 years. His works include The Bible in Modern Culture: Baruch Spinoza to Brevard Childs with Walter Sundberg and Fracture: The Cross as Irreconcilable in the Language and Thought of the Biblical Writers. Dr. Harrisville believed the historical critical method could be harnessed in service of the Gospel. His long friendship with Ernst Kasemann led to several translations and reviews of Kasemann's work. Dr. Harrisville is listed in "Das Bultman Handbuch," (Mohr-Siebeck, 2017). The Harrisville-Kasemann correspondence can be found in the University of Tübingen Library and in the Luther Seminary Archives.
Books
The Scriptural Significance of the Concepts "Light" and "Darkness" in the Old Testament. Luther Theological Seminary Thesis (unpublished, 1947). God Incognito: A Series of Lenten Sermons on the Passion according to St. John (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1956). The Concept of Newness in the New Testament (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1960). Kerygma and History: A Symposium on the Theology of Rudolf Bultmann. Selected, translated and edited by Carl E. Braaten and Roy A. Harrisville (Nashville: Abingdon, 1962). The Historical Jesus and the Kerygmatic Christ: Essays on the New Quest of the Historical Jesus. Translated and edited by Carl E. Braaten and Roy A. Harrisville (Nashville: Abingdon, 1964). His Hidden Grace: The Origins, Task and Witness of Biblical Criticism (Nashville: Abingdon, 1965). The Miracle of Mark: A Study in the Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1967). Pick Up Your Trumpet (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1970). Play On Your Harp: Meditations on Biblical Themes (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1975). Frank Chamberlain Porter: Pioneer in American Biblical Interpretation (Missoula: Scholars Press, 1976). Benjamin Wisner Bacon: Pioneer in American Biblical Criticism (Missoula: Scholars Press, 1976). Romans: Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1980). Holy Week: Proclamation 2, Series B: Aids for Interpreting the Lessons of the Church Year, with Charles D. Hackett (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981). Holy Week: Proclamation 3, Series C (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984). First Corinthians: Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1987). Ministry in Crisis (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1987). The Bible and Modern Culture, with Walter Sundberg (Eerdmans: 1995). The Bible and Modern Culture, trans. Korean. New Proclamation, Series A, 1999, Augsburg-Fortress. Second Edition, The Bible and Modern Culture, Eerdmans: 2002. Fracture, The Cross as Irreconcilable in the Language and Thought of the Biblical Writers, Eerdmans, 2006 Pandora's Box Opened, Eerdmans, 2014. That Reminds Me: A Memoir. MN: Eclipse Press, 2020 (Kindle Publishing). The Story of Jesus: A Mozaic, Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2020. "Biblical Interpretation and the Interpretation of Natural Phenomena" in Talking God in Society, Festchrift for Peter Lampe, ed. Ute E. Eisen and Heidrun E. Mader, Vol I, 91-112, Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2020. Tell It on the Mountain: A Collection of Sermons, St. Paul, MN: Eclipse Press, 2021 (Kindle Publishing). A Brief Guide to New Testament Interpretation: History, Methods, and Practical Examples. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2022.
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