GSC welcomes J. Richard Middleton
Transforming Biblical Worldview:
Dr. J. Richard Middleton joins Global Scholars Canada
We are delighted to announce that as of the end of last calendar year, Richard Middleton had been interviewed and welcomed by the board as our newest global scholar. Richard is many things, but he is first of all a Biblical studies scholar, specializing in the Old Testament, and he has a long list of books, articles, and lectures that he has shared with a Christian public over the last decades.
Allow me (ED, Peter Schuurman) to focus on just one of his books—one that was influential for me in the late 1980s—The Transforming Vision: Shaping a Christian Worldview (1984, IVP, co-written with campus minister Brian Walsh). In this book they lay out the importance of developing a Christian view of culture in order to critique the dominant secular paradigm and bring a Christian influence to public life. The Bible does not have chapters on how to address matters like nationalism, artificial intelligence, environmental destruction, or how to run a government in a pluralistic society. But the narratives, poetry, commands, and letters contained in the Bible share a common view of the world that enables Christians to bring their faith to bear on such important issues. The Christian worldview, in its most general outline, sees the world as grounded in creation, tainted by the fall into sin, but being redeemed through Jesus Christ and those who walk in his Way.
There they say, “Because the university is the very heart of our culture… it is a strategic place for a healing Christian witness” (164). Too many Christians have lived dualistic lives, keeping their faith private and solely focused on church life. The Transforming Vision urges Christian scholars to take their Biblical worldview and live it out through their academic vocation. This kind of holistic Christian vision is the basis for Global Scholars Canada and our global partner, the Society of Christian Scholars.
The vision is not just holistic, but global in scope. The authors discuss the worldviews of such people as the Japanese and the Dene, as well as the dominant North American worldview. Furthermore, the book has been translated and published in Korean (1987), French (1988), Indonesian (2001), Spanish (2003), and Portuguese (2010); with new Korean (2013), French (2016), and Indonesian (2013, 2019) editions.
Beyond English, Richard himself is most comfortable with Biblical Hebrew, New Testament Greek, and Jamaican Patois. He carries in his body a transnational history and citizenship that includes Jamaica, Canada, and the USA (born in Jamaica, he immigrated to Canada after college, and currently resides in Rochester, New York, where he has taught for many years). His interest in Global Scholars Canada stems out of both his history and scholarship: he wishes to teach Christian worldview to emerging scholars across national boundaries.
Richard is now doing a complete revision of The Transforming Vision—a 43rd anniversary edition entitled Dancing in the Dragon’s Jaws: The Bible’s Liberating Worldview. We expect to highlight this work when it comes out in some special way, so stay tuned to GSC newsletters.
Richard is married to Marica, his teenage sweetheart (they met at church in Jamaica); they have two sons, Andrew (who lives and works in Abu Dhabi) and Kevin (a physician assistant in western New York state)
You can read more about Richard’s projects at his website here. There are also numerous videos, articles, and more that can be found on the internet that demonstrate how Richard has lived out the credo he co-authored in his younger days: thinking and practising a Christian worldview. You will find material on such things as the role of worship in the life of the church, lament as an overlooked gift, a surprising (to some!) Christian eschatology, and an emphasis on creation and the imago Dei.
May God bless his writing, teaching, and partnership with our mission and vision. Welcome, Richard!
