A witness to the peculiar way of being that is the scholar’sLuke Timothy Johnson is one of the best-known and most influential New Testament scholars of recent decades. In this memoir, he draws
A witness to the peculiar way of being that is the scholar’s
Luke Timothy Johnson is one of the best-known and most influential New Testament scholars of recent decades. In this memoir, he draws on his rich experience to invite readers into the scholar’s life—its aims, commitments, and habits.
In addition to sharing his own story, from childhood to retirement, Johnson reflects on the nature of scholarship more generally, showing how this vocation has changed over the past half-century and where it might be going in the future. He is as candid and unsparing about negative trends in academia as he is hopeful about the possibilities of steadfast, disciplined scholarship. In two closing chapters, he discusses the essential intellectual and moral virtues of scholarly excellence, including curiosity, imagination, courage, discipline, persistence, detachment, and contentment.
Johnson’s robust defense of the scholarly life—portrayed throughout this book as a generative process of discovery and disclosure—will inspire both new and seasoned scholars, as well as anyone who reads and values good scholarship. But The Mind in Another Place ultimately resonates beyond the walls of the academy and speaks to matters more universally human: the love of knowledge and the lifelong pursuit of truth.
Currents in Theology and Mission
“Most pastors, deacons, and other church leaders don’t see themselves as scholars in Johnson’s sense, but like him they are grounded in the Christian faith and know that good scholarship serves faith and the church. They will be helped in their own vocations by Johnson’s anecdotes, insights, and questions. It’s a good read.”
Southeastern Theological Review
“One leaves The Mind in Another Place with a renewed appreciation for Johnson as an academic who takes his Christianity seriously, who aspired to live it out, and allowed it to diffuse his academic pursuits. Anyone interested in the academic study of Scripture will find his book invaluable.”
View Review quote
Luke Timothy Johnson is the Robert W. Woodruff Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Christian Origins at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. He won the 2011 Grawemeyer Award in Religion for his Among the Gentiles: Greco-Roman Religion and Christianity. Johnson's many other books include The Revelatory Body; Brother of Jesus, Friend of God; The Writings of the New Testament; and the two- volume work The Canonical Paul.
View Biographical note
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part One: Becoming a Scholar
1. Childhood
2. Adolescence
3. Monastic Life
4. Doctoral Studies
Part Two: Being a Scholar
5. Yale Divinity School
6. Indiana University
7. Emory University (1992–2001)
8. Emory University (2001–2016)
9. Scholarship in Academic Retirement
Part Three: A Scholar’s Virtues
10. Intellectual Virtues
11. Moral Virtues
Epilogue
View Table of contents
