John Christopher Thomas, Ph.D.

Clarence J. Abbott Professor of Biblical Studies 1982 - Present

• B.A., Lee College, 1976
• M.A., Church of God School of Theology, 1977
• M.Div., Ashland Theological Seminary, 1978
• Th.M., Princeton Theological Seminary, 1979
• Ph.D., University of Sheffield, 1990

A member of the full-time faculty of the Church of God Theological Seminary since 1982, John Christopher Thomas has distinguished himself as a New Testament scholar having published articles in several leading international journals devoted to study of the New Testament: New Testament Studies, Novum Testamentum, Zeitschriftfur die neutestamentliche Wis.renschaft, and Journal for the Study or the New Testament. He has authored a major study entitled Footwashing in John 13 and the Johannine Community, published a collection of his essays for the church, Ministry and Theology: Studies for the Church and Its Leaders, and has recently completed a significant monograph on healing entitled The Devil, Disease, and Deliverance: Origins of Illness in New Testament Thought.

Dr. Thomas serves as editor of the Journal of Pentecostal Theology and Supplement Series, and serves as General Editor of the Pentecostal Commentary Series. Strongly committed to parish ministry, he has served as Associate Pastor of the Woodward Ave, Church of God in Athens, Tennessee since 1981. He has been a Guest Lecturer or Visiting Lecturer at a variety of educational institutions on four continents. In 1992, Ashland Theological Seminary named him Alumnus of the Year. Dr. Thomas recently served as the President of the Society for Pentecostal Studies (1997-98). He is married to Barbara and they have two daughters, Paige and Lori.