John McRay

American archaeologist and New Testament scholar (1931-2018)

John McRay

Born| 17 December 1931
Holdenville
Died| 24 August 2018 (aged 86)
Alma mater|

* University of Chicago

Occupation| University teacher, New Testament scholar, archaeologist
Employer|

* Harding University
* Lipscomb University
* Wheaton College (1980-2002)

Works| Archaeology and the New Testament, Paul: His Life and Teaching
Position held| emeritus (Wheaton College, 2002-)

John Robert McRay (1931 - 2018) was an archaeologist, and professor emeritus of New Testament at Wheaton College (Illinois).[1] He directed archaeological excavations in Israel, and "his articles have appeared in [several] encyclopedias and dictionaires".[2] He "has lectured widely on archaeology and the Bible at various colleges, universities, professional meetings and churches in the United States".[3]

## Life

[edit]

McRay was born in Holdenville, Oklahoma.[4] His wife's name is Annette and they had three children: Rob, David, and Barrett, and they also had eight grand children and two great-grandchildren.[5]

He died at age 86 on August 24, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee.[4]

### Education

[edit]

In 1956 McRay earned a M.A. at Harding College, with the thesis The fact and nature of eternal punishment in the New Testament. He completed his Ph.D. in New Testament at the University of Chicago in 1967.[5] He also studied at the Hebrew University, at the École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem, and at Vanderbilt University Divinity School.[2][6]

### Teaching

[edit]

From 1956 to 2002, McRay had taught at four colleges: Harding University, Lipscomb University, Middle Tennessee State University and Wheaton College.[3] After McRay got his PhD, he went on to teach at Middle Tennessee State University, David Lipscomb College (now Lipscomb University), and Harding Graduate School.[5] From 1980 McRay joined the Wheaton's faculty, and until 2002 (for more than fifteen years), he taught in biblical studies at Wheaton College.[7] When he retired, he was awarded emeritus status.[7]

### Excavating teams

[edit]

McRay supervised excavating teams in the Holy Land for almost 8 years in Caesarea, Sepphoris, and Herodium in Israel.[2] He also was an expert in the languages, cultures, geography, and history of Israel-Palestine.[5]

### Organizations

[edit]

McRay was associate to the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, American Schools of Oriental Research, and a member of the editorial boards of Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin, Archaeology in the Biblical World and the Bulletin for Biblical Research, published by Institute for Biblical Research.[2]

## Works

[edit]

* McRay, John (1956). The fact and nature of eternal punishment in the New Testament (M.A. Harding College 1956). OCLC 457384212.

### Books

[edit]

* Alfred J. Hoerth; John McRay (2019). The Bible Archaeology: An Exploration of the History and Culture of Early Civilizations. Lion Hudson Plc. ISBN 9780857216977.
* John McRay (2008). Archaeology and the New Testament. Baker Academic. ISBN 9780801036088.
* John McRay (2003). Paul: His Life and Teaching. Baker Academic. ISBN 9780801024030.

## External links

[edit]

* "CV John McRay" (PDF).

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Archaeology and the New Testament by: John McRay". Baker Publishing Group. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
2. ^ a b c d Lee Strobel (2010). "The fourth interview: John McRay Ph.D.". Case for Christ/Case for Faith Compilation. Zondervan. p. 89\. ISBN 9780310865841.
3. ^ a b William A. Dembski; Michael R. Licona, eds. (2010). Evidence for God: 50 Arguments for Faith from the Bible, History, Philosophy, and Science. Baker Books. p. 269\. ISBN 9781441211798.
4. ^ a b "Dr. John Robert McRay 1931 - 2018". Tennessean.[permanent dead link]
5. ^ a b c d "John McRay, Ph.D." Wheaton College: School of Biblical and Theological Studies. Archived from the original on 2021-08-05.
6. ^ Lee Strobel (2009). "Interview: John McRay, PhD". The Case for Christmas: A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manger. Zondervan. p. 40\. ISBN 9780310858140.
7. ^ a b David B. Capes (27 August 2018). "John McRay, RIP". Thoughts on the New Testament... and Other Stuff by David B Capes.

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Czech Republic
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Israel

Other|

* IdRef