Frederick Fyvie Bruce was a Biblical

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 scholar and one of the founders of the modern evangelical

Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

 understanding of the Bible. His work New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? is considered a classic in the discipline of Christian apologetics

Christian apologetics

Christian apologetics is a field of Christian theology that aims to present a rational basis for the Christian faith, defend the faith against objections, and expose the perceived flaws of other world views...

.

Biography

Bruce was born in Elgin, Moray

Elgin, Moray

Elgin is a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...

, in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and educated at the University of Aberdeen

University of Aberdeen

The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...

, Cambridge University

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

 and the University of Vienna

University of Vienna

The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...

. After teaching Greek for several years first at the University of Edinburgh

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

 and then at the University of Leeds

University of Leeds

The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...

 he became head of the Department of Biblical History and Literature at the University of Sheffield

University of Sheffield

The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...

 in 1947. Aberdeen University bestowed an honorary "Doctor of Divinity" degree upon him in 1957. In 1959 he moved to the University of Manchester

University of Manchester

The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...

 where he became Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis. In his career he wrote over forty books and served as editor of The Evangelical Quarterly and the Palestine Exploration Quarterly. He retired from teaching in 1978.
Bruce was a distinguished scholar on the life and ministry of Paul the Apostle, and wrote several studies the best known of which is Paul: Apostle of the Free Spirit (published in the USA as Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free). He also wrote commentaries on several biblical books including Romans, Acts of the Apostles, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, The Gospel and Epistles of John, and the Epistle to the Hebrews.

Bruce was in Christian fellowship at various places during his life, though his primary commitment was to the Open Plymouth Brethren

Plymouth Brethren

The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...

 among whom he grew up. He enjoyed the fellowship and acceptance of this group, though he was very much a maverick in relation to his own personal beliefs. He never accepted the dispensationalism

Dispensationalism

Dispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...

 and pretribulationism usually associated with the Brethren, and he was also an advocate of the public ministry of women – something that Plymouth Brethren

Plymouth Brethren

The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...

 would still disapprove of today.

Most of Bruce's works were scholarly, but he also wrote several popular works on the Bible. He viewed the New Testament writings as historically reliable and the truth claims of Christianity as hingeing on their being so. To Bruce this did not mean that the Bible was always precise, or that this lack of precision could not lead to considerable confusion. He believed, however, that the passages that were still open to debate were ones that had no substantial bearing on Christian theology and thinking.

Bruce was honoured with two scholarly works by his colleagues and former students, one to mark his sixtieth and the other to mark his seventieth birthday. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy, and served as President of the Society for Old Testament Study, and also as President of the Society for New Testament Study. He is one of a handful of scholars thus recognised by his peers in both fields.

Selected writings

• New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1981. (First published in 1943 as Are the New Testament Documents Reliable?) ISBN 0-8028-2219-3
• The Hittites and the Old Testament. Tyndale Old Testament Lecture, 1947. London: The Tyndale Press, 1947. Pbk. pp.28.
• The Books and the Parchments. London: Pickering & Inglis, 1950 (2nd edn 1953; 3rd & revised edn 1963; paperback revised edition 1971 ISBN 0-7208-0216-4)
• The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text With Introduction and Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1951.
• The Book of the Acts (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1954. ISBN 0-8028-2182-0
• The Epistles to the Colossians and the Ephesians. (New International Commentary on the New Testament) Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1957. [title may be incorrect; Bruce wrote the Colossians commentary, and E.K. Simpson wrote the Ephesians commentary; see the 1984 replacement below entirely by Bruce]
• The Teacher of Righteousness in the Qumran Texts. London: The Tyndale Press, 1957. Pbk. pp.36.
• The Apostolic Defence of the Gospel. London: Inter-Varsity Press, 1959. ISBN 0-85110-306-5
• Biblical Exegesis in the Qumran Texts. London: The Tyndale Press, 1960. Pbk. pp.88.
• Paul and his Converts. Cambridge: Lutterworth Press, 1962. ISBN 0-71880-072-9
• Romans (Tyndale New Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1963. ISBN 0-8028-1405-0
• Israel and the Nations. Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1963. ISBN 0-85364-150-2
• Epistle to the Hebrews (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1964.
• This is That. Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1968. ISBN 0-85364-168-4 (published in the USA as New Testament Development of Old Testament Themes. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1968. ISBN 0-8028-1729-7)
• New Testament History. London: Oliphants, 1969. ISBN 0-551-00799-0
• The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text With Introduction and Commentary, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1970.
• An Expanded Paraphrase Of The Epistles Of Paul. R.N. Haynes Publishers; 1st USA edition (1981) 323 pages. ISBN 0880210168 ISBN 978-0880210164
• Galatian Problems. John Rylands Library, 1971.
• Answers to Questions. Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1972. 0-85364-101-3
• The 'Secret' Gospel of Mark. The Ethel M. Wood lecture delivered before the University of London on 11 February 1974. London: The Athlone Press, 1974. Pbk. ISBN 0485143186. pp.20.
• Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1974. ISBN 0-8028-1575-8
• Paul: Apostle of The Free Spirit. Exeter UK: Paternoster, 1977. ISBN 1-84227-027-3 (published in the USA as Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans,1977. ISBN 0-8028-4778-1)
• History of the Bible in English. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1978. ISBN 0-19-520088-8
• The Epistles of John. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1979. ISBN 0-8028-1783-1
• Men and Movements in the Primitive Church. Exeter: Paternoster, 1979. ISBN 0-85364-705-4
• I & II Corinthians (New Century Bible Commentary). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1980. ISBN 0-8028-1839-0
• The Spreading Flame. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1980. ISBN 0-8028-1805-6
• Bible History Atlas. N.Y.: Crossroad, 1982. ISBN 0-8245-0418-6
• Epistle to the Galatians (New International Greek Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1982. ISBN 0-8028-2387-4
• 1 & 2 Thessalonians (Word Biblical Commentary). Thomas Nelson, 1982. ISBN 0-8499-0244-4
• Hard Sayings of Jesus. Inter-Varsity, 1983. ISBN 0-87784-927-7
• Jesus and Paul: Places They Knew. Thomas Nelson, 1983. ISBN 0-8407-5281-4
• Abraham and David: Places They Knew. Thomas Nelson, 1984. ISBN 0-8407-5402-7
• The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians. (New International Commentary on the New Testament
  New International Commentary on the New Testament
  The New International Commentary on the New Testament is a series of commentaries in English on the text of the New Testament in Greek. It is published by the William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.The individual volumes are as follows....
  
  ). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1984. ISBN 0-8028-2510-9 [This is Bruce's new commentary on Ephesians and Philemon
  Epistle to Philemon
  Paul's Epistle to Philemon, usually referred to simply as Philemon, is a prison letter to Philemon from Paul of Tarsus. Philemon was a leader in the Colossian church. This letter, which is one of the books of the New Testament, deals with forgiveness.Philemon was a wealthy Christian of the house...
  
   along with a revision of his 1957 commentary from the Simpson and Bruce volume above]
• The Gospel of John. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1984. ISBN 0-8028-0883-2
• Jesus: Lord & Savior. Inter-Varsity, 1986.
• The Message of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1986. ISBN 0-8028-1525-1
• Romans (Tyndale New Testament Commentary), revised. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1986. ISBN 0-8028-0062-9
• Second Thoughts on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Attic Press, 1986. ISBN 0-85364-017-3 ( download online copy here)
• The Canon of Scripture. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988. ISBN 0-8308-1258-X
• The Book of the Acts, revised (New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1988. ISBN 0-8028-2505-2
• Philippians, (New International Biblical Commentary), 1989. Hendricksen. ISBN 0-943575-15-X
• Epistle to the Hebrews, revised. (New International Commentary on the New Testament) Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1990. ISBN 0-8028-2514-1
• The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text With Introduction and Commentary, 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1990. ISBN 0-8028-0966-9
• A Mind For What Matters: Collected Essays. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1990. ISBN 0-8028-0446-2
• Kaiser, Walter C.
  Walter Kaiser, Jr.
  Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. is an American evangelical Old Testament scholar, writer, public speaker, and educator. Kaiser is the Colman M. Mockler distinguished Professor of Old Testament and former President of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, retired June 30, 2006...
  
  , Peter H. Davids, F. F. Bruce, and Manfred Brauch. Hard Sayings of the Bible. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996. ISBN 0-87784-927-7

Articles

• "The Chester Beatty Papyri," The Harvester 11 (1934): 163, 164.
• http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/jtvi/inspiration_bruce.pdf"What Do We Mean By Biblical Inspiration?" Journal of the Transactions of the Victoria Institute
  Science and Christian Belief
  Science and Christian Belief is an academic journal published twice yearly by Christians in Science and the Victoria Institute. The journal focuses on the traffic of ideas between science and religion, with particular reference to Christianity...
  
  78 (1946): 121-139.]
• "The Speeches In Acts: Thirty Years After," Robert Banks, ed., Reconciliation and Hope. New Testament Essays on Atonement and Eschatology Presented to L.L. Morris on his 60th Birthday. Carlisle: The Paternoster Press, 1974. pp.53-68.
• "The Background to the Son of Man Sayings," Christ The Lord. Studies in Christology presented to Donald Guthrie. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1982. Hbk. ISBN 0851117449. pp.50-70.
• "The Curse of the Law," M.D. Hooker & S.G. Wilson, eds., Paul and Paulinism. Essays in Honour of C.K. Barrett. London: SPCK. Hbk. ISBN 028103835X. pp.27-36.
• "Colossian Problems: Part 1: Jews and Christians in the Lycus Valley," Bibliotheca Sacra
  Bibliotheca Sacra
  Bibliotheca Sacra is the theological journal published by Dallas Theological Seminary. First published in 1844, it is the oldest theological journal in the United States. It originally was published by Union Theological Seminary in 1843, moved to Andover Theological Seminary in 1844, to Oberlin...
  
  141: 561 (1984): 3-13.
• "Colossian Problems: Part 2: The 'Christ Hymn' of Colossians 1:15-20," Bibliotheca Sacra 141: 562 (1984): 99-112.
• "Colossian Problems: Part 3: The Colossian Heresy," Bibliotheca Sacra 141: 563 (1984): 195-206.
• "Colossian Problems: Part 4: Christ as Conqueror and Reconciler," Bibliotheca Sacra 141: 564 (1984): 291-301.
• "Luke's Presentation of the Spirit in Acts," Criswell Theological Review 5.1 (1990) 15-29.
• annual Rylands lectures at the John Rylands Library, Manchester (published in Bulletin of the John Rylands Library

Further reading

• W. Ward Gasque & Ralph P. Martin (eds). Apostolic History and the Gospel: Biblical and Historical Essays Presented to F. F. Bruce on his 60th Birthday. Exeter: Paternoster; Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1970. ISBN 0-85364-098-X
• D. A. Hagner & M. J. Harris (eds). Pauline Studies: Essays Presented to F. F. Bruce. Exeter: Paternoster; Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1980. ISBN 0-8028-3531-7
• Tim Grass. F. F. Bruce. A Life. Milton Keynes: Paternoster 2011. ISBN 978-1-84227-737-9

External links

• FF Bruce as a Fellow-Elder by Arnold Pickering