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Prof Ben Blackwell, PhD
Principal
Professor of Early Christianity
Ben is a Professor of Early Christianity and Principal of WTC. He has worked with WTC from a distance since 2009, but after moving from Houston Theological Seminary, he joined the staff full-time as Vice-Principal in 2023 and then Principal in 2025. He teaches courses in New Testament and the intersection of theology and practice. He completed his PhD through Durham University where he studied under John Barclay and worked as N.T. Wright’s research assistant. He holds bachelor’s degrees in both Accounting and Biblical Studies. He also has master’s degrees in Business Administration (MBA) from Henderson State University and Theology (ThM) from Dallas Theological Seminary. Ben’s research interests are soteriology, Paul’s theology, the Kingdom of God, the historical reception of the Bible, theological anthropology, and public theology. Ben is part of Gloucester Vineyard Church and is married to Heather. They have two sons, one daughter-in-law, and a golden retriever.
Books
Edited Books
Journal Articles
Essays
Videos & Podcasts
Education
Books
- Participating in the Righteousness of God. Eerdmans, forthcoming 2027.
- Engaging Theology: A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Introduction. Zondervan: 2017.
- Christosis: Engaging Paul’s Theology with his Patristic Interpreters, rev ed. Eerdmans: 2016.
- Christosis: Pauline Soteriology in Light of Deification in Irenaeus and Cyril of Alexandria. WUNT II/314; Mohr Siebeck, 2011.
Edited Books
- Paul and the Apocalyptic Imagination, co-edited with John Goodrich and Jason Maston. Fortress, 2016.
- Reading Hebrews in Context: The Sermon and Second Temple Judaism, co-edited with John Goodrich and Jason Maston. Zondervan, 2023.
- Reading Revelation in Context: John’s Apocalypse and Second Temple Judaism, co-edited with John Goodrich and Jason Maston. Zondervan, 2019.
- Reading Mark in Context: Jesus and Second Temple Judaism, co-edited with John Goodrich and Jason Maston. Zondervan, 2018.
- Reading Romans in Context: Paul and Second Temple Judaism, co-edited with John Goodrich and Jason Maston. Zondervan, 2015.
Journal Articles
“You Become What You Worship: Theosis and the Story of Bible,” Ex Auditu 33 (2017): 1–20.
“Partakers of Adoption: Irenaeus and His Use of Paul,” Letter and Spirit 11 (2016): 35–64.
“Paul and Judaism,” Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters 5.2 (2015): 153–63.
“You Are Filled in Him: Theosis and Colossians 2-3,” Journal of Theological Interpretation 8.1 (2014): 103–124.
“Immortal Glory and the Problem of Death in Romans 3:23,” Journal for the Study of New Testament 32.3 (2010): 285–308.
Essays
“Sharing in the Life of God: Considering the Relationship between Justification and Deification,” in Transformed into the Same Image: Constructive Investigations into the Doctrine of Deification, eds. Paul Copan and Michael M. C. Reardon (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2024), 242-67.
“Paul and Salvation,” in The State of Pauline Studies: A Survey of Recent Research, eds. Nijay K. Gupta, Erin M. Heim, and Scot McKnight (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2024), 42–60.
“Deification in the Pauline and Petrine Letters,” in The Oxford Handbook of Deification, eds. Paul L. Gavrilyuk, Andrew Hofer, and Matthew Levering (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024), 60-75.
“Justification as Participation in Divine Glory in Romans 1–4” in The Beginning of Paul’s Gospel: Theological Explorations of Romans 1–4, eds. Nijay K. Gupta and John K. Goodrich (Eugene: Cascade, 2023), 197–219.
“Justification by Faith in Cyril of Alexandria,” in The New Perspective on Grace: Paul and the Gospel after Paul and the Gift, eds. Stephen Chester, Edward Adams, Dorothea Bertschmann, Jonathan Linebaugh, Todd Still (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2023), 197–214.
“The Mindset of Christ and Modern Mindfulness Theory and Practice,” with Timothy Ewest in Faith and Work: Christian Perspectives, Research and Insights, vol 2 (Charlotte: Information Age Publishing, 2021).
“The Spirit and Justification in the Pauline Corpus” in The Spirit Says: Inspiration and Interpretation in Israelite, Jewish, and Early Christian Texts, eds. Ron Herms, John R. Levison, Archie T. Wright (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2021), 251–70.
“The Holy Spirit, Justification, and Participation in the Divine Life in Galatians” in Cruciform Scripture: Cross, Participation, and Mission, eds. Nijay K. Gupta, Andy Johnson, Christopher W. Skinner, and Drew J. Strait (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2021), 123–43.
“The Covenant of Promise: Abraham in Irenaeus” in Irenaeus and Paul: Pauline and Patristic Scholars in Debate. Todd D. Still and David E. Wilhite, eds. (London: Bloomsbury & Clark, 2020), 147–67.
“The Damascus Document and Revelation 14:1–20: Angels Marking Out the Two Ways” in Reading Revelation in Context: John’s Apocalypse and Second Temple Judaism, eds. Ben C. Blackwell, John Goodrich, and Jason Maston (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019), 123–30.
“2 Maccabees and Mark 16:1–8: Resurrection as Hope for the Present” in Reading Mark in Context: Jesus and Second Temple Judaism, eds. Ben C. Blackwell, John Goodrich, and Jason Maston (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2018), 253-60.
“Second Century Perspectives on the Apocalyptic Paul: Reading the Apocalypse of Paul and the Acts of Paul” in Paul and the Apocalyptic Imagination, eds. Ben C. Blackwell, John Goodrich, and Jason Maston (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2016), 177-97.
“The Greek Life of Adam and Eve and Romans 8.14-30” in Reading Romans in Context: Paul and Second Temple Judaism, eds. Ben C. Blackwell, John Goodrich, and Jason Maston (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015), 108-114.
“Two Early Perspectives on Participation in Paul: Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria” in ‘In Christ’ in Paul: Explorations in Paul’s Theological Vision of Union and Participation, eds. Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Constantine R. Campbell and Michael J. Thate (WUNT II/384; Mohr Siebeck, 2015), 331-55.
“Theosis and Theological Anthropology,” with Kris Miller, in Ashgate Research Companion to Theological Anthropology, eds. Joshua R. Farris and Charles Taliaferro (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2015), 303-17.
“Paul and Irenaeus” in Paul and the Second Century: The Legacy of Paul’s Life, Letters, and Teaching, ed. Michael F. Bird and Joseph R. Dodson (London: T&T Clark, 2011), 190-206.
Videos & Podcasts
Videos:
Summary of Participating in the Righteousness of God – YouTube
The Kingdom of God at Wellhouse Church:
– Part 1 – YouTube
– Part 2 – YouTubeEngaging Theology & N.T. Wright at Sacramental Charismatic – YouTube
Podcasts:
TheoDisc – Living the Kingdom – Podbean Link
Stone Chapel Podcast – Engaging Theology – Podcast Link
Education
PhD, Early Christianity, Durham University (UK), 2010.
ThM, Theology, Dallas Theological Seminary (Dallas, TX), 2003.
MBA, Business Administration, Henderson State University (Arkadelphia, AR), 1999.
BA, Biblical Studies-Language, Ouachita Baptist University (Arkadelphia, AR), 1997.
BA, Accounting, Ouachita Baptist University (Arkadelphia, AR), 1997.
Explore our programmes to find one that best suits you!
VALIDATED PART-TIME PROGRAMMES
NON-VALIDATED
The 2-year CertHE is for those with no prior Higher Education experience who would like to go deeper in their faith.
The full 6-year BA(Hons) degree programme is ideal for those with no prior Higher Education experience.
The 2-year GradDip is for those without a theology degree. With optional Church Planting and Leadership track.
The MA, with taught modules taken over 2 or 3 years, is for those who already have a degree or GradDip in theology.
The 1-year Foundations Course is for those who wish to explore the foundations of the Christian faith.