Sunday, January 29, 2023

This year, Latter-day Saints will be studying the New Testament in Sunday school. Matthew Bowman, Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University conducts a wide-ranging conversation about the various writings that make up the New Testament with Eric Huntsman, who holds a PhD in ancient history from the University of Pennsylvania and serves as a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University. Matthew and Eric talk about how the differences among the four gospels can illuminate the life of Jesus, what the apostle Paul was getting at in his letters, and what on earth is going on in the Book of Revelation, among other topics.

Eric Huntsman was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He received B.A. in Classical Greek and Latin from Brigham Young University and a PhD in ancient history from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997. In 1997, he became an assistant professor of Classics and Ancient History at BYU, and transferred to the College of Religious Education in 2003. He is the author of a number of books on the New Testament for Latter-day Saints, including God So Loved the World: The Final Days of the Savior’s Life and Becoming the Beloved Disciple: Coming unto Christ through the Gospel of John, both published by Deseret Book.  He currently serves as the academic director of the BYU Jerusalem Center. You can follow his experiences in Israel via Instagram at eric_huntsman.