C. John "Jack" Collins
Professor of Old Testament
Scholarship
Featured Publication
Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?: Who They Were and Why You Should Care (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011)
Who are Adam and Eve and why should you care if they existed? Some Christians today readily dismiss the historical consensus that they were actually persons of whom we are all descendants. They also argue that those same Christians also believed the earth was the center of the universe. C. John Collins invites both doubts and scholarship to the table. Applying well-informed, critical thinking to questions raised by theologians and scientists alike, Collins examines the historicity and relevance of a real Adam and Eve.
Books
Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?: Who They Were and Why You Should Care. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011.
Genesis 1-4: A Linguistic, Literary, and Theological Commentary. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006.
The God of Miracles: An Exegetical Examination of God’s Action in the World. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2000; Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 2001.
Science and Faith: Friends or Foes? Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2003. Russian translation, 2005.
Articles
“Ambiguity and Theology in Ruth: Ruth 1:21 and 2:20 (pdf, 1.49MB) ,” Presbyterion: Covenant Seminary Review 19, no. 2 (Fall 1993): 97-102.
“Discourse Analysis and the Interpretation of Genesis 2:4-7,” Westminster Theological Journal 61, no. 2 (1999): 269-276.
“The Eucharist as Christian Sacrifice: How Patristic Authors Can Help Us Read the Bible,” Westminster Theological Journal 66 (2004): 1-23.
“From Literary Analysis to Theological Exposition: The Book of Jonah,” Journal of Translation and Textlinguistics 7, no. 1 (1995): 28-44.
“How Old is the Earth? Anthropomorphic Days in Genesis 1:1-2:3,” Presbyterion: Covenant Seminary Review 20, no. 2 (Fall 1994): 109-130.
“The (Intelligible) Masoretic Text of Malachi 2:16, or: How Does God Feel About Divorce?” Presbyterion: Covenant Seminary Review 20, no. 1 (Spring 1994): 36-40.
“John 4:23-24, ‘In Spirit and Truth’: An Idiomatic Proposal,” Presbyterion 21, no. 2 (Fall 1995): 118-121.
“Miracles, Intelligent Design, and God-of-the-Gaps,” a paper presented at the Gifford Bequest International Conference on “Natural Theology: Its Problems and Prospects,” May 26-29, 2000, in Aberdeen, Scotland. Published in Perspectives in Science and Christian Faith 55, no. 1 (March 2003): 22-29.
“Psalm 1: Structure and Rhetoric,” Presbyterion: Covenant Seminary Review 31, no. 1 (Spring 2005): 37-48.
“Reading Genesis 1:1-2:3 as an Act of Communication: Discourse Analysis and Literal Interpretation,” in Did God Create in Six Days? ed. Joseph Pipa Jr. and David Hall. Taylors, SC: Southern Presbyterian Press, 1999, 131-151.
“A Syntactical Note (Genesis 3:15): Is the Woman’s Seed Singular or Plural?” Tyndale Bulletin 48, no. 1 (1997): 139-148.
“What the Reader Wants and the Translator Can Give: 1 John as a Test Case,” in Translating Truth: The Case for Essentially Literal Bible Translation, by Wayne Grudem, Leland Ryken, C. John Collins, Vern S. Poythress, and Bruce Winter. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2005, 77-111; also published in All for Jesus: A Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Covenant Theological Seminary, ed. Robert A. Peterson and Sean Michal Lucas. Fearn, Tain, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 2006, 333-359.
“Without Form You Lose Meaning,” Appendix to The Word of God in English, by Leland Ryken. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2002, 295-319.
Many entries on specific words for The New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, ed. W. van Gemeren. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997.
Reviews
Many reviews in a variety of scholarly journals.
Editorial Projects
ESV Text Editor for The English-Greek Reverse Interlinear New Testament: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2006; John Schwandt, General Editor.
Chair, Old Testament Translation Committee, Old Testament Editor, and Contributor, English Standard Version of the Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway. General Editor, J. I. Packer.
Initial Translator, Psalms 102-150, for Holman Christian Standard Bible. Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman.
Presentations
Many lectures, seminars, and special presentations to conferences, churches, and institutes.
Professional Societies and Memberships
- American Scientific Affiliation
- Evangelical Theological Society
- Society of Biblical Literature