James Tabor

James D. Tabor is Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he has taught since 1989. He previously held positions at Ambassador College (1968-70 while a student), the University of Notre Dame (1979–85), and the College of William and Mary (1985–89).

Background

Tabor was born in Texas but lived all over the world as the son of an Air Force officer. He was raised in the Churches of Christ and attended Abilene Christian University where he earned his B.A. degree in Greek and Bible. While earning his M.A. from Pepperdine University he taught Greek and Hebrew part-time at Ambassador College, founded by Herbert W. Armstrong, founder and president of the Worldwide Church of God.

Tabor earned his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1981 in New Testament and Early Christian Literature, with an emphasis on Christian origins and ancient Judaism, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, John the Baptist, Jesus, James the Just, and Paul of Tarsus.

The author of several books, he is frequently consulted by the media on these topics and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs.

Works and publications

His first book was a study of the mysticism of the apostle Paul titled Things Unutterable (1986), based on his University of Chicago dissertation. The Journal of Religion named it one of the ten best scholarly studies on Paul of the 1980s.

In 1992 Tabor turned to an analysis of attitudes toward religious suicide and......
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