Education
Ordained (ELCA)
Th.D. (Princeton Theological Seminary)
B.Th. (Luther Theological Seminary)
Biography
Roy Harrisville joined the faculty of Luther Seminary as Assistant Professor of New Testament in 1958. He became Associate Professor in 1960 and was Professor of New Testament from 1965 to 1992.
Before joining the faculty Harrisville was Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Mason City, IA, 1952-57. Together with Carl Braaten and Robert Jenson, Harrisville co-founded the journal dialog in 1962 and served as Associate Editor, Contributing Editor, and member of the Editorial Council.
Harrisville received the Lutheran World Federation Scholarship, the Association of Theological Schools Fellowship, and the Fredrik A. Schiotz Fellowship.
A graduate of Concordia College, Moorhead, MN (B.A., 1944), Harrisville earned his B.Th. degree from Luther Theological Seminary in 1947 and his Th.D. degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1953. He did post-doctoral studies at the University of Tübingen, Germany, Yale University, CT, and Cambridge University, England.
He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, and the American Association of University Professors.
Publications
Among Harrisville’s more than 20 published books are God Incognito: A Series of Lenten Sermons on the Passion according to St. John (Augsburg, 1956), The Concept of Newness in the New Testament (Augsburg, 1960), His Hidden Grace: The Origins, Task and Witness of Biblical Criticism (Abingdon, 1965), The Miracle of Mark: A Study in the Gospel (Augsburg, 1967), Pick Up Your Trumpet (Augsburg, 1970), Frank Chamberlain Porter: Pioneer in American Biblical Interpretation and Benjamin Wisner Bacon: Pioneer in American Biblical Interpretation (both Scholars Press, 1976), Romans: Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament (Augsburg, 1980), First Corinthians: Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament (Augsburg, 1987), Ministry in Crisis (Augsburg, 1987), The Bible in Modern Culture, with Walter Sundberg (2nd edition Eerdmans, 2002), Fracture: The Cross as Irreconcilable in the Language and Thought of the Biblical Writers (Eerdmans, 2006), Pandora’s Box Opened (Eerdmans, 2014), and The Story of Jesus: A Mosaic (Resource Publications, 2020).
Harrisville also translated 20 volumes, among them are The Influence of the Holy Spirit: The Popular View of the Apostolic Age and the Teaching of the Apostle Paul, by Hermann Gunkel. (Fortress, 1979), The Freedom of a Christian, by Eberhard Jüngel (Augsburg, 1988), What Is Theology by Rudolf Bultmann (Fortress 1998), Luther’s Theology by Bernard Lohse (Fortress. 2000), and Church Conflicts: The Cross, Apocalyptic, and Political Resistance by Ernst Käsemann, (Baker, 2021).
Harrisville has also published over 40 articles and numerous book reviews and editorials, as well as sermons on cassette.