Paul Anderson, PhD

Paul Anderson has been teaching in the School of Theology since January 1989. A student of D. Elton Trueblood in seminary, Anderson became fascinated with the Gospel of John, and in addressing the tensions in John’s Christology in his doctoral work, found himself applying cognitive-critical analysis to the history and development of Gospel traditions. That provided an interdisciplinary approach to some of the Johannine riddles that have perplexed scholars for several centuries until now.

Professor Anderson was a founding member of the John, Jesus, and History Project (SBL 2002-2016), and has coedited four of its SBL central series volumes: Vol. 1, Critical Appraisals of Critical Views (2007), Vol. 2, Aspects of Historicity in the Fourth Gospel (2009), Vol. 3, Glimpses of Jesus through the Johannine Lens (2016), and Vol. 4, Jesus Remembered in the Johannine Situation (2024). He also coedited Communities in Dispute (2014) and John and Judaism (2027). Four more of his edited volumes are in press or in process (2025-27).

His own book on the subject, The Fourth Gospel and the Quest for Jesus, argues for a more nuanced view, arguing also a new paradigm for understanding John’s composition, relations to other traditions, and likely contributions to the quest for Jesus. His approach to John's "dialogical autonomy" builds upon his new paradigm for seeing John as an independent Jesus tradition, alongside the others (“a Bi-Optic Hypothesis").

Anderson's new contextual introduction to the New Testament (From Crisis to Christ) builds bridges between original contexts of biblical writings and today's contexts, and his book on Following Jesus poses a dynamic view of radical discipleship. He also edited Evangelical Friend (1990-1994) and Quaker Religious Thought (2000-2011).

The author of more than 400 published essays, Anderson is editor of three book series: Biblical Interpretation (E.J. Brill), the Johannine Monograph Series, and Quakers and the Disciplines (FAHE).

In addition to teaching at George Fox, Anderson has served as a visiting professor or researcher at Yale Divinity School and Princeton Theological Seminary, and as a DAAD professor at the University of Mainz and a Fulbright Specialist at the Radboud University of Nijmegen. He also serves as extraordinary professor of religion at North-West University of Potchefstroom, South Africa and as an adjunct professor at Barclay College and Portland Seminary.

Academic Background

PhD, Glasgow University
MDiv, Earlham School of Religion
Graduate studies, Trinity Lutheran Seminary and Portland State University
BA, Malone University