|
Dr. Herbert Lockyer was born in London in 1886, and held pastorates in Scotland and England for 25 years before coming to the United States in 1935. In 1937 he received the honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Northwestern Evangelical Seminary. In 1955 he returned to England where he lived for many years. He then returned to the United States where he continued to devote time to the writing ministry until his death in November of 1984. F.F. (Frederick Fyvie)Bruce was born in October the 12th, 1910, in Elgin (Scotland), to a Brethren Assemblies family. His father was an itinerant preacher for the Assemblies. F.F. was baptized and accepted as a member of his local congregation in September 1928. He remained loyal to his denomination for the rest of his life. “Through my own experience with the Brethren, I can say they are the ideal place where a lay theologian can serve the Church with his gifts” (Restrospect, p. 285).
As a lover of the Biblie and of the classical languages, when he was only 10 years old, he started simultaneous studies in Greek and Latin. F.F. was admitted to Aberdeen University in October 1928. He studied also in University of Cambridge (England, 1932-34) and in the University of Vienna (Austria, 1934-35), studying in preparation for his Graduation and Doctoral degree, excelling in both.
Bruce taught Greek in the Universities of Edinburgh (1935-38) and Leeds (1938-47). Afterwards, he taught Bible History and Literature in the University of Sheffield (1947-59) followed by Bible Criticism and Exegesis in the University of Manchester (1959-78).
He lectured in prestigious universities all around the world: Marburg (Germany), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Auckland (New Zealand), and Makerere (Uganda). He also lectured in numerous Theological Seminaries, among them the Calvin Seminary, in Grand Rapids (U.S.A.) and the Union Seminary, in New York City (U.S.A.).
He was voted President by the prestigious Societies of Old Testament Studies and New Testament Studies.
F.F. Bruce wrote some 50 books, plus several thousand articles, essays and reviews. His masterpiece The Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary (1951) marked for the evangelical world the beginning of a new era in Bible study, being seriously considered by the Academia. In spite of never having made formal studies in Theology, he was an extraordinary reader of the subject and the Aberdeen University granted him in 1957 a Doctor Honoris Causa degree in Divinities. |
