Donald Arthur Carson is Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and co-founder of The Gospel Coalition. He is a prominent evangelical scholar and author. Carson has been described as doing "the most seminal New Testament work by contemporary evangelicals" and as "one of the last great Renaissance men in evangelical biblical scholarship." He has written on a wide range of topics including New Testament, hermeneutics, biblical theology, the Greek New Testament, the use of the Old Testament in the New, and more.
Background and education
Carson was born on December 21, 1946, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His parents were Thomas Donald McMillan Carson and Elizabeth Margaret. He grew up in Drummondville, the second of three children, where his father pastored a bilingual church. His father planted multiple churches and pastored in French-speaking Canada. Carson spent the years of 1963–1967 in Montreal at McGill University where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and mathematics. He then moved to Toronto where he completed his Master of Divinity degree from Central Baptist Seminary. From 1970 to 1972, he pastored in Richmond, British Columbia, and was ordained in 1972. In 1972, Carson moved to England to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy degree in the New Testament from the University of Cambridge which he completed in 1975. At Cambridge, Carson studied under Barnabas Lindars, whose Festschrift he edited in 1988. His dissertation was entitled, Predestination and Responsibility: Elements of Tension-Theology in the Fourth Gospel Against Jewish Background. A revised and simplified form of his dissertation was published in 1981 under the title, Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility: Biblical Themes in Tension.
Career
Upon completion of his doctorate, Carson moved back to Canada and served for three years at Northwest Baptist Theological College in Vancouver as associate professor of New Testament and later as founding dean of the seminary in 1976. Carson joined the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School faculty in 1978 after then dean, Kenneth Kantzer, heard him deliver a paper at a theological conference. Carson served as Associate Professor of New Testament until 1982 when he became full professor. From 1991 to 2018, Carson was Research Professor of New Testament. He is now Emeritus Professor of New Testament. Carson has authored and edited over 60 books. He is the editor of many series including the New Studies in Biblical Theology, the Pillar New Testament Commentary, the NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, Studies in Biblical Greek, and more. He has served as editor for a variety of academic journals. In the past, he served as editor of the Trinity Journal and book review editor of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. From 1991 to 1996, he served as the co-chair of the Biblical Greek and Linguistics section of the Society of Biblical Literature. In 2005, Carson founded The Gospel Coalition along with pastor Tim Keller. The Gospel Coalition is known for its popular website, conferences, and other resource materials. Carson was the President of The Gospel Coalition until January 20, 2020, when Julius Kim was selected as his successor. Carson transitioned to the role of Theologian-at-Large, the position he currently holds. Carson is passionate about international ministry and seeking the unity of the church worldwide. For a number of years, he served the World Evangelical Alliance working in the Faith and Church Study Unit. During his time chairing the Faith and Church Study Unit, Carson promoted evangelical scholarship across the world. He encouraged scholars and pastors from Nigeria, Indonesia, Japan, India, Europe, and across the world to write about global solutions for problems facing the church. Under his tenure at the World Evangelical Alliance, he produced four volumes containing contributions from international scholars. Carson has mentored a number of prominent biblical scholars including Craig Blomberg, Stanley E. Porter, and Andreas J. Köstenberger. In 2011, a Festschrift was published in his honor, entitled Understanding the Times: New Testament Studies in the 21st Century: Essays in Honor of D. A. Carson on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday. Contributors included Andreas J. Köstenberger, Grant Osborne, Mark Dever, Douglas Moo, Peter O'Brien, and Craig Blomberg.
Personal Life
Carson married Joy on August 16, 1975. He has two children and resides in Libertyville, Illinois.
Select works
Books
- revised edition of A Call to Spiritual Reformation of 1992
