Divinity professor wins prestigious young scholar award

BUIES CREEK – David Moffitt, an assistant professor of New Testament and Greek, is one of 10 young scholars from around the world who has been named a recipient of the Manfred Lautenschläger Award for Theological Promise 2013.

The award, sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation, honors the best doctoral or first post-doctoral work on the topic of “God and Spirituality” by scholars who are typically 35 or younger. A New Testament scholar, Moffitt received the award for his book “Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrews,” which was published by Brill in 2011. 

“I am honored that my book has been recognized as having the potential to make a significant contribution to contemporary theological discourse,” Moffitt said. “I am grateful for the scholarly attention that this award will bring to my work, and I pray that God will use the ideas in the book for the edification of the church. I am also thankful to be able to represent Campbell University in this way.”

Moffitt and nine other young scholars will receive their Manfred Lautenschläger awards during a ceremony on May 31, 2013, at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. They’ll also receive a prize of $10,000 each.

“In the year and a half that Dr. David Moffitt has been part of the faculty of Campbell University Divinity School, he has proven himself to be not only an outstanding scholar, but also an excellent teacher and a committed minister of the gospel,” said Andy Wakefield, dean of the Campbell Divinity School. “He exemplifies the commitment shared by all of the faculty to theological education that is Christ-centered, Bible-based and ministry-focused. We are thrilled and proud that Dr. Moffitt has received this well-deserved award.”

Moffitt joined the Campbell Divinity School faculty in 2011. He received his Ph.D. in religion and a Master of Theology from Duke University, a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a bachelor’s degree from Grove City College. During his doctoral work, he spent a year as a Fulbright Scholar at the Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen in Germany. He has also been a Society of Biblical Literature Regional Scholar.

His current research explores the implications for the question of Christian supersessionism in the book of Hebrews, with a particular focus on reassessing assumptions about replacement theology in the text.

In addition to his book “Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrews,” Moffitt has contributed several essays to various edited volumes and has published articles in academic journals such as the Journal of Biblical Literature, Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der Älteren Kirche, Zeitschrift für Neues Testament, Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik and Perspectives in Religious Studies.

Ordained by the East Cedar Grove Association of Missionary Baptist Churches, he also serves as an associate minister at Mt. Level Missionary Baptist Church in Durham.