Biography;

Historian of Christianity; university professor.  Born January 9, 1932, Aliceville.  Parents; Benjamin LaFayette and Winnie Meeks.  Married (1) Martha Fowler, June 10, 1954.  Children–three. Married (2) Judith Colton, March 18, 2000. Education; University of Alabama, B. S., 1953; Austin Theological Seminary, B. D., 1956; University of Tubingen, graduate study, 1956-57; Yale University, M. A., 1963; Ph. D., 1965.  Career; ordained Presbyterian minister, 1956; university pastor, Memphis, Tennessee, 1957-61; Dartmouth College instructor in religion, 1965-66; Yale University United Ministry university pastor, 1966-68; Indiana University at Bloomington, assistant professor, 1966-68; Yale University associate professor of religious studies, 1969-73; professor, 1973-1999; Director, Division of the Humanities, 1988-91.  Published many articles in journals and periodicals; delivered lectures and lecture series; consultant for television programs on history of Christianity.  Member, American Academy of Religion, Society of Biblical Literature, Studorium Novi Testamenti Societas, Phi Beta Kappa.  Awards;  Fulbright fellowship, 1956-57;  Kent fellow, 1962-65; NEH senior fellow, 1975-76; Guggenheim fellow, 1979-80; elected a corresponding fellow of the British Academy, 1992.  Awarded the Doctor Theologicae honoris causis by the University of Uppsala, Sweden, 1990.  Emeritus status at Yale, 1999. Fortress Press, Minneapolis, published The Social World of the First Christians, a festschriften, in his honor in 1995.

Sources;

Contemporary Authors online (updated 1/07/2010).

Marquis Who’s Who online.

Publications;

Christ Is the Question.  Louisville:  Westminster John Knox Press, 2006.

Go From Your Father’s House: A College Student’s Introduction to the Christian Faith.  Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1964.

The First Urban Christians; The Social World of the Apostle Paul.  New Haven;  Yale University Press, 1983; 2nd edition, 2003.

In Search of the Early Christians; Selected Essays.  New Haven; Yale University Press, 2002.

The Moral World of the First Christians.  Atlanta:  Westminster John Knox, 1986.

The New Testament in its Social Environment.  Atlanta; Westminster John Knox, 1988.

The Origins of Christian Morality;  The First Two Centuries.  New Haven; Yale University Press, 1993.

The Prophet-King.  Long Island City, NY; E. J. Brill, 1967.

Editor;

The Writings of St. Paul: A Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton, 1972.

Zur Soziologie des Urchristentums.  Munich:  Kaiser, 1979.

Joint_Editor:

Conflict at Colossae; A Problem in the Interpretations of Early Christianity.  Missoula, MT; Society of Biblical Literature, 1973.

The Future of Christology; Essays in Honor of Leander E. Keck.  Philadelphia; Fortress Press, 1990.

God’s Christ and His People.  Oslo, Norway; Universitetsforlager, 1977.

Greeks, Romans, and Christians; Essays in Honor of Abraham J. Malherbe.  Philadelphia; Fortress Press, 1990.

Jews and Christians in Antioch in the First Four Centuries of the Common Era.  Missoula, MT; Scholars Press, 1978.

The Writings of St. Paul; Annotated Texts, Reception, and Criticism.  New York; Norton, 2007.

Series editor/coeditor;

HarperCollins Study Bible (coeditor). New York;  HarperCollins, 1993.

Harper’s Bible Commentary (associate editor). New York; HarperCollins, 1988.

Library of Early Christianity (general editor).  Westminster Press, 1982-87.

Added 2011-07-29