James McConkey Robinson (June 30, 1924 – March 22, 2016)[1] was an American scholar who retired as Professor Emeritus of Religion at Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California, specializing in New Testament Studies and Nag Hammadi Studies. He was a member of the Jesus Seminar and arguably the most prominent Q and Nag Hammadi library scholar of the twentieth century. He was also a major contributor to The International Q Project, acting as an editor for most of their publications. Particularly, he laid the groundwork for John S. Kloppenborg's foundational work into the compositional history of Q, by arguing its genre as an ancient wisdom collection. He also was the permanent secretary of UNESCO's International Committee for the Nag Hammadi codices.[2] He is known for his work on the Medinet Madi library, a collection of Coptic Manichaean manuscripts.[3][4]
He was the son of William Childs Robinson (1897-1982), who taught church history and apologetics at Columbia Theological Seminary. His brother William taught New Testament at Perkins School of Theology and then Andover Newton Theological School.
He has received criticism from philosopher and apologist William Lane Craig regarding his views on Jesus' resurrection appearances. Robinson argued that these appearances had their origins in second-century Gnosticism. Craig argues that there is no reason to believe that all of these experiences were luminous, and even if they were, that they were interpreted as non-physical appearances.[5] Robinson died in March 2016 at the age of 91.[6]
———; Patterson, Stephen J. (1998). The Fifth Gospel: The Gospel of Thomas Comes of Age. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International. ISBN9780567178268. OCLC741687257.
———, ed. (1971). The Future of Our Religious Past: Essays in Honor of Rudolf Bultmann. New York: Harper & Row.
———, ed. (1977). The Nag Hammadi Library in English. Leiden: Brill.
———; Hoffmann, Paul; Kloppenborg, John S., eds. (2000). The Critical Edition of Q. Hermeneia Supplements. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress.
———; Hoffmann, Paul; Kloppenborg, John S., eds. (2002). The Sayings Gospel Q in Greek and English: with parallels from the Gospels of Mark and Thomas. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress. ISBN9780800634940. OCLC50729192.
——— (1998). "Theological Autobiography". In Stone, Jon R. (ed.). The Craft of Religious Studies. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 117–150. ISBN9780312177270. OCLC925168109.
——— (1998). "Theological Autobiography". In Stone, Jon R. (ed.). The Craft of Religious Studies. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 117–150. ISBN9780312177270. OCLC925168109. - an additional biographical source