Dr. David J. Trobisch

Short CV and picture

I was born in Ebolowa, Cameroon (West Africa). My parents, Walter and Ingrid Trobisch, were at the time missionaries for the American Lutheran Church. In 1964 the family moved to Austria. Born from a German father and an American mother I hold dual citizenship. I speak English, German, and French, and studied Latin, Hebrew, and Ancient Greek.

Education

1976-1982: After passing the university entrance exam in Austria I moved to Germany and studied Protestant Theology at Neuendettelsau (Bavaria), Tübingen and Heidelberg (Magister theol. 1982).

• 1976 Matura (University entrance exam) BEA Saalfelden, Austria.

• 1976 Greek exam (Augustana Hochschule, Neuendettelsau, Germany).

• 1977 Hebrew exam (University Heidelberg, Germany).

• 1982 Magister theol. (University Heidelberg, Germany).

• 1988 Dr. theol. (University Heidelberg, Germany).

• 1995 Dr. theol. habil. (University Heidelberg, Germany).

Employment

• 1982-1985 Editor, translator (English into German) for several  German publishers. Software developer. Part time research and teaching assistant at the University of Heidelberg.

• 1985-1995 ‘Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter’ and since 1989 as ‘Hochschulassistent’ at the University of Heidelberg.

• 1995-1996 Visiting scholar and adjunct faculty member at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.

• 1996-1997 Visiting Associate Professor of New Testament at Yale Divinity School, New Haven.

• 1997- 2000 Associate Professor of New Testament at Bangor Theological Seminary.

• 2000- 2008 Throckmorton-Hayes Professor of New Testament Language and Literature at Bangor Theological Seminary. (7/2008-6/2009: Visiting Professor)

Public Lectures

Since 2005:

• "Let the Context Interpret: A Narrative Critical Approach to the Letters of Paul" (SBL, San Antonio, November 2004) 
• Malta, the Island of the Goddess (Bangor, April 2005) 

• Religion and the Challenge of America: Judaism, Christianity and Islam (June 19-24, 2005) (organizer)

• "Jesus was a Jew". Presentations and workshops with Rabbi Harry Sky in Augsburg, Bavaria  and Wehingen, Baden-Württemberg (July 2005).
• ►"I Love to Tell the Story", Professional Leadership Conference, Eastern North Dakota Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (September 2005)

• "60 years after the Holocaust". Rabbi Harry Sky and Dr. David Trobisch talk about their trip through Germany and Austria. PowerPoint presentation. Falmouth, ME (November 2006).

• "Introducing the Gospel of John and the Gospel of Mary". Lecture University of Maine at Orono (January 2006).

• "The Revelation of Paul". First & Calvary Presbyterian Church, Springfield, MO (February 2006).

• "Gospel of Mary". Wrangell, Alaska (March 2006).

• "In the Footsteps of Paul". UCC Franklin Association Annual meeting. Phillips, ME. PowerPoint presentation (May 2006).

• "What is There in a Picture? An Introduction to Codex Washingtonianus W 032". Edinburgh, Scotland. International meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. (July 2006).

• "Homosexuality and the Bible", UCC, North Waterford, ME (July 2006).

• ►Fall Theological Conference for rostered leaders and spouses of the Northeastern Minnesota Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Ruttger's Sugar Lake Lodge, Grand Rapids, MN (September 2006). Biblical story-telling workshop.

• ►11/17/06: 12:55 PM. Smithsonian, Freer Gallery of Art. Auditorium. Society of Biblical Literature, Annual Meeting, Washington, DC. SBL symposium.  "Reading a Page of the Freer Gospels Codex".

• ►01/24-01/29/07: "Who published the Christian Bible?" (1/27/07 9:15 AM),  Scripture and Skepticism: The Use of Doubt in Biblical and Qur'anic Studies, University of California at Davis, Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion.

• 03/20/2007. Tuesday, 20th of March 2007, 15-17h Utrecht, Netherlands, “Each Manuscript Has a Story to Tell”
  

• ►11/01-03/2007 "Editing the Bible," the Forty-Third converence on Editorial Problems, convened by John Kloppenborg, University of Toronto.

• 12/07-09/2007. "Identity and Identification: Translation, Identity and Heterogeneity". Hosted by the University of San Marcos, Lima, Peru. Paper.

• 02/03+02/17/08 Immanuel Baptist Church, Portland,156 High St. 9:30-10:15 AM Sunday. Adult forum: "Who is Paul?"

• 05/08/08 Thursday 7:30 pm. Abschiedsvorlesung (Departure Lecture). "How to translate the word 'Gentile' from English into English." Portland Campus. Everyone is invited.

• 07/04-07/06/2008 Heidelberg, Germany. Gerd Theissen Symposium. Paper.

• 07/17/2008 Augsburg, Germany. Methodist congregation. Lecture and discussion: The Book of Acts.

• 07/19/2008 Salzburg, Austria. Midrash.

• 07/26/2008 Berlin, Germany. Sermon. St. George's Anglican Episcopal Church. 10:00; 18:00.

• ►08/03-05/2008 Muenster, Germany. Paper. Münster Colloquium on the Textual History of the Greek New Testament

• 11/9-12/2008 Second International Conference on Religion and Media, Tehran and Qom, Iran. Paper.

• 10/10-12/2008 Muscatine, Iowa. Faith United Church of Christ. From Ancient Manuscripts to Modern English Translations: Challenges and Joys of Biblical Scholarship. All day Saturday workshop. Sermon on Sunday.

• ►10/20-21/2008 West Virginia - Western Maryland Synod. ELCA. Continuing Education Event, Will O’the Wisp, McHenry, MD. Storytelling and Preaching.

• 10/27/2008 Theologische Runde. Christusgemeinde,  Wiesloch, Germany. Kindheitsevangelium des Jakobus.

• ►11/20/2008 Paul: From Tarsus to China. Public lecture sponsored by the American Bible Society. Boston. Union Club.

• 12/05-12/07/2008 Amherst, NY. The Jesus Project. Paper.

• ►07/06/2009: LONDON. Codex Sinaiticus Conference. British Library Conference Centre. Presentation.

• 09/28/2009: NEW YORK Presentation: The Multimedia Translation Project of the American Bible Society. Chatlos Bible Conference of 2009 at New York Theological Seminary.

• ►04/08/2010: NEW ORLEANS. Center for New Testament Textual Studies. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Three lectures.

• 2010/03/03-07: ST. LOUIS. Concordia Seminary. Workshop: Performance of the Lectionary.

►Keynote address, endowed lecture, or other special invitation.

Special Activities

Work with original manuscripts at Heidelberg (Papyrologisches Institut), Ann Arbor (University of Michigan), Vienna (Papyrussammlung der österreichischen Nationalbibliothek), New Haven (Beinecke Library), Cape Town (South African Library), Hartford, CT (Trinity College), New York (Library of American Bible Society), Paris (Bibliotheque Nationale), Dresden (Sächsische Landesbibliothek), St. Petersburg (Russian National Library), Cambridge, UK (Trinity College), Damascus (Greek Orthodox Patriarchate); with microfilms at Washington D.C. (Library of Congress), Münster (Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung).

I am the author of a children's book about growing up in Africa, Pimpelhubers Abenteuer (Wuppertal: Brockhaus Verlag, 1999; first edition 1968). English edition: The Adventures of Pumpelhoober (Bolivar: Quiet Waters Publications, 2000; first edition 1969). 

1994-2000 Active member of the Multimedia Translation Project of the American Bible Society in New York .

From 2002 to 2009 chair of the SBL international text-criticism section "Working With Biblical Manuscripts".

2001-2005 Consultant to the translation subcommittee of the Board of the American Bible Society, New York.

Since 2006 Member of the Board of the American Bible Society.

Affiliations

Membership of the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Academy of Religion. I participated in the SBL/AAR regional meetings 1993 in Kansas City, 1994 in St. Louis, 1997 Wheaton, 1998 and  1999 Andover-Newton, 2000 Rhode Island, 2002 Boston; the national meeting 1995 Philadelphia, 1996 New Orleans, 1997 San Francisco, 1998 Orlando, 1999 Boston, 2000 Nashville, 2001 Denver; 2002 Toronto, 2004 San Antonio, 2007 Boston, 2008 San Diego, 2009 New Orleans; the international meetings 1993 in Münster (Germany), 1994 Leuven (Belgium), 1995 Budapest (Hungary), 1999 Helsinki (Finland), 2000 Cape Town (South Africa), 2001 Rome (Italy), 2002 Berlin (Germany), 2003 Cambridge (UK), 2004 Groningen (Netherlands), 2006 (Edinburgh). I read papers or presided over sessions in St. Louis, Budapest, Philadelphia, Helsinki, Rhode Island, Boston, Cape Town, Rome, Berlin, Toronto, Cambridge, Groningen, San Antonio, Edinburgh. 

I am a founding member of Interfaith Maine, an initiative seeking peace and justice through deepening interfaith understanding and relationships.