Senior Research Professor of Biblical Theology Dr. Alan Streett is the first professor in the history of the Criswell College to be elected into the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (SNTS), or International Society for New Testament Studies. The election occurred during the summer 2019 meeting of the 74th annual SNTS society in Marburg, Germany.

The society consists of a group of over 400 scholars with a special interest in the study of the New Testament from a first century point-of-view, and they approach it from a scholarly rather than doctrinal perspective. In order to be considered for membership, nominees must be put forward by two current members, and the work must be considered excellent on an international level.

Streett’s two monographs, Subversive Meals: Eating the Lord’s Supper under Roman Domination during the First Century and Caesar and the Sacrament: Baptism as a Ritual of Resistance, along with articles and chapters published by Wiley Blackwell, T & T Clark Bloomsbury, and Oxford University Press, were the basis of his election at the 74th annual SNTS meeting this summer in Marburg, Germany. “So now, if I try to get something published with Oxford University Press, and they see I’m a member of that society, they’ll take a look at it. So, it does open doors for future publications, at least to be considered. And it is connection with other scholars in your area.”

Four years ago, Streett was invited as a guest at the SNTS meeting in Montreal. During the society meetings, scholars would spend time challenging one another and addressing their research with detailed questions while offering constructive criticism.

“I was introduced to a level of scholarship that I had never seen before, all put together in one place,” he said. “These would be people who are teaching in Oxford and Harvard. I sat in a seminar on the Apostle Paul and the Book of Romans … one person would present a paper that would last an hour. And you would have two hours of interchange with the other scholars.”

In addition to teaching two or three classes each semester on Criswell’s campus, Streett spends the majority of his time writing and researching and is presently working on his next two books, Songs of Resistance: Proclaiming Jesus as Lord and The Birth of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, in A Handbook of Matthew’s Gospel.