Education
PhD, University of Nottingham
ThM, Southeastern Seminary
MDiv, Southeastern Seminary
BS, Virginia Military Institute
Professor Estes teaches courses on the history and theology of Christianity, including biblical studies, and on American religion, especially as it intersects technology and culture. Specific features of his scholarly interests include the Gospel of John, narrative readings of ancient texts, technology (especially AI) and theology, the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, rhetoric in early Christian texts, practical theology, and art and symbolism in the ancient world. He has written or edited twelve books and more than fifty articles and essays. Estes is an active member of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) and was recently inducted into the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (SNTS).
Professor Estes’ forthcoming publications include an edited volume on narrative epistemology, an edited volume on AI’s performance of biblical translation and interpretation, an edited three volume collection on the reception of John’s Gospel throughout history, and a short volume on conflict resolution.
Recent Courses
Introduction to Christianity
Christian Scriptures
Storytelling in the Gospel of John
Theology and Tolkien
Selected Publications
Books
editor of What John Knows: Storytelling in the Gospel of John, Vol 2 (SBL Press, forthcoming 2025)
editor of Theology and Tolkien: Constructive Theology (Lexington Books / Fortress Academic, 2024)
editor of Theology and Tolkien: Practical Theology (Lexington Books / Fortress Academic, 2023)
co-author of What About Evolution? (Cascade, 2022)
editor of The Tree of Life, Themes in Biblical Narrative 27 (Brill, 2020)
Braving the Future: Christian Faith in a World of Limitless Tech (Herald Press, 2018)
Questions and Rhetoric in the Greek New Testament: An Essential Reference Resource for Exegesis (Zondervan, 2017)
co-editor of How John Works: Storytelling in the Fourth Gospel, Resources for Biblical Studies 86 (SBL Press, 2016)
co-editor of Literary Approaches to the Bible, Lexham Methods Series 4 (Lexham Press, 2016)
The Questions of Jesus in John: Logic, Rhetoric and Persuasive Discourse, Biblical Interpretation Series 115 (Brill, 2012)
SimChurch: Being the Church in the Virtual World (Zondervan, 2009)
The Temporal Mechanics of the Fourth Gospel: A Theory of Hermeneutical Relativity in the Gospel of John, Biblical Interpretation Series 92 (Brill, 2008)
Articles and Book Chapters
“The Corona Triumphalis and the Tree of Life: Symbolism and Synecdoche in Revelation 22” in A Planting of the Lord: Biblical Tree Imagery in Natural and Human Contexts, ed. Mark Boda and William R. Osborne, DNI Series (Bloomsbury T&T Clark, forthcoming 2025)
“Imagination,” in What John Knows, ed. Douglas Estes, RBS Series (SBL Press, forthcoming 2025)
“In the Brilliant Darkness of a Hidden Silence: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Apophatic Tendencies” in Theology and Tolkien: Constructive Theology, ed. Douglas Estes (Lexington/Fortress, 2024)
“Isaiah’s Glory in John’s Gospel” in The Function of the ‘Reader’ in the Formation and Reception of the Book of Isaiah, ed. Archibald L.H.M. van Wieringen and Sehoon Jang, Studies in Cultural Contexts of the Bible 9 (Brill, 2024)
“World on Fire: Environmental Ethics and the Eschatology of 2 Peter,” Journal of Ethics in Antiquity and Christianity 5 (2023): 108–14.
“Gandalf the Grey, Apostle to Men and Elves” in Theology and Tolkien: Practical Theology, ed. Douglas Estes (Lexington/Fortress, 2023)
“The Receiver’s Paradox: Agency and Essence in John 13:20,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 85.1 (2023): 96–108
“Why We Get Technology Wrong” in Techne: A Christian Vision for Technology, ed. Gerald Hiestand and Todd Wilson (Cascade, 2022)
“Unasked Questions in the Gospel of John: Narrative, Rhetoric, and Hypothetical Discourse” in Asking Questions in Biblical Texts, ed. Archibald L.H.M. van Wieringen and Bart J. Koet, CBET 114 (Peeters, 2022)
“Postdigital Humans: Technology and Divine Design” in Postdigital Theologies: Technology, Belief, and Practice, ed. John Reader and Maggi Savin-Baden (Springer, 2022)
“Look Door, Get Key: Presence in Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch” in Black Mirror and Theology, ed. Amber Bowen and John Anthony Dunne, Theology and Popular Culture Series (Lexington/Fortress, 2022)
“Strangers Make Better Neighbors: Paradoxical Ethics in the Letter to Diognetus,” Journal of Ethics in Antiquity and Christianity 3 (2021): 119–125.
“Regular and Irregular Variable Questions in New Testament Greek,” The Bible Translator 72 (2021): 351–63.
“Virtue Before Knowledge: Docilis as Vice in Jerome” Journal of Ethics in Antiquity and Christianity 2 (2020): 78–82.
“Dualism or Paradox: A New ‘Light’ on the Gospel of John,” Journal of Theological Studies (OUP) 71.1 (2020): 90–118.
“The Tree of Life in the Apocalypse of John” in The Tree of Life, ed. Douglas Estes, TBN 27 (Brill, 2020)
“The Last Chapter of Revelation? Narrative Design at the End of the Apocalypse,” Criswell Theological Review 17.1 (2019): 97–110.
“Sin and the Cyborg: On the (Im) Peccability of the Posthuman,” Bulletin of Ecclesial Theology 6.1 (2019): 69–79.
“Time” in How John Works: Storytelling in the Fourth Gospel, ed. Douglas Estes and Ruth Sheridan, RBS 86 (SBL Press, 2016)
“Rhetorical Criticism in the New Testament” in Literary Approaches to the Bible, LMS 4, ed. Douglas Estes and Doug Mangum (Lexham, 2016)
“Rhetorical Peristaseis in the Prologue of John” in The Gospel of John as Genre Mosaic, ed. Kasper Bro Larsen, Studia Aarhusiana Neotestamentica 3 (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015)
Popular Essays
“Why We Keep Asking about the Christmas Star,” Christianity Today, December 2020
“The Tree of Life: From the Ancient Near East to Today,” The Ancient Near East Today 8:10 (2020)
“What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination,” Christianity Today, December 2019
“Love Thy Extraterrestrial Neighbor,” Christianity Today, November 2019
“Red Planet Calling,” Christianity Today, September 2018
“Our Blood Exposes Our Physical—and Spiritual—Health,” Christianity Today, February 2018
“Questioning Why God Questions,” Christianity Today, August 2017
“The Exoplanets Declare the Glory of God,” Christianity Today, March 2017
“Does ‘The Image of God’ Extend to Robots, Too?” Christianity Today, February 2017