Overview
Professor Campbell's research focuses in one direction on the life and thought (i.e. theology and its development) of Paul with particular reference to soteriological models rooted in apocalyptic and participation as against justification or salvation-history. However, he is interested in contributions to Pauline analysis from modern literary theory, from modern theology, from epistolary theory, ancient rhetoric, ancient comparative religion, modern linguistics and semantic theory, and from sociology. His book-length publications on Paul are The Rhetoric of Righteousness in Romans 3:21-26 (1992); The Quest for Paul's Gospel: A Suggested Strategy (2005); The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul (2009); Framing Paul: An Epistolary Biography (2014); Paul: An Apostle's Journey (2018); and Pauline Dogmatics: The Triumph of God's Love (2020). His work is the subject of a book-length engagement, Beyond Old and New Perspectives on Paul (ed. Chris Tilling, 2014). He also edited The Call to Serve: Biblical and Theological Perspectives on Ministry in Honour of Bishop Penny Jamieson (1996), and The Gospel and Gender: A Trinitarian Engagement with Being Male and Female in Christ (2003). His other principal focus is on prisons and their surrounding dynamics. He has co-directed the Prison Program at Duke Divinity School since 2009. The Program’s Certificate in Prison Studies educates students into the dynamics of mass incarceration and responsible prison engagement intellectually, emotionally and practically. It includes participation in inside-outside courses, a mentored prison-related internship, and a formational process addressing the burnout and distress that prolonged engagements with carceral facilities often elicit. Prof. Campbell is trained in restorative justice practices (RJ) that address harm in an alternative way to the current predominantly punitive responses, RJ being a particular specialization in his homeland of New Zealand. He lectures and publishes on the connections between biblical interpretation, theological paradigms, human affects and emotions, and the advocacy of punishment and incarceration. He has led a retraining program for correctional officers in US Marshals and ICE facilities in Texas and New Mexico. He and his spouse have been personally involved in prison visitation and prisoner support since 2005.