The Rev. Dr. Prof. Don Collett

Ph.D 2007 University of St Andrews, Scotland
M.Div. 1997 Westminster Seminary in California
B.A. 1992 Montana State University Bozeman

Professor of Old Testament

The Rev. Dr. Don Collett was drawn to Trinity through his interest in Biblical Theology and its importance for the formation of clergy in the ministry of Word and sacrament. With a BA from Montana State University, an MDiv from Westminster Seminary in California, and a PhD from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, he serves as Professor of Old Testament. Ordained as a deacon in 2016 and priest in 2017 in the Anglican Diocese of Egypt, his approach centers upon classroom teaching, the ministry of Word and sacrament, and forming relationships with students seeking to enter ministry.

Prof. Collett's main contribution to Trinity's vision is training clergy in how to preach and teach the Bible. His work focuses on Biblical Theology, theological exegesis, hermeneutics, and the history of interpretation. He participates actively in the life of the residential seminary community, believing that formation happens not just in the classroom but through shared life together.

He loves the residential community life at Trinity, where relationships and formation can flourish in proximity. His hope is to see students get excited about the Bible and preaching Jesus Christ. When not teaching or serving in Word and sacrament, Dr. Collett enjoys reading.

Don

's

Research Interests

The Book of the Twelve, Isaiah, Hosea, Jonah, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, theological exegesis, canonical hermeneutics, literary theory, Biblical Theology, Old Testament theology, philosophical theology, sensus literalis, figural reading, allegory, the reception history of Scripture.

Workshops, Lectures, & Retreats

  • “The Christomorphic Shaping of Time in Radner’s Time and the Word,” invited paper read at the Evangelical Theological Society 2017 annual meeting, Providence, RI.
  • “Christ’s Work in the Psalms: Luther on Psalm 8 and Scripture’s Literal Sense,” invited paper read at the August 2017 meeting of the North American Lutheran Church Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee.
  • “Jezreel, the Day of Visitation, and Hosea: The Book of the Twelve as Penitential History,” invited paper read at the May 2017 meeting of the Wycliffe Centre for Scripture and Theology, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto.
  • “Allegory and the Nature of Biblical Referentiality: Proverbs 8:22-31 as ‘Other-Speaking’”, invited paper read at the Christian Theology and the Bible seminar, Society of Biblical Literature 2014 annual meeting, San Diego, CA.
  • “A Place to Stand: Proverbs 8 and the Construction of Ecclesial Space,” invited paper read at the May 2013 meeting of the Wycliffe Centre for Scripture and Theology, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto.

Resources by

Don

Monographs
  • Figural Reading and the Old Testament: Theology and Practice. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020.
  • Commentary on Hosea, International Theological Commentary. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, forthcoming spring 2024.
Edited Volumes
  • Don Collett, Mark Elliott, Mark Gignilliat & Ephraim Radner. The Identity of Israel’s God in Christian Scripture: Essays in Honor of Christopher R. Seitz. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2020.
Chapters in Books
  • “Prophetic Intentionality in the Book of the Twelve.” Pages 183-206 in Canon Formation: Tracing the Role of Sub-Collections in the Biblical Canon. Edited by William E. Glenny and Darian Lockett. T & T Clark Bloomsbury, 2023.
  • “Jezreel, the Day of Visitation, and Hosea: The Book of the Twelve as Character History.” Pages 161-82 in The Identity of Israel’s God in Christian Scripture: Essays in Honor of Christopher R. Seitz. Edited by Don Collett, Mark Elliott, Mark Gignilliat & Ephraim Radner. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2020.
  • “Reformed Theology and Modern Biblical Criticism.” Pages 113-33 in The Oxford Handbook of Reformed Theology. Edited by Michael Allen & Scott R. Swain. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.
  • “Christ’s Work in the Psalms: Luther on Psalm 8 and Scripture’s Literal Sense.” Pages 9-37 in Who is Jesus Christ for Us Today—Part II: The Work of Christ. Edited by R. David Nelson. American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, 2018.
  • “Atonement in the Book of the Twelve.” Pages 411-16 in T & T Clark Companion to the Atonement. Edited by Adam Johnson. London: Bloomsbury, 2017.
  • “A Tale of Two Testaments: Childs, OT Torah, and Heilsgeschichte.” Pages 185-219 in The Bible as Christian Scripture: The Work of Brevard S. Childs. Edited by Christopher R. Seitz and Kent Harold Richards. Atlanta: SBL, 2013.
  • “Transcendental Argument Revisited.” Pages 460-88 in Speaking the Truth in Love: The Theology of John M. Frame. Philipsburg, NJ: P & R 2009.
  • “Van Til and Transcendental Argument.” Pages 258-78 in Revelation and Reason: New Essays in Reformed Apologetics. Edited by K. Scott Oliphint and Lane G. Tipton. Philipsburg, NJ: P & R 2007.
Articles
  • God’s Incomparable Love in Hosea 11:7-9.” Lutheran Forum 55:3 (2021): 33-40.
  • “Biblical Interpretation and Its Modern Substitutes.” Theopolis Institute, August 6, 2020.
  • “The Defenestration of Prague and the Hermeneutics of ‘Story’: A Response to Peter Leithart.” Reformed Faith & Practice 3:2 (2018): 32-8.
  • “A Place to Stand:  Proverbs 8 and the Construction of Ecclesial Space.” Scottish Journal of Theology 70:2 (2017): 166-83.
  • “Reading Forward: The Old Testament and Retrospective Stance.” Pro Ecclesia 24:2 (2015): 178-96.
  • “The Christology of Israel’s Psalter.” Currents in Theology and Mission 41:6 (2014): 390-95.
  • “Trinitarian Hermeneutics and the Unity of Scripture.” Trinity Journal for Theology and Ministry 3:1 (2009): 11-31.
  • “The Bible and Revelation.” Trinity Journal for Theology and Ministry 2:2 (2008): 110-120.
Review Essays
  • “Theological Reflection on ‘the Christ Event’ in Scripture and The Elder Testament.” Review essay in Syndicate: A Living Network of Scholarship in the Humanties, May 13, 2021.
  • Stephen L. Cook. Deuteronomy: A Literary and Theological Commentary. Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys, 2015. 260 pp. Review essay in The Living Church, August 6, 2019.
  • Ephraim Radner. Time and the Word: Figural Reading of the Christian Scriptures. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016. 326 pp. Review essay in Pro Ecclesia 27:3 (2018): 276-88.
  • Daniel R. Driver. Brevard Childs, Biblical Theologian for the Church’s One Bible. Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2. Reihe 46. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010. 328 pp.  Review essay in Pro Ecclesia 23:1 (2014): 99-112.
  • J. Todd Billings. The Word of God for the People of God: An Entryway to the Theological Interpretation of Scripture. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010. 235 pp.
  • Stephen E. Fowl. Theological Interpretation of Scripture. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2009. 92 pp.
  • Christian Smith. The Bible Made Impossible: Why Biblicism Is Not a Truly Evangelical Reading of Scripture. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2012. 240 pp.
  • N. T. Wright. Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today. Nashville: HarperCollins, 2013. 210 pp.
  • Review essay in Christian Reflection: A Series in Faith and Ethics 52 (2014): 81-87.
Selected Reviews
  • R. W. L. Moberly. The God of the Old Testament: Encountering the Divine in Christian Scripture. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020. 282 pp. Reviewed in International Journal of Systematic Theology 25:1 (2023): 173-75.
  • Nathan Chambers. Reconsidering Creation Ex Nihilo in Genesis 1. Journal of Theological Interpretation Supplement 19. University Park: Eisenbrauns, 2020. 280 pp. Reviewed in Journal of Reformed Theology 16 (2022): 272-73.
  • Christopher R. Seitz. The Elder Testament: Canon, Theology, Trinity. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2018. 304 pp. Reviewed in International Journal of Systematic Theology 22:3 (2020): 445-48.
  • Daniel R. Driver. Brevard Childs, Biblical Theologian for the Church’s One Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012. 368 pp. Reviewed in International Journal of Systematic Theology 16:4 (2014): 470-473.
  • Jordan Scheetz. The Concept of Canonical Intertextuality and the Book of Daniel. Cambridge: James Clark & Co., 2011. 174 pp. Reviewed in Review of Biblical Literature March 2013.
  • Robin Routledge, Old Testament Theology: A Thematic Approach (Downer’s Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2008) 384 pp.  Reviewed in Review of Biblical Literature August 2010.
Grants
  • Summer 2018. Received a $5100 grant from the Conant Grant Fund of The Episcopal Church to work on book projects with Baker Academic publishing and T & T Clark Bloomsbury.
Paper readings at professional conferences
  • “Figural Reading of the Old Testament and Christian Formation,” invited paper read at Common Roots: Ancient Evangelical Future Conference June 8-10, 2023, sponsored by The Robert E. Webber Center at Trinity Anglican Seminary, Ambridge, PA.
  • “The Christomorphic Shaping of Time in Radner’s Time and the Word,” invited paper read at the Evangelical Theological Society 2017 annual meeting, Providence, RI.
  • “Christ’s Work in the Psalms: Luther on Psalm 8 and Scripture’s Literal Sense,” invited paper read at the August 2017 meeting of the North American Lutheran Church Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee.
  • “Jezreel, the Day of Visitation, and Hosea: The Book of the Twelve as Penitential History,” invited paper read at the May 2017 meeting of the Wycliffe Centre for Scripture and Theology, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto.
  • “Allegory and the Nature of Biblical Referentiality: Proverbs 8:22-31 as ‘Other-Speaking’”, invited paper read at the Christian Theology and the Bible seminar, Society of Biblical Literature 2014 annual meeting, San Diego, CA.
  • “A Place to Stand: Proverbs 8 and the Construction of Ecclesial Space,” invited paper read at the May 2013 meeting of the Wycliffe Centre for Scripture and Theology, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto.

Other Faculty

a plus icon with a circle around it.

Dr. Alex Fogleman

Associate Dean of Special Programs

a plus icon with a circle around it.

The Rev. Dr. Jukka Kääriäinen

President of the North American Lutheran Seminary

a plus icon with a circle around it.

Dr. David Luy

Associate Professor of Systematic Theology

a plus icon with a circle around it.

The Very Rev. Cn. Bryan C. Hollon, Ph.D

Dean President