John Duncan, Ph.D.

Education

• Ph.D., Baylor University, 2019 (Religion, emphasis in New Testament)
• M.A, Lee University, 2012 (Biblical Studies)
• B.A., University of South Carolina, 2000 (Government & International Studies, History [double major])

Biography

A native of Cleveland, Tennessee, Dr. Duncan earned a double B.A. in history and international studies from the University of South Carolina in 2000 before spending the next several years serving in a variety of church ministry and curriculum development roles. He began pursuing graduate studies in religion in 2009 and received his M.A. in Biblical Studies from Lee University in 2012. He then pursued doctoral studies at Baylor and earned his Ph.D. in Religion with a concentration in New Testament in 2019 after completing a dissertation on the speeches in Acts against the backdrop of Greco-Roman rhetoric and historiography. He became a full-time member of the Baylor Religion faculty in 2024. His wife, Leia, is a Greek Cypriot who grew up in London and who now directs the Baylor and Beyond Living Learning Community at North Russell Residence Hall.

Academic Interests and Research

Dr. Duncan’s research primarily centers on Luke and Acts and on Greco-Roman historiography and rhetoric as backgrounds for the study of New Testament texts. His areas of academic interest also include Koine Greek, New Testament textual criticism, and Synoptic relationships.

Monographs

Rhetorical Adaptation in the Greek Historians, Josephus, and Acts: Embedded Speeches, Audience Responses, and Authorial Persuasion. 2 vols. BINS 203/1–2. Leiden: Brill, 2022.

Articles

"The Hope of Creation: The Significance of ἐφ’ ἑλπίδι (Romans 8:20c) in Context.” New Testament Studies 61 (2015): 411–27.

“Peter, Paul, and the Progymnasmata: Traces of the Preliminary Exercises in the Mission Speeches of Acts.” Perspectives in Religious Studies 41 (2014): 349–65.

Courses Taught at Baylor

• REL 1310: The Christian Scriptures
• REL 1350: The Christian Heritage
• REL 3319: Interpreting the New Testament