George Eldon Ladd (July 31, 1911 - 1982)

Since my previous post on Ladd, A Biography of George Eldon Ladd (OUP, 2008), I have taken the time to read the short biographies included in the following books:

• Donald A. Hagner, "George Eldon Ladd" in Bible Interpreters of the 20th Century by Elwell and Weaver, pp. 228-43. [NOTE: This book is also available from Logos Bible Software for the Libronix Digital Library System.]
  

"The experience at Harvard brought Ladd into direct contact with scholarship of the highest caliber and provided him with a personal standard throughout his career. He is reported to have said, 'Harvard didn't change what I believed, but it certainly did change the way I held my belief'" (p. 229).

• J. A. D'Elia, "LADD, George Eldon" in Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals edited by Larsen, Bebbington and Noll, pp. 354-56. [NOTE: This book is also available from Logos Bible Software for the Libronix Digital Library System.]

"Ladd opened the door for evangelical scholars to use the critical methods of biblical research, making the credibility he desired possible for those who came after him" (p. 356).

• L. M. McDonald, "LADD, GEORGE ELDON (1911-1982)" in Dictionary of Major Bible Interpreters edited by Donald K. McKim, pp. 628-33. [NOTE: The 1998 edition of this book is also available from Logos Bible Software for the Libronix Digital Library System packaged with Reading Scriptures with the Church Fathers: see the Historical Interpreters Collection (2 vols.)]

"Ladd was convinced that the Scriptures were the Word of God and that they were an essential part of the ministry of both the pulpit and the lectern. He struggled with many personal matters in life that were at times overwhelming to him. Most of these stemmed from his dealing with his fundamentalist past. He saw that he was sometimes caught between two fierce opponents: the fundamentalists on the right, who were literalists in their interpretation of the Bible and suspicious of critical scholarship, and the liberal scholars, who distrusted any evangelical or conservative contributions to biblical scholarship."

Here is another note about a full-length, critical biography of George Ladd.

D'Elia, John A. A Place at the Table: George Eldon Ladd and the Rehabilitation of Evangelical Scholarship in America. (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2008). Hardback, 304 pages. $45.00 USD (list price).

ISBNs: 9780195341676 / 0195341678

Purchase:

George Eldon Ladd (July 31, 1911 - 1982)