About
Gary is Professor of New Testament at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI (USA).
"When Lebanon's tragic civil war broke out in the mid 1970s, I was a student at the American University of Beirut studying international politics and Islam. I never realized what an indelible mark this year would put on me as this dangerous and violent national tragedy unfolded. Since the university witnessed sporadic closures, I began studying at Beirut’s Near East School of Theology (an Arab-Armenian seminary) and there for the first time was exposed to the technical study of the New Testament (under Dr. Kenneth E. Bailey). It seemed that from here my life found its twin navigational markers: the New Testament and the world of the Middle East."​

"My goal as a speaker, teacher and scholar is to help us realize how knowing the unique world of the Middle East and ancient Judaism can shape how we read the Bible today. This is particularly true of the gospels. Jesus' cultural reflexes were different than ours and unless we understand him in his world, we risk misrepresenting his story. In addition, knowing the context of the Middle East (and its churches) will also transform our understanding of modern issues that persist in that part of the world."