"I am intrigued by the ways the New Testament writings portray the interactions between the first believers and their surrounding world, especially in the trans­forming power of the Gospel which changes lifestyles and brings the first communities of faith into conflict with the values and com­mitments of their neighbors. 'How do these texts address us today?' and 'How decisive are the New Testament witnesses for our contemporary witness to the Gospel and our life together as a community of faith?' These questions form the center of my ministry.'

Before joining the UDTS faculty David Moessner taught as Assistant Professor at Yale University Divinity School and as Associate Professor and Professor of New Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary. Prior to his seminary education he spent a year working in inner-city ministry in Washington D.C. He is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Professor Moessner is especially interested in the relation between the Old and New Testaments, the emergence of Christianity from Judaism within Greco-Roman culture, and the eventual parting of the ways between Christian and Jewish communities. Special research projects include the theologies of the Gospels, the relation of Luke and Acts, and the relation of narrative Christology to the narratives of the Old Testament.