Chicago Theological Seminary Annual Distinguished Alumni Award

Daniel Patte, Th.D. '71

The Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) Board of Trustees annually selects the recipient of the distinguished alumni award. This award is given to a graduate of CTS whose ministries and distinguished contributions to public society are highly representative of the mission and vision of the Seminary. This year CTS was pleased to honor Dr. Daniel Patte (Doctor of Theology, 1971) for his exemplary contributions to the academic study of religion and service to wider society. Dr. Patte was the first graduate of the CTS doctoral program in Jewish & Christian Studies and is now Professor of Religious Studies and Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Vanderbilt University.

Event Information

The CTS Visiting Committee presented the award to Dr. Patte on March 31 from 6:30 to 8:30 in Graham Taylor Chapel. The event included a panel of local scholars celebrating the publication of The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity, edited by Dr. Patte.

Panelists:
Nancy Bedford, Professor of Applied Theology, Garrett Evangelical Seminary
David Daniels, III, Professor of World Christianity, McCormick Theological Seminary
Ted Jennings, Professor of Biblical and Constructive Theology, CTS                                                                          
Andre LaCocque, Professor of Old Testament Emeritus, CTS                                                                                               
Ken Stone, Academic Dean & Professor of Hebrew Bible, Culture, and Hermeneutics, CTS                                                 
Monya Stubbs, Assistant Professor of New Testament, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary                                           
Sharon Welch, Professor of Religion and Society, Meadville Lombard Theological School
Alice Hunt, President of CTS, will moderate.

Daniel Patte

Dr. Daniel Patte is Professor of Religious Studies and Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Vanderbilt University, and editor of the recently released Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity. The work seeks to make understandable the complexity of present-day Christianity by clarifying the contextual character of Christian theological views, practices and movements through history and cultures.

Dr. Patte was the first graduate of the CTS doctoral program in Jewish & Christian Studies, receiving a Doctor of Theology degree in 1971.

Dr. Patte's interest in hermeneutics (Early Jewish Hermeneutics in Palestine) and in theories of communication, structuralism, and semiotics (books on "Structural Exegesis") led him to pay special attention to The Religious Dimensions of Biblical Texts and, in particular, those of Paul's letters (Paul's Faith and the Power of the Gospel) and Matthew (The Gospel according to Matthew).

His involvement as General Editor of Semeia: An Experimental Journal for Biblical Criticism of the Society of Biblical Literature (1992-98), and his concern for moral responsibility (Ethics of Biblical Interpretation) led him to a practice of "Scriptural Criticism" that accounts for the analytical-exegetical, hermeneutical-theological, and contextual choices any interpretation of the Bible involves--formulated in Romans through History and Cultures (a Society of Biblical Literature seminar and a book series), in preparation for a commentary on Romans.

He illustrated the practice of Scriptural Criticism in The Challenge of Discipleship, in the co-authored books with M. Stubbs, J. Ukpong, and R. Velunta, The Gospel of Matthew: A Contextual Introduction for Group Study, and with the seventy scholars around the world of the Global Bible Commentary.

In addition to his academic work, Dr. Patte served as a chaplain in the Republic of Congo and minister in Switzerland. He has contributed to the transformation of theological education in his work to include African American voices and pluralistic contexts within curricula.

Distinguished Alumni Award Past Recipients

• 1999 The Rev. Dr. Peggy Way (B.D. 1959) in recognition of her distinguished work as a professor of theology and pastoral ministry.
• 2000 The Rev. James Reagan (M.Div. 1986) for his work with Chicago's Night Ministry, the homeless and O'Hare Airport chaplaincy.
• 2001 The Rev. Waltee Douglas (M.Div. 1989) for her innovative work in parish ministry.
• 2002 The Rev. Donald Wenstrom (B.D. 1945) for his work with the Michigan Conference of the United Church of Christ and 40 years of exemplary parish leadership. (1920 – 2007)
• 2003 The Rev. Jay Lintner (B.D. 1963) for his social justice and peacemaking work. (1905 – 2003)
• 2004 The Rev. Dr. Scott Libbey (B.D. 1954) for his leadership with the United Church of Christ World Ministries and work in ecumenical endeavors. (1929 – 2006)
• 2005 The Rev. Gary Massoni, (M.Div. 1971) for his accomplishments as a national community organizer and his distinguished career with Rainbow/PUSH.
• 2006 Chaplain (Colonel) Lilton J. Marks, (M.Div. 1984) for his service to our country as Command Chaplain, Multinational Forces in Iraq.
• 2007 The Rev. Dr. Michael C. Murphy (M.Div. 1986; DMin 1996), for parish leadership, community activism and his progressive leadership in the Michigan state senate.
• 2008 The Rev. Shari Prestemon (M.Div. 1993), for her work with Katrina recovery and the development of affordable housing in the Mississippi Delta region with Back Bay Mission.
• 2009 Martha Pierce (M.Div. 1990) for her work as Director of Chicago Metropolitan Sanctuary Alliance, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and human rights in Central and South America.
• 2010 The Rev. Dr. Frank Thomas (M.Div 1981 and D.Min 1986) for his exemplary contributions to church and to society