About Dr. Thomas Trapp, emeritus
Dr. Thomas Trapp taught full-time at Concordia University from July, 1982 – June, 2012. He served as a parish pastor for nine years before coming to CSP, finishing his doctoral thesis during that time. His special interest continues to revolve around matters connected with the Old Testament prophetic literature and the Hebrew language. Over the years, he also taught New Testament, philosophy, the Lutheran Confessions, Aramaic, apologetics, Christian Ministry and Practice, ancient Near Eastern archaeology, introductory courses in the Bible, many upper level intensive study courses, ethics at CSP and in prison situations, and both authored and taught the Religion Module in the degree completion program for many years. His Scripture and Life textbook served as the text for that course for many years.
During this time period, other areas of interest have occupied Dr. Trapp’s attention. He has kept close ties with parish ministry, having served for a year as vacancy pastor at St. John’s in Woodbury, as assisting pastor at Bethlehem in St. Paul for 15 years, as mission (interim) pastor at Jehovah in St. Paul (four years) and at Emmaus in St. Paul (four years), where he has served as called pastor since 2007. He led a week-long summer Bible study for clergy and laity, also titled “Scripture and Life,” with different biblical topics each year, for almost all of his years at CSP. His connection with German scholarship, fostered because of his Fulbright Grant and doctoral work at the University of Heidelberg, led to translating German theological works. He is presently working on his ninth translated book, the last three being part of a series on Luther’s catechisms (by Albrecht Peters) for Concordia Publishing House. He translated a three volume commentary on Isaiah (by Hans Wildberger) and an archaeology book (by Keel & Uehlinger) for Fortress Press and a book about Luther’s theology (by Oswald Bayer) and about St. Peter (by Martin Hengel) for Eerdmans Publishing. He also served as a theological educator in Liberia for the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and continues to provide guidance and support to members of the brand new Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia.
ACADEMIC / PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS
- D. Th., Ruprecht Karl Universität Heidelberg, 1980
- M. Div., Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO, 1971
- B. A., Concordia Senior College, Fort Wayne, IN, 1967
ACADEMIC FOCUS
Old Testament, Biblical Hebrew, Biblical Theology
CAREER HIGHLIGHT
“My entire pastoral and teaching ministry has been a (challenging) joy. I love to tell the story. I have been honored to teach, to learn, and to work in parish, educational and academic settings. I enjoy being a bridge from head to head, heart to heart, hand to hand. My brother Dale and I are honored that we were chosen to share our insights into faith and learning at the Poehler Lecture at Concordia on April 24, 2012.”