DR DAVID G PALMER |
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| Address: | 46 Regent Street, Church Gresley, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE11 9PL, UK |
| Secondary and Higher Education: | |
| Hull Grammar School | 1959-66 |
| University College, London | 1967-73 |
| All Nations Christian College, Ware | 1976-78 |
| Wesley House/Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge | 1981-83 |
| University of Glasgow (part-time) | 1991-98 |
| United College of the Ascension/University of Birmingham | 2001 |
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Qualifications and Memberships: |
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| BSc (London), Hons 2:1 | in Architecture, Planning and Building, 1970 |
| DiplArch (UCL) | Architect’s Professional Part II, 1972 |
| RIBA | Registered Architect, Part III, 1975 (ended membership in 2024) |
| DiplANCC | All Nations Christian College Diploma in Biblical Studies, Pastoral Studies, Theology and Missiology, 1978 |
| BA (Cantab.), Hons 2:1 | in Theological and Religious Studies, 1983 |
| Ordained Methodist Minister | Durham (Middlesborough Conference), 1983 |
| MA (Cantab.) | Admitted 1988 |
| ARIAS | Associate of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, from 1993-2006 |
| PhD (Glasgow) | Thesis: The Markan Matrix: A Literary-Structural Analysis of the Gospel of Mark, 1998 |
| BNTS | Participant of the British New Testament Society, 2003- |
| Honorary Research Fellow | The Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham, UK, November 2015-January 2019 |
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Architectural Work: |
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| Trainee: | Hull City Architect’s Department January to June 1967 |
| Trainee: | Costain Construction Ltd September 1970 to February 1971 |
| Architectural Assnt.: | Yorke, Rosenberg, Mardall March to August 1971 |
| Architect: | Haringey Borough Architect’s Service 1973-76 |
| Partner: | Pickard and Palmer Partnership 1977-87 |
| Further Business Experience: | |
| Sole Trader: | Ceridwen Press, Publishing 1988- |
| A Founder Director: | PACT Centre for Youth Ltd 1994-2001 |
| Proprietor: | Moredun House Home for the Elderly 1994-2006 |
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Trustee and Secretary: Chair: |
The Methodist Church Fund for Human Need, 2015-2025 Churches Together in Swadlincote, September 2023 – August 2025 |
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Research Papers, Broadcasts, Presentations and Publications: |
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| The Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies, Somerville College, Oxford, 1987: my NT research had its first airing at an informal, evening seminar group | |
| Conference, ‘The Bible as Rhetoric’, Centre for Research in Philosophy and Literature, University of Warwick, 21st-23rd March 1988: participant | |
| Book: Sliced Bread: The Four Gospels, Acts and Revelation: Their Literary Structures, Cardiff 1988 (A5 pb, 160pp; ISBN: 0-9513661-0-6) | |
| A Half-Hour Programme on BBC Radio Wales, in the Series: All Things Considered: The Menorah and the New Testament Books, 11th and 15th June 1989 | |
| Book: The Markan Matrix: A Literary-Structural Analysis of the Gospel of Mark, Paisley 1999 (A5 pb, 374pp; ISBN: 0-9513661-2-2) | |
| Book: New Testament: New Testimony to the Skills of the Writers and First Readers, Jaffna, Sri Lanka 2004 (A4 pb, 68pp; ISBN: 955-99010-0-1) | |
| Seminar Paper: presented at the British New Testament Conference, 2005: Reading NT texts: a Surprising Discovery; a New Methodology | |
| Book & Disk: New Testament: New Testimony to the Skills of the Writers and First Readers, Wigston 2006 (A4 pb, 68pp, with CD-ROM (765pp.); ISBN: 0-9513661-4-9) | |
| Paper: presented to the Leicester Theological Society on the 12th January 2007 and to the Rutland Theological Society on the 25th October 2007: ANY 14T (reading texts: rhetorical analysis and ‘parsing’) |
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| Book in CD-ROM: New Testament: New Testimony to the Skills of the Writers and First Readers (Third Edition), Wigston, January 2008 (1,234 pp; ISBN: 978-0-9513661-6-5) | |
| Two-page centre-fold spread in the Methodist Recorder of Thursday, 7th August 2008, plus a Travelling Exhibition for the Summer of 2008 in Leicester venues, to celebrate 25 years of Biblical Studies since my ordination | |
| Paper, ‘Parsing’s Purpose’, Greek Teachers’ Study Day, Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, 15th September 2008 | |
| E-Wikipedia: began an involvement in contributing to information on NT Books, January 2013 | |
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Book in CD-ROM: New Testament: New Testimony to the Skills of the Writers and First Readers (Fourth Edition), Church Gresley, February 2013 (1,245 pp; ISBN 978-0-9513661-8-9) Seminar paper, ‘The Structure of the Revelation to John’, presented at the British New Testament Conference, September 2013 |
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| Colloquium: ‘The Signs of the Times: Translation of the Bible and beyond’, Heythrop College, 9th-10th September 2013: participant | |
| Seminar Paper, ‘Wesley’s Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and the use he made of J.A. Bengel’s charts and excellent notes’, Inaugural Methodist Research Conference, St John’s College, Durham, 27th April 2015 | |
| Book with CD-ROM: New Testament: New Testimony to the Skills of the Writers and First Readers (Fifth – Illustrated Exhibition – Edition), Church Gresley, April 2016 (ISBN: 978-0-9513661-9-6; Book in CD-ROM (ISBN: 978-0-9513661-7-2) | |
| National Two-Year Tour: An Exhibition in Art: Seeing the New Testament for what it is – it began in Leicester, February 2015 and concluded in Hull, January 2017 | |
| Seminar Paper, ‘A New Testament Reading Discipline for Today – from the First Century’, Second Annual Methodist Research Conference, Wesley House, Cambridge, 25th April 2017; repeated 10th May 2017 at The Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham, Research Day | |
| Joint Seminar Paper, ‘An Examination of the Texts of Luke and Acts for what they owe to Ancient Rhetoric’s Rules and Practices’, British New Testament Conference, September 2018
Short Paper, ‘What is a New Testament Scholar?’, British New Testament Conference, September 2018 Paper prepared for St Luke’s Day, ‘St Luke, Literary Artist and Supreme Technician’, The Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham, October 2018 Summary Chart, ‘A Brief Synopsis of the New Testament Research undertaken by David G Palmer’, presented at The Third Annual Methodist Research Conference, 12th June 2019 A Five-Book Series: The Four Gospels in Focus: viewed through the Lens of Hellenist (Ancient) Rhetoric, Ceridwen Press, Church Gresley, Easter 2019; |
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| Book: The Gospel of Mark: Chapter and Verse, Ceridwen Press, Church Gresley, May 2020 (ISBN: 978-0-9513661-1-0) | |
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Book: A Theory of Everything – New Testament, Ceridwen Press, Church Gresley, July 2020 (ISBN: 978-0-9513661-5-8) Book: Challenging New Testament Scholarship: THE TEXTS, in Full and in Detail, Ceridwen Press, Church Gresley, April 2023 (ISBN: 978-1-9161068-5-7) Seminar (Three-Day Conference) on ‘The Jewish Scriptures in Earliest Christianity’ at the Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham, 21st-23rd March 2024, arranged by BNTS Proposal for Simultaneous Short Papers, BNTS 2024, ‘Straining Gnats and Swallowing Camels’ on NT Scholars as blind guides today – turned down Proposal of a paper for the Synoptics Seminar Group, BNTS 2024, ‘The Synoptic Gospels, one-hundred years on, after BH Streeter’s Study of Origins’ – turned down Proposal of a paper for the Johannine Seminar Group, BNTS 2024, ‘Reading the First Letter of John in the way that the writer intended’ – turned down (The BNTS had turned down an earlier, similar, attempt, prior to which I had exhibited my A0 presentation of 1 John at a Christian Resources Exhibition and offered £1,000 to anyone who could come up with a better representation. No one did!) Class Leader: (BOT) (University of the Third Age, Burton-on-Trent), ‘The Bible’s 3Rs’, monthly third Thursday afternoon, from June 2024 – The Fifteenth Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies, Keble College, Oxford, August 2024, paper presented: ‘Picking up where John Wesley awkwardly left off… that all might read the New Testament Texts in the ways that the writers intended.’ Research Paper presented at the Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham, Friday 15th November 2024: ‘Bibles are the products of Translators and Editors, but are any of our Bibles truly ‘Fit for Purpose’ today?’ Proposal of a paper for the Synoptic Gospels Seminar Group, BNTS 2025, ‘Mark’s Gospel: the Writers’ Conceptual Approach and Their Choice of Arrangement’ – turned down Proposal of a paper for the Synoptic Gospels and Johannine Joint Seminar, BNTS 2025, ‘New light on the dating, form and functioning of the Synoptic Gospels and John, given they are all disciplined works of ancient rhetoric’ – turned down Proposal of a paper for the Johannine Seminar Group, BNTS 2025, ‘The First Letter of John: A Purely Literary Analysis’ – turned down Proposal of a paper for the Johannine and Revelation Joint Seminar, BNTS 2025, ‘New light on the symbolic nature of the presentations of the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation, given they are disciplined works of ancient rhetoric’ – turned down Proposal for Simultaneous Short Papers, BNTS 2025, ‘The New Testament Writers and the Readers of their Texts deserve better!’ – turned down Research Paper presented at the Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham, Tuesday 18th November 2025: ‘Are GAFCON (The Global Anglican Future Conference) and the GMC (The Global Methodist Church) on the Right Path?’ |
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Locations of Ministry in the Methodist Church: |
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| 1978-81 London North-West District, London Mission (North and Central) Circuit: | Lay Minister and Pre-Collegiate Probationer; |
| 1983-90 South Wales District, the Cardiff Circuit: | Minister of the Methodist Church; |
| 1990-96 Scotland ‘District’, Paisley Mission Circuit: | Superintendent Minister; |
| 1996-2000 Scotland ‘District’, Glasgow Circuit: | Minister in Other Appointment (Director of Youth Centre); |
| 2000-05 The Methodist Church, Sri Lanka, Colombo and Jaffna Circuits: | Mission Partner, Minister and Superintendent; |
| 2005-12 (Oxford & Leicester) Northampton District, Leicester Trinity Circuit: | Superintendent Minister |
| 2012- 26 Nottingham and Derby District, (South Derbyshire) ESSD Circuit: | Supernumerary Minister to 11th February 2026 |
| In my working life, I have been a Methodist Minister and Architect. As an Architect, I am deeply impressed by the New Testament writers’ devotion to their discipline, in their employment of structure and style. I note the common influence of a balancing aesthetic (the pediment of a Greek temple, for example) in both literary and architectural worlds. As a Minister, I am convinced of the very real importance of knowing how each book is shaped and structured, how it is to be described in all its parts and how the parts relate to each other. Book wholes are made up of parts. How else can preachers and teachers give themselves to exegesis and expository preaching unless they know ‘their books’ and know how each writer viewed the limits of the parts he presented and how he produced them to fit within his overall book, or letter format? I am persuaded by my analysis and research that the writers and first readers of the New Testament were people who possessed the skills of their era, working to the rules of (what we now call) Ancient Rhetoric. Before anything was written down in its final form, each writer gave great thought to the purpose of his work, his main ideas and how he would expose them, the plan of his exposition and how he would present it, and the style of writing which he would employ throughout the composition. All of this would help his reader/reciter, the one who would actually handle his work and convey its contents to an audience, whether from memory (for which there was also help in the text), or simply by reading. I am persuaded that all of this is helpful information today, for those who would read the New Testament Books intelligently. | |
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