Gorman specializes especially in the letters, theology, and spirituality of the Apostle Paul. He is associated with the "participationist perspective" on Paul's theology. His additional specialties are the book of Revelation, theological and missional interpretation of Scripture, the gospel of John, and early Christian ethics. Gorman was born and raised in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, graduating from Glen Burnie High School in Glen Burnie, Maryland. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude in French from Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. He received the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophycum laude in New Testament from Princeton Theological Seminary, where he was also a teaching fellow in New Testament and an instructor in New Testament Greek. He has also been a visiting professor at Duke Divinity School, Regent College, Carey Baptist College (New Zealand), Wesley Theological Seminary, and two theological schools in Africa. Gorman has led several study trips to Greece/Turkey/Rome and to France/Switzerland. A United Methodist, Gorman is an active layperson and a popular teacher at colleges, seminaries, churches, and conferences representing many traditions.[3] His older son, Rev. Dr. Mark Gorman, is a pastor and theologian who is also on the faculty of St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute.[4]
Gorman is the author of twenty books and numerous articles on Biblical interpretation and on ethics.[3]
Selected works
Thesis
Gorman, Michael J. (1989). The Self, the Lord, and the Other: the significance of reflexive pronoun constructions in the letters of Paul, with a comparison to the Discourses of Epictetus (Ph.D.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton Theological Seminary. OCLC21186442.
Books
On Paul
——— (2001). Cruciformity: Paul's narrative spirituality of the cross. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. ISBN9780802847959. OCLC46503747.
——— (2004). Apostle of the Crucified Lord: a theological introduction to Paul and his letters. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. ISBN9780802839343. OCLC708565847.
——— (2009). Inhabiting the cruciform God : kenosis, justification, and theosis in Paul's narrative soteriology. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. ISBN9780802862655. OCLC262878951.
——— (2015). Peace in Paul and Luke. Grove Biblical series. Vol. B 76. Cambridge, UK: Grove Books Limited. ISBN9781851749393. OCLC922784054.
——— (2015). Becoming the Gospel: Paul, participation, and mission. The Gospel and Our Culture Series. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. ISBN9780802868848. OCLC971422877.
——— (2017). Apostle of the Crucified Lord: a theological introduction to Paul and his letters (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. ISBN9781467446945. OCLC988869776.
——— (2018). Participation: Paul's vision of life in Christ. Grove Biblical series. Vol. 88. Cambridge, UK: Grove Books Limited. ISBN9781788270502. OCLC1046077371.
——— (2019). Participating in Christ: explorations in Paul's theology and spirituality. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. ISBN9781540960368. OCLC1039458688.
——— (2021). Cruciformity: Paul's Narrative Spirituality of the Cross (20th Anniversary ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. ISBN9780802879127. OCLC1237694199.
——— (2023). The Self, the Lord, and the Other according to Paul and Epictetus: The Theological Significance of Reflective Language. Eugene, OR: Cascade. ISBN9781666795318. OCLC1374880628.
Other Biblical and Theological Subjects
——— (1982). Abortion & the Early Church: Christian, Jewish & pagan attitudes in the Greco-Roman world. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press (reprinted by Wipf & Stock, 1998). ISBN9780877843979. OCLC8668589.
——— (2001). Elements of Biblical Exegesis: a basic guide for students and ministers. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson. ISBN9781565634855. OCLC809612129.
———; Brooks, Ann Loar (2003). Holy Abortion?: a theological critique of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice: why Christians and Christian churches should reconsider the issue of abortion. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock. ISBN9781592441853. OCLC53188437.
——— (2005). Scripture: an ecumenical introduction to the Bible and its interpretation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. ISBN9781493403929. OCLC912321059.
——— (2009). Elements of Biblical Exegesis: a basic guide for students and ministers (rev. & exp. ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. ISBN9780801046407. OCLC942179305.
——— (2011). Reading Revelation Responsibly: uncivil worship and witness: following the Lamb into the new creation. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books. ISBN9781606085608. OCLC688509225.
——— (2014). The Death of the Messiah and the Birth of the New Covenant: the (not-so) new model of the atonement. Cambridge, UK: James Clarke. ISBN9780227174913. OCLC887856359.
——— (2017). Scripture and its Interpretation: a global, ecumenical introduction to the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. ISBN9780801098390. OCLC951762504.
——— (2018). Abide and Go: missional theosis in the Gospel of John. Didsbury lectures, 2016. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books. ISBN9781532615450. OCLC1037043088.
Chapters
——— (2011). "Abortion". In Green, Joel B.; Lapsley, Jacqueline E.; Miles, Rebekah; Verhey, Allen (eds.). The Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. pp. 35–37. ISBN9781784028015. OCLC889717913.
——— (2011). "Cruciformity". In Green, Joel B.; Lapsley, Jacqueline E.; Miles, Rebekah; Verhey, Allen (eds.). The Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. pp. 197–98. ISBN9781784028015. OCLC889717913.
——— (2014). "Shalom in the Book of Revelation: God, Church, Judgment, New Creation". In Brenneman, Laura L.; Schantz, Brad D. (eds.). Struggles for Shalom: Peace and Violence across the Testaments. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock. pp. 279–90. ISBN9781498275255. OCLC1088341375.
——— (2015). "The Work of Christ in the New Testament". In Murphy, Francesca Aran; Stefano, Troy A.; Anatolios, Khaled (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Christology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 72–86. ISBN9780198800644. OCLC1005111746.
——— (2017). "John's Implicit Ethic of Enemy-Love". In Brown, Sherri; Skinner, Christopher W. (eds.). Johannine Ethics. Minneapolis: Fortress. pp. 171–94. ISBN9781451496468. OCLC1000582442.
——— (2018). "First Corinthians and the Marks of God's Ekklēsia: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic". In Dunne, John Anthony; Lewellen, Eric (eds.). One God, One People, One Future: Essays In Honor of N. T. Wright. Minneapolis: Fortress. pp. 167–90. ISBN9781506448763. OCLC1080085096.
——— (2019). "Romans from the Participationist Perspective". In McKnight, Scot; Modica, Joseph B. (eds.). Preaching Romans. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. pp. 59–79. ISBN9780802875457. OCLC1086375897.
——— (2020). "What Did Paul Think God is Doing about What's Wrong?". In Longenecker, Bruce (ed.). The New Cambridge Companion to St. Paul. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 187–209. ISBN9781108423700. OCLC1123183579.
——— (2021). "New Testament Theology and Spiritual Formation". Spiritual Formation for the Global Church: A Multi-Denominational, Multi-Ethnic Approach. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity. pp. 17–35. ISBN9780830855186. OCLC1253442345.
——— (2023). "The Discipline of Cruciformity: Civil Religion and the Missional Power of the Cross". In Warren, Janet (ed.). Singing into a Vacuum: The Missional Shape of Spiritual Disciplines. Eugene, OR: Cascade.
^Gorman, Michael J. (1989). The Self, the Lord, and the Other: The Significance of Reflexive Pronoun Constructions in the Letters of Paul, with a Comparison to the Discourses of Epictetus (PhD thesis). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton Theological Seminary. OCLC81316390.