Carson was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to Thomas Donald McMillan Carson and Elizabeth Margaret (née Maybury), but grew up in Drummondville. He earned his B.S. (1967) in chemistry and mathematics from McGill University, his M.Div. from Heritage Baptist College and Heritage Theological Seminary (prev. Central Baptist Seminary), and his Ph.D. (1975) in the New Testament from Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Carson married Joy (née Wheildon) on August 16, 1975.
Career
Carson served as pastor of Richmond Baptist Church in Richmond, British Columbia from 1970 to 1972. Following his doctoral studies, he served for three years at Northwest Baptist Theological College (Vancouver) and in 1976 was the founding dean of the seminary. In 1978, Carson joined the faculty of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he is currently serving as research professor.
In 2011, a Festschrift was published in his honor, called Understanding the Times: New Testament Studies in the 21st Century: Essays in Honor of D. A. Carson on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday. Contributors included Andreas J. Köstenberger, Grant Osborne, Mark Dever, Douglas Moo, Peter O'Brien, and Craig Blomberg.
Select publications
Carson has written or edited 57 books, many of which have been translated into Chinese. These include major commentaries on Matthew in the Expositor's Bible Commentary (ISBN 0310499615) and John (ISBN 085111749X), commentaries on parts of the Bible, such as 1 Corinthians 12-14 (ISBN 0801025214) and the Sermon on the Mount (ISBN 0801024803). He has also written books on prayer, suffering, and free will and predestination from a generally compatibilist and Calvinist perspective.
His 1996 book The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (ISBN 031024286X) won the 1997 ECPA Christian Book Award for the "theology and doctrine" category.
Books
Carson, D. A. (1979). The King James Version Debate: A Plea for Realism. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. ISBN 0-8010-2427-7.
——— (1984). Exegetical Fallacies. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. ISBN 0-8010-2499-4.
——— (1987). Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12-14. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. ISBN 978-0-801-02521-1.
——— (1990). How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. ISBN 0-8010-3125-7.
———; Morris, Leon; Moo, Douglas J. (1991). An Introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. ISBN 978-0-310-51940-9. OCLC 24218222.
——— (1992). A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and His Prayers (1st ed.). Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press. ISBN 978-0-851-10976-3.
——— (1993). The Cross and Christian Ministry: Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. ISBN 0-8010-9168-3.
——— (1998). The Inclusive Language Debate: A Plea for Realism. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press. ISBN 0-85111-584-5.
——— (1999). The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books. ISBN 1-58134-126-1.
——— (1998). For the Love of God, 2 volume devotional commentary based on Robert Murray M'Cheyne's system for reading the Bible through in one year. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books. ISBN 1-58134-815-0.
——— (2000). Telling the Truth: Evangelizing Postmoderns. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. ISBN 978-0-310-24334-2.
———; Seifrid, Mark A.; O'Brien, Peter T., eds. (2001). Justification And Variegated Nomism: Volume 1: The Complexities of Second Temple Judaism. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. ISBN 978-0-8010-2272-2.
——— (2002). Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility: Biblical Perspective in Tension. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock. ISBN 978-1-579-10859-5.
——— (2002). Gagging of God, The: Christianity Confronts Pluralism. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. ISBN 978-0-310-24286-4.
———; Seifrid, Mark A.; O'Brien, Peter T., eds. (2004). Justification And Variegated Nomism: Volume 2: The Paradoxes of Paul. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. ISBN 978-0-8010-2741-3.
——— (2005). Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church: Understanding a Movement and Its Implications. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. ISBN 0-310-25947-9.
———; Moo, Douglas J. (2005). An Introduction to the New Testament (Revised 2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. ISBN 978-0-310-23859-1.
——— (2008). Christ and Culture Revisited. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. ISBN 0-8028-3174-5.
———; Beale, G. K., eds. (2008). Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. ISBN 0-8010-2693-8.
——— (2008). Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books. ISBN 1-4335-0199-6.
——— (2009). The Intolerance of Tolerance. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-802-83170-5.
——— (2010). Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books. ISBN 1-4335-1125-8.
——— (2010). Sermon on the Mount: An Exposition of Matthew 5-7. Paternoster. ISBN 978-1-850-78889-8.
——— (2010). The God Who Is There: Finding Your Place In God's. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. ISBN 978-0-801-01372-0.
——— (2012). Jesus the Son of God: A Christological Title Often Overlooked, Sometimes Misunderstood, and Currently Disputed. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books. ISBN 978-1433537967.
——— (2015). Praying with Paul: A Call To Spiritual Reformation (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. ISBN 978-0-801-09710-2. - revised edition of A Call to Spiritual Reformation of 1992
———, ed. (2016). The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press. ISBN 978-1783594603.
Chapters and Contributions
——— (1984). "Matthew". In Gaebelein, Frank E. Expositor's Bible Commentary: Matthew-Luke. 8. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. ISBN 978-0-310-36500-6.
Articles
——— (June 1993). "Evil and Suffering in the World of a Good and Sovereign God". Reaper: 6–9, 36.
——— (April 25, 1994). "Five Gospels, No Christ: In their attempt to rescue the Bible from conservatives, scholars in the Jesus Seminar became liberal fundamentalists". Christianity Today. 38 (5): 30–33.
——— (August 1995). "Jesus the Temple of God". The Evangelical Magazine of Wales: 8–9.
