{{Short description|Australian pastor and academic}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}} {{Use Australian English|date=October 2016}} {{Infobox theologian | name = Allan Harman | image = Allan Harman (cropped).jpg | image_size = | caption = Harman delivering a speech | era = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1936|06|07|df=yes}} | birth_place = {{nowrap|[[Lismore, New South Wales]]}}, Australia | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Theologian | period = | tradition_movement = [[Calvinism]] | main_interests = | notable_ideas = | notable_works = | spouse = Mairi Harman | children = | influences = | influenced = }} '''Allan Macdonald Harman''', {{postnominals|country=AUS|size=100%|sep=,|OAM|RFD}} (born 7 June 1936)<ref name=Milne>Douglas J. W. Milne (ed.), ''Israel and the Church: Essays in Honour of Allan Macdonald Harman'' (2001).</ref> is an Australian Presbyterian theologian and [[Old Testament]] scholar. He has been described as a "well-known and highly regarded figure in Christian and especially [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] circles within Australia and overseas."<ref name=Milne />
==Early life and education== Harman was born in [[Lismore, New South Wales]], son of Rev Joseph Harman, minister of the [[Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia]] and Jessie Harman. Educated at [[Taree High School]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| editor = Suzannah Pearce| encyclopedia = Who's Who in Australia Live!| title = HARMAN Allan Macdonald| date = 2006-11-17| publisher = Crown Content Pty Ltd| location = North Melbourne, Vic}}</ref> and the [[University of Sydney]], Harman graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in 1957. He then studied overseas, at the [[University of Edinburgh]], gaining a [[Bachelor of Divinity]] in 1960, and [[Master of Letters]] in Hebrew and [[Semitic Languages]], before going on to [[Westminster Theological Seminary]] where he achieved a [[Master of Theology]] in 1961 and later a [[Doctor of Theology]].<ref name=Milne /> In 2003, he was granted an honorary Doctor of Theology from the [[Australian College of Theology]].<ref>[http://www.presbyteriancollege.org/about-us/faculty/adjunct-lecturers Adjunct lecturers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317171420/http://www.presbyteriancollege.org/about-us/faculty/adjunct-lecturers |date=17 March 2012 }} on the [[Presbyterian Theological College]] website.</ref>
==Career== After a pastorate of [[Geelong]] Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia (ordained and inducted 21 March 1962) and studies in Philadelphia 1964–66, Harman was Professor of Old Testament at [[Free Church of Scotland College]], Edinburgh, from 1966 to 1974, at [[Reformed Theological College]], [[Geelong, Victoria|Geelong]], from 1974 to 1977 and at [[Presbyterian Theological College]](PTC), [[Melbourne]], from 1978 until his retirement in 2001. He also served as Principal of PTC from 1982 to 2001, and is currently research professor at that institution. He has also lectured at [[Tyndale University College and Seminary]] in [[Toronto]], [[Reformed Theological Seminary]] in [[Jackson, Mississippi]] and [[Kosin University]] in [[Busan]], [[South Korea]].<ref name=Milne />
Harman served as [[Moderator of the General Assembly|Moderator]] of the [[Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia]] in 1978, transferring his ministry to the Presbyterian Church of Australia in 1981, Moderator of the [[Presbyterian Church of Victoria]] in 1989–90 and Moderator-General of the [[Presbyterian Church of Australia]] from 1994 to 1997. He was a member of the board of directors of the [[World Reformed Fellowship]], and has been an editor of the ''[[Reformed Theological Review]]'' since 1989. He has been chairman of [[St Andrews Christian College]], Tyndale Fellowship (Australia) and the Australian Institute of Archaeology, and chairman of the [[Australian Defence Force]]'s [[Religious Advisory Committee to the Services]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wrfnet.org/web/guest/aboutwrf/board |title=Board of Directors of the World Reformed Fellowship |access-date=10 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091115010857/http://www.wrfnet.org/web/guest/aboutwrf/board |archive-date=15 November 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> He is a recipient of the [[Reserve Force Decoration]].<ref name="Birthday Honours">{{cite news|title=Queen's Birthday honours |url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/queens-brithday-honours-20100613-y62o.html|accessdate=18 July 2010|newspaper=[[The Age]]|date=13 June 2010| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20100717210436/http://www.theage.com.au/national/queens-brithday-honours-20100613-y62o.html| archivedate= 17 July 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>
Harman has written commentaries on Psalms ({{ISBN|1-85792-168-2}}), Daniel ({{ISBN|0-85234-649-2}}), Deuteronomy ({{ISBN|1-84550-268-X}}) and Isaiah ({{ISBN|1-84550-053-9}}). He was also one of the translators of the [[New King James Version]].<ref>[http://www.bible-researcher.com/nkjv.html New King James Version]</ref>
Harman's wife Mairi was the stepdaughter of [[A. M. Renwick]], and Harman has updated and expanded Renwick's book ''The Story of the Church''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Harman |first1=Allan M. |chapter=Preface|title=The Story of the Church: 4th edition |date=2020 |publisher=[[Inter-Varsity Press]] |page=7 |isbn=9781789742077 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l_ryDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |access-date=13 November 2023}}</ref>
In 2001, a ''[[Festschrift]]'' was compiled in Harman's honour, on the occasion of his retirement and 65th birthday. Contributors included [[Richard Gaffin]] and [[Peter Jensen (bishop)|Peter Jensen]].<ref name=Milne />
In June 2010, Harman received a [[Medal of the Order of Australia]] for services to the [[Presbyterian Church of Australia]].<ref name="Birthday Honours"/><ref>{{cite web |url= https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1142894 |title= Harman, Allan Macdonald |author= |date= |work= It's An Honour |publisher= Australian Government |accessdate=23 September 2010}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harman, Allan}} [[Category:1936 births]] [[Category:Australian academic journal editors]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]] [[Category:Australian biblical scholars]] [[Category:Australian Christian theologians]] [[Category:Australian military chaplains]] [[Category:Bible commentators]] [[Category:Editors of Christian publications]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Old Testament scholars]] [[Category:People from Lismore, New South Wales]] [[Category:Presidents of Calvinist and Reformed seminaries]] [[Category:Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia]] [[Category:Royal Australian Air Force officers]] [[Category:Translators of the Bible into English]] [[Category:University of Sydney alumni]] [[Category:Westminster Theological Seminary alumni]] [[Category:20th-century Australian Presbyterian ministers]] [[Category:21st-century Australian Presbyterian ministers]] [[Category:Historians of Christianity]]