Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Eric was raised in upstate New York, western Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. He married N. Elaine Scott in 1993, and they have two children, Rachel (1997) and Samuel (2003).
Eric received a B.A. in Classical Greek and Latin from Brigham Young University, August 1990; M.A. Ancient History, University of Pennsylvania, May 1992; and Ph.D. Ancient History, University of Pennsylvania, Dec 1997. He joined the faculty at BYU in 1994 and taught Classics and Ancient History until 2003, when he transferred to Ancient Scripture to pursue his interests teaching and writing about the New Testament. He was the coordinator of the Ancient Near Eastern Studies Program from 2012-2020 and the academic director of the BYU Jerusalem Center from 2020-2025. Upon his return to Provo, he was appointed the graduate coordinator for Religious Education.
In Classics he specialized in Roman imperial history and did work on imperial women, particularly Livia Drusilla, the emperor Augustus' wife.
His publications in religious studies have focused on the New Testament, especially the writings of John. In early 2011 he published a book-length study of the Passion Narratives with Deseret Book entitled God So Loved the World: The Final Days of the Savior’s Life, which was followed by a Christmas companion volume on the Infancy Narratives entitled Good Tidings of Great Joy: An Advent Celebration of the Savior’s Birth released later that year. A third volume on the miracles stories in the gospels entitled The Miracles of Jesus with Deseret Book was released in August 2014. Other books include Worship: Adding Depth to Your Devotion (2016); Becoming the Beloved Disciple: Coming unto Christ through the Gospel of John (2018), a study of the characters in the Fourth Gospel as types of different types of contemporary walks of faith; Greater Love Hath No Man: A Latter-day Saint Guide to Celebrating Holy Week (2023), a substantial revision and expansion of God So Loved the World that he wrote with Trevan Hatch; and Latter-day Perspectives on Atonement (2024), which he co-edited with Deidre Green.
On August 7, 2018, he delivered a landmark BYU devotional address entitled, “Hard Sayings and Safe Spaces: Making Room for Struggle as Well as Faith.” He has also been a frequent speaker with BYU Education Week, Women’s Conference, and Deseret Book’s Time Out for Women.
He served in the Thailand Bangkok Mission (1985-86) and bishop of the North Park First Ward in Provo (1996-2002). Has served as an ordinance worker in the Provo Temple since 2002, and is currently a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Courses Taught: New Testament, Old Testament, Book of Mormon, Biblical Greek topics, Greek and Roman history, and Judaism and Early Christianity in the Classical Near East.
Areas of Expertise: New Testament Studies, particularly Johannine Writings, Pauline Epistles, and Luke-Acts, and the Ministry and Atonement of Christ in the New Testament Gospels; Koine and New Testament Greek; Greek and Roman history and Classical literature; Early Christianity and the Roman World; Women in Classical Antiquity.
Areas of Research: Johannine Literature; historical Jesus and his depiction in the gospel narratives; Luke-Acts; Pauline Epistles; Early Christianity.
Languages: Classical Greek and Latin (translation); Thai (fairly fluent); German (conversational and reading); French and Italian (basic reading); basic Hebrew.