Education

Doctor of Philosophy, Theology and hermeneutics, 1989, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.

Post-Graduate Rotary Fellow, 1988-89, Centre for the Study of Literature and Theology,
University of Durham, England

Doctoral student, 1985-86, Department of Religious Studies, Rice University, Houston, TX.

Master of Divinity (with distinction), 1988, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA.

Master of Arts, 1985, Humanities/Religion, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.

Divinity Student, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, MA, 1980-81.

Bachelor of Arts, 1980, Psychology (Philosophy minor), Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.

Dissertation: "Prospects for Post-Holocaust Theology: 'Israel' in the Theologies of Karl Barth,

Jurgen Moltmann, and Paul van Buren." Supervisory Committee: Robert Detweiler,

Director; George Stroup; David Blumenthal; Walter Adamson.
 
 

Professional Experience

1997- Albert B. Curry Chair of Religious Studies, Rhodes College

1996- Chair, Department of Religious Studies, Rhodes Studies

1995- Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Rhodes College, Teaching Biblical Studies, Holocaust Studies, Contemporary Theology, Theology and Contemporary Literature, Theology and Political Crisis, Religion and Racism, Interdisciplinary Humanities, Adult Education programs.

1989-1995 Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Rhodes College

1992 Visiting Professor, Continuing Education, Columbia Theological Seminary

1988-89 Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Literature and Theology, St. Chad's College, University of Durham, England

1987-88 Teaching Associate, Department of Religion, Emory University. Taught "Biblical Literature and Faith" (introduction to Hebrew and Christian Scriptures) to Advanced undergraduates

1985-86 Teaching Assistant, Religious Studies Department, Rice University. Assisted department chairman in teaching "Introduction to Religion." Led daily discussion sessions, taught mini-course on "Theism and Atheism," evaluated examinations and term papers, assigned grades.

Books

Prospects for Post-Holocaust Theology: 'Israel' in the Theologies of Karl Barth, Jurgen Moltmann, and Paul van Buren, American Academy of Religion Academy Series, 77 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1991).

To Each Its Own Meaning: An Introduction to Biblical Criticisms and Their Applications, edited by Steven L. McKenzie and Stephen R. Haynes (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1993).

Biblical Theology Bulletin 24 (1994), 144-5
Religious Studies Review 20:1 (January 1994), 47.
Southwestern Journal of Theology 36 (1994), 66.
The Expository Times 105 (January, 1994), 116.
Catholic Biblical Quarterly 56:3 (July, 1994), 621-3.
Bible Review 10 (December, 1994), 18.
Journal of Literature and Theology 8 (1994).
Reformed Review 47 (1994), 242-3.
Theology, News and Notes (October, 1995), 19.
Critical Review (1997), 606.
De Nuestra Biblioteca (February 7, 1997), 10.

Reluctant Witnesses: Jews and the Christian Imagination Macmillan Studies in Literature and Religion (London: Macmillan, 1995; Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1995).

Church Times of Britain (August 11, 1995), 11.
Cross Currents (Fall, 1996), 430.
The Presbyterian Outlook (November 13, 1995), 10.
Shofar (Fall, 1996), 151-53.
Theology Digest (1997), 170.
Book Room Review (1997), 3.
Interpretation (January, 1997), 104.
Theology Today (July, 1997), 286.
Journal of Ecumenical Studies 34:4 (Fall, 1997), 605-06.
Missiology 25:3 (July, 1997), 357.
Menorah Review 40 (May, 1997), 1.

Holocaust Education and the Church-Related College: Restoring Ruptured Traditions "Christianity and the Holocaust: Core Issues" Series (New York: Greenwood, 1997).

Reference and Research Book News (December, 1997).
Holocaust and Genocide Studies 12:1 (Spring, 1998), 202-206.
Newsletter of Association of Contemporary Church Historians 5:2 (February, 1999).

The Death of God and the Holocaust: Radical Theology Encounters the Shoah, edited by Stephen R. Haynes and John K. Roth (New York: Greenwood Press, 1999).

To Each Its Own Meaning: An Introduction to Biblical Criticisms and Their Application, second Revised edition, edited by Steven L. McKenzie and Stephen R. Haynes (Louisville:Westminster/John Knox, 1999).

The Genesis of Race: Noah, Ham and Nimrod in the Biblical Imagination Semeia Studies (Atlanta:Scholars Press, 2000).
 

Book Chapters

"An International Case Study Perspective on Teaching Church-State Issues," in International Perspectives on Church and State, Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Klutznick Symposium, ed. Menachem Mor (Omaha: Creighton University Press, 1993).

"Kairos Again?: The Church Struggles in Germany and South Africa," in Hubert G. Lokce and arcia S. Littell, eds., Remembrance and Reconciliation: Essays on the Centennial Year of Martin Niemoller and Reinhold Niebuhr (Lanham: University Press of America, 1995).

"Introduction," To Each Its Own Meaning: An Introduction to Biblical Criticisms and Their Application (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1993).

"Christianity, Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust: Old Questions, Changing Paradigms," in Rocheele L. Millen, ed., New Perspectives on the Holocaust: A Guide for Teachers and Scholars (New York: New York University Press, 1996), 294-318.

"Introduction," Talking Out of Place: Professing in the Postmodern Academy edited by Stephen R.Haynes and Corrie E. Norman (Oxford University Press, forthcoming).

"Letter to Franklin H. Littell," in Sharon Gutman Lightner and Marcia Sachs Littell, eds., A Modern Prophet: Letters to Franklin H. Littell on His 80^th Birthday (East Rockaway, NY:Cummings & Hathaway, 1998), 98.

"Toward a Distinctive Pedagogy for Holocaust Education," in Bernard Schwartz, ed., The Holocaust: Art, Politics, Law and Education (University of Alberta Press, forthcoming).

"Beware Good News," in John K. Roth and Carol Rittner, R.S.M., eds., Good News After Auschwitz? (forthcoming).
 
 

Journal Articles

"Presbyterians and Jews: A Theological Exploration of the Book of Confessions," Perspectives in Religious Studies 15:3 (1988).

"Krisis and Kairos: Theology and the Zeitgeist of the Weimar Period," Mind and Nature 8 (Fall,1988).

"Recovering the Real Paul': Theology and the Interpretation in Romans 9-11," Ex Auditu: An International Journal of Theological Interpretation of Scripture 4 (1988).

"Radical Theology Encounters the Jewish-Christian Reality," Christian-Jewish Relations 23:1 (Summer, 1990), 46055.

"Presbyterians and Jews: Reflections on Theological Education in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)," Religious Education 86:2 (Spring, 1991), 208-226.

"Theology as Fiction and Fiction as Theology: Karl Barth and Walker Percy on 'the Jews'," Journal of Literature and Theology 5:4 (December, 1991), 388-407.

"Between the Times': German Theology and the Weimar Zeitgeist," Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal (Spring/Summer, 1991), 9-44.

"Re-Learning to Read: Reflections on Teaching Scripture to University Students," The Modern Churchman 34:1 (1992), 34-41.
 

"Hal Lindsey's The Road to the Holocaust: A Review Essay," Fides et Historia 24:3 (Fall, 1993),111-128.

Christian Holocaust Theology: A Critical Reassessment," JAAR: Journal of the American Academy of Religion, LXII:2 (Summer, 1994), 553-585.

"Syndrome and Shoah: Walker Percy's Parable of the Holocaust," Holocaust and Genocide Studies 8:3 (Winter, 1994), 372-394.

"Changing Paradigms: Reformist, Radical and Rejectionist Approaches to the Relationship of Christianity and Anti-Semitism,"
Journal of Ecumenical Studies 32:1 (Winter, 1995),63-88.

"Footsteps of Ann Hutchinson and Frederick Buechner: A Religious Reading of John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany," Religion and Literature 27:3 (Autumn, 1995), 73-98.

"Bible Education and Post-Critical Reading," Memphis Theological Seminary Journal 31:1,2 (Spring-Summer, 1993), 1-12.

"Nothing to do with Jews: Joel Carmichael's The Satanizing of the Jews," Midstream: A Journal of Jewish Opinion (November,1995), 32-35.

"Teaching Religion at Church-Related College: Reflections on Professional Identity and Institutional Loyalty," Religious Studies News (February, 1997).

"Response to Eugene J. Fisher," Journal of Ecumenical Studies 33:2 (Spring, 1996), 244-246.

"Faculty and the Future of Church-Related Colleges," A Point of View (American Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities) 8:1 (Fall, 1997), 282-307.

"Holocaust Education at American Colleges and Universities: A Report on the Current Situation," Holocaust and Genocide Studies 12:2 (Fall, 1998), 282-307.

"Religion at Rhodes: Is There a Future in the Past?," Rhodes Magazine (Winter, 1998).
 

Op-Ed Pieces and Media Interviews

"Dealing With Deniers," The Commercial Appeal (Memphis) (April 6, 1994).

"Facing the Criticism of 'Facing History,'" The Commercial Appeal (Memphis) (January 30,1995).

"Race's Real Problem," The Commercial Appeal (Memphis) (December 10, 1995).

Interview with Jack Shea, host of "View 92," public affairs program of WUMR radio, Memphis, January 9, 1996.

Interview for story on interracial churches, March 30, 1997, WREG-TV, Memphis.

Interview with Darrell Snodgrass, "Checking on the Arts," WKNO radio, Memphis, August 24, 1998.
 

Book Reviews

Review of Ralph C. Wood, The Comedy of Redemption: Christian Faith and Comic Vision in Four

American Novelists, Journal of Literature and Theology 5:1 (March, 1991), 126-128.

Review of Geoffrey Wigoder, Jewish-Christian Relations Since World War Two, Critical Review of Books in Religion 1990, 376-379.

Review of Charles Fishman, ed., Blood to Remember: American Poets on the Holocaust,

Holocaust and Genocide Studies 7:3 (Winter, 1993), 433-437.

Review of Jack Forstman, Christian Faith in Dark Times: Theological Conflicts in the Shadow of Hitler, Cross Currents (Fall, 1994), 413-415.

Review of David P. Gushee, The Righteous Gentiles of the Holocaust: A Christian Interpretation, Journal of Church and State 38:4 (Autumn, 1996), 909-910.

"Where There's a Will There's A Why" (review of Daniel J. Goldhagen, Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust and Franklin H. Littell, ed., Hyping the Holocaust: Scholars Respond to Goldhagen), Cross Currents 47:3 (Fall, 1997), 397-405.

Review of Padriac O'Hare, The Enduring Covenant: The Education of Christians and the End of Antisemitism, Teaching Theology and Religion 1:1 (Spring, 1998), 66-67.

Review of Donald G. Schilling, ed., Lessons and Legacies II: Teaching the Holocaust in a Changing World, Holocaust and Genocide Studies (Fall, 1999).

Review of Frank E. Eakin, Jr., What Price Prejudice: Christian Antisemitism in America, Reviews in Religion and Theology (forthcoming).

Review of Bruce A. Pescocolido and Ronald Aminzade, The Social Worlds of Higher Education, Teaching Theology and Religion (forthcoming).

Review of Michael Novick, The Holocaust in American Life, The Lancet (forthcoming). Conference Papers

"The Outsider as Insider: Karl Barth and the Role of Theology in the Weimar Period, " paper presented at the Fourth National Conference on Theology and Literature, University of Durham, England, September 1988.

"Re-Learning to Read: Reflections on Teaching Scripture to University Students," paper presented at "Conference on Interpretation and Belief: Hermeneutics, the Bible and Literary Criticism," University of Durham, England, April 1989.

"Theology as Fiction and Fiction as Theology: Karl Barth, Walker Percy and the 'Eternal Jew'," paper presented at American Academy of Religion Regional Meeting, Charlotte, NC, March 1990.

"The Role of Obligatory Bible Education in American Church-Related Colleges: Problems and Prospects," paper presented at Centennial Symposium on the Role of Church-Related Colleges, Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, TX, October, 1990.

"The Road to Holocaust"?: Hal Lindsay's Premillennial Response to 'Dominion Theology,'" paper presented at the American Academy of Religion, Annual Meeting, New Orleans, 1990.

"Christian Holocaust Theology: an Assessment," paper presented at American Academy of Religion Midwestern Regional Meeting, St. Louis, April 7-7, 1991.

"Krisis and Kairos: An International Perspective on Church and State," paper presented at Bicentennial Conference on International Perspectives on Church and State, CreightonUniversity, Omaha, Nebraska, October 6-7, 1991.

Respondent, Arts, Literature, and Religion Section, American Academy of religion Annual Meeting, Kansas City, MO, November, 1991.

"Kairos Again?: The Church Struggles in Germany and South Africa," paper presented at Scholar's Conference on the Holocaust and the Church Struggle, University of Washington, Seattle, March, 1992.

"Women, Children and Saints of God: Victims and Conspirators in Three Recent Dystopic Novels," paper presented at American Academy of Religion Southeastern Regional Meeting, Atlanta, March, 1992.

"Shoah and Syndrome: Walker Percy's Parable of the Holocaust," paper presented at Roundtable Discussion, American Academy of Religion Southeastern Regional Meeting, San Francisco, November, 1992.

"Lumps in the Throat: John Irving, Frederick Buechner, and Primary Religious Experience," paper presented to American Academy of Religion Southeastern Regional Meeting, Charleston, SC, March, 1993.

"Christianity, Anti-Semitism, and Post-Holocaust Theology: Old Questions, Changing Paradigms," paper presented at Teaching the Holocaust: Issues and Dilemmas Conference, Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH, October 23, 1993.

"Teaching the Conflict: History, Ideology and the Introductory Textbook," paper presented at The Conference on Critical Thinking in the Teaching of Biblical Studies, Washington, D.C., November 20, 1993.

"American Holocaust Theology and the Witness-People Myth," paper presented at Remembering for the Future II Conference, Berlin, Germany, March 1994.

"A Reluctant Witness: The Jew in Christian Holocaust Theology," paper presented at American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, Chicago, November, 1994.

"Remembrance and Reconciliation in the Academy: Holocaust Education at Church-Related Liberal Arts Colleges." Paper presented at the International Scholars' Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT March, 1995.

"A Man For Us, and For Others: BonHoeffer and Holocaust Education," paper to be presented at the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, November, 1995.

"A Post-Holocaust Christian Exploration of the Jewish Bible," paper presented at the International Scholars' Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, MN March, 1996.

"The Ham Myth, Slavery, and the Lost Cause: The Biblical Hermeneutics of Benjamin Morgan Palmer," paper presented at the American Academy of Religion Southeastern Regional Meeting, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, March, 1996.

"Ham and the Innocent Victim," paper presented at the Colloquium on Violence and Religion, Stanford University, June, 1996.

"Ham and Japheth in New Orleans: Reading Slavery, Secession, Segregation, and Genocide in Genesis," paper presented at the Theology of the Hebrew Scriptures Consultation, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, New Orleans, November, 1996.

"The Teaching of the Holocaust at American Colleges and Universities: A Report on the Current Situation," paper presented at plenary session of The Scholars' Conference on the Holocaust and the Churches, University of South Florida, Tampa, March 1997.

"Identity, Loyalties, and Generation Issues," presentation at American Association of University Professors Conference on Academic Freedom at Religiously-Affiliated Institutions, March, 1997.

"Original Dishonor: The Curse of the Ham and the Southern Defense of Slavery," paper presented at the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, San Francisco, November 24, 1997.

"Nimrod: The Unauthorized Biography," paper presented at the Southeastern Society for the Study of Religion, Knoxville, TN, March, 1998.

"A Prehistory of the Holocaust," Israel and the Holocaust: From Diaspora to Dwelling Place, University of Memphis, February 22

"'That's When Everything Changed': Recreating the History of a Religion Department," paper presented at the American Society of Church History Conference, Tallahassee, FL, April, 1998.

"Reluctant Witnesses; Jews and the Christian Imagination," Facing History and OurselvesNational Staff Conference, Boston, May, 1998.

"Identity, Loyalties, and Generational Issues," National Conference of the American Association of Professors, Washington, D.C., June, 1998.

"Original Dishonor: Ham's Curse in Girardian Perspective," Colloquium on Violence and Religion, Emory University, June, 1990.
 

Other Presentations

"Christianity and Antisemitism," Summer Seminar for Educators Abroad, Yad Vashem

Educational Center, Jerusalem, July, 1990.

"Christian Anti-Semitism: An Evaluation of Recent Studies," lecture presented at Facing History and Ourselves Workshop for Secondary Teachers, Memphis, January 30, 1992.

"Anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism: A Case Study in Prejudice and Discrimination," Facing History and Ourselves Summer Institutes, Nashville, TN, June 1993; Paris Landing, TN, June, 1994; Memphis, TN, June, 1994, June, 1995, June 1996, June 1997; June, 1998; San Francisco, June 1996; Los Angeles, July 1997; New York, August, 1999.

"You Didn't Have to hate: Recent Perspectives on Holocaust Perpetrators," CABAL, Memphis, TN, June 1995.

"Oskar Schindler and Other Heroes," Alumni Leadership Conference, Rhodes College, August, 1994.

"The Tenure System at Rhodes," Parents' Council Conference, Rhodes College, October, 1995.

"The Future of the Church-Related College," The President's Council, Rhides College, April, 1996.

"Religion, Race and Region: Acknowledging Identity in the Classroom," Professional Development Seminar, University of Memphis College of Education, May, 1996.

'The Mark of Cain and the Curse of Ham," lectures presented at the Northern California Teachers' Institute of Facing History and Ourselves, Danville, CA June, 1996.

"Last Lecture," Westminster Fellowship, Rhodes College, October 8, 1996.

"The Future of the Church-Related College," Annual Meeting of the Presbyterian Chaplain's Association, Rhodes College, March 21, 1997.

"Report on Research," Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities Annual Conference, Rhodes College, March 22, 1997.

"Two Kinds of People: Cain and Abel in Christian Interpretation," lecture presented at Facing History and Ourselves Workshop for Middle School Teachers, The Learning Academy, Memphis, November, 1996; November, 1997.

Presentations on "Holocaust Education at Liberal Arts College," "Jews and the Christian Imagination," and "The Future of the Church-Related College," Agnes Scott College, Atlanta, November 2, 1996.

"Response to Richard Hughes' "Models for Christian Higher Education," paper presented at The Lilly Seminar on Religion and Higher Education, University of Notre Dame, September 14, 1997.

"Junior Faculty and the Future of Our Institutions," Kirk Council, Alma College, Alma, MI, October 5, 1997.

"Faculty and the Future of the Church-Related College," presentation at the Ecumenical Dean's Workshop, Council of Independent Colleges Annual Meeting, St. Petersburg, FL, Oct 31-Nov 1, 1997.

"Religion and the University," presentation at the Christian Brothers University, April 14, 1998.

"Strategies for Teaching Controversial Issues," presentation at Advance Teachers Institute, Facing History and Ourselves, Memphis, June, 1998.

"A Response to Simon Wiesenthal's The Sunflower," Panel on Forgiveness, Christian Brothers University, October, 1998.

"Whatever Happened to Religion at Presbyterian Colleges?," Gamble Lectures, Greenville, MS, May 1999.

"Jews and Christians in the Past and Present," Palisades Presbyterian Church, Pacific Palisades, CA August, 1999.
 

Honors and Awards

Finalist Clarence Day Dean's Award for Outstanding Teacher, Rhodes College, 1997, 1998

Clarence Day Dean's Award for Outstanding Research, Rhodes College, 1997

SGA Outstanding Faculty Member, Rhides College, 1995

ODK Untenured Teacher of the Year, Rhodes College, 1993

Lilly Seminar on Religion and Higher Education, 1997-99

Lilly Teaching Scholar in Religion, 1995-96

Lilly Endowment Grant to Study the Future of American Church-Related Colleges, 1995-99

Leadership Memphis, Class of 1996

Sanders Theology Prize, Columbia Theological Seminary, 1987

Rotary Foundation Graduate Fellowship for Study Abroad, 1988-89

Columbia Graduate Fellowship, Columbia Theological Seminary, 1988-89

Graduate Research Symposium Runner-up, Emory University, 1988

English-Speaking Union Grant for Overseas Research, 1988-89

Memphis Jewish Federation Grant for Study in Israel, 1990

Fellow, Coolidge Research Colloquium of the Association for Religion and Intellectual Life,

Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, MA, 1991

Holocaust Education Foundation Grant, 1993

Faculty Development Grant, 1993

Faculty Development Endowment Grants, Rhodes College, Summer 1991, Summer 1992;

Summer, 1994; Summer, 1995; Summer 1997.
 
 

Professional Activities

Director, Rhodes Consultation on the future