Left to right: Jenifer Lee-Gonyea, assistant vice president of DEI and Chief Diversity Officer at Mount Saint Mary College; professor Lisa Bowens of Princeton Theological Seminary; and Charles Zola, Assistant to the President for Mission Integration, Director of the Catholic and Dominican Institute, and Associate Professor of Philosophy.
Lisa Bowens, associate professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary, recently presented “Pauline Hermeneutics in Black Protest Traditions” at Mount Saint Mary College.
The talk, part of the Mount’s Black History Month celebrations, was sponsored by the college’s Catholic and Dominican Institute (CDI) and the college’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).
Bowens’ talk provided snapshots of the power and complexity of Blacks’ interpretations of Paul in their protests throughout history.
“The Black Christian tradition has a profound legacy of interpreters who utilized Apostle Paul and his letters to protest enslavement, racism, and white supremacy,” noted Bowens.
With this in mind, it might come as a surprise that Paul’s letters in the New Testament were at one time used by slaveholders to justify the practice. But those advocating for equality saw Paul’s writings as advocating “justice, liberation, and freedom,” said Bowens.
For example, in Romans 2, Paul condemns the hypocrisy of people judging others for things that they, themselves, also do. Applying this concept to early life in America is apt, Bowens said: “You say don’t oppress us United Kingdom, but yet, you are oppressing those in your midst.”
Bowens, PhD, is the first African American woman to earn tenure in Princeton Seminary’s Bible department. She is the author of numerous articles and two books, An Apostle in Battle: Paul and Spiritual Warfare in 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 and African American Readings of Paul: Reception, Resistance, and Transformation. She is a member of a number of professional guilds, including the Society of Biblical Literature, the Society of Pentecostal Studies, and the Society for the Study of Black Religion. At Princeton Seminary, she teaches a range of courses, including Greek Exegesis of 2 Corinthians, African American Pauline Hermeneutics, and Paul and Apocalyptic Thought.
The Mount’s CDI promotes the Mount’s heritage of St. Dominic, advances the Dominican charism of study and service, provides a forum for discussion of contemporary ethical issues, and enhances Catholic and Jewish dialogue.
The college’s Office of DEI fosters a thriving culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion to benefit everyone in the Mount community.