Faculty

Ken Stone Professor of Bible, Culture and Hermeneutics

Click here for public lectures by Dr. Stone.

B.A., Lee College, 1984; M. Div., Church of God School of Theology, 1987; Th.M., Harvard Divinity School, 1989; M.A., Ph.D., Vanderbilt University,1992, 1995.

Author: Practicing Safer Texts: Food, Sex and Bible in Queer Perspective (T. & T. Clark, 2005); editor of Queer Commentary and the Hebrew Bible (Sheffield Academic Press/Pilgrim Press, 2001); Sex, Honor and Power in the Deuteronomistic History (Sheffield Academic Press, 1996).

Professor Stone, a member of the United Church of Christ, Chairs the Reading, Theory and the Bible Section of the Society of Biblical Literature. The winner of a Lambda Literary Award, Stone focuses much of his research and writing on the relationship between biblical interpretation and matters of gender and sexuality. His other research and teaching interests include interdisciplinary approaches to biblical interpretation; neglected
areas of the Canon; and possibilities for rethinking biblical theology in the contemporary, “postmodern” world.

“People of faith engage their religious traditions, including the biblical traditions, to find resources for survival and transformation. In a world of conflict and diverse perspectives, however, I try to convey to students the necessity of taking into account multiple ways of understanding and using those traditions. Thus,I always encourage students to question their own assumptions about the content and interpretation of the Bible. Such a process of questioning need not be destructive, but rather creates opportunities for pursuing a two-fold goal. On the one hand, we must obtain a thorough knowledge of both the surprising diversity of the biblical writings and their historical and sociocultural contexts. On the other hand, we must reflect critically on the difficult process of interpreting and teaching those writings in a manner that will help us transform our own world toward greater justice and mercy.”