Donald J. Casper Professor of Hebrew Bible and African Biblical Hermeneutics; Director of the Religion and Global Health Forum
Education
- Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary
- Th. M, Princeton Theological Seminary
- Maîtrise en Théologie, Faculty of Protestant Theology, Cameroon
I was born and grew up in Cameroon, nicknamed “Africa in miniature” because of its diverse biodiversity, geography, and cultural landscapes. Officially a bilingual country (English and French), the linguistic mélange that animates daily life – in schools, churches, marketplaces, playgrounds, etc. – always fascinated me. This reality of, course, is not unique to Cameroon; rather, it propels my thinking about African identities both on the continent and beyond. For me, multiplicity is the starting point for a shared life of faith, hope, justice-work, ecological sustainability, research, teaching, empathy, curiosity, dreaming, health/healing, worship, and all that makes life both tender and fragile but also deeply cherished and durable. One of the lasting impressions on my approach to biblical studies came from my systematic theology professor who – in the process of discussing creation – asked us to walk out of the class into the school garden and stand next to a tree or plant; then listen for what God was saying to us. It occurred to me then that biblical interpretation is more than listening to and engaging the chirographic text (the written biblical document and other ancient documents) but also listening to and engaging the divine presence in creation and social relations. Faith is grounded, both metaphorically and materially. Scholarship is grounded, both methodologically and epistemologically.
For me, the “Bible” and “Africa” are two powerful legions that have shaped my personal and professional lives. But more than me, these two legions have given so much to the world in the form of culture, spirituality, faith, epistemology, tradition and innovation, etc. These two legions have tangled with colonialism, patriarchy, economic exploitation, and imperialism - sometimes colluding with those oppressive systems and other times working hard to break free. As I endeavor to read and interpret these legions, some of the foundational questions and interests that have animated and shaped my research and teaching work revolve around liberation: how is liberation possible? How is it sustainable? How does liberation enhance human and non-human flourishing? What threatens such flourishing? I am informed by African biblical hermeneutics, womanism and womanist theorizing and methodologies, postcolonial and decolonial epistemologies, and health equity hermeneutics around the intersection of medical disease and social dis-ease. For me, the work of the scholar – in academia and in church – is to mobilize and commit oneself to the work of the people who not only demand to be free but to flourish.