Faculty & Staff Directory

Thomas Wetzel, PhD

Degrees

ThD, Harvard Divinity School (2015; area of emphasis: Hebrew Bible)
PhD, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2000; area of emphasis: English and Literary Studies/Post-Civil War American Literature)
MA, Marquette University (2006; area of emphasis: theology)
MA, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1994; area of emphasis: English and Literary Studies)

Program Areas

New Testament and Early Christianity

Research Interests

Biblical theology in the life, practice, and prayer of Catholic communities; Understanding the ongoing roles of Israel and the Church as covenant partners in the work of divine reconciliation of creation; The role of visual arts and narrative as means for practicing theology and religious observance; Deuteronomistic History, especially the Josianic crisis and its influence on New Testament thought; Prophetic biblical literature and its interpretation (both Former and Latter Prophets); Violence and pacifism in the Bible and in the Jewish and Christian traditions; Flannery O’Connor: her theology, narrative voice, and the influence of Scripture on her writing

Selected Publications

The Hidden Covenant: Purim and the Observant Narrator in the Esther Story (book manuscript in progress and under contract with Cascade Books; projected completion in March 2023)

Violence and Divine Victory in the Book of Esther (Mohr Seibeck; July 1, 2022)

“An Unpleasant Little Jolt: Flannery O’Connor’s Creation ex Chaos” Reading Flannery O’Connor in Spain: From Andalusia to Andalucía ed. Mark Bosco, SJ and Beatriz Valverde. (Washington, DC: Catholic University Press of America, 2020). 191–212

“War in the Bible.” The SAGE Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives ed. Paul Joseph. (Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2017). 167–170