John Anthony Dunne

Academics Faculty

John Anthony Dunne

Email: j-dunne@bethel.edu

Job Titles

Highlight

Dr. Dunne's research interests lie primarily in the New Testament, the life and letters of Paul (esp. Galatians), Christian origins, and second temple Judaism. Within these frameworks he is fascinated by many things, including: theologies of suffering and mortality, ritual practices and participation with Christ, symbolism associated with ancient fermented beverages, critiques of imperial ideology, intertextuality with antecedent texts, and the reception of the Bible in contemporary popular culture.

Started at Bethel

2017

Education

  • Biola University - B.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies, 2008
  • Talbot School of Theology - M.A. in New Testament Language and Literature, 2010
  • Talbot School of Theology - M.A. in Old Testament and Semitics, 2011
  • University of St. Andrews - Ph.D. in New Testament, 2016

Biography

Born and raised in Las Vegas, NV, Dr. Dunne had no intention of pursuing Biblical Studies or even a life in academia. Truth be told, all he wanted to do was to be a guitar player in a heavy metal band. Of course, God had other things in mind (Prov. 19.21). His original plans were to stay in Las Vegas and pursue music, but then God began to draw him to the idea of going to a Christian University in southern California. At the time he was very involved in international missions, but had never considered studying theology directly. It was ultimately through joining an interfaith dialogue ministry on Biola's campus that he discerned the Lord's calling to study Theology. The interfaith group was dedicated to dialoguing about matters of faith and doctrine with Latter-day Saints (Mormons), which meant he ended up spending all of his long weekends and term breaks in Utah. As part of this he worked at a church in American Fork, UT and even enrolled as a student at Brigham Young University during his Summer breaks. Dr. Dunne's experiences in Utah were what God ultimately used to convince him, he needed to declare his major for Biblical Studies. From there he continued on at Talbot School of Theology, studying both New and Old Testaments. Afterwards he went to the east coast of Scotland to work with Prof. N. T. Wright at the University of St Andrews. His main passion is to teach and to invest in people's lives, and is thrilled that he gets to do that at Bethel! His hobbies include: road-tripping, traveling internationally, playing guitar, snowboarding, cheering on the Vegas Golden Knights, reading Harry Potter, and watching and discussing great films and TV shows.

Courses Taught

BIB101 Introduction to the Bible

GK102 Introduction to Greek

NT508 Introduction to the New Testament

NT516 New Testament Survey

NT518 New Testament Exegetical Explorations

NT541 Greek I: Beginning

NT542 Greek II: Intermediate

NT609 Galatians

BT751 Faith, Hope, and Love

BT751 Technology and the Christian Disciple

BT751 Wine and Meals in the Bible

NT751 Jesus, Now Playing (with Dr. Jeannine Brown)

NT751 Suffering and the Sacraments

Publications

MONOGRAPHS, BOOKS, & EDITED VOLUMES

Theology and Black Mirror. Edited by Amber Bowen and John Anthony Dunne. Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture. Lanham: Lexington Books / Minneapolis: Fortress Academic, 2022.

One God, One People, One Future: Essays in Honor of N. T. Wright. Edited by John Anthony Dunne and Eric Lewellen. London: SPCK / Minneapolis: Fortress, 2018.

Ancient Readers & Their Scriptures: Engaging the Hebrew Bible in Early Judaism and Christianity. Edited by Garrick V. Allen and John Anthony Dunne. Ancient Judaism & Early Christianity 107; Leiden: Brill, 2018.

Persecution and Participation in Galatians. WUNT II/454. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017.

Torah Traditions & Ancient Readers in Early Judaism and Christianity, edited by Garrick V. Allen and John Anthony Dunne, in Henoch: Historical and Textual Studies in Ancient and Medieval Judaism and Christianity 38.1 (Brescia: Morcelliana, 2016): 4–66.

Ecclesia And Ethics: Moral Formation and the Church. T&T Clark Biblical Studies. Edited by E. Allen Jones III, John Frederick, John Anthony Dunne, Eric Lewellen, and Janghoon Park. London: T&T Clark/Bloomsbury, 2016.

Esther and Her Elusive God: How a Secular Story Functions as Scripture. Foreword by Ronald W. Pierce. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2014.

Reactions to Empire: Sacred Texts in Their Socio-Political Contexts. WUNT II/372. Edited by John Anthony Dunne and Dan Batovici. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014.

Insiders versus Outsiders: Exploring the Dynamic Relationship Between Mission and Ethos in the New Testament. Perspectives on Philosophy and Religious Thought 14. Edited by Jacobus (Kobus) Kok and John Anthony Dunne. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias, 2014.

ARTICLES, ESSAYS, & DICTIONARY ENTRIES

“The Gospel of John in Popular Culture.” In The Reception of John: Volume 3, edited by Douglas Estes and Christopher W. Skinner. Waco: Baylor University Press. Forthcoming.

"Pain and Suffering in the New Testament." In Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception, ed. Jens Schroter, et al. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Forthcoming.

“‘They Do Not Keep The Law’ (Galatians 6:13): Forceful Circumcision and the Fruit of the Spirit,” in Figuring the Enemy, ed. Elizabeth E. Shively, Kenneth Mavor, and Christopher A. Porter. Interdisciplinary Approaches to Biblical Criticism. London: Routledge. Forthcoming.

“‘Fear is the Mind-Killer’: Theological Reflections on the Butlerian Jihad and the Pursuit of Superintelligence without Artificial Intelligence in Frank Herbert’s Dune Novels,” in Theology and Dune, edited by Christopher A. Porter. Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture. Lanham: Lexington Books / Minneapolis: Fortress Academic. Forthcoming.

“Fighting Satan with the Devil's Music?: Subverting Suspicions of Demonic Influence on Rock 'n' Roll in Stranger Things Season Four,” in Theology, Religion, and Stranger Things, edited by Andrew J. Byers and Adam J. Powell. Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture. Lanham: Lexington Books / Minneapolis: Fortress Academic. Forthcoming.

“The Souring of the Ways: Anti-Jewish Readings of Psalm 69 and the Wine Offerings to Jesus,” Journal of Biblical Literature 143.1 (2024): 105–24.

“Harry Potter and the Aims of Transhumanism: A Magical Critique of Technological Immortality.” Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 35.2 (2023): 55–71.

“Mountains Shall Drip Sweet Wine from the Temple: Joel’s Interpretation of the Epilogue of Amos,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 47.4 (2023): 473–89.

"Roman and Jewish Food Customs." In Dictionary of Paul & His Letters, ed. Scot McKnight, Lynn Cohick, and Nijay Gupta, 319–24. 2nd edition; Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2023.

“Uploaded to the Cloud: Transhumanism and Digital Hope in Black Mirror.” In Theology and Black Mirror, edited by Amber Bowen and John Anthony Dunne, 305–21. Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture Series. Lanham: Lexington Books / Minneapolis: Fortress Academic, 2022.

“Smithereens as Technological Theodicy: Addiction, Emergence, and Resistance.” In Theology and Black Mirror, edited by Amber Bowen and John Anthony Dunne, 81–97. Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture Series. Lanham: Lexington Books / Minneapolis: Fortress Academic, 2022.

With Amber Bowen. “More Than Meets the Eye: An Introduction to Theology and Black Mirror.” In Theology and Black Mirror, edited by Amber Bowen and John Anthony Dunne, 1–18. Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture Series. Lanham: Lexington Books / Minneapolis: Fortress Academic, 2022.

“Replacing Written Forum Posts With Flipgrid.” Didaktikos: Journal of Theological Education 4.3 (2021): 36–37.

“Notice What Isn’t There: Using the Film Independence Day to explain Ipsissima Vox, Mirror-reading, and Relevance Theory.” Didaktikos: Journal of Theological Education 4.1 (2020): 30–31.

With Lynn H. Cohick. “‘Better Than A Slave’: Paul and the Economics of Slavery—A Rejoinder to Ulrike Roth.” In Human Flourishing: Economic Wisdom for a Fruitful Christian Vision of the Good Life, edited by Anthony R. Cross and Greg Forster, 28–44. Eugene: Pickwick, 2020.

With Neil Shortland. “Al-Qa’ida and the Horcruxes: Quests for Immortality by Violent Extremist Organizations and Lord Voldemort,” in Cultural Politics in Harry Potter: Life, Death, and Transitions, ed. Pilar Alderete and Jarazo Álvarez. Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies; London: Routledge, 2019.

With Matthew Owen. "The Son of God and Trinitarian Identity Statements." TheoLogica: An International Journal for Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Theology 3.1 (2019): 33-59.

"Be Filled With the Spirit: Wine and Worship in Levitical Light (Ephesians 5.18-21)." Biblica et Patristica Thoruniensia 11.4 (2018): 407-443.

With Eric Lewellen. "Introduction: Celebrating the Rt Revd Professor N. T. Wright." In One God, One People, One Future: Essays in Honor of N. T. Wright, ed. John Anthony Dunne and Eric Lewellen, 1-18. London: SPCK / Minneapolis: Fortress, 2018.

With Garrick V. Allen. "What does 'Reading' have to do with it? Ancient Jewish and Christian Engagement with Hebrew Scripture." In Ancient Readers & Their Scriptures: Engaging the Hebrew Bible in Early Judaism and Christianity, ed. Garrick V. Allen and John Anthony Dunne, 243-51. Ancient Judaism & Early Christianity 107; Leiden: Brill, 2018.

“Eschatological Emphases in 1 Thessalonians and Galatians: Distinct Argumentative Strategies Related to External Conflict and Audience Response,” Journal of Biblical & Theological Studies 3.2 (2018): 227-248.

With Michael F. Bird. “Pastoring with a Big Stick: Paul as Pastor in Galatians,” in Paul as Pastor, edited by Brian S. Rosner, Andrew S. Malone, and Trevor J. Burke, 71-82. London: T&T Clark/Bloomsbury, 2017.

With Jacobus (Kobus) Kok. “Participation in Christ and Missional Dynamics in Galatians,” in Participation, Justification, and Conversion: Eastern Orthodox Interpretation of Paul and the Debate Between Old and New Perspectives on Paul, edited by Athanasios Despotis, 59–85. WUNT II/442; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017.

With Logan Alexander Williams. “A Perplexing Gift: Towards Clarity in Evangelical and Mormon Interfaith Dialogues on Grace,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 60.2 (2017): 349–76.

With Garrick V. Allen. “Editorial/Editoriale,” in Torah Traditions and Ancient Readers in Early Judaism and Christianity, a special issue of Henoch: Historical and Textual Studies in Ancient and Medieval Judaism and Christianity 38.1 (Brescia: Morcelliana, 2016), 3.

“‘Nothing Beautiful Hides Its Face’: The Hiddenness of Esther in C. S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces,” Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal 9 (2015): 75–88.

“The Death of Death in the Death of the Boy Who Lived: The Morality of Mortality in Harry Potter,” in Ravenclaw Reader: Seeking the Meaning and Artistry of J.K. Rowling’s Hogwarts Saga, Essays from the St Andrews University Harry Potter Conference, edited by John Patrick Pazdziora and Micah Snell, 31–46. Oklahoma City: Unlocking Press, 2015.

“Suffering and Covenantal Hope in Galatians: A Critique of the ‘Apocalyptic Reading’ and Its Proponents.” Scottish Journal of Theology 68.1 (2015): 1–15.

With Dan Batovici. “Introduction,” in Reactions to Empire: Sacred Texts in Their Socio-Political Contexts, edited by John Anthony Dunne and Dan Batovici, VII–XII. WUNT II/372. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014.

“Cast Out The Aggressive Agitators (Gl 4:29–30): Suffering, Identity, and the Ethics of Expulsion in Paul’s Mission to the Galatians,” in Sensitivity to Outsiders: Exploring the Dynamic Relationship between Mission and Ethics in the New Testament and Early Christianity, ed. Jacobus Kok, Tobias Nicklas, Dieter T. Roth, and Christopher M. Hays, 246–69. WUNT II/364; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014.

“Suffering in Vain: A Study of the Interpretation of ΠΑΣΧΩ in Galatians 3.4,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 36.1 (2013): 3–16.

"Asia Minor, Religion of"; "Colossae"; "Cult of Asclepius"; "Enuma Elis"; (with D. A. Neal) "Eden, Garden of"; "Iconium"; "Monotheism"; "Principalities and Powers"; "The Temptation of Jesus"; "Shimei, Son of Gera." In Lexham Bible Dictionary, Lexham Bible Reference Series, ed. John D. Barry. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2012-15.

With Jonathan M. Lunde. “Paul's Creative & Contextual Use of Psalm 68 in Ephesians 4:8,” Westminster Theological Journal 74.1 (Spring 2012): 99–117.

With Jonathan M. Lunde. “Paul’s Creative & Contextual Use of Isaiah in Ephesians 5:14,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 55.1 (2012): 87–110.

“David’s Tent as Temple in Amos 9:11–15: Understanding the Epilogue of Amos & Considering Implications for the Unity of the Book,” Westminster Theological Journal 73.2 (Fall 2011): 363–74.

“The Regal Status of Christ in the Colossian 'Christ-Hymn': A Re-Evaluation of the Influence of Wisdom Traditions,” Trinity Journal 32.1 (Spring 2011): 3–18.

IN PROCESS

Wine and Fermented Beverages in the Bible. London: Bloomsbury/T&T Clark. Forthcoming.

With Kris Song (eds.). Theology, Religion, and Twin Peaks. Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture. Lanham: Lexington Books / Minneapolis: Fortress Academic. Forthcoming.

With Jeannine K. Brown. Jesus, Now Playing: Ancient and Contemporary Rehearsals of the Story of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic. Forthcoming.

For Tomorrow We Die: Wine Consumption and Human Mortality. London: Darton, Longman, and Todd. Forthcoming.

Reading Galatians. Cascade Companions. Eugene, OR: Cascade. Forthcoming.

Suffering and the Sacraments: An Early Christian Theology of Ritual Solidarity. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press. Forthcoming.

Mountains Shall Drip Sweet Wine: A Biblical Theology of Alcohol. Biblical Theology for Life. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Forthcoming.

Certificates and Licenses

Licensed Minister through Mill City Church, Minneapolis, MN (Converge Worldwide)

Professional Organizations, Committees, and Boards

British New Testament Society

Catholic Biblical Association

Institute of Biblical Research

Evangelical Theological Society

Society of Biblical Literature

Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas

Website

http://www.thetwocities.com/