Episode #44 - Whiteness in Biblical Scholarship with Dr. Ekaputra Tupamahu

In this episode a group of team members from The Two Cities (Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Grace Emmett, Grace Sangalang Ng, Rev. Daniel Parham, Dr. Chris Porter, Dr. Logan Williams) are joined by Dr. Ekaputra Tupamahu, who is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Portland Seminary, to discuss his recent piece published with the Public Theology Network, entitled, “The Stubborn Invisibility of Whiteness in Biblical Scholarship” (Here is the link: https://politicaltheology.com/the-stubborn-invisibility-of-whiteness-in-biblical-scholarship/). Dr. Tupamahu explains that the key to resisting the imposition of whiteness onto others, Christian scholars ought to bring the church’s questions to scholarship rather than taking the scholarly nuggets to the church. Scholars are asking different questions than those in the church, but, more importantly, scholars also tend to be asking the questions of white European-Americans. One of the common issues in biblical studies that Dr. Tupamahu situates within the particular concerns of whiteness is the Synoptic Problem, which he contends is generated by the rise of the printing press in the West. Given this situatedness, Dr. Tupamahu provides some advice on how to teach Synoptic Problem as a uniquely European-American concern. Dr. Tupamahu also provides us with a sneak peek on how his own current research resists the concerns of whiteness, telling us that his current book project with OUP on “tongues" and “languages" in 1 Corinthians situates the discussion within the immigrant context of Corinth in which multiple languages would have been spoken. He explains how in the whole discussion on tongues Paul is insisting on monolingual order in a multilingual context.

Dr. Tupamahu’s piece is part of a series of essays at the Public Theology Network, which are also worth checking out:

Jacqueline Hidalgo, “Occupying Whiteness: A Reflection in 2020” (link: https://politicaltheology.com/occupying-whiteness-a-reflection-in-2020/).

Angela Parker, “Invoking Paul’s μὴ γένοιτο and Sofia’s ‘Hell No’ Against the Stubborn Whiteness of Biblical Scholarship” (link: https://politicaltheology.com/invoking-pauls-%ce%bc%e1%bd%b4-%ce%b3%ce%ad%ce%bd%ce%bf%ce%b9%cf%84%ce%bf-and-sofias-hell-no-against-the-stubborn-whiteness-of-biblical-scholarship/).

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