Celebrating Dr. Julie Faith Parker

The Rev. Dr. Julie Faith Parker arrived at GTS in 2018. Julie Faith Parker is a scholar of substance: few scholars can claim to have created a new discipline for the academy. She pioneered the field of childist biblical interpretation, which provides an interpretation that places a child, children, youth or concerns related to young people at the center.

Since arriving at GTS, she has taught such courses as Reading the Bible, Experiencing the Arts, Engaging Issues of Justice and the foundational Hebrew Bible courses for our students. She has been a very popular teacher; she brings a passion for the text that excites the students. Those taught by her find themselves hearing her wise exegesis as they prepare their sermons later in life. She also founded the General Prison Project, a ministry that many GTS students have participated in, providing accompaniment to some of our incarcerated siblings. Dr. Parker’s upcoming book Eve Isn’t Evil: Feminist Readings of the Bible to Upend our Assumptions (Baker) will certainly prove to be a gift to the wider church.

 We are grateful for Dr. Julie Faith Parker's ministry in this place.

The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and President of The General Theological Seminary