Rev. Seán Charles Martin

MA, Theology, University of Dallas; MA, English, University of Notre Dame; S.T.L., S.T.D., Pontifical Gregorian University
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies, 2002-present
martin@ai.edu

Current exegetical preoccupations include
The appropriation and adaptation of the Pauline tradition in the first two generations after the death of Paul. That process, which we see worked out in the deutero-Pauline letters (Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians) and in the Pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus), shaped the Church in which we live today, and offers a model for the appropriation and adaptation of any living tradition in the Church.

The ways in which Paul and his disciples sought to persuade and convince the audiences to which their letters were directed also offers a model for contemporary homilists and pastoral ministers. These ancient leaders of the Church availed themselves of the "wisdom of the world" in the service of the Gospel, and employed their educations in the art of rhetoric so that the people whom they served might come to know the Lord they worshipped in a more intimate way. A thorough study of their persuasive strategies can serve to renew our own efforts to preach the good news in our day and time.

My specific interest in the Pastoral Epistles has also led me to explore the historical setting of the Christian community in Ephesus. Much of what is now part of the New Testament we owe to those early Ephesian Christians. The Gospel of John, the Letters of John, the Book of Revelation, not to mention the Letter to the Ephesians, the three Pastoral Epistles and perhaps Romans 16 were either written for one or another community of Christians in Ephesus, or preserved by the Christians of that ancient city. The very diversity of these New Testament witnesses says something important about the variety of theological positions taken by Christians in the early Church, and reminds us that Christians have always spoken with many voices about the one God.

Recently published

"Should Your Exegesis Show? Yes!", Preach (September/October 2006) 33-34.
"Lamentations during Holy Week Liturgy," The Bible Today 43 (March-April, 2005) 91-95
"Introducción a las cartas pastorales," Comentario bíblico latinoamericano, Armando Levoratti, ed. (Estella: Editorial Verbo Divino, 2003) 1003-1005.
"1 Timoteo," Comentario bíblico latinoamericano, Armando Levoratti, ed. (Estella: Editorial Verbo Divino, 2003) 1007-1021.
"2 Timoteo," Comentario bíblico latinoamericano, Armando Levoratti, ed. (Estella: Editorial Verbo Divino, 2003) 1023-1031.
"Tito," Comentario bíblico latinoamericano, Armando Levoratti, ed. (Estella: Editorial Verbo Divino, 2003) 1032-1039.
Pauli Testamentum: 2 Timothy and the Last Words of Moses. Tesi Gregoriana, Serie Teologia 18 (Rome: Editrice Pontificie Università Gregoriana, 1997).

Recently translated

Enrique Nardoni, Rise Up, O Judge (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2004); Spanish original: Los que buscan la justicia: un estudio de la justicia en el mundo bíblico (Estella: Editorial Verbo Divino, 1997).

Recent reviews

Dianne Bergant, Review of Rise Up, O Judge in The Bible Today 43.4 (July 2005) 265.
Gary Burnett, Review of Rise up, O Judge in Journal for the Study of the New Testament 27.5 (2005) 28.
W. J. Houston, Review of Rise Up, O Judge in Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 29.5 (2005).
Michael Nothcott, Review of Rise up, O Judge in Theology (March/April, 2006).
Eckart Otto, Review of Rise Up, O Judge in Theologische Literaturzeitung 131 (2006).
________, Review of Rise Up, O Judge in Zeitschrift f�r Altorientalische und Biblische Rechtgeschichte 11 (2005).

Recently presented

"Preaching Paul/Paul the Preacher", Southwest Institute for Diaconal Studies, Austin, Texas (August 25-27, 2006).
"Catholics and the Bible: Many Ways to Interpret," Msgr. James A. Supple Lecture, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Student Center, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa (March 8, 2005)
"God's Word, Our Problems: The Bearing of Scripture on Moral Decision-Making," 2004 Virginia LARC (Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic Churches in Covenant) Leadership Convocation and Statewide Conference, Williamsburg, VA (November 12-13, 2004)

Other interests include
Literature (especially the work of the Canadian author Douglas Coupland), language, film, music, sacred art and architecture and its relation to the biblical narratives.