Department of Religious Studies

Contact Information
Iona College Department of Religious Studies
715 North Ave.
New Rochelle, NY 10801

Phone: (914) 637-2743
Fax: (914) 633-2248
E-Mail: kpaffenroth@iona.edu

Education
Ph.D. Theology: University of Notre Dame, 1995.
M.T.S. Biblical Studies: Harvard Divinity School, 1990.
B.A. Liberal Arts: St. John's College (Annapolis, MD), 1998.

Departmental Information and Courses
Dr. Paffenroth joined the department in 2001, after teaching at Villanova University and the University of Notre Dame. He teaches RST 203, Introduction to Religious Studies, primarily from the perspective of the history of ideas, showing how the five major religious traditions of today - Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - first arose and then changed over time. His interests are mostly in the religions’ doctrines and beliefs, though practices are also discussed. His other classes include Old Testament, New Testament, the Gospels, and Wisdom Literature, as well as special topics on St. Augustine, and Religion and Literature.

Professional Interests
r. Paffenroth is most interested in the Christian Scriptures, both in their original context, and in their re-appropriation in subsequent literature, as well as their application in modern Christian life. Particular issues he investigates are the nature and depiction of evil, and the relation between reason and faith.

Professional Affiliations
Society of Biblical Literature
Catholic Biblical Association of America
American Academy of Religion
North American Patristic Society
Dante Society of America
Chicago Society of Biblical Research
College Theology Society

Professional Research and Publications

Books:
- The Gospel according to Sci-Fi: The Classic TV Series. Co-authored with T. Bertonneau. Wheaton, IL:
Brazos Press (forthcoming)
- More than Mere Players: Shakespeare and the Bible on Life’s Drama. New York and London: Continuum
Publishing International (forthcoming).
- Augustine and History. Co-edited with C. Daly and J. Doody. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books (forthcoming).
- The Life and Thought of St. Augustine. Co-authored with R. Kennedy. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers
(forthcoming).
- Augustine and Literature. Co-edited with R. Kennedy and J. Doody. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books
(forthcoming).
- The Heart Set Free: Literary and Theological Reflections on Sin and Redemption. New York and London:
Continuum Publishing International (forthcoming).
- Augustine and Politics. Co-edited with J. Doody and K. L. Hughes. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books
(forthcoming).
- In Praise of Wisdom: Literary and Theological Reflections on Faith and Reason. New York: Continuum
International, 2004.
- A Reader’s Companion to Augustine’s Confessions. Co-edited with R. Kennedy. Louisville, KY:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2003.
- Judas: Images of the Lost Disciple. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.
- Augustine and Liberal Education. Co-edited with K. Hughes. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2000.
- The Story of Jesus according to L. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997.

Articles:
- “Different Loves in Dante.” The Downside Review (forthcoming).
- “Deadly Self-Deception and Life-Giving Revelation in Flannery O’Connor.” Communio (forthcoming).
-“Feminine Wisdom in Augustine’s Confessions and Goethe’s Faust.” In Augustine and Literature.
Eds. R. Kennedy, J. Doody, and K. Paffenroth. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books (forthcoming).
- “Friendship as Personal, Political, and Theological Virtue in Augustine.” In Augustine and Politics. Eds. J.
Doody, K. L. Hughes and K. Paffenroth. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books (forthcoming).
- “Sacred Places.” In Encyclopedia of Religious Rituals. Ed. F. Salamone. Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire
Publishing (forthcoming).
- “Evil in Augustine and Flannery O’Connor.” In Reforming Liberal Education. Eds. J. Scott Lee and Robert
E. Wright (forthcoming).
- “Teaching the Virtue and Pleasure of Friendship in Augustine and Dante.” In The Wider World of Core Texts and Courses. Eds. J. Scott Lee and Robert E. Wright (forthcoming).
- “Film Depictions of Judas.” The Journal of Religion and Film 5 (October 2001) [http://www.unomaha.edu/~wwwjrf/judas.htm].
- “Famines in Luke-Acts.” The Expository Times 112 (2001) 405-07.
- “The Young Augustine: Lover of Sorrow.” The Downside Review 118 (2000) 221-30.
- Articles on “Akeldama,” “Chuza,” “ Gethsemane,” “Mount of Olives,” and “Scribes.” In Eerdmans
Dictionary of the Bible. Ed. David N. Freedman. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.
- “Bad Habits and Bad Company: Education and Evil in the Confessions.” In Augustine and Liberal
Education. Eds. K. Paffenroth and K. Hughes. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Publishing, 2000. Pp. 3-14.
- “Jesus as Anointed and Healing Son of David in the Gospel of Matthew.” Biblica 80 (1999) 547-54.
- “Tears of Grief and Joy. Confessions Book 9: Chronological Sequence and Structure.” Augustinian Studies 28 (1997) 141-54.
- “The Testing of the Sage: 1 Kings 10:1-13 and Q 4:1-13.” The Expository Times 107 (1996) 142-43.
- “The Character of Judas in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion.” The Midwest Quarterly 36 (1995) 125-35.
- “Science or Story? The Star of Bethlehem.” The Expository Times 106 (1994) 78-79.
- “A Note on the Dating of Demetrius’ On Style.” The Classical Quarterly 44 (1994) 280-81.
- “The Star of Bethlehem Casts Light on Its Modern Interpreters.” Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 34 (1993) 449-60.

Translations:
- Augustine’s The Teacher and The Agreement of the Evangelists. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press (forthcoming).
- Augustine’s Soliloquies. Hyde Park , NY : New City Press, 2000.

Book Reviews:
Have appeared in Augustinian Studies, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Journal of Early Christian Studies, Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, Religious Studies Review, Catholic Studies Online, Review of Biblical Literature, The Journal of Religion, and The Journal of Biblical Literature.

Papers Presented to Learned Societies:
Have been read at the meetings of the Mid-Atlantic Region of the American Academy of Religion (1998-2004), the Conference of the Association for Core Texts and Courses (2000-2002), Conference on the Experience of God (Villanova University, 2001), Conference on Christianity as a World Religion (Calvin College, 2001), and the International Conference on Patristic, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies (Villanova University, 1998-1999).

Honors and Awards
- Speaker, New York Council for the Humanities Speaker Program, 2003-2005.
- Summer Seminar in Christian Scholarship, Calvin College, 2004.
- Travel Grant, Devers Program in Dante Studies, University of Notre Dame, 2003.
- Fellow, Westar Institute, 2003.
- Summer Seminar in Christian Scholarship, Calvin College, 2000.
- Research Grant, Society of Biblical Literature, 1999.
- NEH Summer Seminar, Columbia University, 1999.
- NEH Summer Seminar, Yale University, 1996.
- Presidential Fellowship, University of Notre Dame, 1990-94.
- St. John's College Mathematics Prize, 1985 and 1988.