SUMMARY NARRATIVE

I am a prolific writer and have produced about 20 books covering diverse topics within biblical studies ranging from biblical interpretation theory to the Gospels and Paul’s letters. These books represent my hopes and dreams for human transformation. I am not a mere academician who is digging into the past only. I am a historian, theologian, humanist, realist, lover of wisdom, and advocate for social justice. I must tackle issues in the present and help people today. I also edited three volumes— two on Paul and one on Minjung Theology. My new book, How to Read the Gospels, will be out soon (Rowman & Littlefield, July 2024). This book brings forth critical content and diverse readings of the Gospels from various perspectives. I am also editing a collective volume: At the Intersection of Hermeneutics and Homiletics: Transgressive Readings for Transformational Preaching (Pickwick, projected 2025). This book involves 15 seasoned and emerging scholars who will read the book of Ruth and Matthew 15:21-28 and engage with their imaginary audience in today’s preaching context. My future research interests include interdisciplinary study on mental health and the New Testament and comparative exploration of Jesus and Paul.

MY ROOTS ARE IN PAULINE STUDY
My expertise is in Paul’s letters and his theology. My first book is Christ’s Body in Corinth: The Politics of a Metaphor (Fortress, 2008), the most cited book (132) among my other books. Subsequently, I wrote several books on Paul: A Theological Introduction to Paul’s Letters (Cascase, 2011); A Literary, Theological Commentary on Romans (Resources, 2019); A Literary, Theological Commentary on Galatians (Cascade, 2019); How to Read Paul (Fortress, 2021). I am finishing a small commentary on 2 Corinthians in the Cascade Contextual Critical Commentary series intended for pastors. The series editors are Marvin Sweeney at Claremont and Jerry Sumney at Lexington Seminary. I edited two volumes on Paul’s letters: 1-2 Corinthians (Texts @ Contexts, Fortress, 2013) and Paul’s Gospel, Empire, Race, and Ethnicity (Pickwick, 2023). I also wrote crucial articles on Paul’s letters, including “Reclaiming Christ’s Body (soma christou): Embodiment of God’s Gospel in Paul’s Letters,” Interpretation 67.1 (2013): 20-29; and “Imitators (Mimetai) in 1 Cor. 4:16 and 11:1: A New Reading of Threefold Embodiment,” Horizons in Biblical Theology 33.2 (2011): 147-170. In all these works, the hallmark of my Pauline scholarship is threefold theology (gospel/faith) characterized by God’s righteousness, Jesus Christ’s faithfulness, and Christians’ participation.

New book coming up

HOW TO READ THE GOSPELS: An Introduction (Rowman & Littlefield, July 2024)

A twofold introduction to the Gospels featuring critical, close reading of the Gospels and methodological approaches.

“Dr. Yung Suk Kim’s brilliant and meticulous textbook How to Read the Gospels offers a refreshing approach to reading the gospels that exceeds most introductions. I appreciate that he encourages readers to read the gospels closely for themselves. Readers are also encouraged to read multiple interpretative approaches to the gospels in conjunction with learning how to read them contextually and critically, even though the various methods are situated in the book's second half. Kim’s book rises above the many textbooks on the gospels that either ignore or provide shallow and marginalizing introductions to queer, disability, postcolonial, feminist, womanist, ecological, ekklesia, and minoritized criticisms. This contribution to biblical studies is revolutionary. ”
—Mitzi J. Smith, J. Davison Philips Professor of New Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary

"How to Read the Gospels is well organized and clearly presents his goals and objectives. I appreciate his innovative approach by which he examines the distinctive features of each Gospel from the standpoint of several interpretive methods, which especially gives voice to perspectives not customarily included in traditional works of similar genre. In addition, providing summaries and questions at the end of each chapter facilitates the book’s use as a textbook. I would describe this book as an introduction both to traditional literary and contemporary inclusive, current cutting-edge, marginalized methodologies, and approaches to Gospel interpretation. I welcome a text like this that seeks to provide readers with a broad range of interpretive perspectives (that includes, ecological, post-colonial, minoritized, literary-historical, and other approaches). It is this very feature of Kim’s book that is commendable and attractive and the basis upon which to highly recommend it to others."
—Demetrius K. Williams, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

"With How to Read the Gospels, Yung Suk Kim has once again written a comprehensive and accessible primer for the study of the New Testament. The introduction to each gospel, a diverse array of interpretive methodologies presented, and insightful bibliographical references will make this an essential resource for any class engaging the gospels."

—Nicholas Elder, Associate Professor of New Testament, University of Dubuque Theological Seminary

"Dr. Yung Suk Kim's How to Read the Gospels offers informative, in-depth, and inclusive guidance on each Gospel. Dr. Kim invites readers to engage with and interpret the Gospels through close, careful, and critical reading. This well-organized and well-balanced book will enrich any discussion on the Gospels, whether in seminary or parish."

—Jeehei Park, Assistant Professor of New Testament, Seminary of the Southwest

"Yung Suk Kim has gifted us with a much-needed resource for studying the Gospels. Thanks to his exceptionally lucid writing style, this book presents the complex textual and historical issues around the Gospels, as well as their diverse interpretations, in an easy-to-follow way. Students and teachers of the New Testament will find this book useful and insightful."
—Ekaputra Tupamahu, Assistant Professor of New Testament, Portland Seminary

Books-in-progress

2 Corinthians (Contextual Critical Commentary) (Cascade, 2025 planned)

A concise, critical, contextual commentary intended for pastors

Editing:

AT THE INTERSECTION OF HERMENEUTICS AND HOMILETICS: Transgressive Readings for Transformational Preaching (Pickwick, 2025 planned)

A group of seasoned and emerging scholars engages with the texts transgressively and speaks to diverse audiences.

Published Books

Paul’s Gospel, Empire, Race, and Ethnicity

Through the Lens of Minoritized Scholarship

Yung Suk Kim, ed. (Pickwick, 2023)

Contributors to this volume, who represent diverse cultures and perspectives of Asian descent, African American heritage, and Latin American culture, explore Paul’s gospel in critical contexts and its implications for race/ethnicity. Key questions include: What is Paul’s gospel? Is it for or against the Roman imperial order? Does Paul’s message foster true diversity and race relations? Or does it implicate a racial hierarchy or racism? This volume engages readers in conversation with the politics of interpretation in Paul’s gospel. How much is it political? Which Paul do we read? This collective volume is the clarion call that biblical interpretation is not an arcane genre in the ivory tower but engages current issues in the real world of America, where we must tackle racism, the Western imperial gospel, and the rigid body politic.

“In this impressive volume edited by Yung Suk Kim, minoritized scholars make key Pauline texts come alive by placing them in conversation with some of the major issues of our time: race/ethnicity, empire, and diaspora. Contributors deftly challenge traditional, spiritualized readings of Paul and reclaim Paul for liberative purposes without essentializing or idealizing him. Paul’s gospel emerges as a powerful paradigm for resisting empire and affirming dignity and diversity. A brilliant and timely volume.”
—Raj Nadella, associate professor of New Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary

“The essays in this volume are full of powerful exegetical and theological possibilities for reading Paul. In a corner of the discipline so in need of more diverse voices and perspectives, this collection of essays is an important intervention as we are invited anew to ponder how the pressing realities of empire, race, and ethnicity shape not just how Paul’s letters were written and read in antiquity but also how their interpretation today is so deeply inflected by these powerful social and cultural forces.”
—Eric D. Barreto, associate professor of New Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary

“The essays in this volume are valuable contributions from some of the important voices in biblical studies today. These scholars demonstrate why the discipline of biblical scholarship, particularly Pauline studies, needs to be in dialogue with pressing contemporary concerns. Each essay, in its own way, provides insight into the critical connection between Scripture and social justice.”
—Lisa M. Bowens, associate professor of New Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary

Monotheism, Biblical Traditions, and Race Relations

Cambridge University Press, Feb 2022

In the Hebrew Bible, various aspects of theism exist though monotheistic faith stands out, and the New Testament largely continues with Jewish monotheism. This Element examines diverse aspects of monotheism in the Hebrew Bible and their implications to others or race relations. Also, it investigates monotheistic faith in the New Testament writings and its impact on race relations, including the work of Jesus and Paul's apostolic mission. While inclusive monotheism fosters race relations, exclusive monotheism harms race relations. This Element also engages contemporary biblical interpretations about the Bible, monotheistic faith, and race/ethnicity.

How to Read Paul:
A Brief Introduction to His Theology, Writings, and World

(Fortress, 2021)

sample syllabus Trailer (shorter)

This book is ideal for the classroom, pastor study, and advanced adult bible study since it comes with a user-friendly format of 2 introductory chapters (on Paul and his writings) and 7 key themes with questions for reflection (Gospel, Righteousness/Justification, Faithfulness, Freedom, New Life/New Creation, the Body of Christ, and the Holy Spirit). Professors may adopt this book as a text for their teaching or use it for a special seminar on Paul, and pastors may preach Pauline themes in a series of seven sermons. Teachers may use this book for the preparation of their bible study. Learned laity may engage with this book for their deeper understanding of Paul.

Rereading GALATIANS from the Perspective of Paul’s Gospel

A Literary and Theological Commentary

Yung Suk Kim (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2019) presskit

Galatians has often been read from a rhetorical perspective, with an emphasis on justification by faith, Paul’s autobiographical experience, proofs of the gospel, and exhortations to the Galatians. However, it can be read as a “letter” of which the main theme is the gospel—an umbrella term that covers many other topics, including faith, righteousness, freedom, and new creation. Paul writes Galatians not to argue for an individual justification by faith (understood from a forensic salvation perspective), but to make explicit his gospel that all can become children of God through faith. In Paul’s logic, what comes first is God’s promise, faith is a response to it through Christ, and the law can be fulfilled through faith. The gospel that Paul proclaimed to the Galatians is based on God, who called them in the grace of Christ (1:6). Kim challenges the traditional reading of Galatians, exploring different dimensions of the gospel: (1) God as the origin and root of the gospel; (2) Christ as the exemplifier of God’s gospel through faithfulness; (3) the followers of Jesus as the children of God who participate in Christ’s faithfulness and continue to proclaim the good news of God through Jesus.

Romans and Galatians can be best understood from the perspective of Paul’s Gospel, which features three aspects of the gospel: “the gospel of God,” “the gospel of Christ,” and “the gospel that Jesus’s followers proclaim.” [Flyer]

Rereading ROMANS from the Perspective of Paul's Gospel:

A Literary and Theological Commentary (Resource, 2019)

A Literary and Theological Commentary

Paul did not write a systematic theology or specific church doctrines when he wrote Romans. His audience was Roman Christians, and his last will was to preach the gospel to all, especially gentiles in Spain. Through this letter, Paul wants to pave the way for a visit to Rome and expects their support on his mission trip to Spain. The question is this: What kind of gospel does he want to share with them? Traditionally, the letter has been read from the perspective of forensic salvation that an individual justification occurs once and for all by faith in Christ. This view remains with the so-called New Perspective on Paul, and Christ's faithfulness has not been explored. Rereading the letter with a renewed concept of the good news in the letter, this book challenges the traditional reading of Romans and explores Paul's threefold gospel that features the gospel that is God-centered, Christ-exemplified, and Christian-imitated. His main concern is how gentiles can become children of God, as well as how Jews may live faithfully in Christ. In Romans, the good news is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith. It is not a set of knowledge about God or Jesus. Paul is eager to share this gospel of faith with the Roman Christians and to correct some misunderstandings about him, since his gospel is viewed as anti-Jewish or antinomian.

Reimagining the BODY OF CHRIST in Paul's Letters:

In View of Paul's Gospel (Resource, 2019)

This book questions all familiar readings of the body of Christ in Paul's letters and helps readers rethink the context and the purpose of this phrase. Against the view that Paul's body of Christ metaphor mainly has to do with a metaphorical organism that emphasizes unity, Kim argues that the body of Christ has more to do with the embodiment of God's gospel through Christ. While Deutero-Pauline and pastoral letters use this body metaphor mainly as an organism, Paul's undisputed letters--in particular, 1 Corinthians and Romans--treat it differently, with a focus on Christlike embodiment. Reexamining the diverse use of the body of Christ in Paul's undisputed letters, this book argues that Paul's body of Christ metaphor has to do with the proclamation of God's gospel.

PREACHING THE NEW TESTAMENT AGAIN:

Faith, Freedom, and Transformation (Cascade, 2019)

This book combines critical New Testament scholarship with homiletic concerns. Kim unravels complexities of the most prominent themes in the New Testament such as faith, freedom, and transformation, and brings them into dialogue with modern preaching contexts, ranging from personal identity to social justice to global issues. This book invites readers to reinterpret the most familiar themes that have not been thoroughly explored in scholarship and to make an informed choice about what to preach to whom in what context.

"Yung Suk Kim's book is much needed by present-day preachers. By definition, preaching is bringing to congregations a Word, which is a living Word only insofar as it is contextualized - addressing the needs of their hearers in specific contextual situations. But most often, preachers are paralyzed and prevented to do so, because they unduly "believe" that their duty is to remain "faithful" to "THE orthodox" understanding of basic biblical themes - anchored in conceptions of "faith," "freedom," and "transformation" - whatever might be the way they acquired this understanding. This book frees preachers and would-be-preachers from this trap by bringing together well-established results of critical biblical scholarship regarding key themes in the New Testament. Of course, according to the needs of particular contextual situations, preachers are free to use one or the other of a multiplicity of plausible but very different (and at times contradictory) conceptions of "faith," "freedom," and "transformation," while remaining truthful to the Bible.”
--Daniel Patte, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, New Testament and Christianity, Vanderbilt University

TOWARD DECENTERING THE NEW TESTAMENT:

A Reintroduction (Cascade, 2018)

Toward Decentering the New Testament is the first introductory text to the New Testament written by an African American woman biblical scholar and an Asian-American male biblical scholar. This text privileges the voices, scholarship, and concerns of minoritized nonwhite peoples and communities. It is written from the perspectives of minoritized voices. The first few chapters cover issues such as biblical interpretation, immigration, Roman slavery, intersectionality, and other topics. Questions raised throughout the text focus readers on relevant contemporary issues and encourage critical reflection and dialogue between student-teachers and teacher-students.

READING JESUS' PARABLES WITH DAO DE JING:
Appendix: A New Translation of the Dao De Jing (Resource, 2018)

Dao De Jing is an ancient wisdom book, purportedly written by Laozi, who flourished in the sixth century BCE according to the Chinese tradition. It is comprised of eighty-one short poems of which the source is diverse, ranging from personal life to communal and political life. It uses abundant metaphors taken from nature such as water, dust, river, wood, and valley. Laozi reminds his readers to rethink their worldview and purpose in life. Parables of Jesus also are life stories, ranging from personal identity to social justice. Laozi and Jesus lived in different places at different times. Yet they share a passion and vision to make a better world, full of mercy, justice, and peace. Laozi asks his audience to appreciate the power of smallness in their perspectives. Likewise, in the Mustard Seed, Jesus also helps his audience to see the potential of a small seed that may grow miraculously to several feet tall. This book reads Jesus’ parables from the perspective of the Dao De Jing. There is a new translation of the Dao De Jing in the Appendix.

Jesus's Truth: Life in Parables

(Resource, 2018)

Parables of Jesus are stories about everyday life, ranging from a person's worldview to economic justice in society. This book examines most parables of Jesus from a critical literary perspective. Twenty-three narrative parables in the Synoptic Gospels are rearranged by their source: Markan parables, Q parables, Matthean unique parables, and Lukan unique parables. Each parable invites readers to reengage Jesus's stories in the contemporary world.

MESSIAH IN WEAKNESS:

A Portrait of Jesus from the Perspective of the Dispossessed (Cascade, 2016)

Kim raises a perennial question about Jesus: How can we approach the historical Jesus? Kim proposes to interpret him from the perspective of the dispossessed--through the eyes of weakness. Exploring Jesus' experience, interpretation, and enactment of weakness, understanding weakness as both human condition and virtue, Kim offers a new portrait of Jesus who is weak and strong, and empowered to bring God's rule, replete with mercy, in the here and now. Arguing against the grain of tradition that the strong Jesus identifies with the weak, Kim demonstrates that it is the weak Jesus who identifies with the weak. The paradoxical truth with Jesus is: "Because he is weak, he is strong." In the end, Jesus dies a death of paradox that reveals both his ultimate weakness that demands divine justice, and his unyielding spirit of love for the world and truth of God. PowerPoint Presentation

RESURRECTING JESUS:

The Renewal of New Testament Theology (Cascade, 2015)

Jesus cannot be domesticated! In Resurrecting Jesus Kim asks the fundamental two-prong question, "What, then, can we learn from Jesus, and how can we build on the significance of his life and work as we do theology for our day in the here and now?" Kim abandons the traditional divide between criticism and theology and argues that a solid New Testament theology can be reconstructed from a critical study of the historical Jesus. Jesus is put back into the context of first-century Judaism in Palestine. Resurrecting Jesus reexamines Jesus' life, work, death, and resurrection, giving readers a better, clearer understanding about the historical Jesus and the New Testament writings that refer to him; an exploration into the significance of Jesus' life, teaching, and death, based not on doctrine but on his work of God in first-century Judaism and Palestine; and a redefinition of New Testament theology that is a process of discerning and engaging the historical Jesus and the New Testament writings.

Book Review: RBL 06/2018

Book Review: RBL 12/2018

TRUTH, TESTIMONY, AND TRANSFORMATION:

A Study of "I am" Sayings of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel (Cascade, 2014)

Investigating various contexts of the "I am" sayings in Jewish and Hellenistic traditions, including the immediate context of the Johannine community, Kim seeks to explore the themes and structure of the "I am" sayings of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel. In doing so, Kim demonstrates how the "I am" sayings of Jesus can be understood as Jesus' embodiment of God's presence--the Logos of God in the world and how such a language can help transform the struggling community into a loving community for all through a new vision of the Logos.

A Transformative Reading of the Bible:

Explorations of Holistic Transformation (Cascade, 2013)

In A Transformative Reading of the Bible, Yung Suk Kim raises critical questions about human transformation in biblical studies. What is transformation? How are we transformed when we read biblical stories? Are all transformative aspects equally valid? What kind of relationships exists between self, neighbor, and God if transformation is involved in these three? Who or what is being changed, or who or what are we changing? What degree of change might be considered "transformative"? Kim explores a dynamic, cyclical process of human transformation and argues that healthy transformation involves three kinds of transformation: psycho-theological, ontological-theological, and political-theological transformation. With insights gained from phenomenological studies, political theology, and psychotheology, Kim proposes a new model for how to read the Bible transformatively, as he dares to read Hannah, Psalm 13, the Gospel of Mark, and Paul as stories of transformation. The author invites Christian readers, theological educators, and scholars to reexamine the idea of transformation and to engage biblical stories from the perspective of holistic human transformation.

A Theological Introduction to Paul's Letters:

Exploring a Threefold Theology of Paul (Cascade, 2011)

In this study, Kim explores a new way of reading Paul's letters and understanding his theology with a focus on three aspects of Paul's gospel: "the righteousness of God," "faith of Christ," and "the body of Christ." Kim argues that Paul's thought can be best understood by reading these genitives as the subjective or attributive genitives, rather than as the objective genitives. The subjective or attributive reading places an emphasis on the subject's participation: God's participatory righteousness, Christ's faithful obedience to God, and the believer's living of Christ's body. Using this approach, Kim investigates the root of Paul's theology in a wide array of texts and contexts: in the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple Judaism, the Greco-Roman world, and Paul's canonical letters. In doing so, Kim synthesizes Paul's theology and ethics seamlessly, balancing the roles of God, Christ, and believers in Paul's gospel.

BOOK REVIEW AT RBL

Study Guide

Biblical Interpretation:

Theory, Process, and Criteria (Pickwick, 2013)

Yung Suk Kim asks important questions in Biblical Interpretation: Why do we care about the Bible and biblical interpretation? How do we know which interpretation is better? He expertly brings to the fore the essential elements of interpretation--the reader, the text, and the reading lens--and attempts to explore a set of criteria for solid interpretation. While celebrating the diversity of biblical interpretation, Kim warns that not all interpretations are valid, legitimate, or healthy because interpretation involves the complex process of what he calls critical contextual biblical interpretation. He suggests that readers engage with the text by asking important questions of their own: Why do we read? How do we read? and What do we read?

Book review at RBL

[my debut book]

Christ's Body in Corinth: The Politics of a Metaphor (Fortress, 2008)

Study guide || Reviews

Yung Suk Kim takes up the language of "body" that infuses 1 Corinthians, Paul's most complicated letter, and the letter that provides us the most information, and poses the sharpest questions, about social realities in the early church. Kim argues against the view that in speaking of the church as Christ's body Paul seeks to emphasize unity and the social boundary. Against the conventional rhetoric of the "body politic" in Greco-Roman philosophy, Kim argues that Paul seeks rather to nourish the vitality of a diverse community and to criticize the ideology of a powerful in-group in Corinth, a message of particular importance for contemporary global Christianity.

EDITED VOLUMES

Reading Minjung Theology in the Twenty-first Century:

Selected Writings by Ahn Byung-mu and Modern Critical Responses (Pickwick, 2013)

This edited volume brings Ahn Byung-Mu's minjung theology into dialogue with twenty-first-century readers. Ahn Byung-Mu was one of the pioneers of Korean minjung theology. The centerpiece of his minjung theology is focused on the Greek word ochlos, understood as the divested, marginalized, powerless people. Part 1 introduces readers to his life and theological legacy. Part 2 includes four important writings of Ahn Byung-Mu: "Jesus and Minjung in the Gospel of Mark" "Minjung Theology in the Gospel of Mark" "The Transmitters of Jesus Event Tradition" and "Minjok, Minjung, and Church" Part 3 contains a collection of articles from international scholars who evaluate and engage Ahn's ochlos/minjung theology in their own fields and formulate critical readings of minjung theology. Responses include postcolonial, black theology, and feminist perspectives.

1 and 2 Corinthians (Texts at Contexts)

(Fortress, 2013)

The Texts @ Contexts series gathers scholarly voices from diverse contexts and social locations to bring new or unfamiliar facets of biblical texts to light. In 1 and 2 Corinthians, scholars from a variety of cultural and social locations shed new light on themes and dynamics in Paul's most intriguing letters to a complex church. Subjects include race, identity, and privilege; ritual, food, and power; community, culture, and love. These essays de-center the often homogeneous first-world orientation of much biblical scholarship and open up new possibilities for discovery.

KOREAN BOOKS

성서에 던지는 물음표 (동연출판사, 2014)

QUESTION MARKS TO THE BIBLE