My academic journey began at the University of Calgary, where I received a B.Comm in 1977. Returning to university some years later, I obtained a BA in Religious Studies in 1986 and an MA in Religious Studies and New Testament in 1990 (both degrees from U of C). My PhD work was completed at the University of Ottawa, which focused upon Early Christianity.
I have been an instructor at the University of Calgary, Mount Royal College, Mount Allison University, and the University of Lethbridge. I have been at Concordia since 2002.
I specialize in the following areas: Early Christianity in the Greco-Roman world, Biblical studies, History of Christianity, Methodology in the study of religion (especially involving anthropology, sociology, rhetoric, and the comparative study of world religions), Topics of interest relating to religion in the ancient world include: healing, travel and pilgrimage, ritual, and group relations.
I have professional membership in the following societies: Canadian Society of Biblical Studies, Canadian Society of Patristic Studies, and the Society of Biblical Literature.
Finally, among my publications are:
“ ‘Look how they love one another’: Early Christian and Pagan Care for the Sick and Other Charity,” in Religious Rivalries in the Early Roman Empire and the Rise of Christianity, ed. Leif Vaage. Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier Press, 2006:213-231.
“Mending Yet Fracturing: Religious Healing as an Arena of Conflict,” in The Changing Face of Judaism, Christianity and Other Greco-Roman Religions in Antiquity, ed. Ian H. Henderson and Gerbern S. Oegema. Gütersloh/Munich: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2006:57-71.
“Thorn in the Flesh, Gift of the Gods: Suffering and the Construction of Identity.” International Journal of the Humanities 3, 2005/2006. http://www.Humanities-Journal.com
“‘Caring for all the weak’: Pagan and Christian Charity in Sardis and Smyrna,” in Religious Rivalries in Sardis and Smyrna, ed. Richard Ascough. Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier Press/Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion, 2005:123-140.
“Faith, Healing, and Deliverance in Mark’s Gospel,” in Therapeia: Medicine, Healing, Religion in Antiquity, ed. J. Kevin Coyle and S. Muir. Lewiston, NY.: Mellen Press, 1999: 85-104.
“Touched by a God: Aristides and Asclepius Cults,” Society of Biblical Literature 1995 Seminar Papers, Atlanta, GA.: Scholars Press, 1995: 362-379.
Last Updated September 21, 2006 by The Rev. Dr. Gerald S. Krispin : gerald.krispin@concordia.ab.ca