Dr. Sharon Betsworth

Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean, and Professor of New Testament

Phone: 913-253-5018
Email:
Curriculum Vitae

Education

Ph.D Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California
Biblical Studies (New Testament)
Dissertation: “The Reign of God is of Such as These: A Socio-Literary Analysis of Daughters in the Gospel of Mark” (Mary Ann Tolbert, director)

Th.M. (New Testament), Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey

Clinical Pastoral Education, Asbury Methodist Village, Gaithersburg, Maryland

M.Div., summa cum laude, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington D.C.

Elementary Education Certification, Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa

B.A. (German, History), Luther College, Decorah, Iowa

Denomination

United Methodist Church (UMC)

Discipline or Specialty

New Testament; Gospels

Disciplinary/Research Interests

Children in the Gospels

What do you hope your students come away with when they leave your classroom?

To use the tools of exegesis to produce an informed interpretation of the Bible.

What is your teaching style?

I seek to have the students actively involved in their learning. So while I use mini-lectures, I also incorporate discussion, individual experiences, small group work, and creative activities into the class.

Representative Courses Taught

New Testament Greek, Gospel of John, Gospel of Luke

Recent Publications

Books:

Sharon Betsworth and Julie Faith Parker, ed. T&T Clark Handbook of Children in the Bible and Biblical World. London: Bloomsbury/T&T Clark, 2019.

Sharon Betsworth, Children in Early Christian Narratives. London: Bloomsbury/T&T Clark, 2015. 

Articles or Book Chapters

Sharon Betsworth and Julie Faith Parker, “ ‘Where Have All the Young Girls Gone?’ Discovering the Girls of the Bible through Childist Analysis of Exodus 2 and Mark 5–7,” Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 38, no. 2 (Fall 2022).

The Working Preacher, Commentaries on John 1:1-18; John 1:19-34; Luke 2:1-14; Luke 2:8-10. December 2021. https://www.workingpreacher.org

“The Child Snatched Away: Reading Revelation Through a Childist Lens,” Biblical Interpretation 28 (2020) 658-676.

“Narrative Criticism and Childist Interpretation,” in Children and Methods: Listening To and Learning From Children in the Biblical World, edited by Kristine Garroway and John Martens. Leiden: Brill, 2020.

“Daughters in the Gospel of Mark,” and “Children and Parents in the Gospel of Mark,” in Warren Carter, Mark Wisdom Commentary Series. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2019.

“Children Playing in the Marketplaces,” in T&T Clark Handbook of Children in the Bible and Biblical World, edited by Sharon Betsworth and Julie Faith Parker, 245–263. London: Bloomsbury/T&T Clark, 2019.

“Girls and Goddesses: The Gospel of Mark and the Eleusinian Mysteries” in Children in the Bible and the Ancient World: Comparative and Historical Methods in Reading Ancient Children, edited by Shawn W. Flynn, 77–93. New York: Routledge, 2019.

“Jesus (and) the Only Child: Jesus, Children, and the Gospel of Luke.” In Luke-Acts: Texts@Context, edited by James P. Grimshaw, 9–22. London: Bloomsbury/ T&T Clark, 2018.