Rebecca Copeland
Assistant Professor of Theology
Dr. Copeland works in Christian theology, ethics, and biblical studies, focusing on the intersection of religion and ecology. Her research and teaching explores the ways that classical Christian texts and doctrine can be reconstructed in response to what we learn about the world through environmental studies, as well as how such doctrines can influence environmental activism. In other words, she seeks to read theology ecologically, and read the environment theologically. Her current book project, Entangled Being: Unoriginal Sin and Wicked Problems, develops an understanding of unoriginal sin to address the unintentional, communal, and multi-generational challenges of climate change, environmental racism, and other wicked problems. She is a provisional deacon in the United Methodist Church and a member of the UMC Creation Justice Vocations Working Group.
Selected Publications
Books
Created Being: Expanding Creedal Christology, Baylor University Press, August 2020.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
“The Perils of Premature Judgment: Reading Matthew 21.18–22.14 with the Fig Tree,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 45 (2023) 264–283.
“Bats, Viruses, and Human Beings: A Chiropteraphilic Theodicy,” Scottish Journal of Theology, 74 (2021) 1–11.
“Ecomimetic Interpretation: Ascertainment, Identification, and Dialogue in Matthew 6:25-34,” Biblical Interpretation, 29 (2021) 67–89.
“Wells, Springs, and Commodification: Water Rights and Hagar’s Tribulations,” Biblical Theology Bulletin, 50:4 (2020) 161-173.
- Faculty Types
- Faculty and Methodist Faculty