Christopher Seeman

B.A., University of San Francisco, M.A., Graduate Theological Union; Ph.D., University of California (Berkeley)

Bio

Dr. Seeman was born and raised in California and could never have imagined living anywhere else until he came to the Midwest to teach in 2004. Since then, he and his son, Getty, have come to love the more relaxed pace of life and vibrant sense of community they've found in Iowa, Missouri, and now Ohio. On April 7, 2012, Dr. Seeman was received into the Church during the Easter vigil mass at St. Paul's parish in North Canton—the culmination of a 26-year spiritual journey he began as a freshman at a Catholic university.

Teaching

Dr. Seeman teaches all the Scripture courses (Old and New Testament) at Walsh. This is a real delight for him because there's nothing he'd rather be doing than reading, thinking, and sharing his thoughts about the Bible. Sacred Scripture, read in its historical context and interpreted through the living tradition of the Church, grounds and informs everything he does. The Bible is far more interesting than most people have been led to believe. Dr. Seeman’s mission as an educator is to help others navigate this undiscovered country.

Scholarship

Dr. Seeman studies the Second Temple period of Jewish history (539 BC – 70 AD), which is the cultural and theological matrix that gave birth to Christianity. A major factor that shaped this era was imperial power, successively exercised by Persian, Macedonian and Roman regimes. He wants to discover how Jews (including the early followers of Jesus) experienced and responded to such power. He is especially interested in literature of the Hasmonean (141-63 BC) and Flavian (70-96 AD) eras, including 1 Maccabees, the Gospel according to Mark, and the writings of Josephus.

Publications

• 2022—“The Earliest Reception of First Maccabees.” in The Books of the Maccabees: Literary, Historical and Religious Perspectives, ed. Jan Willem van Henten. Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 328. Louvain: Peeters, 605-618.
• 2020—“Jewish History from Alexander to Hadrian.” in Early Judaism and its Modern Interpreters, ed. Matthias Henze and Rodney Werline. Williston, VT: SBL Press, 21-44.
• 2019—“Jewish-Christian Dialogue as Re-Evangelization.” in Evangelization as Interreligious Dialogue, ed. John Cavadini and Donald Wallenfang. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 83-98.
• 2019—[with Joseph Davis and Jens Kreinath] “Maccabees, First Book of” in Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception, Volume 17: Lotus – Maskerah, ed. Christine Helmer et al. Berlin: De Gruyter, 324-332.
• 2019—“Phoenicia” in T&T Clark Companion to Second Temple Judaism, Vol. 2. ed. Loren T. Stuckenbruck and Daniel M. Gurtner. London: T&T Clark, 590-592.
• 2018—A Parabolic Analysis of the Trial of Jesus in Mark’s Gospel: How a Literary Form Shapes the Description of an Historical Event. Lewiston, NY: Mellen.
• 2017—[with Paul Spilsbury] Flavius Josephus: Translation and Commentary, Judean Antiquities 11. Leiden: Brill.
• 2014—“Trading Places: Luke’s Big Omission and Acts 10” in Reading a Tendentious Bible: Essays in Honor of Robert B. Coote, ed. Marvin Chaney et al. Sheffield: Phoenix, 155-165.
• 2014—“The Watchers Traditions and Gen 6:1-4 (MT and LXX)” in The Watchers in Jewish and Christian Traditions, ed. Angela K. Harkins et al. Philadelphia: Fortress, 25-38.
• 2013—Rome and Judea in Transition: Hasmonean Relations with the Roman Republic and the Evolution of the High Priesthood. New York: Lang.
• 2012—[notes on the Gospel according to Mark] in The Faithlife Study Bible, ed. John D. Barry. Bellingham, WA: Logos Software.
• 2012— “Antisemitism, anti-Judaism” in The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, ed. Richard Bagnall et al. Oxford: Blackwell.
• 2011—“Enter the Dragon: Mordecai as Agonistic Combatant in Greek Esther” Biblical Theology Bulletin 41/1: 3-15.
• 2010—“Jewish History from Alexander to Pompey” in The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism, ed. John J. Collins and Daniel C. Harlow. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 25-39.
• 2009—“‘A House of Prayer for all the Nations’: Jesus’ Temple Saying, Mark’s Gospel, and the Jewish War” Journal of the Orthodox Center for the Advancement of Biblical Studies 2/1.

Service

Dr. Seeman chairs a Task Force for the Catholic Biblical Association of America devoted to “Addressing Representations of Jews and Judaism in Catholic Exegesis, Homiletics, and Catechesis,” a project supported by a grant from the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. He also serves on the Academic Board of the Josephinum Diaconate Institute and is a member of the Clinical Pastoral Education Professional Advisory Group of St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, Cleveland, OH.

Dr. Seeman is a passionate promoter of interfaith dialogue and has been involved in initiatives to eradicate Antisemitism and Islamophobia from America.