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Peter Ajer Appointed New Testament Lecturer

Peter Ajer

CDSP has hired Peter C. Ajer as a lecturer in New Testament. He will begin teaching in the spring semester.

Ajer, holds a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from the Graduate Theological Union with a doctoral minor in peace and conflict studies from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture from Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome.

He taught a course on the letters of Paul at CDSP in the fall semester of 2013.

“We’re pleased to welcome Peter back to CDSP,” said the Rev. Dr. Ruth Meyers, academic dean. “He has taught and studied all over the world, and his expertise in cultural criticism and postcolonial perspectives will deepen our students’ understanding of the New Testament.”

In his book, “The Death of Jesus and the Politics of Place in the Gospel of John,” Ajer used modern theories of political and social geography to interpret the passion narrative in the Gospel of John.

“What caught my attention when considering teaching at CDSP is its mission of ‘responding to the challenges of contemporary society with the Good News of Jesus Christ,” said Ajer, who was recently an adjunct professor in the department of theology and religious studies at the University of San Francisco. “I would like to continue journeying with the community of CDSP in this mission, which is vital for our world today, and which I can help and participate in.”

Ajer’s current research includes the rhetoric of war in Judeo-Christian scriptures and its interaction with African traditional religions.

“In teaching the New Testament the use of multiple—interdisciplinary—approaches is like clear light going through a prism and becoming a band of many colors,” he said. “We see the Biblical text from multiple viewpoints. Thus we see many thematic strands of development in the New Testament: mercy, service to community, the evolution of our society, and growing nearer to the Divine—and, we see the connectedness of these same realities.”