Trevor B Williams | Villanova University (original) (raw)

Peer-Reviewed Articles by Trevor B Williams

Journal for Peace and Justice Studies, 2023

Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, 2023

Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality, 2023

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2022

The Hermopolis letters showcase the personal concerns of those writing Aramaic letters in the era... more The Hermopolis letters showcase the personal concerns of those writing Aramaic letters in the era of Persian Egypt. One individual named Nabuša is particularly interesting because of his familial correspondence and emotional tone. This study will examine what can be known about this writer and his complaints about an unwanted tunic and a snakebite. There have been several notable disagreements about the Aramaic translation of Nabuša’s concerns, whose discussion will help heighten our understanding of his passion.

The Heythrop Journal, 2022

Merold Westphal wrote the book Suspicion & Faith (1998) to explain that although modern atheists ... more Merold Westphal wrote the book Suspicion & Faith (1998) to explain that although modern atheists used the hermeneutics of suspicion to critique religious motives, their arguments can aid Christians in a devotional form of self-examination. Westphal claimed that the 'masters of suspicion' often utilized a deeply biblical logic that is reminiscent of the prophetic polemics against false religion. In this article, the author adds to these reflections by pointing to the Adversary from the Book of Job as one who embodies the hermeneutics of suspicion. The author contends that, like the critiques of modern atheists, the Adversary's question 'Does Job fear God for nothing?' (1:9b) can serve as a tool for self-examination and moral development. The Book of Job shows how he asks critical questions about Job's motives for religious piety by taking advantage of the logical groundwork of the prologue. This dialogue highlights the significance of Job's integrity and his commitment to virtue without the need for incentive, but at the same time, it also encourages readers to doubt his motives through a pattern of doubt that is integral to the narrative. The first section of this article examines Suspicion & Faith and discusses its approach to modern atheism. Then, in the second section, the author engages in an exegetical analysis of Job 1-2, with special attention to the prologue's logical groundwork and motif of doubt. The article concludes with a theological reflection on how the hermeneutics of suspicion can augment Christian practice.

Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2020

Friendship is a powerful force in human society and its absence can provoke the conditions of spi... more Friendship is a powerful force in human society and its absence can provoke the conditions of spiritual death. In her response to a post-Enlightenment context that valued an excessive form of individual autonomy, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley wrote Frankenstein (1818) and used the imagery of Satan to describe the shattered friendship of Frankenstein and his monster. Spiritual death is a contested category and for some readers, the word “Satan” also carries cultural connotations that can be distracting. Lawrence S. Cunningham composed a theological meditation on Satan to clarify the core characteristics of evil, pointing to Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy (1320) and John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667) as paradigmatic examples of this imagery. For him, Milton’s Satan represents the pursuit of autonomy at all costs and Dante’s Satan embodies the end results of that choice. Cunningham shows that these characteristics are complementary of one another, but in Frankenstein, they are even more intelligible as narrative elements with a coherent message. In this article, the author argues that Shelley used the imagery of Satan to critique the aridness of rationalism when its account of individual autonomy excludes the formation of friendship. This theological meditation on Frankenstein will begin by describing Shelley’s Romantic context and her approach to spiritual death. Then, it will engage with Miltonian and Danteque imagery in two separate parts, reflecting on how she applied them to the spiritual atmosphere of Frankenstein. Shelley articulated the form of spiritual death that was characteristic of modernity and warned against the kind of frozen isolation that results from the inward turn, the egoistic choice of self. The insights offered through this theological meditation provide readers with a guide to the excesses of individual autonomy and by way of negation, show the value of friendship in a world that has forgotten the imagination.

New Blackfriars, 2020

Modern theodicies often offer definitive explanations for the unsolvable problem of human sufferi... more Modern theodicies often offer definitive explanations for the unsolvable problem of human suffering. This philosophical enterprise was challenged by David B. Burrell’s book, Deconstructing Theodicy: Why Job Has Nothing to Say to the Puzzle of Suffering (2008). His observations about the book of Job and the way it militates against theodical speculation are compelling, but there is a missed opportunity with his exegesis of Job 42:6. The Hebrew of Job’s last words can be translated in at least five distinct (and legitimate) ways. Using this grammatical characteristic, this paper argues that the ambiguity in 42:6 creates an “unfinalizable” quality that allows sufferers to be unsilenced and participate in the meaning-making process. Situating the addendum with philosophical ruminations on theodicy, the argument turns to an exegetical section that comments on Burrell’s discussion in “Denouement and Epilogue” and analyzes the Hebrew grammar of Job 42:1-6. This addendum complements Burrell’s deconstruction of theodicy, adding a further pool of resources for sufferers to remain unsilenced and narrate their own questioning of God.

Book Chapters by Trevor B Williams

Theology and Media(tion): Rendering the Absent Present, ed. Stephen Okey and Katherine G. Schmidt... more Theology and Media(tion): Rendering the Absent Present, ed. Stephen Okey and Katherine G. Schmidt (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2024), 20-30.

Theology and Tolkien: Practical Theology, ed. Douglas Estes (Lanham: Lexington Books/Fortress Aca... more Theology and Tolkien: Practical Theology, ed. Douglas Estes (Lanham: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, 2023), 191-207.