About me

I am the Howard Paterson Professorial Chair, and Director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues, at the University of Otago, Aotearoa New Zealand. Originally from the United Kingdom, I moved to Otago in 2015, when I was appointed under the university’s Leading Thinkers initiative. My work focusses on contextual and liberationist approaches in theology. Much of my current writing explores how churches can make better responses to spiritual and sexual abuses. I am known internationally for biblical research that has identified the significance of forced nudity as an instrument of violence during crucifixion.

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