Frances Taylor Gench is a Presbyterian minister, New Testament scholar, and the Herbert Worth & Annie H. Jackson Professor of Biblical Interpretation at Union Presbyterian Seminary.

Education

Gench earned her B.A. from the

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

, and both her

M.Div. For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...

and Ph.D. from Union Presbyterian Seminary (formerly Union Theological Seminary in Virginia). Her dissertation focused on the Gospel of Matthew and was later published as a monograph under the name ''Wisdom in the Christology of Matthew.''

Career

Gench is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and has served as parish associate at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. She has previously served as a member of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly's Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church (2001-2006), and has served as a faculty member at Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (now a part of

United Lutheran Seminary United Lutheran Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Gettysburg and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of the seven seminaries of the church. It was created in 2017 when the Lutheran Theological Seminary a ...

). During her academic career, Gench has been particularly noteworthy for her work on the New Testament writings attributed to

Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. Gench emphasizes the importance of dialogue with "tyrannical texts" in Scripture as well as between theological conservatives and theological liberals. She recommends five guiding principles for addressing difficult biblical texts: "1) remember that the difficult text is worthy of charity from its interpreters; 2) argue with the text, confident that wrestling with scripture is an act of faithfulness; 3) resist the temptation to throw the baby out with the bathwater; 4) learn from the dangers as well as the insights that biblical texts present; 5) don't let anyone tell you that you are not taking the authority of the Bible seriously."

Publications

Gench, Frances Taylor (2004). Back to the Well

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gench, Frances Taylor Living people Davidson College alumni American Presbyterian ministers Year of birth missing (living people)