Santa Clara University

Catherine M. Murphy Associate Professor Dr. Murphy was born in San Mateo, California. An early interest in local history led to a B.A. in that field from Santa Clara University in 1983. Her interest in religious belief was sparked when one of her history professors admitted that history is not objective, but is made and shaped based on people's beliefs about what was and is happening. It made history less about dates and places and more about how humans create meaning in various circumstances.

Kenna Hall 323B (408) 551-1909 cmurphy@scu.edu

After earning an M.A. in Catechetics at Santa Clara University in 1987 and working in area high schools for six years, she moved on to the University of Notre Dame in Indiana for an M.A. and Ph.D. in New Testament and Early Christianity (1995, 1999). While at Notre Dame, she worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls publication project, and from that work developed a research interest in economic ethics in apocalyptic groups.

Dr. Murphy returned to Santa Clara University in 1998 and teaches courses on the New Testament, the Dead Sea Scrolls, apocalypticism, the historical Jesus, and gender in early Christianity. She also teaches courses for the Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries.

Courses

Courses taught at Santa Clara University

Academic Appointments

Research

Research Interests

• New Testament
• Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Temple Judaism
• Early Christian history
• Early Christian asceticism

Publications

Books

The Historical Jesus for Dummies. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley, 2007.

John the Baptist: Prophet of Purity for a New Age, Interfaces. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2003.

Wealth in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the Qumran Community, Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah 40. Leiden: Brill, 2002.

Articles & Chapters

"SDeir1. SDeir Genesis." In Qumrân Cave 4, XXVII: Miscellaneous Texts from Qumran and Other Sites (ed. P. Alexander et al.; Discoveries in the Judean Desert 38; Oxford: Clarendon, 1999) 117-24.

"The Disposition of Wealth in the Damascus Document Tradition." Revue de Qumran 19 (1999) 83-129.

Joint Publications

With Maxine L. Grossman, "The Dead Sea Scrolls in the Popular Imagination." Dead Sea Discoveries, 12:2 (2005) 1-5.

With Barbara Green and Carleen Mandolfo. From Earth's Creation to John's Revelation: The Interfaces Biblical Storyline Companion, Interfaces. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2003.

With Eugene Ulrich. "104. 4QRuth^a" and "105. 4QRuth^b." In Qumran Cave 4, XI: Psalms to Chronicles (ed. Eugene Ulrich et al.; Discoveries in the Judean Desert 16; Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2000) 187-94.

With Russell E. Fuller and Curt E. Niccum. "The Twelve Minor Prophets." In Qumran Cave 4, X: The Prophets (ed. Eugene Ulrich; Discoveries in the Judean Desert 15; Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998) 221-318, pls. XL-LXIV.

With Eugene Ulrich and James C. VanderKam, "Piecing Together the Past." Humanities 16 (6 1995) 14-18, 42-45.

Presentations

Panelist, Panel Discussion of Richard A. Horsley, Scribes, Visionaries, and the Politics of Second-Temple Judea. annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, San Diego, CA (November 2007).

"The Alternative Economy Envisioned in the Love Command." Invited major paper presented at the annual meeting of the Catholic Biblical Association of America, Collegeville, MN (August 2005).

"Pilate's Wife in Postcolonial Perspective." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, San Antonio, TX (November 2004).

Co-organizer and Presenter, "The Passion according to Mel Gibson: A panel Discussion," co-sponsored by the Religious Studies Department and the Bannan Center for Jesuit Education (February 2004).

"Qumran and Economics: Outside and In." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, GA (November 2003).

"Matthew 5:3-12 and 25:31-46 and the Penal Codes from Qumran." Paper presented at the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Toronto, ON (November 2002).

"The Dead Sea Scrolls in the Popular Imagination." Introductory comments for a session on the topic, Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Toronto, ON (November 2002).

"Wealth in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the Qumran Community and Some Implications for the Study of the New Testament," Annual Meeting of the Catholic Biblical Association, South Orange, NJ (August 2001).

"Celibacy as a Strategy for Economic Purity in the Dead Sea Scrolls," Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Nashville, TN (November 2000).

"Apocalyptic Economics in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Biblical Rationales for the Practice of Shared Property," Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Boston (November 1999).

"The Disposition of Wealth in the Damascus Document Tradition," Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Orlando (November 1998).

"The Voluntary Offering of Property at Qumran: Rationales and Realities in The Rule of the Community," Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, San Francisco (November 1997).

Awards & Grants

Teagle Grant for the Study of the Religion Major and Liberal Education, with Professor Paul Crowley, American Academy of Religion (2007), $500.

Faculty-Student Research Assistant Program grant, "Feminism, Gender, and the Return of Religion," with Professors Paul Crowley and Tom Beaudoin, Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Development, Santa Clara University (2007), $6,080.

Fellowship for Technology Innovation, Santa Clara University (2001), to develop an ancient world online with interactive sites and archaeological digs.

Presidential Research Grant, Santa Clara University (2000), to research and write Wealth in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the Qumran Community (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2001).

Activities

Professional Memberships

• American Academy of Religion
• Catholic Biblical Association
• North American Patristics Association
• Society of Biblical Literature

Activities

University

Faculty Judicial Board, Arts and Humanities, Santa Clara University, 2007-present.

WASC Self-Study Subcommittee: Promoting a Community of Inclusive Excellence, 2007-present.

Core Curriculum Faculty Area Committee: Religion, Theology & Culture (Chair), 2007-present.

Steering Committee for the Santa Clara University Chapter of the AAUP, 2007-present.

University Research Committee, 2005-2007 (Chair, 2006-2007).

Co-organizer with Teresia Hinga (Religious Studies) and Marilyn Fernandez (Sociology), "Healing the Wounds of Body and Spirit: Multicultural Community Responses to Sexual Violence," October 2006.

College of Arts & Sciences

Women's & Gender Studies Program Advisory Board, 2004-2008 (Interim Director, Winter 2007).

Medieval & Renaissance Studies Program Board, 2004-2007.

Department of Religious Studies & Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries

Curriculum Committee, 2005-present (Chair, 2006-present).

Chair's Advisory Committee, 2005-present.

Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries Committee, 1998-present.

Acting Chair, Religious Studies Department, Summer 2000, 2001, 2006.

Coordinator, Web site redesign, Religious Studies Department, Santa Clara University, 2002-2003; Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries, 2001.

Profession

Member of Editorial Board, Journal of Biblical Literature, 2007-present.

Member of Editorial Board, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2007-present.

Chair, Local Arrangements Committee, Catholic Biblical Association 70th International Meeting, Santa Clara University (August 2007).

Member, Steering Committee, "Jesus Traditions, Gospels and Negotiating the Roman Imperial World Section," Society of Biblical Literature, 2004-present

Abstractor of the journals Dead Sea Discoveries and Revue de Qumrân, for Old Testament Abstracts, October 1999-2002.

Public

"An Introduction to the Dead Sea Scrolls." Lecture presented to the San Diego Chapter of the Santa Clara Alumni Assocation in conjunction with the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the San Diego Museum of Natural History, San Diego, CA (September 2007).

"The Historical Jesus." Lecture presented to the Women's Spirituality Group at St. Simon's Catholic Church, Los Altos, CA (September 2007).

Two half-hour television interviews on Mary Magdalene and The Da Vinci Code for KNXT-49, Diocese of Fresno, Fresno, CA (May 2006).

Television interviews in advance of the release of the movie, The Da Vinci Code, for NBC-11 (May 17, 2006) and KTVU-Fox (may 18 and 19, 2006).

"Alienated Catholics: Establishing the Groundwork for Dialogue." Invited lecture in the "Communities in Conversation" series, sponsored by the Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought at the University of San Francisco, St. Agnes Catholic Church, San Francisco, CA (March 2006).

Invited presenter, Book Group discussion of The Da Vinci Code, Foster City Public Library, Foster City, CA (October 2004).

Instructor, Study Series on the Gospel of Mark, Christ the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, San José, CA, January 2003.

Facilitator, Advent Retreat on the Gospel of Mark, South Bay Lutheran Pastors, Cupertino, CA, December 2002.

Instructor, Old Testament, Institute for Leadership in Ministry, Diocese of San José, Santa Clara, CA, Fall 2001, Fall 2002.