Lee, Dorothy A. 1953–

(Dorothy Lee)

PERSONAL:

Born 1953. Education: University of Sydney, Ph.D., 1991.

ADDRESSES:

Office—United Faculty of Theology, 1 Morrison Close, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia. E-mail—dorothylee@trinity.unimelb.edu.au.

CAREER:

Theologian, educator, and writer. University of Melbourne, United Faculty of Theology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, faculty member; Trinity College, Melbourne, Frank Woods Distinguished Lecturer in Biblical Studies; Christ Church Anglican Church, South Yarra, Victoria, associate curate. Also member of various committees within Trinity College Theological School, the United Faculty of Theology, the Melbourne College of Divinity, and the Anglican Church.

MEMBER:

Fellowship for Biblical Studies, Society of New Testament Studies, Society of Biblical Literature.

WRITINGS:

Women Disciples at the Last Supper: Last Supper Project Paper, Uniting Church in Australia, Commission on Women and Men (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1992.

The Last Days of Jesus: Mark 11 to 16, Albatross Books (Sutherland, New South Wales, Australia), 1993.

(With John Honner) Wisdom and Demons: Meditations on Scripture, Aurora Books/David Lowell Publishing (Richmond, Victoria, Australia), 1993.

The Symbolic Narratives of the Fourth Gospel: The Interplay of Form and Meaning, JSOT Press (Sheffield, England), 1994.

(Editor, with Maryanne Confoy and Joan Nowotny) Freedom & Entrapment: Women Thinking Theology, Dove (North Blackburn, Victoria, Australia), 1995.

The Easy Yoke: Studies in Matthew's Spirituality, Joint Board of Christian Education (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1996.

Flesh and Glory: Symbol, Gender, and Theology in the Gospel of John, Crossroad (New York, NY), 2002.

Transfiguration, Continuum (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to books, including Feminist Poetics of the Sacred: Creative Suspicions, Oxford University Press, 2001; In Many and Diverse Ways: In Honor of Jacques Dupuis, edited by D. Kendall & G. O'Collins, Orbis, 2003; Jesus in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia, two volumes, edited by Leslie Holden, ABC-Clio, 2003; Hope: Challenging the Culture of Despair, edited by C. Moster, ATF Publications, 2004; Theodicy and Eschatology, edited by B. Barber and D. Neville, ATF Publications, 2005; Transcending Boundaries: Contemporary Readings of the New Testament, edited by M. Chennattu and M. Coloe, LAS, 2005; and What We Have Heard from the Beginning: The Past, Present, and Future of Johannine Studies, edited by Tom Thatcher, Baylor University Press, 2007. Contributor to periodicals, including Vigiliae Christianae, Colloquium, and Australian Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion.

SIDELIGHTS:

Dorothy A. Lee is a theologian and educator whose primary research interests are the Gospel of John, New Testament theology and spirituality, and symbolism within the Bible. In her 2002 book Flesh and Glory: Symbol, Gender, and Theology in the Gospel of John, the author continues to write about her long-standing interest in the Gospel of John and its symbolism, which she has written about extensively in journal articles and in her earlier book, The Symbolic Narratives of the Fourth Gospel: The Interplay of Form and Meaning. The author begins her feminist interpretation of the Gospel by providing an overview of the meaning of symbol in the fourth Gospel and then goes on to examine specific aspects of the Gospel's various symbolic components, including Jesus' flesh, the spirit of the living water, love and friendship, God as the "Father," motherhood, sin and evil, anointing, and Easter. "Having studied and taught the Gospel of John for the past twenty-five years, I will say that I have never read a more insightful and convincing exposition of the symbolic dimension of this extraordinary Gospel," wrote Barbara E. Bowe in the Catholic Biblical Quarterly.

The author's next book, Transfiguration, was called "scholarly without being pedantic" by Library Journal contributor Sheila Peiffer. The book is a study of the transfiguration story in the New Testament. "The transfiguration tells the story of Jesus' ascent of the mountain somewhere at the mid-point of his ministry, in the company of three of his disciples," the author writes in the book's introduction. "There his physical appearance is changed, metamorphosing into incandescent light, a light that blazes from his face and clothing." The author goes on to describe how the Bible story then says two notable dead prophets from the Old Testament appear beside Jesus. "The disciples, meanwhile, are overawed at the spectacle and respond with incomprehension and bewilderment," the author goes on to note.

In the book's introduction, the author also writes that the transfiguration has largely been neglected within the Western tradition of Christianity but has been an integral part of the Eastern Biblical tradition. "Christians in the East regard the transfiguration as central to the symbolism of the Gospel, disclosing as much about themselves as about God," the author comments. "In the West, by contrast, the transfiguration is a minor event and ignored entirely in some denominational traditions."

Transfiguration explores the Biblical story within the context of Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant theologies. In the process, the author discusses the idea of transfiguration as an epiphany that reveals Jesus' true identity and as an apocalyptic vision depicting God's transforming future. The author presents her case that the story deserves a more prominent position in Western Christian thought because it provides an important view of Christ's role as a conduit between the earthly and the heavenly. In addition to studying the transfiguration story in the four Gospels, the author also discusses it within the context of John's writings and elsewhere in the New Testament. She concludes with a discussion of transfiguration in symbol and theology.

"To recover the story," the author writes in her introduction, "we need to recognize that the transfiguration is not an other-worldly narrative, disconnected from the body and ordinary human experience. On the contrary, it is precisely Jesus' transfigured body that discloses the face of God and the hope of God's future, addressing the concrete reality of a fearful, uncomprehending group of disciples and a tragic, unbelieving world."

Transfiguration has received many favorable reviews. Referring to the book as "a comprehensive treatment" in a review in Interpretation, John Paul Heil went on to write in the same review: "This book … should not be judged as a technical, exegetical treatment, but as a profound biblical meditation by an insightful scholar." Writing in the Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Jorunn Økland noted that the author's "aim is to recover the ‘theology, symbolism and spirituality’ of the transfiguration story for the church today."

Lee told CA: "A love of writing itself, especially the Classics, first got me interested in writing. But also reading theology written well—for example, the works of C.H. Dodd, who has depth of insight as well as beautiful prose.

"The greatest influences on me have probably been in the area of fiction: Jane Austen, Dorothy Sayers, J.R.R. Tolkien.

"I tend to write as I think: I don't know precisely what I'm going to say until I say it. That means that I have to edit a text many times. I also like the idea of layering: writing the basic form and structure and then putting flesh on the bones, layer by layer.

"The most surprising thing I have learned as a writer is that writing is as much unconscious as conscious, and that sometimes you need ‘free-fall’ to allow the unconscious to express itself.

"My favorite book is Jane Austen's Persuasion. It is subtle, profound, and beautifully written.

"I hope my books will give people pleasure to read and ideas to contemplate that might enrich their lives."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Lee, Dorothy A., Transfiguration, Continuum (New York, NY), 2004.

PERIODICALS

Catholic Biblical Quarterly, October, 2003, Barbara E. Bowe, review of Flesh and Glory: Symbol, Gender, and Theology in the Gospel of John, p. 644.

Interpretation, July, 2006, John Paul Heil, review of Transfiguration, p. 348.

Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Volume 28, issue 5, 2006, Jorunn Økland, review of Transfiguration, p. 45.

Library Journal, April 1, 2005, Sheila Peiffer, review of Transfiguration, p. 99.

ONLINE

United Faculty of Theology Web site,http://www.uft.unimelb.edu.au/ (May 17, 2008), faculty profile of author.