Kirsten Guidero
Assistant Professor of Humanities and Theology
Why can God be named Beauty? How come the early churches didn’t just get along? Where exactly is the risen Christ?
Raised in small towns near IWU, Kirsten Guidero is delighted to return to central Indiana to join the John Wesley Honors College community in asking, answering, and revising these sorts of questions. She is particularly thrilled to take part in the JWHC’s unique combination of intellectual curiosity, charitable engagement, and faith-based contemplative pondering of life’s big questions. Her own studies (University of Chicago-B.A., Fundamentals: Issues & Texts, 2003; Wheaton College-M.A., Historical & Systematic Theology, 2010; Marquette University-Ph.D., Systematic Theology, 2018) showed her the fruitful possibilities of rigorous interdisciplinary inquiry. She desires to extend JWHC endeavors by introducing students to the historical depth and global breadth of Christian thought. She loves equipping students so that they learn how to apply theological resources to contemporary concerns and gain confidence making their own contributions.
Guidero’s doctoral research focused on the early Christian doctrine of deification, the process of becoming one with and like unto God. She explored two different versions of the doctrine—one Eastern Orthodox and one Roman Catholic—before constructing an ecumenical synthesis of these models that will prove hospitable to Protestant thought. As a generalist in theology, Guidero believes that the discipline should connect with, contribute to, and learn from other areas. She has published on the Holy Spirit in ecumenical method, the hermeneutics of the Anglican schism in the United States, and gender roles in the New Testament. Upcoming work includes analyzing how women’s ordination impacts the Anglican-Orthodox ecumenical dialogue, applying deification to environmental ethics, and investigating how to relate time with God.
When not engaged in academic pursuits, Guidero may be found gardening, teaching and preaching in her local parish, watching British TV, or hanging out with her beloved canine companion Lucy.
Email: kirsten.guidero@indwes.edu