Helen Rhee

Helen Rhee grew up in Seoul, South Korea, and then in Southern California, and developed respect and love for history since childhood.  She earned her B.A in History at UC Berkeley and her M.Div. and Ph.D. at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. Prior to coming to Westmont in 2004, she has served as pastor of a local church (Buena Park, CA) for a number of years.  Helen specializes in early Christian history, especially the second and third century Christian literature, focusing on the diverging Christian self- identities in relation to Greco-Roman culture and society. Her recent book, Early Christian Literature: Christ and Culture in the Second and Third Centuries (Routledge, 2005), explores the very issue. Her scholarly interest, however, extends to other periods and aspects of Christian history as well.  Helen is currently writing a book on early Christian attitudes toward and practices of wealth and poverty and how these contributed to shaping Christian identities within larger Greco-Roman and Jewish contexts.

Research Interests:

• Second and Third Century Christian Literature
• Early Christian Self-Definition, Asceticism, and Martyrdom
• Early Christian Apologists and Apocryphal Acts
• Greco-Roman Religions, Philosophy, Society, and Culture
• Women in Early Christianity
• Wealth and Poverty in Early Christianity

Select Publications:

• "Wealth, Poverty, and Eschatology: Pre-Constantine, Christian Social Thoughts and the Hope for the World to Come," in Patristic Social Ethics: Issues and Challenges (ed. J. Leemans, B. Matz, and J. Verstraeten; Catholic University Press), forthcoming.
• "Spirituality of Female Martyrs: Virginity and Spiritual Motherhood," in Prayer and Spirituality IV: The Spiritual Life (ed. W. Mayer, P. Allen and L. Cross; Strathfield, Austrailia: St Paul?s Publications, 2006), 133-48.
• "Persecution, Martyrdom, and Christian Self-Definition in the Early Church," in The Suffering Body: Responding to the Persecution of Christians (ed. H. D. Hunter & C. M. Robeck, Jr.; Waynesboro, GA: Paternoster, 2006), 3-23.
• Early Christian Literature: Christ and Culture in the Second and Third Centuries (London & New York: Routledge), 2005.

Courses Taught:

• History of World Christianity
• Wealth and Poverty in Christian History
• Contemporary Christianity
• Life and Literature of the New Testament
• Christianity and Roman Empire
• Early and Medieval Christianity
• Reformation Christianity
• Modern Christianity;
• American Church History (Fuller Extension)