Frances Taylor Gench

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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, and both her M.Div. and Ph.D. from Union Presbyterian Seminary (formerly Union Theological Seminary in Virginia).^[1] 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).^[2]

During her academic career, Gench has been particularly noteworthy for her work on the New Testament writings attributed to Paul the Apostle.^[3] Gench emphasizes the importance of dialogue with "tyrannical texts" in Scripture as well as between theological conservatives and theological liberals.^[4] 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."^[5]

References[]