Daniel L. Smith-Christopher, D.Phil. (1955) is an American Biblical theologian and author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

. He is Professor of Theological Studies and Director of Peace Studies at Loyola Marymount University

Loyola Marymount University

Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in Los Angeles, California, United States...

 in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, and is frequently quoted on the History Channel's religious programs.

History

Smith-Christopher was born on 12 April 1955 in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

. He attended George Fox College (B.A.

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

); Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary

Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary

Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary is an accredited Christian seminary in Elkhart, Indiana, affiliated with Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA....

 (Elkhart, Indiana

Elkhart, Indiana

Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, northwest of Fort Wayne, east of Chicago, and north of Indianapolis...

; M.Div.) and received his doctorate

Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...

 in Old Testament

Old Testament

The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

 Studies at Oxford University in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, in 1987. Since 1989 he has taught at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, with short visits to teach at the Chinese University of Hong Kong

Chinese University of Hong Kong

The Chinese University of Hong Kong is a research-led university in Hong Kong.CUHK is the only tertiary education institution in Hong Kong with Nobel Prize winners on its faculty, including Chen Ning Yang, James Mirrlees, Robert Alexander Mundell and Charles K. Kao...

, St. John's Seminary in Auckland, New Zealand, and Bluffton University

Bluffton University

Bluffton University, located in Bluffton, Ohio, United States, is a Christian liberal arts college affiliated with Mennonite Church USA.It was founded in 1899 as Central Mennonite College and became Bluffton College in 1913...

 of Ohio. Christopher lectures frequently for various adult education venues of the Roman Catholic, United Methodist, Uniting Church of Australia, and other Christian churches. He is frequently quoted in the History Channel's Mysteries of the Bible

Mysteries of the Bible

Mysteries of the Bible is a documentary television series that was originally broadcast by A&E from March 25, 1994 until June 13, 1998 and aired reruns until 2002. The series is about biblical mysteries and was produced by FilmRoos. The Discovery Channel and BBC also released a series of the same...

 and other documentaries on religious themes for A&E

A&E Network

The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...

, the History Channel, National Geographic, and PBS.

Although not Roman Catholic, and therefore not able to be a permanent member, Christopher was recently appointed by Cardinal

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

 Roger Mahony as a Permanent Consultant to the "Theological Commission" of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Christopher was awarded a Lilly Endowment

Lilly Endowment

Lilly Endowment Inc., headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana is one of the world's largest private philanthropic foundations and is among the ten largest such endowments in the United States....

 grant, and with Prof. Mustansir Mir, a noted Quran scholar, Christopher coordinated the seminar and lectured with Dr. Mir on the topic "Peace and Justice in the Bible and the Quran" in summer 2003. Also in summer 2003, Christopher was invited to deliver a paper for a World Council of Churches

World Council of Churches

The World Council of Churches is a worldwide fellowship of 349 global, regional and sub-regional, national and local churches seeking unity, a common witness and Christian service. It is a Christian ecumenical organization that is based in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland...

 consultation in Bangor, Wales

Bangor, Wales

Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...

 (UK), and in the summer of 2004, he delivered a paper at the Parliament of World Religions held in Barcelona, Spain. The theological publisher Fortress Press (Minneapolis), named Christopher Undergraduate Theology Teacher of the Year in 2006.

Works

• The Religion of the Landless (1989)
• The Citizen-Temple Community, Joel Weinberg (Translated from German by Daniel Smith-Christopher, 1994)
• Commentary on Daniel (for The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 7: Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1996)
• Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah (Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001)
• Practiced in the Presence: Essays in Honor of T. Canby Jones
  T. Canby Jones
  T. Canby Jones is an advocate of the War of the Lamb, a Quaker peace activist, a professor emeritus of Wilmington College in Ohio, and was a student of Thomas R. Kelly....
  
  (with D. N. Snarr, 1994)
• Subverting Hatred: The Challenge of Nonviolence in Religious Traditions (1998)
• A Biblical Theology of Exile (Overtures to Biblical Theology) (2002)
• The Old Testament: Our Call to Faith and Justice - High School Textbook (2005)
• The Old Testament: Our Call to Faith and Justice-Teachers Edition (with Janie Gustafson, Ph.D., 2005)
• Jonah, Jesus, and Other Good Coyotes: Speaking Peace to Power in the Bible (2007)
• Lost Books of the Bible for Dummies (with Stephen Spignesi, 2008)