Ekaputra Tupamahu, PhD

Ekaputra Tupamahu is an associate professor of New Testament and director of masters programs at Portland Seminary and George Fox University. He received his PhD from Vanderbilt University in 2019.

Tupamahu has a broad range of academic interests, including the politics of language, race/ethnic theory, postcolonial studies, immigration studies, critical study of religion, and global Christianity (particularly Pentecostal/Charismatic movement). All these interests inform and influence the way he approaches the texts of the New Testament and the history of early Christian movement(s).

His monograph, Contesting Languages: Heteroglossia and the Politics of Language in the Early Church, was published by Oxford University Press in 2022.

His other writings have appeared in, among others, the Journal for the Study of the New Testament, The Bible and Critical Theory, Pneuma: the Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, the Indonesian Journal of Theology, the Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies, the Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South, Global Renewal Christianity, Asian Introduction to the New Testament, and the T&T Clark Handbook to Asian American Biblical Hermeneutics.

He was a recipient of the Forum for Theological Exploration dissertation fellowship (2017), the Louisville Institute honorary dissertation fellowship (2017), and the Asian Theological Summer Institute fellow (2016). He serves as a member of the steering committee of the Book of Acts, Paul and Politics and the Asian and Asian American Hermeneutics program units at the Society of Biblical Literature's annual meeting.

He is the associate editor of the New Testament for the Currents in Biblical Research and also a member of the editorial board of the Political Theology journal and the Review of Biblical Literature. He is currently serving as one of the committee members of the SBL Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the Profession (CUREMP).  

In 2022, he was the recipient of the Faculty Achievement Award for Graduate Teaching.

Tupamahu formerly worked as a pastor of an Indonesian congregation in Redlands, California. He enjoys hiking, running, and many other outdoor activities with his family. Exploring local foods is what he loves to do when traveling.

Academic Background

PhD, Vanderbilt University; MA, Claremont School of Theology; MA/MDIV, Asia Pacific Theological Seminary; BTh, Sekolah Tinggi Theology Satyabhakti

Expertise and Research Interests

Pauline studies, Postcolonial theory, Politics of Language, Race/Ethnic theory, Global Pentecostal/Charismatic movement.

Research Bibliography

Books

• Contesting Languages: Heteroglossia and the Politics of Language in the Early Church.  New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.
• Ekaputra Tupamahu, Nindyo Sasongko and Hans A. Harmakaputra (editors),   Our Stories, the Unfinished Stories:  Kumpulan Kisah Kelana Menempuh Studi Teologi di dalam dan di luar Negeri.   Jakarta: Asosiasi Teolog Indonesia, 2014.  ISBN: 9786021158036.  A revised edition published by BPK Gunung Mulia, 2016.

Journal Articles

• “Between Text and Sermon: Ephesians 6:10-20” Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology 76/3 (2022): 251-253.
• “I Don’t Want to Hear Your Language!”: White Social Imagination and the Demography of Roman Corinth,” The Bible and Critical Theory 16/1 (2020): 64-91.
• “Language Politics and the Constitution of Racialized Subjects in the Corinthian Church.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 41:2 (December 2018): 223–245.
• "Tongues as a Site of Subversion: An Analysis from the Perspective of Postcolonial Politics of Language," Pneuma [Brill] 38:3 (2016): 293-311.
• "Pela Gandong and υἱοθεσία: A Vernacular Reading of Paul," Journal Teologi Reformed Indonesia 6:1 (2016): 1-11.
• "Yesus, Perantau dari Surga: Sebuah Usaha Awal Meninjau Kristologi Injil Yohanes dari Sudut Pandang Imigrasi," (Jesus, an Immigrant from heaven: A Preliminary Attempt to Reconstruct Johannine Christology from the Perspective of Immigration), Indonesian Journal of Theology 3:2 (2015) 206-224.
• “A Perichoretic Model for Christian Love: A Theological Response to 'A Common Word Between Us and You'" Indonesian Journal of Theology 1:1 (2013): 67-89.
• “Biblical versus Sacramental Approach: A Comparative Study of Robert P. Menzies and Simon Chan's Views on Baptism in the Holy Spirit” Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies 10:2 (2007): 246-265.

Invited Book Chapters

• “Asian Introduction to the Gospel of Luke,” in Johnson Thomaskutty (ed.), An Asian Introduction to the New Testament (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2022), pp. 103-125.
• Coauthor with Erica Bryand Ramirez “The Split God: Wariboko, Deconstruction, and the Carnivalesque Structure,” in Toyin Falola (ed.), The Philosophy of Nimi Wariboko: Social Ethics, Economy, and Religion (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2020), pp. 363-388.
• "Lost and Silenced in Translation: Reading 1 Cor. 14:26-30 from an Asian American Perspective" in Seung Ai Yang and Uriah Kim (eds.) The T&T Clark Handbook to Asian American Biblical Hermeneutics. London: T&T Clark, 2018.  pp. 383-393.
• “A Decolonial Love of God” in Lisa Michaels, Craig Drurey, Chris Baker, Gloria Coffin, Donna Fiser Ward, Graden Kirksey (eds.), Uncontrolling Love: Essays Exploring the Love of God, with Introductions by Thomas Jay Oord. San Diego: SacraSage, 2017.
• "American Missionaries and Pentecostal Theological Education in Indonesia" in Vinson Synan and Amos Yong (eds.), Global Renewal Christianity: Asia and Oceania, vol. 1.  Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2015.  pp. 233-254.
• "Pentecostal Feeling in Conversation with William James and Rudolf Otto: A Preliminary Exploration" in Teresa Chai (ed.) A Theology of the Spirit in Doctrine and Demonstration.  Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2015.  pp. 153-176.
• “Hibrid(isasi) Gereja di Era Postcolonial: Membaca Konflik Gereja Korintus bersama Homi Bhabha” (Hybridization] of the Church in the Postcolonial Age: Reading the Corinthian Conflict with Homi Bhabha), in Steve Gaspersz and Elifas Tomix Maspaitella (eds), Delapan Dekade GPM - Menanam, Menyiram dan Bertumbuh. Salatiga: Satya Wacana Christian University Press, 2015.  pp. 662-678.
• "Impian Anak Kampung: Dari Tuhaha ke Amerika" (The Dream of a Village Boy: From Tuhaha to the United States), in Ekaputra Tupamahu, Nindyo Sasongko and Hans A. Harmakaputra (eds.) Our Stories, the Unfinished Stories:  Kumpulan Kisah Kelana Menempuh Studi Teologi di dalam dan di luar Negeri.  Jakarta: Asosiasi Teolog Indonesia, 2014.  pp. 61-66.
• "Solidaritas Manusia sebagai Tubuh Kristus: Lukas 15.11-32" (Human Solidarity as the Body of Christ: Luke 15.11-32), in Tuhan Mengangkat Kita dari Samudera Raya: Sepuluh Bahan Pemahaman Alkitab Menjelang Sidang Raya ke-16 Persekutuan Gereja-Gereja di Indonesia. Jakarta: BPK Gunung Mulia, 2013.  pp. 55-60.

Book Reviews

• Joseph Marchal (ed.), After the Corinthian Women Prophets: Reimagining Rhetoric and Power (SBL Press, 2021). Review of Biblical Literature, September 2022.
• Chin Ming Stephen Lim, Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics as Multicentric Dialogue: Towards a Singaporean Reading of Daniel (Brill 2019).  Review of Biblical Literature, August 2021.
• Hughson T. Ong.  The Multilingual Jesus and the Sociolinguistic World of the New Testament. Biblical Interpretation: A Journal of Contemporary Approaches.  25:2 (2017), 265-7.
• Thomas Jay Oord.  The Uncontrolling Love of God: An Open and Relational Account of Providence.  Indonesian Journal of Theology 3:2 (2015): 259-263.
• Jan Assmann, The Price of Monotheism. Indonesian Journal of Theology 1:2 (2013): 75-81.
• Allan Anderson and Edmond Tang (eds.), Asian and Pentecostal: The Charismatic Face of Christianity in Asia. Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies. 9:1 (2006): 163-166.

Encyclopedia Entries

• “Postcolonial Interpretation of Paul,” the Dictionary of Paul and His Letters (second edition).
• “Asian American Hermeneutics,” the Dictionary of Paul and His Letters (second edition).
• "Neo-colonialism" in Mark A. Lamport (ed.), Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018.
• “War and Violence” in Mark A. Lamport (ed.), Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018.

Online Articles

• “Teaching with an Accent: Sounding Otherness in the Classroom,” in Embodied Teaching Series, Wabash Center, January 6, 2023.  URL: 
• “Method, Ethics, and Historiography: The Shift of Interpretative Allegiance,” Ancient Jews Review, January 27, 2022. 
• “When Religion, Sex, and Race Breed Violence,” Church Anew, March 21, 2021.
• “The Stubborn Invisibility of Whiteness in Biblical Scholarship,” an Online Symposium on Whiteness and Biblical Studies organized by the Political Theology Network, November 2020. 
• Ekaputra Tupamahu and Erica Bryand Ramirez (editors), “Pentecostals-Charismatics, Political Theology, and the Capitol Riot,” Political Theology Network (August-September 2021).  
• Commentaries on Philippians 1, 2, 3. Working Preacher (a website hosted by Luther Seminary). URL: https://www.workingpreacher.org
• “The Perpetual Foreigner Virus (PFV)” Unbound: An Interactive Journal on Christian Social Justice. March 20, 2020.

Selected Academic Talks and Presentations

• “Can Pentecostals Decouple Tongues from the Expansionist Mission?” Plenary talk at the Society of Pentecostal Studies annual meeting, Tulsa, OK, March 17, 2023.
• Review Panel of Barbara U. Meyer’s Jesus the Jew in Christian Memory: Theological and Philosophical Explorations (Cambridge University Press, 2020), in Jewish Christianity/Christian Judaism program unit, SBL Annual Meeting, Denver, CO., November 2022.
• “The Future of the Past: Rethinking Legacies of Injustice in the Study of Antiquity (Biblical Studies),” University of Minnesota, March 4, 2022.
• A response to Adele Reinhartz’ 2020 SBL Presidential Address, Talk with the President: Adele Reinhartz (a joint session of Asian and Asian-American Hermeneutics, Contextual Biblical Interpretation, Latino/a and Latin American Biblical Interpretation, and Islands, Islanders, and Scriptures sections), Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), November 2021.
• Panel reviewing Giovanni Bazzana’s book, Having the Spirit of Christ: Spirit Possession and Exorcism in the Early Christ Groups, SBL (and SPS) Meeting, November 2021.
• Jesus as an Immigrant in the Gospel of Luke, Asian and Asian American Hermeneutics program unit, Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), November 2021,
• Johann Gottfried Herder and the Invention of a New Reading, a Public Lecture delivered at the University of Portland, September 16, 2021.
• A Roundtable Conversation (with Annette Yoshiko Reed, David Maldonado Rivera, Alexandra Leewon Schultz, and Young Richard Kim) on “Method, Ethics, and Historiography” The Global Late Antiquity Society, March 30, 2021. 
• “Whiteness in Biblical Scholarship” Podcast. The Two Cities. December 2, 2020. 
• “Race and Biblical Interpretation,” The Cambridge Institute on Religion and International Studies (CIRIS), Cambridge University, February 11, 2021.
• The Unhomeliness of Jesus in Luke 9, [Online] Chapel Service at McCormick Theological Seminary, September 20, 2020.
•  Kritik Postkolonial, Kitab Suci, dan Disparitas Sosial (Postcolonial Criticism, Scriptures, and the Social Disparity), a webinar lecture hosted by the Satya Wacana Christian University, Department of Theology, July 23, 2020.
• Abrahamic Interfaith Dialogue on Religious Responses to the Covid-19, Reeducates, a webinar hosted by Dr. Etin Anwar of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, May 17, 2020
• The Invisible White Imagination and the Linguistic Demography of Roman Corinth, Ideological Criticism session, Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), November 2019, San Diego, CA.
• Responder to a panel on “Quakers and Pentecostals in a Colonized World” at the American Academy of Religion (AAR), November 2019, San Diego, CA.
• Paul and the Politics of Translation, in Paul and Politics program unit, Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), November 2018, Denver, CO.
• The Future of Biblical Studies, a panel discussion at San Francisco Theological Seminary, CA (with Yolanda Norton, Luis Menendez-Antuña, and Jennifer Williams), October 12, 2018.
• When Wariboko Meets Bakhtin: The Split God as a Dialogical Space, in a joint section of Philosophy and Practical Theology interest groups, Society for Pentecostal Studies (SPS) annual meeting, Cleveland, TN, March 2018.
•  Johann Gottfried Herder, Romantic-Nationalism, and the Interpretation of Acts 2, in Biblical Studies section, Society for Pentecostal Studies (SPS) annual meeting, Cleveland, TN, March 2018.
• Linguistic Imperialism and the Corinthian Conflict: Reading 1 Cor. 14 through the Lens of the Global Politics of Language, in Bible and Cultural Studies program unit, Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) annual meeting. Boston, MA., November 2017.
• Pentecostal Discourse of Ethnic Othering: The Colored and Brown Bodies as a “Racial Capital,” in Religion and Culture section, Society for Pentecostal Studies (SPS) annual meeting. St. Louis, MO, March 9, 2017.
• Tongue(s), Ethnicity, and the Politics of Language in 1 Cor. 14, in Paul and Politics program unit, Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) annual meeting. San Antonio, TX, November 22, 2016.
• Constructing or De-hybridizing Identity?: The Violence of Identity Trouble in Nehemiah 13:23-31, in Engaging Particularities conference, Boston College. Boston, MA, April 27, 2016.
• Nehemiah 5, Biopolitics, and the State of Exception, in Hebrew Bible and Political Theory program unit, Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) annual meeting. Atlanta, GA, November 23, 2015.
• Tongues as a Language of Resistance, Society for Pentecostal Studies (SPS) annual meeting. Lakeland, Florida, March 13, 2015.
•  Reading Pauline Concept of Hyiothesia in Conversation with the Indonesian Concept of Pela Gandong, in Asian and Asian American Hermeneutics program unit, Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) annual meeting. San Diego, CA, November 2014.
•  Melihat Yesus sebagai Seorang Imigran (Seeing Jesus as an Immigrant).  Asosiasi Teolog Indonesia (ATI) annual meeting. Yogyakarta, Indonesia, August 2014.
•  Jesus, an Immigrant from Heaven, Southeastern Commission for the Study of Religion meeting (SECSOR). Atlanta, GA, March 2014.
• A Materialist Reading of the Story of the Demoniac Man in Mark 5, in Biblical Studies section, Society for Pentecostal Studies (SPS) annual meeting, Springfield, MO, March 2014. [in absentia]
•  Q and a Possible Meaning of Matthew 7:6, in Q Studies program unit, Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) annual meeting. Baltimore, MD, November 2013.
•  Intertextuality and the Meaning of Mark 14:51-52, Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) Pacific Coast regional meeting. Whittier College, California, March 2011.