Janette H. Ok
Associate Professor of New Testament
BA, University of California, Los Angeles
MDiv, Princeton Theological Seminary
PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary
Courses Taught
BI500: Interpretive Practices
BI503: Biblical Interpretation in Context
NT500: New Testament Introduction
NE527: New Testament Exegesis: 1 Peter (Greek text)
Campus Affiliations
Areas of Expertise
New Testament, 1 Peter, Letters of John, Asian American hermeneutics, feminist interpretation, intersectionality, social-scientific approaches, ministry, leadership
“As Christians, we need to rethink our ecclesiologies. Engaging issues of racial justice is fundamentally a matter of ecclesiology. We’re part of the body of Christ. So if one member of the body has a knee on his neck, can’t breath and dies, while others breathe proudly without a mask, protesting . . . for the right to gather on Sundays, the whole body still suffers.”
Dr. Janette Ok, in a panel discussion hosted by the Asian American Christian Collaborative (AACC) in August 2020.
Bio
Janette H. Ok joined Fuller’s faculty as associate professor of New Testament in 2020.
Prior to coming to Fuller, she served for five years on faculty at Azusa Pacific Seminary in Azusa, California. She studied religion and English literature at UCLA and taught English at Compton High School in Los Angeles before earning her MDiv and PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary. Her research interests include 1 Peter, 1–3 John, the Catholic Epistles, and the formation of early Christian identity, with an emphasis on Asian American, intersectional, feminist, and sociological approaches to biblical interpretation.
As a teacher, Dr. Ok is passionate about helping students grow in the art of interpreting Scripture and introducing them to a diversity of critical methodologies. She challenges students to consider textual and contextual factors at work in the interpretive process and how their interplay can provide new insights for biblical and theological reflection.
Ok has contributed to A Biblical Study Guide for Equal Pulpits (2022); Minoritized Women Reading Race and Ethnicity: Intersectional Approaches to Constructed Identity and Early Christian Texts (2020); T&T Clark Handbook of Asian American Biblical Hermeneutics (2019); and Intersecting Realities: Race, Identity, and Culture in the Spiritual-Moral Life of Young Asian Americans (2018). Currently, she is coeditor of The New Testament in Color: A Multiethnic Commentary on the New Testament and writing a commentary on 1–3 John. Her book, Constructing Ethnic Identity in 1 Peter: Who You Are No Longer (2021), examines why and how the author of 1 Peter presents Christian identity as an ethnic identity.
Ok is an active member of the Society of Biblical Literature, cochairing the Asian and Asian American Hermeneutics seminar. She also served on the SBL Status of Women in the Profession Committee and on the steering committee for the Minoritized Criticism and Biblical Interpretation section. She currently serves on the editorial board for Brill’s Biblical Interpretation Series.
As a church leader and preacher, Ok brings more than 20 years of ministry experience to the classroom. She is an ordained minister who pastors at Ekko Church in Orange County, California. Her interdisciplinary interests and ecclesial commitments have shaped her preaching, teaching, and scholarship, giving her a practical focus on church ministry and Christian leadership.
Featured Publications
