FPE: How long have you been interested in theology and ethics? When did you know that you wanted to pursue theology at a graduate level?
Kristoff Reese: I was interested in theology early on in my life. I grew up in the church and I always felt that faith was an integral part of my Sundays growing up. But if I were to pinpoint a time when my questions about theology really intensified and moved beyond the basics I learned in Sunday school, I would say it was around the time I got baptized at the age of 13. By then, I asked questions about God, Jesus, Scripture, and what it means to call myself Christian. This interest followed all throughout high school and then eventually lead me to do theology for my undergrad at Fordham University.
FPE: How did you come to be interested in Karl Barth? Was there a specific moment?
Kristoff Reese: I became interested in Karl Barth during my MDiv at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. The specific moment that really proved pivotal in my trajectory to be a theologian was when I read The Humanity of God where Barth makes the claim that God’s divinity is seen in God’s humanity. I was just so amazed at that time with Barth’s incessant Christocentricity that this fascination became a full-time endeavor to understand his thought more closely. This fascination is what lead me eventually to go to Princeton Seminary to study about Barth more and then eventually start my dissertation on him.
FPE: Do you ever see yourself pursuing ministry? Or has it always been “academia or bust”?
Kristoff Reese: Yes, ministry has always been something that I have considered over the years, but I started to seriously consider it more in the last few years as I reflected on the purpose of my scholarship. Theology, for me, has never been about the pursuit of the fleeting status of the ivory tower in academia. Theology has always been about serving God and, in turn, serving neighbor. Therefore, the kind of minister I want to be is one that witnesses to the gospel by telling others that the vertical dimension of the gospel also has a horizontal dimension in which we are compelled to live out the Christian moral life.