Dr. Christopher Zoccali is from Rochester, NY. Becoming active in Christian ministry in his early 20’s, he eventually decided to study for the pastorate. In 2000 he graduated valedictorian from Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO with a degree in Biblical and Pastoral Studies. Having developed a passion for scholarship and a desire to enter the academy rather than the pastorate, he went on to do an M.A. in Religious Studies at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, and then a Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from the University of Wales, Lampeter (now Trinity St. David). Dr. Zoccali has taught courses in Biblical and Religious Studies for several institutions, Including Roberts Wesleyan, Nazareth, and Empire State Universities, and is currently the Director of the Doctor of Ministry program and Assistant Professor of New Testament at Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, NY. He is a member of four professional organizations, including the Society of Biblical Literature, the Institute for Biblical Research, the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies, and the Canadian-American Theological Association.
The focus of Dr. Zoccali’s research has been in Pauline Studies, particularly dealing with the relationship of church and Israel. This was the subject of his doctoral dissertation, subsequently published as Whom God Has Called: The Relationship of Church and Israel in Pauline Studies (Pickwick, 2010).
Of similar interest to him is how Paul understands Jewish and gentile identity vis-à-vis participation in the early Christ movement, along with the role of the Law (Torah) for Jews and gentiles in the new age inaugurated by Christ’s resurrection. By extension, he is concerned with the contemporary implications of how one’s nationality and ethnic status properly relates to Christian identity. These issues were addressed in his second book, Reading Philippians After Supersessionism: Jews, Gentiles, and Covenant Identity (Cascade, 2017). He has also contributed to a forthcoming Zondervan Messianic Jewish Study Bible, providing commentary on the letter to the Philippians from the perspective of Messianic Jewish thought.
Dr. Zoccali has employed a variety of methodologies in his work, being recognized for his eclectic use of social-scientific, socio-historical, and theological approaches to the study of Paul. His multivalent approach has been demonstrated in a number of other publications as well, including a commentary on the book of Romans in the T&T Clark Social Identity New Testament Commentary, a chapter entitled “Children of Abraham, the Restoration of Israel and the Eschatological Pilgrimage of the Nations: What Does It Mean For ‘In Christ’ Identity?” in the T&T Clark Handbook to Social Identity in the New Testament, and an article on Galatians 3:10–12 entitled “What’s the Problem with the Law?” published in Neotestamentica 49.2.
Having already written a good deal on Paul’s letter to the Romans, including his seminal essay on Romans 11 published in the Journal for the Study of the New Testament in 2008, and his shorter commentary on Romans mentioned above, he is currently under contract with Cascade Books to write a full volume Romans commentary that will be entitled From Faithfulness to Faithfulness: Paul’s Letter to the Romans.
In light of his work in the area of social identity, Dr. Zoccali has also been invited to contribute a volume on 2 Peter and Jude for the new commentary series, T&T Clark Social Identity Commentaries on the New Testament.
The contemporary economic and political implications of Biblical teaching is another area of interest for him and a forthcoming volume exploring this important topic is planned.
Since 2013, Dr. Zoccali has also held the position of Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian-American Theological Review (CATR) (formerly the Canadian Theological Review or CTR), a refereed academic journal that publishes scholarly articles from across the spectrum of theological disciplines, including biblical studies, and historical, systematic, moral, and pastoral theology. Although grounded in the evangelical tradition, CATR does not represent any one particular theological stream, but seeks to engage a wide range of theological viewpoints and traditions. In addition to the general editorship of CATR, he is also an associate editor of the Christian Libertarian Review (CLR).
Beyond teaching, researching, writing, and editing, Dr. Zoccali is an avid fitness enthusiast, MMA fan, movie aficionado, and happily married to his wife, Stacy.
The relationship between the church and Israel in Pauline interpretation has long been an area of considerable debate. The traditional view has understood Paul to identify the church with Israel, such that the church is the sole inheritor of Israel's sacred history, privileges, and divine promises. Yet recent developments in Pauline scholarship have called this view into question. The so-called New Perspective and its emphasis upon the decidedly Jewish context of Paul's theologizing, along with an increasing sensitivity to the post-Holocaust context of modern interpreters, have brought about readings that understand Paul to maintain a distinction between God's historical people, Israel, and the newly created multiethnic communities of Christ followers, that is, the church. Nevertheless, there are still scholars who, while embracing the New Perspective, have interpreted Paul as holding that the church is indeed identifiable in some way as Israel. This work explores a spectrum of scholarly views on the subject advanced between 1920 (as per the publication of C. H. Dodd's The Meaning of Paul for Today) and the present. Furthermore, it examines the most relevant Pauline texts upon which these views are founded, in dialogue with various readings of these texts that have been offered. Each view on Paul's understanding of the church vis-à-vis Israel is critically assessed in light of the exegetical findings. Using this approach Zoccali demonstrates that a view holding to both a certain distinction between, as well as an equating of, the church and Israel represents the most plausible interpretation of Paul's understanding.
“Christopher Zoccali is a careful reader. His volume offers a clear, critically nuanced overview of prevailing and emerging views of the last century of scholarship. He makes his own analytical framework clear as well, and from therein perceptively explains how each viewpoint sustains or strains the contours of the textual evidence.”
— Mark D. Nanos, Rockhurst University
“As with any fundamental shift in perspective, the 'new perspective on Paul' has brought with it a new set of puzzles and problems. Of these, none is more puzzling or problematical than the significance of 'Israel' for Paul. In this excellent book, Zoccali provides us with a very helpful description of the variety of interpretation among contemporary scholars and a penetrating analysis of the key points of exegetical debate. A very welcome contribution.”
— Terence L. Donaldson, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto
“This conscious combination of contemporary theological concerns and exegesis in a sophisticated, substantive way is the great strength of this volume.”
— Pamela Eisenbaum, Iliff School of Theology, as reviewed in Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 75/2013
Paul's letter to the Philippians has often been read as one of the apostle's clearest denials of his (previous) Jewish identity in order to preempt the "Judaizing" tactics of false teachers who might infiltrate the congregation. But is this really the problem that Paul is confronting? And did Paul really abandon his identity as a Jew in order to "know Christ"? Furthermore, what should Paul's gospel converts understand about their own identity "in Christ"? Zoccali provides fresh answers to these questions, offering a more probable alternative to the traditional view that Christianity has replaced Judaism (supersessionism). Tracing Paul's theology in the light of social theory, Zoccali demonstrates that, for Paul, the ethnic distinction between Jew and gentile necessarily remains unabated, and the Torah continues to have a crucial role within the Christ-community as a whole. Rather than rejecting all things Jewish (or gentile), Paul seeks in this letter to more firmly establish the congregation's identity as members of God's holy, multiethnic people.
“Zoccali provides the most extended treatment available of Philippians 3 from within the view that sees the church, including Pauline congregations, remaining within Judaism. In his look at the whole of Philippians, he helpfully reclaims imitation as a proper mode of instruction and exhortation. His clear discussion of the place of Torah and righteousness in Paul's thought is valuable for studies across the Pauline corpus.”
— Jerry L. Sumney, Professor of Biblical Studies, Lexington Theological Seminary
“Chris Zoccali presents a carefully argued reading of key texts of Philippians. The combination of exegetical, socio-historical, and social-scientific methods leads to illuminating insights rendering this a highly important contribution to a non-supersessionist interpretation of the Pauline letters.”
— Kathy Ehrensperger, Research Professorship New Testament in Jewish Perspective, University of Potsdam
“The chief contribution that Zoccali’s work offers is its exposure of the anti-Judaic tendencies in Pauline scholarship—even among well-meaning, post-Shoah scholars. This volume does much to illuminate blind spots within traditional readings of Philippians and beyond. Reading Philippians after Supersessionism is well-researched, with compelling evidence for intertextual echoes within Philippians that illuminate Paul’s Jewish thought world.”
— Gregory Lamb, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, as reviewed in the Review of Biblical Literature, 04/2019.
“[I]f you want to better understand what MSI means by "hearing the texts of the New Covenant Scriptures on their own Messianic Jewish terms," then check out this volume on Philippians by Christopher Zoccali! I found it very difficult to put down, and read the lion's share of it within 48 hours! . . . I was an Adjunct at Ashland Seminary for about a decade and never found an adequate secondary source for students to use for Philippians 3. That problem is now solved. A pastor who was a former Greek student of mine just ordered a copy. I will be strongly recommending it to our student body. Kudos!”
— Henri Louis Goulet, Executive Director and Academic Dean of the Messianic Studies Institute
Select Additional Academic Publications
“And So All Israel Will Be Saved”: Competing Interpretations of Romans 11:26 in Pauline Scholarship,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 30.3: 289–318
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, With His People”: Paul’s Intra-Jewish Rhetoric in Philippians 3.1–9,” Criswell Theological Review 9.1 (2011): 17–31. (Because of editorial problems in the version that went to print, see author’s revised version on ATLA database)
“Paul and Social Identity in 1 Corinthians,” Journal of Beliefs & Values 34.1 (2013): 105–114
“What’s the Problem with the Law? Jews, Gentiles, and Covenant Identity in Galatians 3:10–12,” Neotestamentica 49.2 (2015): 377–415
“Jews, Gentiles, and ‘In Christ’ Identity: A Post-supersessionist Reading of Philippians,” Religions 12 (2023): 1–14.
"What About Abraham? Abraham as Ingroup Exemplar and "Children of Abraham" as Superordinate Identity in Romans 4," Religions 14 (2023): 1–15.
Select Additional Popular Publications
“Spiritual Gifts,” in Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2012)
“Many are Called,” in Dictionary of the Bible and Western Culture: A Handbook for Students, edited by Mary Ann Beavis and Michael J. Gilmour (Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2012)
“New Covenant,” in Dictionary of the Bible and Western Culture: A Handbook for Students, edited by Mary Ann Beavis and Michael J. Gilmour (Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2012)
