Spencer, Aída Besançon 1947–

(Aida Besancon)

PERSONAL: Born January 2, 1947, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; naturalized U.S. citizen; daughter of Frederick H. (a comptroller) and Aída (a homemaker; maiden name, Guzman) Besançon; married William David Spencer (a writer, minister, and educator), August 12, 1972; children: Stephen William. Ethnicity: "Hispanic American." Education: Douglass College at Rutgers University, B.A., 1968; Princeton Theological Seminary, M.Div., 1973, Th.M., 1975; Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ph.D., 1982. Politics: Democrat. Hobbies and other interests: Reading fiction, bicycling, enjoying plays, films, and concerts, dance.

ADDRESSES: Home—10 Maple St., South Hamilton, MA 01982. Office—Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 130 Essex St., South Hamilton, MA 01982; fax: 978-468-6691.

CAREER: Presbyterian minister; United Ministries in Higher Education, Trenton, NJ, campus minister, 1973–74; Salvation Army, Newark, NJ, master in residence, 1974–78; Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, South Hamilton, MA, professor of New Testament, 1982–. New York Theological Seminary, adjunct professor, 1974–76; Alpha-Omega Community Theological School, academic dean, 1976–78; Ritter Lecturer, 1988; Staley Distinguished Scholar, 1994. Network of Presbyterian Women in Leadership, member of board of reference; Christianity Today, resource person; Latin America Mission, member of general council. Community Action of Plainfield, NJ, community organizer, 1969–70.

MEMBER: Evangelical Theological Society (Southeast chair and Northeast chair, 1981–86), Christians for Biblical Equality (member of board of reference, 1997–), Society of Biblical Literature, Institute for Biblical Research, Asociación para la Educación Teológica Hispana.

AWARDS, HONORS: Book award, Eternity, 1986, for Beyond the Curse: Women Called to Ministry; book award, Christianity Today, 1996, for The Goddess Revival.

WRITINGS:

Paul's Literary Style, University Press of America (Lanham, MD), 1984.

Beyond the Curse: Women Called to Ministry, Hendrickson (Peabody, MA) 1985.

(With husband, William David Spencer) 2 Corinthians (for "The People's Bible Commentary" series), Zondervan (Grand Rapids, MI), 1989, reprinted, Bible Reading Fellowship (Oxford, England), 2001.

(With William David Spencer) The Prayer Life of Jesus, University Press of America (Lanham, MD), 1990.

(With William David Spencer) Joy through the Night, Inter-Varsity Press (Downers Grove, IL), 1994.

(Coauthor) The Goddess Revival, Baker Book House (Grand Rapids, MI), 1995.

(With William David Spencer and others) God through the Looking Glass: Glimpses from the Arts, Baker Book House (Grand Rapids, MI), 1998.

(With William David Spencer) The Global God: Multicultural Evangelical Views of God, Baker Book House (Grand Rapids, MI), 1998.

Contributor to books, including Discovering Bible Equality; Feminist New Testament Studies: Global and Future Perspectives; New Testament Criticism and Interpretation; Through No Fault of Their Own?; Shaped by God's Love; Conflict and Context; and Major Cities of the Biblical World. Contributor of articles and reviews to periodicals, including Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Novum Testamentum, Journal of Biblical Literature, New Catholic World, Christian History, Priscilla Papers, Christian Century, and Brethren in Christ.

Spencer's books have been translated into French and Chinese.

SIDELIGHTS: Aída Besançon Spencer once told CA: "What first encouraged me to write was the desire to communicate my thoughts to a larger audience. The first articles I had published were for Hispanic newspapers at Trenton State College and Trenton State Prison. Communication still is what drives me. I began writing about issues that other people had and that I resolved simply because of who I was: a Hispanic-American woman who loved God. As a woman of Spanish heritage raised in the United States, I had to resolve how these different cultural influences meshed. Recently I wrote on being a Hispanic American in the chapter 'God the Stranger' in The Global God: Multicultural Evangelical Views of God. As a woman who sought to advance God's mission, I had to resolve how women's leadership was discussed in the Bible. After being asked for many years to share my findings with others, eventually I published them in Beyond the Curse: Women Called to Ministry. Thus, for me, writing is the opportunity to share my own insights and studies with other people. Once done, I can relax in the comfort of my new home while my books go out and work for me.

"What is the basis upon which I evaluate my work? The key foundation is God's revelation. The Bible is beautifully written and gives guidance to many areas of life. In my dissertation Paul's Literary Style, I analyze the variety of writing styles the apostle Paul used to communicate to different congregations. II Corinthians, the main area of study for my dissertation, has become one of my main areas of publication. I have completed three commentaries on this one New Testament letter.

"My husband, the Reverend Doctor William David Spencer, has always been my best supporter and amiable coauthor. For years I have been encouraging my husband to write down all his insights on God's perspective on the arts. He insisted on doing so only if I helped, so we decided to add other artists, too, for God through the Looking Glass: Glimpses from the Arts. Several colleagues asked for my perspective as a biblical feminist in Wiccan and other goddess spirituality movements. Since the area is so broad, I brought in others to help for The Goddess Revival.

"I set aside time to write: summers and sabbaticals from teaching. I will form an outline, do about two-thirds of the research, and hand-write my conclusions on one side of pages of paper, leaving gaps for further research. If I do too much research, I can never fit the space allotted and waste too much precious time. Leaving aside index cards and using full pages has renovated my research methods. At the end I cut and paste data into my essay, then a secretary will type the rough draft on a computer, from which I edit."