Book Interview: Kate Common

I like to hold author interviews on my substack on recent book releases. Here is one with Dr. Kate Common and their new book, Undoing Conquest.

Tell us a bit about yourself?

I am an Assistant Professor of Public and Practical Theology at Methodist Theological School in Ohio. I felt a call to ministry in my early twenties after coming out as a queer person in a fundamentalist Christian environment—I know firsthand how the Bible gets weaponized as a tool of oppression and violence. I learned no place existed for me as a queer Christian because of the “clobber passages” in the Bible—the biblical texts that supposedly condemn homosexuality (Genesis 19:1-38; Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; Romans 1:25-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 Timothy 1:9-10 and Jude 6-7). I came to seminary years later with the desire to create a more just church for LGBTQIA+ folks.

But theology is a second career for me; I worked as a graphic designer and art director in the corporate world for nearly a decade before attending seminary. Early in my theological studies, I realized a significant and unexpected overlap exists between graphic design and theology: both focus on symbol systems to tell complex stories. I fell in love with theological research especially in the intersections of where design and theology overlap, pared with queer feminist theologies and biblical studies.

How did the West weaponize Joshua’s conquest and how do we continue to do this in light of Gaza?

I consider the conquest story found in Joshua 3-9, that describes an ancient Israelite conquest and genocide of the land and people of Canaan, the ultimate “clobber passage.” The story gets used, particularly in the hands of European Christian imperialists to justify white-settler colonialism, violence, and even genocide. It provided religious and psychological scaffolding for the European colonization and conquest of North America as well as in South Africa. European Christians felt justified in taking land and killing Indigenous Peoples with impunity, just as God empowered the Israelites to do in the book of Joshua. The conquest narrative recently showed up in the ideology and events of the January 6, 2021, insurrection in Washington, DC, when a group called the Jericho March organized people to protest the 2020 presidential election.

The conquest story also feeds into right-wing Israeli militaristic actions since the founding of the modern state of Israel, even though many Israelis disagree with conquest stories leveraged in this way. Unsurprisingly, conquest ideology showed up during the current Israel Gaza war. In November 2023, right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the statements, “You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible. And we do remember,” in reference to the October 7, Hamas attack on Israeli civilians. The biblical reference to Amalek harkens to the Israelite conquest of Canaan and the genocide that these stories purport.

The conquest story is alive and well around the globe.

How did you get started writing this new book, “Undoing Conquest” by Orbis Books?

During Introduction to Hebrew Bible in my first semester of seminary the professor briefly discussed new archeological research in Israel and Palestine that contradicted the violent story of conquest found in the Book of Joshua. The professor then quickly moved on to the next subject. For me this moment represents a record scratching halt, I couldn’t believe what I just heard—why did I not learn this before?! My entire life I studied the Bible, at first from a fundamentalist inerrant perspective but then from a progressive non-literal approach, but in all my studies I never came across the mention of such a radical discovery. As a queer person, who experienced firsthand how biblical texts can harm—I couldn't shake the feeling that this archeological discovery held profound, if not miraculous, significance in its contradiction of one of the Bible's most violent stories.

That day marks the beginning of Undoing Conquest. I dove headlong into the archeological research, known as the Hebrew Highland Settlements, which tells a non-militaristic and a decidedly non-conquest story of the emergence of the Hebrew people in Canaan. I discovered that no one had theologically interpreted what this archeological evidence means for Christian identity and practice. I set out to do that theological work.

Undoing Conquest represents a culmination of my feminist and decolonial theological interpretation of the Hebrew Highland Settlements. As a designer and practical theologian, I extended my research beyond theologizing and into considering how to integrate this archeological story into Christian praxis. I conclude Undoing Conquest by designing a new liturgical season called the Season of Origins, which incorporates archeological discoveries and invites congregations to center decolonial justice work at the heart of the church’s annual rhythms.

How are we to interpret the Bible as so many are misinterpreting it to do damage, colonize, enslave, engage in war?

From a Christian standpoint, we need to acknowledge that some biblical texts contain violence and discern our responsibility in stewarding our sacred text for the next generation, knowing that these texts can literally justify genocide. To start, we need greater biblical literacy across congregations not just for those who attended seminary. Diving deeper into the Bible and all the knowledge generated from biblical studies, archeology, and other sciences brings us understanding about who wrote these violent texts and why. When we better contextualize and understand these texts, especially through a lens of trauma, we can see why such violent stories appeared in the Bible, even though they don’t report actual historical events.

Some fear that challenging the historicity of the Bible means it can no longer act as sacred text, because it is no longer “true.” But understanding historical contexts and nuances can reveal even greater beauty and appreciation of the biblical texts. The Bible can remain a guiding sacred text and revelation of the divine without needing historical accuracy.

What is the future for Christianity?

Many churches hold deep connections to dominating theologies and settler-colonial histories that need uprooting and repair, including legacies of Christian violence, sexism, racism, homophobia, and taking of Indigenous lands. The church must acknowledge and work to heal the harms of the past to serve as a relevant source for justice in the world. Churches can exemplify how an institution repents, reconciles with its past sins, and emerges as a much-needed ecumenical leader for justice in the world today.

The liturgical season I develop in Undoing Conquest, the Season of Origins, integrates liberating research on the origins of the biblical traditions with restorative justice practices that help churches streamline such large-scale healing work. Several congregations are already beginning to implement Origins.* Origins offers one tangible way to start this work, but addressing the wrongs of the past and advancing in a more just way will require much more denominational-wide efforts.

*Anyone interested in bringing Origins to your church, please reach out to Dr. Common. She is starting a research project that is working with churches to help implement Origins in Fall 2025

Special Events:

1.Join me for an online book discussion of When God Became White. It is free but you must register.