Westar Institute

Joseph A. Bessler is Robert Travis Peake Professor of Theology at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to his required theology courses, Bessler specializes in the interaction of religion and culture. He chaired the Ethics, Society and Cultural Analysis section of the Southwest region of the American Academy of Religion. He is the author of A Scandalous Jesus (Polebridge Press, 2013). He offers a variety of courses on ethics and culture, theological themes in the contemporary American novel, theological autobiography.

• Professor of Theology, Phillips Theological Seminary, 2014–
• Associate Professor of Theology, Phillips Theological Seminary, 1996–2014
• Associate Dean, Phillips Theological Seminary, Tulsa Campus, 1994– 1997
• Instructor, Christian Theology, Phillips Theological Seminary, 1992–1996
• Century Fellow, University of Chicago, 1986–1989

• Chair of the Ethics, Society and Cultural Analysis section, American Academy of Religion, Southwest Region, 1999–2001