Brian Yong Lee, PhD

Assistant Professor

Dr. Lee is married with two young children. Born and raised Korean-American in Hawai'i, he's far from home and parents but loving life in the Midwest with his wife, in-laws in Michigan, two Cheesehead kids, and one crazy Frenchie. He enjoys swimming, guitar, getting to know Chicago better, building a (very small) vinyl collection, and thinking about Paul in relationship to Judaism, Greco-Roman philosophy, and the wider ancient Mediterranean. One day he will get a chance to surf again and complete some woodworking projects. He was raised Protestant, became Catholic in college, is a little obsessed with helping students learn to develop claims about ancient history with methodological discipline, thinks that learning how to live a life of compassion and justice is the most important thing people can aspire to, is trying to take seriously the wisdom of both gnothi seauton and Christos estauromenos, and is grateful and open to all forms of spirituality and wisdom that can help us maintain our sanity and our humanity in these challenging times.

Education

MA (Boston College, philosophy); MTS (Weston Jesuit School of Theology, scripture); PhD (University of Notre Dame, Theology/CJA)

Research Interests

Paul's Letters (esp. 1 Corinthians), Philo of Alexandria, Greco-Roman Philosophy (esp. Stoicism and middle Platonism), Forgiveness, NT Ethics, Philosophical Virtue Theory, Early Christian Soteriology

Professional Employment

Associate professor of Sacred Scripture (7 years, Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology, Hales Corners, WI); Assistant professor of NT and EC (5 years, LUC)

Professional/Community Affiliations

CBA (co-chair of Pauline Letters continuing seminar)

SBL

MRM (co-chair of Pauline Letters section)

Member of the Catholic lay association Community of Sant'Egidio

Courses Taught

I have taught Greek hour, a Greek tutorial, and I will teach THEO 519 (Early Christian Letters: Paul) in Spring 2027.

I have served on 2 comprehensive exam boards (3 by Spring 2027), and I have been a reader on 1 dissertation (Julian Sieber, Land-based indigenous perspectives and Acts of the Apostles, 2026 defense).

I am particularly excited about supporting graduate research on Paul (in relationship to Stoic and middle Platonic philosophy, pistis Christou, Paul and/within Judaism, justification, participationism, "image of God," deification/assimilation to Christ, circumcision, gentile conversion, ethnicity, pneuma, relationship to the Gospels); Historical Jesus and Jewish exegetical traditions surrounding love and forgiveness; Philo of Alexandria (particularly Philonic virtue theory, use of philosophy, and treatment of repentance and conversion); Philosophical virtue, progress, and perfection; Acts of the Apostles

Publications/Research Listings

“At the Origins of the Biblical Commandment of Interpersonal Forgiveness: Sirach 28:2 in Context.” In Currents in Korean American and Korean Biblical Interpretation. Edited by John Ahn. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2022. (forthcoming)

Review of Biblical Literature 01/2022 Review of Max Botner, Justin Harrison Duff, Simon Dürr, eds., Atonement: Jewish and Christian Origins (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2020).

“The Story of a Symposium: Why We Need a Theological Understanding of Pope Francis’s Thought.” Pages 1–20 in Discovering Pope Francis: The Roots of Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s Thought, edited by Brian Y. Lee and Thomas Knoebel. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2019. (Coauthored with Thomas Knoebel)

Discovering Pope Francis: The Roots of Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s Thought (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2019). (Co-edited with Fr. Thomas Knoebel)

Review of Biblical Literature 10/2020 Review of Joseph R. Dodson and David E. Briones, eds., Paul and the Giants of Philosophy: Reading the Apostle in Greco-Roman Context (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2019).

Awards

• Catholic Press Association Award, 2nd place for Discovering Pope Francis, Pope Francis
• Catholic Media Award, 2nd place for Discovering Pope Francis, Theology
• Catholic Biblical Association CCD Grant for the Promotion of Biblical Scholarship and Biblical Literacy, $32,748 sabbatical research funding for Forgiveness, Faith, and Justice in Early Christianity
• Templeton Grant Co-Recipient, Re-engaging Science and Theology in Seminary Formation, John Templeton Foundation, $12,500
• Teaching Fellowship, Notre Dame International, University of Notre Dame, Jerusalem, Israel
• Summer Dissertation Research Fellowship, Theology Department, University of Notre Dame
• Dean's Scholarship, The Graduate School, University of Notre Dame
• Summer Study Grant, The Graduate School, University of Notre Dame, Jerusalem, Israel
• Scholarship, Weston Jesuit School of Theology
• Lay ministry tuition grant, The Paulist Center, Boston, MA
• National Jesuit Honor Society, Alpha Sigma Nu
• Bernard Lonergan fellowship, Lonergan Institute, Boston Colle