Susan Anderson Hunt M.A. ’24, Ph.D. ’28

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Susan Anderson Hunt M.A. ’24, Ph.D. ’28

Ph.D. Candidate in New Testament

Susan Anderson Hunt M.A. ’24, Ph.D. ’28, believes the way God displays his power may still surprise us. A doctoral student of Dr. Esau McCaulley, Hunt is studying how the Gospel of John juxtaposes Jesus’ power with the Roman conception of Caesar’s power. She explained, “I’m considering the question: What is the theological significance of John identifying Jesus as God and Savior in a historical context where Caesar was also considered a god and savior?” Her dissertation emphasizes how John displays Jesus’ divine power through his sacrificial death and resurrection, in contrast to Roman conceptions of divine power marked by violence and domination.

Hunt majored in biblical and theological studies at Covenant College. After earning an M.A. in biblical exegesis at Wheaton, she began pursuing a Ph.D. in New Testament. When she speaks with peers in other Ph.D. programs, Hunt recognizes Wheaton’s distinctiveness, specifically how professors engage students as fellow academics. She has especially benefited from McCaulley’s wisdom as she explores biblical and cultural understandings of power. “He is careful and considerate when he interacts in the political sphere,” she said. “He often reminds me that, as a Christian, my job is to share good news with my culture—to construct something helpful and not merely deconstruct what is unhelpful.”

Because of her Wheaton experience, Hunt is passionate about the need for theological graduate programs. “It’s a wonderful thing to fund a pastor’s seminary education or a missionary’s time on the field,” she said. “But who’s writing the commentaries these pastors are reading or the materials these missionaries are bringing over? Scholarship, as far as it articulates what is true about God and his Word, is a vibrant expression of the church’s vocation to share the Good News with the world.”

Hunt is grateful for how Wheaton shapes her both as a scholar and as a follower of Jesus. Her professors often remind students that writing an excellent dissertation is secondary to growing in their faith, from which they are called. “There’s a larger mission in mind here,” she said. “Wheaton is a non-anxious presence in the world.”

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