Deanna A. Thompson

Deanna Thompson is Professor of Religion at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she teaches courses in theology, ethics, African American Studies and Women’s Studies. In 2008, Thompson was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. She continues to write, teach, and live in the midst of the disease, releasing a memoir in 2012 called Hoping for More: On Having Cancer, Talking Faith, and Accepting Grace. The memoir tells an unsentimental story of Thompson’s journey through the valley of the shadow of cancer, where words can wear thin and grief can overwhelm. But the heart of the story is about a community of saints so vast that grace matches and sometimes even overpowers the grief, allowing Thompson to hope for more. Much of her scholarship focuses on the continuing relevance of Martin Luther’s theology for our contemporary period. Her book, Crossing the Divide: Luther, Feminism, and the Cross, creatively explores surprising points of connection between Luther work and feminist theology, especially when addressing prickly issues like the role of the cross in Christianity. When she’s not writing or teaching, Thompson is usually spending time with her husband and two daughters, or extended family and friends in St. Paul.