Humphries-Brooks came to Hamilton in 1983 as a visiting instructor of religion. He earned a master's and Ph.D. in religion from Columbia University/Union Theological Seminary. Humphries-Brooks' areas of interest encompass literary and social-historical criticism of the Gospels, early Christian literature, and paganism. His course, "The Celluloid Savior" explores the depiction of Jesus Christ in modern media and was featured in The New York Times and on NPR's "All Things Considered." His publication "How to View a Jesus Movie" is a useful guide to viewing Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ." In 2006 Humphries-Brooks published a book, Cinematic Savior: Hollywood's Making of the American Christ (Praeger), which examines how the life of Jesus has been portrayed in major films.
