James Cone’s The Cross and the Lynching Tree includes haunting accounts of racist violence and religious apathy, and several quotes from Black poets and writers reflecting on Christianity in the United States and the US’ treatment of Native and Black people here. A chapter on artists’ interpretations of the Christian crucifixion story and its similarities with their social […]
Reading: Unprotected Texts and the legacy of Paul
I’m in two reading groups this fall. One has just begun reading Unprotected Texts by Jennifer Wright Knust, an attempt to push Hebrew and Christian scholarship on desire, human sexuality, and the body out of biblical studies journals and into the church library. The tone of the book is much lighter than you might expect! I think our […]
How religious analogies mimic political structure
Monarchy as the traditional theological model All Western religions have taken the form of celestial monarchies, and therefore have discouraged democracy in the Kingdom of Heaven. Until, as a consequence of the teachings of the German and Flemish mystics in the 15th Century, there began to be such movements as the Anabaptists, the Brothers of the […]
Join the Intersections family as executive director
One of my partnering organizations, Intersections International, is actively searching for its next executive director. With a philosophy of recognizing and respecting individual identities and diversity, Intersections brings individuals and communities together to find shared humanity and expand shared interests and understanding. This uniting of those who are parties to a tension or conflict is […]
What atonement means
I presented my paper on the lived experience of atonement theologies this morning. First, I took the audience through some of the violent and Othering imagery and metaphors at the end of the Christian bible and explained, based on George Lakoff and Mark Johnson’s research, that metaphors open up patterns of thought and interpretation as well as restrict them. Then I shared […]
Getting the ideal right
The ideals we reach for shape us in ways we don’t always recognize ourselves. But others around us can recognize our evolution, just as easily as we notice a house plant warping its stalk to reach for oblique sunlight. This weekend’s conference on nonviolence and atonement is almost here, and Pacific Union College professor Dr. Jean Sheldon speaks on […]
