Stalcup School of Theology for the Laity - 2009-2010 Schedule
John Calvin for Today’s World
The Third W.A. Welsh Seminar
Saturday, September 12, 2009 (8:30 a.m. – 1:45 p.m.)
David J. Gouwens, Professor of Theology, Brite Divinity School
Presented by: Stalcup School of Theology for the Laity, Brite Divinity School
Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church, 9800 Preston Road, Dallas, 75230 (NE corner of Walnut Hill and Preston Road.) (For directions visit http://www.phpc.org)
Marking the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin (1509-64), this course will explore the character, influence, and lasting relevance of his thought for twenty-first century Christians. A figure of central importance in the history of the church and in Western civilization at large, his impact on both continues today. We will first explore the context of Calvin’s life and then focus upon how Calvin’s thought addresses issues facing today’s church and culture.
David J. Gouwens has taught at Brite Divinity School for twenty-six years. His courses cover historical and contemporary theology, including seminars on the Reformed theological tradition and the theology of Karl Barth. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), his current research interests focus on theological aesthetics, and theology and the arts, in the Reformed tradition. He regularly teaches adult education courses in area churches.
Registration is $35 and includes a light lunch. (Scholarships available)
A History of the Christian Witness: From the Apostles to Us
Saturday, September 26, 2009 (8:30 a.m. – 1:45 p.m.)
D. Newell Williams, President and Professor of Modern and American Church History, Brite Divinity School
Presented by: Stalcup School of Theology for the Laity, Brite Divinity School
Acton United Methodist Church, 3433 Fall Creek Highway, Granbury, 76049 (For directions visit http://www.actonumc.org/)
Christianity is a historical faith. It had its beginnings in history and has been shaped by historical developments. This one-day seminar will provide an overview of the History of Christianity with special attention to spirituality, the development of the New Testament, the Reformation, eighteenth and nineteenth century revivals, and contemporary issues facing the church in North America.
Before assuming his present positions at Brite Divinity School in 2003, Dr. Williams taught Church History at Christian Theological Seminary (1984-2003), where he also served as Vice-President and Dean (1992-1998). He is widely published and a sought after speaker. Completing in 2009 a two-year term as Moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), he is currently working with historians of other denominations on a world history of the Stone-Campbell Movement.
Registration is $35 and includes a light lunch. (Scholarships available)
The Gamble of Faith
The Third Schubert M. Ogden Seminar on Systematic Theology
10/24/2009( 8:30:00 AM - 1:45:00 PM )
Northway Christian Church, Dallas
Kathryn E. Tanner, Dorothy Grant Maclear Professor of Theology, University of Chicago Divinity School
Christians in the modern period have often talked about faith as a kind of gamble: in the pursuit of salvation one is likely to incur costs for the sake of an uncertain gain. When trying to lead a Christian life, one risks the loss of the pleasures this world can offer, in hopes of a more ultimate and lasting happiness to come. What might such a conception of faith as a gamble imply about actual gambling? The seminar uses the current financial crisis--the result of gambling or financial speculation on a massive scale--to draw out a number of similarities and contrasts with the gamble of Christian faith and thereby provide a Christian perspective on recent failures in banking and financial markets. The contrasts include short-term versus long-term thinking, immediate versus delayed gratification, and inclusive benefit versus winner-take-all betting. In both financial speculation and the gamble of faith might one be hoping for something for nothing?
Kathryn E. Tanner, Dorothy Grant Maclear Professor of Theology at the University of Chicago Divinity School, relates past thought from the history of Western theological traditions to areas of contemporary theological concern using critical, social, and feminist theory. She holds her doctorate in theology from Yale’s Religious Studies Department, where she taught for ten years before joining the University of Chicago Divinity School in 1994. Professor Tanner has lectured at educational institutions and churches in many countries, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Sweden, and Belgium. She serves on the Theology Committee of the Episcopal House of Bishops. Her first book, God and Creation in Christian Theology: Tyranny or Empowerment? (1988), recovered from pre-modern theology the concept of a radically transcendent God. She discussed the practical force of Christian beliefs about God’s relation to the world in her second book, The Politics of God: Christian Theologies and Social Justice (1992). She explored the relevance of cultural studies for rethinking theological method in Theories of Culture: A New Agenda for Theology (1997), and in Jesus, Humanity, and the Trinity (2001) she sketched a systematic theology that focuses on the Incarnation as the culminating expression of divine love. Her most recent book, The Economy of Grace (Fortress Press, 2005) marshals a theological argument for replacing the current capitalist economic system with a noncompetitive one that better reflects God’s own giving.
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The Rest of the Story: How the Book of Acts Continues the Gospel of Luke
The Fourth Fred B. Craddock Seminar on the Gospels
11/14/2009( 8:30:00 AM - 1:45:00 PM )
Northway Christian Church, Dallas
Ronald Allen, Nettie Sweeney and Hugh Th. Miller Professor of Preaching and New Testament, Christian Theological Seminary
Christians sometimes mistakenly think that the resurrection of Jesus is the end of the Gospel Story. But for the Gospel Luke, the resurrection is only the opening chapter. The next chapters are told in the Book of Acts, and the church after Acts (including the church in our day) continues to enact the rest of the story. This seminar will explore how the Gospel of Luke introduces Jesus as God’s agent of coming and present Realm of God, and of how the Book of Acts continues that story by showing how the Holy Spirit empowers the church to continue that ministry. To read either the Gospel of Luke or the Book of Acts in isolation is to hear only half the story. The Bible student can appreciate Luke’s full meaning only when following themes from the Gospel into the Acts (and by tracing themes from Acts back into the Gospel). We will follow several themes including: the Realm of God, the Holy Spirit, poverty and wealth, the Lord’s Supper, the gentile mission, relationship with Jewish people, and attitudes towards the Roman government. The story that started in the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts is not complete. These books can help us write our contributions into that ongoing story.
Ron Allen teaches preaching and Gospels and Letters at Christian Theological Seminary where he has been since 1982. Prior to that, he and his spouse, the Reverend Linda McKiernan-Allen, were co-ministers of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Grand Island, Nebraska. He has published 35 books most recently Preaching and the Other (Chalice Press), Thinking Theologically: The Preacher as Theologian (Fortress Press) and The Life of Jesus for Today (Westminster John Knox Press). A Faith of Your Own: Naming What You Really Believe (Westminster John Knox Press) will be published early in 2010. He and Clark Williamson have written a three volume commentary on preaching on the lectionary from the perspective of correcting anti-Jewish tendencies called Channels of Listening. He recently directed a study of people who listen to sermons to determine the qualities in preaching that encourage them to pay attention, including Hearing the Sermon: Relationship, Content, Feeling (Chalice Press, 2004).
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The Faithful Struggle to Forgive
The Second Betty Jo Hay Seminar on Religion and Mental Health
1/9/2010( 8:30:00 AM - 1:45:00 PM )
Northway Christian Church, Dallas
Joretta Marshall, Professor of Pastoral Theology and Care, Brite Divinity School
Forgiveness is part of the journey of faith for many Christians. It is, on the one hand, something that compels us toward right relationships and justice. On the other hand, forgiveness is hard work that requires energy, spiritual integrity, and honesty. Forgiveness is not a fix for our relationships; rather it is a process one moves through. This seminar will engage participants in wrestling with the call of forgiveness in our lives even as it seeks to unpack the complexity of forgiveness in diverse contexts and situations. The day is designed to help people of faith discern how best to respond to individual, interpersonal, and communal pain and injustice through the work of forgiveness.
Joretta Marshall is currently Professor of Pastoral Theology and Care at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, TX. Prior to joining the faculty at Brite, she served on the faculties of Vanderbilt University Divinity School (1989-1993), Iliff School of Theology (1993-2001), and Eden Seminary (2001-2007), where she was also Academic Dean (2001-2005). Dr. Marshall has served as one of the Co-Editors for the Journal of Pastoral Theology, a publication supported by the Society for Pastoral Theology, and is currently on the editorial Boards for The Journal of Religion and Abuse and Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling. Joretta is the author of Counseling Lesbian Partners and Why Should I Forgive?, is the co-editor of Forgiveness and Abuse: Jewish and Christian Reflections. (with Marie Fortune), and The Formation of Pastoral Counselors: Challenges and Opportunities (with Duane Bidwell), along with a number of articles in professional and church-related journals. Currently she serves as the President of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. She is ordained as an Elder in the United Methodist Church and holds membership in the Rocky Mountain Conference.
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Living Abundantly: The Gospel of John
1/30/2010( 8:30:00 AM - 1:45:00 PM )
Northway Christian Church, Dallas
Jaime Clark-Soles, Associate Professor of New Testament, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University
In John 10:10, Jesus declares: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” What could he mean? What does an abundant life look like? How might one find it or be found by it? The Gospel of John provides ample clues. It beckons us to “come and see” and invites us to experience the poetry of the created order around us and within us. So come (re)discover the richness of this Gospel whose uniqueness and layers of mystery continue to grip its readers and whose unanticipated surprises delight at every turn!
Jaime Clark-Soles has taught New Testament at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University since 2001. She received her B.A. from Stetson University where she studied Philosophy and Russian Studies. She earned her M.Div. from Yale Divinity School and her Ph.D. in New Testament from Yale University. Her specialties include “The Gospel of John” and “Evil, Suffering, and Death in the New Testament.” She is the author of Death and Afterlife in the New Testament (T&T Clark, 2006) and Scripture Cannot Be Broken: The Social Function of the Use of Scripture in the Fourth Gospel (E.J. Brill, 2003). Dr. Clark-Soles enjoys speaking and writing in both academic and popular venues. She has contributed articles to preaching resources in print and online and to resources on teaching the bible using resources from popular culture. Presently, she is writing two books which allow her to combine her scholarly and pastoral interests: Dying to Live: Questions and Answers about Death and Afterlife and The Active Word: New Testament Studies and the Christian Believer. Dr. Clark-Soles appears in the Johannine portions of Disciple Bible Study videos. As an ordained American Baptist minister, Rev. Clark-Soles has served in both parish and hospice settings. She is a member at Church in the Cliff in Dallas.
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Searching for Meaning: Reading the Lord’s Prayer Closely
The Third Jean and Parker F. Wilson Seminar
2/27/2010( 8:30:00 AM - 1:45:00 AM )
Northway Christian Church, Dallas
Francisco Lozada, Jr, Associate Professor of New Testament and Latina/o Church Studies, Brite Divinity School
This course will explore the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4 from a variety of critical perspectives, ranging from the Lord’s Prayer’s earliest version, history on how the Prayer came about, and its literary and theological background to the more contemporary perspectives relating to social justice and liberation reflected in the Lord’s Prayer. Framing the course is the theological question of how should Christians read the Lord’s Prayer? And what does the Lord’s Prayer teach us about how to engage global issues?
Francisco Lozada, Jr. holds a doctorate in New Testament and Early Christianity from Vanderbilt University. His teaching and research interests include New Testament Studies, Cultural Biblical Interpretation, and Latino/a (Hispanic) Theology and Church Studies. He is actively involved in leadership positions in the Society of Biblical Literature. He is a past president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS), a past teacher of the Hispanic Summer Program: An Ecumenical Program in Theology and Religion, and a mentor for doctoral students of the Hispanic Theological Initiative (HTI) housed at Princeton Theological Seminary. Dr. Lozada has published a monograph entitled A Literary Reading of John 5: Text as Construction (2000), a co-edited (with Tom Thatcher) book entitled New Currents Through John: A Global Perspective (2006), and numerous articles in cultural hermeneutics. He is currently working on a manuscript in Latino/a Biblical Hermeneutics and another in the area of New Testament Studies. Dr. Lozada is Roman Catholic.
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Implications of Our Images of Jesus
The Third Jean and Patrick Henry, Jr. Seminar
3/27/2010( 8:30:00 AM - 1:45:00 PM )
Northway Christian Church, Dallas
Rodney S. Sadler, Jr, Associate Professor of Bible, Union Presbyterian Seminary
What did Jesus look like? Why does it matter how he is portrayed through images? Though common, our depictions of Jesus are often unquestioned and convey a great deal of unexamined messages when used in worship and teaching. In these sessions we will begin to explore these depictions to determine what if any impact they have on contemporary Christian communities and how they subtly inform larger conversations about “race,” ethnicity, and anti-semitism by privileging one conception of Christ. In four modules, we will consider the accuracy of our traditional familiar images, wrestle with the problems of “qualified Christs,” explore alternative images, and suggest a way for the Church to foster human reconciliation at the start of a new millennium.
Rodney S. Sadler, Jr. is Associate Professor of Bible at Union Presbyterian Seminary (Formerly Union-PSCE) at Charlotte. He is a graduate of Howard University (B.S.-Psychology, Philosophy), Howard School of Divinity (M.Div.), and Duke University (Ph.D. Hebrew Bible and Biblical Archaeology). Dr. Sadler lectures and writes on the following subjects: Black Church Studies, the Bible and “Race,” Difference in Scripture, “Race” and the Face of Jesus, Biblical Archaeology, Dead Sea Scrolls, and general themes in Old Testament and New Testament studies. He is widely published, serves on editorial councils of Interpretation, The African American Devotional Bible, and The Africana Bible (forthcoming) and authored a discussion on “race” in Scripture entitled Can a Cushite Change His Skin? An Examination of Race, Ethnicity, and Othering in the Hebrew Bible.
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Journeys Within and Without: The Theme of Journey and Quest in Religion and Literature
The Fourth Fay and Alfred C. Grosse Seminar on Religion and the Literary Arts
4/17/2010( 8:30:00 AM - 1:45:00 PM )
Northway Christian Church, Dallas
Stephanie Paulsell, Houghton Professor of the Practice of Ministry Studies, Harvard Divinity School
St. Augustine once famously named restlessness as central to what it means to be human. “You have made us for yourself,” Augustine writes to God in his Confessions, “and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” In this course, we will explore how literary artists from many times and places have explored the deeply human, deeply religious enterprise that emerges from this restlessness—the enterprise of making journeys and embarking on quests. We will read and discuss excerpts from great journey narratives such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, Abraham and Sarah’s journey in Genesis, The Quest of the Holy Grail, Dante’s Inferno, Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle, Basho’s Narrow Road to the Deep North, and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.
Stephanie Paulsell is the Houghton Professor of the Practice of Ministry Studies at Harvard Divinity School where she regularly teaches a course on the literature of journey and quest. Author of Honoring the Body: Meditations on a Christian Practice (Jossey-Bass, 2002) and editor of The Scope of Our Art: The Vocation of the Theological Teacher (Eerdmans, 2001), she is at work on a commentary on the Song of Songs.
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