Weekend Event
DR. ELISABETH SCHUSSLER FIORENZA
April 20 - April 21, 2012
Fri. 7:30-9 pm & Sat. 9:00 am-2:30 pm
"Scripture, Democracy and Domination"
Location:
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
Fondren Hall in the Jones Bldg.
5501 Main Street
Houston, Texas
Upcoming Weekend Events
Friday & Saturday, 4/20/12 & 4/21/12, DR. ELISABETH FIORENZA, Feminist Theologian, Professor and Author
Friday & Saturday, 10/19/12 & 10/20/12 – FRANK SCHAEFFER, Author and Film-Maker
Friday & Saturday, 2/15/13 & 2/16/13, DR. MARCUS BORG, Professor and Author
Listed below is information about our Fall 2012 Luncheon Lectures, next weekend event with Robin Meyers, and the ongoing Foundation Gathering Groups.
Click on an event title below for more information.
LUNCHEON LECTURE SERIES – Spring 2012
Luncheons are held the second Wednesday of each month at The Forest Club, 9950 Memorial Drive, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Cost is $25.00 per Event.
TOPIC = “Drug Abuse is a Problem – Prohibition is Not the Answer”
The U.S. Conference of Mayors, the NAACP, the Global Commission on Drugs and Democracy, and numerous other respectable institutions and individuals have called the forty-year War on Drugs a failure. That war’s three-pronged approach of Eradication, Interdiction, and Incarceration have done little to reduce either supply or demand, but much to increase violence, corruption, and gross injustice. No one denies the serious harms caused by abuse of some drugs, including alcohol, but there is growing recognition that prohibition is not the answer. The Bible, as well as the teachings and experiences of other religious traditions, provides suggestions for reducing the harms of drug use without insisting upon “zero tolerance” in a “drug-free America.” Our speaker is Dr. William Martin, the Harry and Hazel Chavanne Emeritus Professor of Religion and Public Policy in the Department of Sociology at Rice. In his retirement, he serves as the Chavanne Senior Fellow for Religion and Public Policy at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.
TOPIC = “Notes on a Happy Theologian: Rumors of Angels and The Poetry of Awe”
This is not about angels but rather about those elements embedded in the world of our human lives that elicit in us a sense of transcendence. So much religiosity assumes there is a God and that such a being regularly dips her/his finger into our lives causing bane and blessing. In reality, the reverse is true Out of our experience we gain hints, and from those ‘rumors,’ we build our theology. Our speaker is Dr. Bob Tucker, Executive Director of the Foundation for Contemporary Theology.
TOPIC = “A Good Heart is the Best Religion: The Buddhist Way”
Is Buddhism a religion, a philosophy, a way of life, or a science? As His Holiness the Dalai Lama would say, it all depends on how you approach it. And that is true not just about Buddhism. Whatever your approach in life — theologian, philosopher, scientist, teacher, business person, artist or construction worker, what is important is to cultivate a good heart. We will thus, also have an experiential component on meditation as a way to cultivate a good heart. Our speaker is Dr. Alejandro Chaoul, Assistant Professor at the John P. McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Services at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
TOPIC = “After the Christian Century: The Outlook Following the Triumph of Post-Christianity in the Post-American Era”
This is a look at the major issues facing Christians at a time when the assumed preeminence of the role of both Christianity and America in the world is being challenged. Our speaker is Dr. John Stroup, Harry and Hazel Chavanne Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University.
Dr. Fiorenza is the Krister Stendahll Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School. She has done pioneering work in biblical interpretation and feminist theology. She has received six honorary doctorates. Her iconic book is In Memory of Her.
The lectures will explore why Scripture can be used for both a progressive radical democratic politics or a politics of exclusion and domination. She will approach the topic from a critical feminist perspective based on her books: Wisdom Ways, The Power of the Word and Transforming Vision.
Lecture I: Introducing a Feminist Biblical Interpretation
Many belief that we live in a time of Post-feminism because the feminist movement has achieved its goal. The recent debate around women’s reproductive rights in the Republican Primary documented again that women still lack full citizenship. In this session we will explore the question of Scripture and women’s struggles for full citizenship. We will focus on feminist biblical interpretation in the context of other approaches to the bible.
Lecture II: The Biblical Roots of Radical Democracy and the Ethos of Domination
In many churches women also still lack full citizenship, whereas in others they have full leadership. In this session we will discuss the radical democratic roots of the church and the attempts to adapt it to imperial structures, both of which are inscribed in Scripture. Hence, we will explore the tension between the notion of the ekklēsia and the biblical texts of subordination and silencing.
Lecture III: Christian Anti-Judaism
The N*T has been shaped by the socio-political contexts of the Roman Empire. We not only find texts that seek accommodation with the Roman Empire but also texts that attempt to shift the blame for Jesus’ death from the Romans to the Jews. As a consequence, Christian identity has been shaped by Roman imperialism and the negation of our Jewish roots. In this session we will discuss Scriptural identity formations that promote prejudice against the others.
Lecture IV. The Rhetoric of Empire and The Language of Scripture
Many words of Scripture that have shaped Christian self-understanding are derived from Roman imperial language. If one does not question such language one internalizes their ethos of domination as divine revelation. Such language of domination is performative language that shapes Christian identity and praxis. Hence, it is necessary to learn how to distinguish the life-giving power of Scripture from the death-dealing power of empire so that we as biblical readers are able to resist global domination and exploitation.
THE SCHEDULE
Friday, April 20
7:00 – 7:30 pm Registration
7:30 – 9:00 Welcome, Introductions, Lecture 1
Saturday, April 21
8:30 – 9:00 am Registration
9:00 – 10:20 Lecture 2
10:20 – 10:40 Break
10:40 – 12:00 Lecture 3
Lunch Break
1:00 – 2:30 pm Lecture 4
Members of our weekly Gathering groups continue to help us on our journeys by studying our scholars, presenting new ideas and sharing insights gleaned from their own journeys. They are a safe place to share probings through inquiry, doubting and wondering, which are an essential part of what the Foundation offers. Information is listed below. Call 713-668-2345 for more information on the basis of study.
Click here for more information about these discussion groups.
