Weekend Event
DR. ROBIN MEYERS
Feb. 24 - Feb. 25, 2012
Fri. 7:30-9 pm & Sat. 9:00 am-2:30 pm
"The Underground Church: Reclaiming the Subversive Way of Jesus"

Location:
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
Sanctuary Building Activity Center
(second floor, last room on left)
5501 Main Street
Houston, Texas
Upcoming Weekend Events
Friday & Saturday, 2/24/12 & 2/25/12 – DR. ROBIN MEYERS, Professor, Minister and Author
Friday & Saturday, 4/20/12 & 4/21/12, DR. ELISABETH FIORENZA, Feminist Theologian, Professor and Author
Friday & Saturday, 2/15/13 & 2/16/13, DR. MARCUS BORG, Professor and Author
History of The Foundation for Contemporary Theology
The Foundation for Contemporary Theology was founded in 1987 by Wes Seeliger, an Episcopal priest, and Charles “Rebbie” Gregg, a lawyer. They had met in the Faith and Life Community at the University of Texas in Austin, and were inspired by its leader, Joe Mathews. Having had the opportunity to sit down at meals with people like Paul Tillich, Reinhold Neibhur, Edward Hobbs and other prominent progressive theologians, Wes wanted that same kind of close relationship available for lay people in the churches. He also hoped to include theologians from other religions, but soon realized that the Christians needed to understand their own religion/faith before much significant dialogue could be had with other religions. So he concentrated on Christianity, because of the problems he saw there.
The first major theologian sponsored in 1990 by the Foundation was Charles Hartshorn, a Process Theologian. It was held at St. John the Divine Episcopal church in Houston, TX. 1994 brought Bishop John Shelby Spong for the first of what has become eight lecture series. Marcus Borg soon followed, along with Matthew Fox and later John Dominic Crossan, all of whom have had multiple appearances with the Foundation. A host of other theologians, many from the Jesus Seminar, have brought contemporary theology to those having difficulties with the theology of their childhood, those who have left the church and become part of the ‘church alumni association’, and even atheists.
In the mid-1990′s, the Luncheon Lecture Series was initiated. Bill Lawson of the Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church and Pittman McGehee of Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal) in Houston were two of our first speakers. Since then, there have been eight Luncheon Lectures a year featuring prominent theologians and scholars from Houston area colleges, universities and progressive churches, and occasionally from Austin or San Antonio. Speakers from other disciplines who are theologically astute have also offered us provocative lectures on science, psychology and sociology, for instance, and have discussed the interconnection of those disciplines with theology.
The Foundation for Contemporary Theology has made a difference in the community as witnessed by other organizations and churches now sponsoring some of the same theologians that we introduced years ago. Our mailing list has increased from a rousing one hundred to almost two thousand. Our logo is the wedgeblade, signifying our being on the cutting edge of non-literal, non-dogmatic Christian thinking. We are ever alert to new theological perspectives coming from the scholastic world and from those around us. As our founder, Wes Seeliger, said “Onward through the fog!”
************
Previous weekend speakers have included:
Armstrong, Karen
- (2002) Fundamentalism: Myths and Methods
Ball, Ben
- (2007) Bending History
“Bonhoeffer”—the film (2004)
Borg, Marcus
- (1997) The God We Never Knew
- (1999) Revisioning Christianity
- (2000) Eyeballing the Bible: Its History, Metaphors, Visions, and the Battle
- (2003) Seeing Christianity Again: The Heart of the Matter
- (2005) Two Visions of Christianity Today
- (2007) Mysticism, Empowerment & Resistance
- (2008) Beyond Atheism, Literalism and Convention
- (2010) “Speaking” Christian with Marcus Borg
Brock, Ann Graham
- (2008) Peter, Paul and Mary, The Early Years
Brock, Rita Nakashima Brock
- (2010) Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of God’s Creation for Crucifixion and How We Can Learn to Love the Paradise of this World
Campbell, Rev. Fred
- (2003) Four Faiths—A Workshop
Capon, Robert
- (2000) The Fingerprints of God: Tracking the Divine Suspect Through a History of Images
Carroll, Jill
- (2005) Religion, Spirituality and Tolerance: Finding a Path to a More Peaceful Planet
Chittister, Joan
- (2007) Mysticism, Empowerment and Resistance
Cobb, John
- (2000) American Empire and Christian Theology
- (2000) Thinking the Faith: Saving our Future
- (2006) American Empire and Christian Theology
Cox, Harvey
- (2005) Frontier Issues in Contemporary Religion & Theology
Crossan, John Dominic
- (2001) The Historical Jesus and Contemporary Theology
- (2003) Victory and Peace or Justice and Peace? *
- (2006) God and Violence
- (2007) Mysticism, Empowerment and Resistance *
- (2008) Jesus and Paul: Continuity or Discontinuity?
- (2011) The Abba-Prayer of Jesus: God as Householder of the World-House
Curran, Charles
- (1998) Role of Religion in American Political Life: Catholic Theology vs. Protestant Theology, American Individualism vs. Christian Communitarianism
Droxler, Andre
- (2008) Global Warming
Fox, Matthew
- (1997) Creation Spirituality
- (1999) Techno-Cosmic Mass *
Funk Robert
- (2000) Jesus Seminar on the Road: The Incredible Creed, The God of Jesus, God Questions
Gnosticism, Esotericism and Mysticism (GEM Weekend)
- (2009) Rice University Dept. of Religious Studies ProfessorsJeff Kripal, April deConick, Claire Fanger, William Parsons
Hall, Douglass John
- (1999) What Time is It? Twenty-First Century Challenges to the Christian Movement
Hartshorne, Charles
- (1990) Process Theology
Haught, John
- (2011) Science, Faith and The Unfinished Universe
Hefner, Philip
- (2001) Faith, Science and the American Reality
Hinnels, John
- (1997) The Magi and Christianity
Hobbs, Edward
- (1998) The Heart of the New Testament
- (1999) Superman is Dead
- (2002) Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?
Hoover, Roy
- (2005) Tradition and Faith in a New Era
Horsley, Richard
- (2000) Jesus and Paul in THEIR World
- (2006) Jesus, Paul and Power
Jensen, Robert
- (2007) How Inclusive is Inclusivity? An Atheist Joins the Church
Knitter, Paul
- (2011) Without Buddha I Could Not Be A Christian
Kunkel, Robbie
- (2001) Revisioning Christianity—workshop
LeBacqz, Karen
- (2002) Ethics and the Human Situation
Levine, Amy-Jill
- (2004) Interfaith Dialogue and Biblical Studies
- (2009) Listen to Jesus’ Parables with First-Century Ears!
Linden, Bill
- (2001) Revisioning Christianity—workshop
Marshall, Gene
- (1996) Workshop
- (1998) Religious Studies 1 (RS1)
- (1999) Religious Studies 1 (RS1)
- (1999) Earth Care 21—workshop
- (2005) Religion and Science: Controversy or Convergence?
Marty, Martin E.
- (1997) Islam & Christianity: Similarities, Differences and Bridge Building
Miller, Keith
- (1998) The Secret Life of the Soul
Miller, Robert
- (2010) Rethinking the Death of Jesus
Mistree, Kojestee
- (1997) The Magi and Christianity
Nelson, James
- (2003) Erotic Theology and the Body of Christ
Patterson, Stephen
- (2000) Jesus Seminar on the Road: The Incredible Creed, the God of Jesus, God Questions
- (2003) The Gospel of Thomas
- (2007) Rethinking the Death and Life of Jesus
Quinn, Daniel
- (1998) Dialogue with Daniel Quinn (Ishmael) Story of B, My Ishmael)
Rigby, James
- (2007) How Inclusive is Inclusivity? An Atheist Joins the Church
Robinson, James M.
- (2009) The Real Jesus Behind the Halo
Rubenstein, Richard
- (2005) Theology, Creativity and Conflict: Sources of Violent Religious Conflict & Prospects for Peace
Schroeder, Gerald
- (2005) Religion and Science: Controversy or Convergence?
Scott, Bernard Brandon
- (2003) Re-Imaging the World in Parables
Segal, Alan
- (2008) “Life After Death and How To Get It” – A Lecture Series on the Intersection of Cultures and Religious Views of Life After Death
Shlain, Leonard
- (1999) The Alphabet vs. The Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image
- (2000) The Alphabet vs. The Goddess—Updated
Sinclair, Don
- (2007) Bending History
Spong, John Shelby
- (1994) Resurrection: Myth or Reality?
- (1998) Why Christianity Must Change or Die
- (1999) The Experience of Christ Separated from the Explanation of Christ
- (2000) Here I Stand: My Struggle for a Christianity of Integrity, Love and Equality
- (2002) A New Christianity for a New World
- (2002) Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: The Future of Christianity
- (2004) From Tribal Religion into the Limitless Love of God
- (2009) Reordering the Center of Christianity
- (2010) Eternal Life: A New Vision – Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell
Suchocki, Marjorie
- (2001) Christian Salvation in a Pluralistic World
Thistlethwaite, Susan
- (2011) Doing Theology “East of Eden’: Wisdom Lessons from the Biblical ‘Fall” from Innocence
Tucker, Robert
- (2004) On Being Your Own Theologian (“Birth” of Gatherings)
- (2007) Bending History
Vincent, Ken
- (1999) The Magi – From Zoroaster to the Three Wise Men
White, L. Michael
- (2006) The Shaping of Ancient Gospels and How They Shape Our Images of Jesus
Wigglesworth, Cindy
- (2005) Religion, Spirituality and Tolerance: Finding a Path to a More Peaceful Planet
Wink, Walter
- (1999) Understanding the Powers that Be
- (2002) Jesus Before the Church: The Enigma of the Son of Man
Wink, June Keener
- (2002) Jesus Before the Church: The Enigma of the Son of Man
Wren, Brian
- (2004) Convinced That All Are Welcome: A Hymn-Poet’s Exploration