DET

…or, Something to keep you busy over the weekend… …or, The Past Fortnight in the Theoblogosphere. Well, I’m getting back into the swing of these I think. It’s only been two months since the last updates post , which is much better than the nearly two year gap that preceded it. DET has been pretty active once again, as you will no doubt have noticed. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed the series – and it’s primarily been series, the past couple months – that we’ve been working through. The links to all these recent posts are below but, as always, you can also access these and other DET series on the Serials Index page . If you want to keep up to date on DET goings on, and you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to use the box at the top of the left menu to subscribe to DET and receive updates in your email inbox whenever we get something posted. And now, without further ado, here’s what’s been happening at DET: §1 Approaching Galatians (session 1, part 1)—Paul’s Letter to the Ga

"Christ Driving the Money-Changers from the Temple,” by Theodoor Rombouts, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons So Lent (for those who observe it) is about getting one’s inner spiritual house tidied up first so that one might be a more effective disciple and social justice warrior, right? Wrong! Daniel Berrigan, at least, would have demurred. I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve never really read this notorious Jesuit poet and radical peace activist, so I’m trying to rectify this neglect and make a fresh start during this penitential season of new beginnings by engaging this anthology from Orbis’ superb Modern Spiritual Masters Series . Berrigan (1921-2016), a critically acclaimed poet and biblical interpreter who wrote around 50 books, earned international notoriety -- and FBI surveillance! -- in the 1960s through his trenchant critiques and prophetic actions against the war in Southeast Asia. In 1968, the tumultous year that witnessed the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King,

Welcome to the fifth and final installment of this series!  Click here for the first installment .   One of the ways I’m encouraging my congregation to learn about the social roots of black oppression in modernity is through an educational series called Read + Reflect: 28 Days with Martin. Everyday in the month of February, I will publish a brief excerpt of Martin Luther King Jr.’s writing and a short reflection question on  my church's Facebook account  and via email to those who subscribe to our Social Justice Team. My hope is that these short, regular exposures to King’s words—which often expand beyond then-current race relations and into theology, philosophy, economics, and militarism—will stir something in people to become more educated, advocate for justice, and carry on King’s dream.     27 February 2023   Read:   “I still believe that standing up for the truth of God is the greatest thing in the world. This is the end of life. The end of life is not to be

Welcome to the fourth installment of this series!  Click here for the first installment .   One of the ways I’m encouraging my congregation to learn about the social roots of black oppression in modernity is through an educational series called Read + Reflect: 28 Days with Martin. Everyday in the month of February, I will publish a brief excerpt of Martin Luther King Jr.’s writing and a short reflection question on  my church's Facebook account  and via email to those who subscribe to our Social Justice Team. My hope is that these short, regular exposures to King’s words—which often expand beyond then-current race relations and into theology, philosophy, economics, and militarism—will stir something in people to become more educated, advocate for justice, and carry on King’s dream.   20 February 2023   Read:   “Let us be dissatisfied. Let us be dissatisfied until every state capitol houses a governor who will do justly, who will love mercy and who will walk humbly w

Welcome to the third installment of this series!  Click here for the first installment . One of the ways I’m encouraging my congregation to learn about the social roots of black oppression in modernity is through an educational series called Read + Reflect: 28 Days with Martin. Everyday in the month of February, I will publish a brief excerpt of Martin Luther King Jr.’s writing and a short reflection question on  my church's Facebook account  and via email to those who subscribe to our Social Justice Team. My hope is that these short, regular exposures to King’s words—which often expand beyond then-current race relations and into theology, philosophy, economics, and militarism—will stir something in people to become more educated, advocate for justice, and carry on King’s dream. 13 February 2023 Read:   “God is interested in the freedom of the whole human race and in the creation of a society where all men can live together as brothers, where every man will respect the dign

[The series continues and now commences the second in-person session. Find the last post here .]   McMaken : Welcome back, everyone. You may recall that we’re talking about the history of interpretation. We talked last time about some 2nd century stuff, with texts that seem to have come out of the Jewish Jesus-following community, as well as Marcion and his problematic ideas. Then, we skipped ahead and talked a lot about Luther—which of course, for us as Protestants, is a kind of theological baseline for how we’ve been taught to think about salvation and our relationship to God. Today, let’s shift focus and talk about Calvin a little bit.   c. John Calvin   Many of you know how much I love talking about Calvin. Calvin is one of the folks that I always read when I’m trying to interpret the Bible. He’s a very insightful biblical interpreter because he was a very highly trained humanist. He understands rhetoric, so he can figure out not only what the text is trying to say in