DET

German Soldiers headed to the front (likely 1914) (Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons) Arguably, the outbreak of the Great War in the summer of 1914 constituted the real beginning of the 20th century, especially in Western European society and culture, as William Klempa notes in introducing this volume of early Karl Barth sermons. This was especially the case in Protestant ecclesiastical and theological circles in Germany, where the war sparked a revolt among young pastors and thinkers. In one camp, Klempa notes, establishment theologians -- including Barth's Marburg mentor Wilhelm Herrmann -- by and large acquiesced to and even offered up religious legitimization to the rising tide of nationalist and militarist sentiment. Thus, Adolf von Harnack, a key confidant for the Kaiser, served as an enthusiastic apologist for the war. For a number of younger theologians, on the other hand, the devastation that ensued as the war progressed was an acid that dissolved naive idealisms.

Anastasis (ca. 350), Vatican Museums. (PD by photographer, Jastro, via Wikimedia Commons) In last week's  post  , I touched upon William Stringfellow's conception of resurrection as the exercise of freedom from the power of death under the conditions of fallen human existence. Today I ask: What does this resurrection life entail for the churches, for the communities of the ones baptized into such an "awful freedom"? He writes: It is a freedom to live in the present age, during the remaining time of death's apparent reign, without escaping or hiding or withdrawing from the full reality of death's presence, bearing the brunt of its powers, yet jubilantly confident at the same time of Christ's victory over death and all the powers of death (p. 75). Free in Obedience , by William Stringfellow (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2006) As I noted before, I would like to hear more about the character of that victory and its broader implications, in terms o

“When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Mark 15:33-34) Francisco de Zurbarán [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons A God that is simply all-powerful, All-knowing, Unchangeable, And immovable— Can this sort of God have any credibility for us today in the real world? While unabashed prejudice, hatred, and violence Threaten to become the new normal, While trucks come barreling down the sidewalk, While bombs rain down from the sky, When they shatter the holy silence of our places of worship, In a world with sarin gas, The unchanging, unaffected, immovable god, who dwells in unapproachable light, can have no credibility for me. What, then, of the Void? Does nothing at all lie beyond the world we see in the news? The hope offered up by our deeply ambiguous lives, And our

What is Truth? by Nikolai Ge (1890) (PD-1923 via Wikimedia Commons) The year was 1964, at the height of the Civil Rights struggle. William Stringfellow, the young attorney and lay theologian who had recently practiced street law in East Harlem, penned a set of reflections on the vocation of the church in the face of the oppressive principalities and powers of the world. The essay was framed by passages from the "Epistle" to the Hebrews. Free in Obedience , by William Stringfellow (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2006) In the passion story, as Stringfellow reads it, Jesus bears the full brunt of condemnation from (if I may be a little anachronistic) the secular Roman authorities and the religious priestly caste that collaborates with Empire. What happens in the collision? Stringfellow writes: Through the encounters between Christ and principalities and between Christ and death, the power of death is exhausted. The reign of death and, within that, the pretensions t

By now, DET readers know that David Congdon (who needs no introduction at DET) has begun an initiative called #TwitterSeminary. This is a great project that brings together serious and sustained reflection on important theological topics with the (perhaps unlikely) medium of Twitter. Unfortunately, some people don't have Twitter accounts and are unable to access the goodness that is #TwitterSeminary. That's why I've been posting my #TwitterSeminary guest lectures here at DET in their entirety. Perhaps you saw my first on Karl Barth, Pacifism, and Just War . I'm pleased now to bring you another on Christianity and Socialism. It was wonderfully gratifying to see the response to this material from folks on Twitter, so thanks to everyone for their kind words. And if you do have Twitter, you can access all this as a moment . #TwitterSeminary founder and president @dwcongdon asked me to present a guest lecture on #Christianity and #socialism . I'm glad to oblige

I imagine that many DET readers have, by now, realized that David Congdon (who needs no introduction at DET) has begun an initiative called #TwitterSeminary. This is a great project that brings together serious and sustained reflection on important theological topics with the (perhaps unlikely) medium of Twitter. Anyway, in addition to his lectures ( index here ), I did a guest lecture as well (most likely the first of many). So I thought that I would share that material here as well in order to give those of you who aren't on Twitter ( click here for the moment if you have Twitter ), or who don't follow it closely, to access this material as well. Finnish soldiers advancing on Hanko front in 1941. Earlier today @dwcongdon inagurated his #TwitterSeminary initiative with a tweet storm on #tradition . https://t.co/wIkkRliaY6 — W. Travis McMaken (@WTravisMcMaken) March 8, 2017 Now I will claim the privileges of friendship and offer a #TwitterSeminary Guest Lecture on #Ka

Many folks know that I am in the late stages of preparing a book manuscript on Helmut Gollwitzer's theology and politics. If all goes according to plan, it will appear before the end of the year. Bits and pieces of it are currently flying back and forth between my editor and I. In the meantime, I thought that I would collect another "Gollwitzer Gold" installment ( part 1 / part 2 ) for you to enjoy, gentle readers. Update : I have published a book on Gollwitzer! Click on the title to order your copy: Our God Loves Justice: An Introduction to Helmut Gollwitzer . Now, without further ado, I give you the tweets! "...control and yet leave a facade of democracy standing. Hitler's technique was relatively primitive." - #Golli — W. Travis McMaken (@WTravisMcMaken) November 30, 2016 Beware "the unshakable self-confidence of the half-educated." - #Golli — W. Travis McMaken (@WTravisMcMaken) November 30, 2016 ------------------------- "I

Katy Perry went public with a new music video for her "Chained to the Rhythm" single last week. WELCOME TO 🎢🎡🎠OBLIVIA🎠🎢🎡 WHERE EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS ROSY: https://t.co/X1vMe9s3zS Directed by Mathew Cullen FT @SkipMarley #CTTRVIDEO 🥀 pic.twitter.com/E6pJ0IztME — KATY PERRY (@katyperry) February 21, 2017 I was up late grading when it came across my desk and, never one to waste an opportunity to divert my attention from grading, I proceeded to watch the video. For everything that followed you can blame Katy and co. for this symbolically rich piece of art. To make a long story short, I sent out a number of tweets on the subject and then gathered them into a "moment," reproduced below. On Katy Perry's "Chained to the Rhythm" ================================== Follow @WTravisMcMaken Subscribe to Die Evangelischen Theologen

“It’s already done. You just have to find a way to make it real.” This is John Lewis, Georgian congressman and civil rights icon, explaining his approach to effective social action in an interview with Krista Tippett , recorded during the Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage that Lewis led in 2013. You might remember that back in the day (i.e. just before his inauguration), Donald Trump lashed out at Lewis for opposing his presidency and boycotting the inauguration. He tweeted that Lewis was "all talk, talk, talk - no action or results. Sad!" Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons In fact, Lewis was one of the most prominent leaders of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. He repeatedly put his life on the line for freedom and equality, on freedom rides and sit-ins. He was a chairman of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). And he led the first Selma march on Bloody Sunday, where he suffered a skull fractu

Reinhold Niebuhr's daughter, Elizabeth Sifton, chuckles at the old quip that has circulated for decades in Protestant circles: Though the Reinhold was more famous and prolific, his younger brother, Helmut Richard, was really the superior theologian. Of course, remarks Sifton (author of a book on her father's "Serenity Prayer"): That has been an inside joke within the Niebuhr clan all along. A painting of Riverside Drive and Riverside Park at about 145th Street. By Trude Waehner (ca. 1940s) (Courtesy of Dr. Gustav Szekely, via Wikimedia Commons) What are we to make of Reinhold Niebuhr -- political activist and theorist, preacher, ethicist, and public theologian? Like the "Christmas" that is "in the air" in an interminably replayed holiday cult classic, Niebuhr's name has been in the air for the past several years -- bolstered in part by an ostensible rebirth of political "realism" in the Obama administration and by references to