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Science and the Problem of God
Get PDFI am deeply grateful to Harvard Divinity School for having invited me again. I am happy to be back at Harvard. Why has God been rejected in modern times? Mainly for two reasons: First of all: God was invoked, and science opposed. Catholic apologists even today are inclined to make light of the condemnation of Galileo by the Roman authorities on faith, approved by Pope Urban VIII himself and carried out, in the Catholic universities, with all the resources of power at the disposal of inquisitors and nuncios. But this declaration was regarded in practice in Catholic theology as an infallible and irreformable decision and nipped in the bud the modest attempts of open-minded theologicians to think out afresh the biblical message in the light of Church, but also by the state, not only by Rome, but also by Lutheranism and Calvinism, when proceeding against scientists. On the one side, as on the other, censorship, visitation, prohibition of books, suppression of dissident opinions was the order of the day
A Phenomenological Note: Black Religion As Christian Conjuration
Get PDFThis essay presents a view of Black religious expression as a distinctive form of Christian conjuration. I will say more about what this means shortly. But for introductory purposes I should immediately add that this is a phenomenological presentation. By “phenomenological” I mean a description of this occurrence as it ‘gives itself in actual experience, prior to any attempt to schematize or classify it. Thus I intend to ‘bracket’ all valuational or categorical considerations, such as whether this form of conjuration represents “high” or “low” religion (a preoccupation common to investigators in comparative religion when confronted with African derived spiritualities). Similarly, I will resist—perhaps unsuccessfully—any pressure to locate this phenomenon in relation to the Christian dogma (a premature consideration whenever systematic theologians and religious thinkers seek to organize occurrences without first allowing the phenomenon to reveal its inner dynamism)
The Problems of Faith and Justice
Get PDFThe breaking of the rule of the color line poses both moral and religious problems for the American people. It poses moral problems because the color line violates both the well-being of individuals and the well-being of the community as such. It stands in direct opposition to the democratic order of community. It poses religious problems because it violates the transcendent dignity of human being as such, individual human beings and covenants of being human. It stands in direct opposition to the democratic faith
Romans 3: The Preacher’s Dilemma
Get PDFFrom time to time I receive brochures advertising workshops for preachers. Other homiletics professors in town—at Columbia and Emory—send these brochures to me, as well as our constituent seminaries here in The Interdenominational Theological Center. The problem is that most of these workshops continue to promote a triumphalistic philosophy of preaching. Whether it is through story-telling, or coping with the text, or doing any of the other things these titles would suggest, the sponsors of these workshops want homileticians who will portray the traditional, triumphalistic sort of preaching which comes into conflict with Paul’s epistle to the Romans
“This Woman’s Son Shall Not Inherit with my Son”: Towards a Womanist Politics of Belonging in the Sarah-Hagar Narratives
Get PDFTraditionally, male theorists of nation have presumed that the needs of the nation have been solely the concern of the male members of the collectivity. Feminist theorists of nation have analyzed the intersections of gender and nation to show that women ’s participation has been more than as the symbolic bearers of the nation or its metaphoric or symbolic boundaries. The question of who belongs and the various political projects that decide who belongs and who does not as members of the group is the politics of belonging. This article examines the Sarah-Hagar narratives to explore how gender, ethnicity, and class intersect with the politics of belonging to determine who belongs as a member of Israel and who gets excluded. I will also introduce a theoretical framework for a womanist politics of belonging
AP Intimate Violence Against Black Women and Internalized Shame: A Womanist Pastoral Counseling Perspective
No full textThis writer’s concern for some time has been the phenomenon of violence against Black girls and women and the ramifications this has on their psychological functioning and overall being. Womanist Theology gives us a viable methodology for reflection upon the multiple systems of oppression that impact the lives of Black women, especially victim-survivors of sexual abuse
African-American Worship: Faith Looking Forward
Get PDFAt a rapidly advancing rate, more people of faith are seeking churches according to the style of worship and music rather than differences in denominational doctrines or geographical locations. Amidst the steadily growing traditional churches, the movement toward mega-churches, meta-churches, and parachurch organizations continues at a phenomenal rate. Each organizational structure requires a different approach to the shaping and nurturing of Christian faith as consideration is given to twenty-first century diversities of lifestyles and cultures. In each instance, there is evidence of established faith traditions set forth from biblical times and a concern for new expressions of “Faith Looking Forward" toward new centuries
Mantras, Mudras and Mandalas: Asian Challenges To American Values
Get PDFSome of us are apt to recall more easily the first lines of Kipling's poem than the last two. For that imperious Englishman assumes a place of privilege for the West, and the presupposed meeting of East andWest occurs within the framework of values establishedby Western civilization
The President’s Legacy
No full textWhen Dr. Costen invited me to prepare this narrative commemorating his tenure as President of the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC), I was both elated and filled with dread. Elated because I had known him for many years—at least two decades—and had followed his development and accomplishments, both in the parish ministry and in the world of theological education. Filled with dread because I knew the intense joy of victory but also was aware of the painful dungeons of defeat. Therefore, I wondered aloud: “Has Jim experienced these same emotions, especially the more tortuous of the two?” Of course, I knew of his successes, at least some of them, but of his defeats . . .