Cultivating Ideas Faculty Webinar Series

Dr. William Greenway. The world’s faiths are often portrayed as siloed systems of understanding, so that affirming the truth of one faith tradition entails rejecting every other faith tradition.  This masks remarkable interfaith consensus which results from various faiths' attempts to witness to the same divine reality.  Condensed from the final chapter of my new book, In the Light of Agape: Moral Realism and its Consequences, I will sketch a philosophical argument for affirming the reality of agape—God insofar as God is love—and in its light sketch a vision for non-exclusive affirmation of distinctly Christian faith and of other faith traditions (from Buddhism to Wiccan). 

Dr. Jen Lord. In this webinar we think about the act of baptism, its rites and theologies, in order to consider how the church is a community of the baptized and what a baptismal spirituality looks like in our storm-tossed world. We pay particular attention to baptism’s prophetic claim on our lives and what this means for navigating our life together as Christ’s body in the world. 

Rev. Dr. Donghyun Jeong. The Book of Revelation is a text so many of us want to understand, and too many have used for one single purpose: to build theories of the end times in our world. Readers often seek to find a one-to-one correspondence between what is prophesied in the book and what we are seeing in the political landscape or modern technological innovations. Are there other ways to read Revelation? Why is it important to resist the temptation to become clever astrologists? How can we live out ultimate hope in Revelation faithfully?

Rev. Dr. Rodney Caruthers III. Jesus’ Christological titles are significant for understanding his nature, message, and mission. Along with Son of God, Son of David, and Christ (or Messiah), the title Son of Man is perhaps the least understood. During the Second Temple Period, a variety of enigmatic figures, such as Enoch, Melchizedek, and Abel (the Son of Adam) began to appear in Jewish literature and theology as figures associated with eschatological concepts, including the Son of Man. How did Jesus of Nazareth fit within this ancient purview? The Gospel of Mark is one source that offers insight into how this character was envisioned, along with new features that Jesus embodied during his earthly ministry. This session will consider the historical and theological development of the Son of Man, along with its connections to the Day of Yahweh. How Jesus was perceived as Son of Man by his followers and how the title informed his ministry and the formation of the early Church will be considered. 

Dr. David Jensen. We live in bloody times, where the mere sight of blood can cause revulsion. Wars rage in many corners of the world, leaving land soaked in blood. Arguments over immigration sometimes fixate on cultural bloodlines. Christian faith can also seem saturated with blood: wounds of crucifixion, communion in the blood of Christ. What does all this blood mean? Does Christian symbolism and language about blood perpetuate or subvert the patterns of blood and violence in our wider culture? Tune in for an exploration of an element of Christian faith that is central, but often avoided because it just seems too bloody.

Rev. Dr. Margaret Aymer. Many of the rifts in contemporary society center on the question of what it means to be human. This webinar explores some biblical themes about humanity, our place in relationship to God, to creation, and to one another.

Rev. Dr. Sarah Allen. God has gifted each age and life-stage with a particular vocation. In this conversation, we’ll explore ways to create intentionally intergenerational worship services that honor the unique gifts and vocations of people of all generations in your congregation. Drawing from recent research in faith formation, human development and vocation, you’ll leave with practical ideas for your ministries.

Rev. Patricia Bonilla. This webinar will highlight the ministry and scholarship of Latinas and how they are imaging and implementing new possibilities for faith formation and theological education. The presentation will engage decolonizing pedagogies, including intergenerational, peer-learning, and accompaniment mentorship practices. 

Rev. Dr. Crystal Silva-McCormick. This webinar will feature a discussion and dialogue about the concept of property and property ownership.  These concepts are fundamental to the "American dream" and to U.S. cultural values. In this webinar, the history of these concepts and their relationship to racism and violence against Black bodies will be discussed. Questions that the webinar will reflect on include: "How has the concept of property ownership affected the Christian witness?" "Is the concept of property ownership contrary to the gospel?"

Rev. Dr. Charles Christian. Too often, we approach diversity from political, social, academic, or even business perspectives. In short, diversity is seen as a problem to be solved. However, what if we approached diversity from a theological perspective—an ethical one? In this webinar, we will examine the ethical dimensions of diversity, why it is not a problem to be solved but a song to be sung, and how this framework will change how we see and love our local and global neighbors.

Dr. Gregory Cuéllar. Lamentations maps a psychosocial condition of suffering generated by the grotesque violence of empire. Through poetry, Lamentations catalogues a collection of violent scenes in which the Neo-Babylonian Empire humiliated, tortured, raped, and killed as part of its conquest of Jerusalem. From a postcolonial perspective, these scenes reveal a pathology of empire that in its basic form recurs in multiple contexts across human history. How might a postcolonial interpretation of the trauma in Lamentations reveal strategies for healing that are pertinent to contemporary readers affected by the violence of empire-building strategies?