Fruitful Conversations in Religion, Culture, and Teaching
For many Christians, the season of Advent is a time to reevaluate what is worthwhile in the world. The idea is that at season's end, the birth of Christ brings a new formulation of life's fundamentals. Jesus didn't come to abolish the law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). The gospel becomes an accounting of who and … Continue reading The Bible and Race in the USA: Dating Human Worth
Richard Newton began our series, “Words to Mean By,” with a look at the inner workings of truth-making. Our next installment is a case study in the seemingly volatile nature of a text deemed “religious.” In the example below, parents at an American public high school balk at the secular study of Islamic calligraphy because the … Continue reading Going through the Emotions: Islamic Calligraphy in a Public School
Traditionally, survey courses in the world’s religions focus on creedal tenets (e.g. the Eightfold Path, the components of dharma, the Ten Commandments, the Five Pillars of Islam). A different picture of religion arises when we survey constructions of ethnicity and gender throughout global history. Students come to notice that while their theologies and traditions may differ, these communities represent cultures of … Continue reading REL 331 Ethnicity, Gender, and Religion
The New Testament is a collection of first-century Mediterranean notes between people interested in the burgeoning Jesus movement. Translated, edited, and collated, these writings have since become a touchstone in the cultural heritage of the West. We will attempt to situate New Testament texts in light of the artifacts and social drama of the period … Continue reading REL 226 (WCH): The New Testament
The Institute for Signifying Scriptures is an independent research organization focused on investigating the dynamics associated with "scriptures." The conversation takes serious the category's development and deployment in Western cultural politics, working to surface the very assumptions that it belays. Founded by Vincent L. Wimbush, the collaborative enterprise has as its mission the "excavation of … Continue reading Reflections on the ISS- Scriptures at Their Root
