Theology

June 29, 2018
Events social justice Theology Voice

“We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the injustices of our society”: President Lew Zeidner’s MLK Day Address.

My experience of previous celebrations of MLK day seemed focused on an amazing leader, a man who advocated non-violent change and dreamed of a better world for all, a movement that seemed to facilitate significant societal change in its time and a leader who was willing to risk his own safety and life to make a positive difference.  All worthy of much reverence and celebration. But this year feels different.  (more…)

Read More >

June 29, 2018
Bible interfaith interreligious chaplaincy ministry Theology theology and the arts Voice

When Storytelling Holds the World: Passover Reflections on Maggid.

A little over a week ago, I led a small seder on the second night of Pesach (Passover). The second seder can be hard to lead because the specialness and holiness of the first often turns into redundancy when the ritual is repeated on the second night. Planning the seder, I was concerned wit distinguishing it from the preceding night at my parents’ house. I was thinking about what we covered the previous seder and what, because of the larger group of people, we might have missed. (more…)

Read More >

June 29, 2018
Arts Courses students theological education Theology theology and the arts united faculty

Showcasing Student Work: Theology in Contemporary Film

In Spring 2018, students had the opportunity to enroll in United's course TR650: Theology in Contemporary Film taught by Dr. Jann Cather Weaver. Dr. Weaver selected a number of films from the last 18 years, and each week, students were assigned to view a film outside of class. After watching the assigned movie twice and doing class readings, each student wrote a paragraph on the religious and ethical themes in the film and posed a theological question to be discussed in class. Focusing on films that are not explicitly religious, the course teaches students how to see theologically, and explore implicit theologies in art.   (more…)

Read More >

January 10, 2018
Academics Activism Arts Feminism interfaith Judaism seminary social transformation Theology

Readings on Rosh Hashana: Hagar, Abraham, and the Reality of Pain

This semester I am taking Interpretation as Resistance: Womanist, Feminist, and Queer Approaches to the Bible taught by Professors Alika Galloway and Carolyn Pressler. This week’s reading concerns the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar. Sarah is unable to bare children, which is unfortunate since her husband Abraham is supposed to father “a great nation” (Gen. 12.2). Sarah comes up with a plan to have Abraham use a surrogate: her Egyptian slave Hagar. Abraham agrees, lays with Hagar, and Hagar conceives. The Bible then tells us that Hagar “saw that she had conceived [and] looked with contempt on her mistress”(Gen.16.4). Sarah responds by being so cruel to Hagar that she runs away to the desert. Upon finding a spring of water, Hagar meets an angel of God who gives her an ambivalent message: go back and submit to a life of cruelty but also your son Ishmael will be the father of nations. A mixed bag, for sure. (more…)

Read More >

©Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved