Seminary for the Rest of Us

Episode 22: Sacred Seminary Symposium: Un poquito de justicia

We're back, six months later (!) with episode 7 of Sacred Seminary Symposium. Lauren R.E. Larkin and Sabrina discuss Mujerista Theology chapter 6, Un poquito de justicia, A Little Bit of Justice. We go over the five faces of oppression, and eight answers from mujerista justice, according to Isasi-Diaz. Along the way, we discuss the value of contextualizing oppression, belonging v diversity, if progress is a real thing leading to utopia, and more. Find the quotes discussed here:

Elizabeth Hagan is a graduate of Duke Divinity School and has been a pastor for 15 years. She saw - and personally experienced - the isolation, loneliness, and shame that remains unspoken when Christians shy away from difficult conversations. She knew that the church could do better to foster a sense of acceptance and belonging. So she wrote Brave Church to open the door to the presence of God in difficult conversations.

Listen in as I chat with Elizabeth about her new book, Brave Church and her vision about a place where people don't have to check out their issues at the church door, because the community can talk through tough topics in a context of respect, vulnerability, and kindness, learning and exercising love for neighbor.

Currently in our USA context, our so-called justice system is heavily punitive, and uses people, particularly black and brown folks, as its scapegoats. Might penal substitutionary atonement theology have something to do with this? In our conversation, Hannah explains how we can rethink substitutionary atonement theology in a non-punitive sense, and use Jesus' solidarity with victims and perpetrators of harm in the crucifixion to anchor abolition theology and thus the transformative and restorative justice from which it flows. Let's also think about how the resurrection plays into this.

Episode 19: Sacred Seminary Symposium: A Challenge to Traditional Theology

*Find episode 3 at the link below to Sancta Colloquia.*

Episode 18: Intro to Patristic Universalism, with Ambrose Andreano

Origen, among some other Early Church Fathers, saw the fires of hell as purification and restoration, not as eternal torment. Listen in on this conversation with Ambrose Andreano as he answers some of my questions on patristic universalism.

Ambrose Andreano is an Eastern Orthodox mystic and aspiring lay theologian who specializes in the writings of Origen of Alexandria. He co-hosted The Patristics Podcast on Ancient Faith Radio and created the website Black Lion Academy, where he published biblical commentary, as well as philosophical and theological meditations.

Resources in the order of appearance:

This is episode 3 of Sacred Seminary Symposium, a joint project with Sancta Colloquia. We are alternating the production of episodes, so you will want to find Sancta Colloquia on your podcast app, or click the link above and listen to episode 2 if you missed it. In this episode, Lauren and I discuss chapter 2 of Mujerista Theology: “Luchar por la justicia es rezar”, or “To Struggle for Justice is to Pray”. We touch on colonialism in missions, anti-intellectualism v theologies of hope, holiness and piety (particularly how holiness is touted as a measuring stick, and some forms of “piety” are more “spiritual” than others), spiritual bypassing, and spiritual violence in the form of elevating the spiritual over the material; we somehow manage, as we did in the last episode, to fit in a critique of capitalism. And if you stay until the very end, you get some enneagram fun, as well, when we try to type the author of Mujerista Theology, Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, even though you’re technically not supposed to. Enjoy! 

QUOTES REFERENCED:

“...I realized how privileged I was to have been part of such an outpouring of faith--the faith of the poor and the oppressed that maintains them, that is their sustenance in the most trying of situations. I felt that my well-reasoned faith, a so-called sophisticated faith illumined by the ‘right’ kind of theology, was not any deeper or any more pleasing to God than the faith of the poor people I had seen expressed for two days. In the weeks that followed I came to realize more and more the depth of that faith.” (30)

“As the years have gone by I have accepted that for me to strive to live to the fullest by struggling against injustice is to draw nearer and nearer to the divine. Drawing closer to God and struggling for justice have become for me one and the same thing. Struggling for my liberation and the liberation of Hispanic women is a liberative praxis. This means that it is an activity both intentional and reflective; it is a communal praxis that feeds on the realization that Christ is among us when we strive to live the gospel  message of justice and peace.” (33)

“Holiness in the convent was defined at that time in terms of self-sacrifice and long hours of meditation and prayer. NIneteen years old at the time, I struggled with myself to be close to God by doing what those in authority told me to do. But it was to no avail. I did not feel closer to God; I could not convince myself I was a terrible sinner; I could not see any reason for thinking I had failed terribly when I fell asleep in chapel during meditation at 5:30 in the morning.” (31)

“...I realized how privileged I was to have been part of such an outpouring of faith--the faith of the poor and the oppressed that maintains them, that is their sustenance in the most trying of situations. I felt that my well-reasoned faith, a so-called sophisticated faith illumined by the ‘right’ kind of theology, was not any deeper or any more pleasing to God than the faith of the poor people I had seen expressed for two days.In the weeks that followed I came to realize more and more the depth of that faith.” (30)

This is the continuation and conclusion of the two-part discussion with Dr. Cartagena on Thomas Aquinas’ psychology of fear. We delve a little deeper into fear, perseverance, and courage, as Dr. Cartagena brilliantly ties that all into our current context of resisting oppressive structures, and living during a pandemic. He concludes by giving us a word on Jesus and his emotions: because Jesus experienced the full range of human emotion, including fear and anxiety, it is not sinful for us to be fearful or anxious. In fact, according to Aquinas, being completely fearless doesn’t enable us to love well.

Talk to Dr. Cartagena:

This is part one of a two-part discussion on Thomas Aquinas’ psychology of fear. Dr. Cartagena starts us off here with some background on how he came to study Aquinas and his psychology of fear as his dissertation topic, what to expect when we study Aquinas, an overview of his psychology of fear, and a bit about how Dr. Cartagena ties Aquinas into his current studies and to a very real problem of our time: racism and white supremacy.

Talk to Dr. Cartagena:

*NB: this is the first episode fully produced by the host, who is new at mixing, so be nice! :)*

What is decolonizing theology and what might that look like? Listen as Kat talks about her journey.

What does humility have to do with the body? How did some feminine mystics live this? What is withness? What can we learn about humility and eroticism from Sojourner Truth? What does humility have to do with activism?  Listen as I talk with Dr. Hanch and we ponder these questions and more.

What is death and what do Christians mean when they talk about death? How does this tie into other theological tenets? How does this affect the grieving process? Is it okay to talk to someone who’s dead? If death has been conquered, why does it hurt so much?

In this episode, I chat with Sonja Lund, seminary student and Death Companioning Initiate, about her thoughts on death and grieving, as it pertains to many Christians.

I found this to be a really encouraging and thought-provoking conversation, one that Sonja approaches with gentleness and sensitivity, but if you have recently had a close encounter with death and the grief that comes with it, please take care in listening.

Here’s the rest of my conversation with Jay! We learn about New Materialism, destabilizing whiteness (and the patriarchy, a little bit!), and audiological diffraction.

New Materialism is a way of considering the world from material but that sees it as more than merely inert matter, which sees creativity and diversity as emergent properties of the universe. It is made up of a transdisciplinary assemblage of thinkers that confront dualisms in all forms, from both scientism and religious dogmatism, in order to find fissures between that can develop a more whole view of the world as intra-active participants.

You might be thinking right now, “I don’t know what ecoepistemology is or even epistemology but that doesn’t look very much like God-talk, Sabrina!” Well, okay, my conversation with Jay Potter is definitely more on the philosophical side, but all aspiring theologians, including myself, would do well to deliberately engage philosophy once in a while, instead of letting it sit as a by-product of working with theological concerns. Good theologians might also consider how their theology speaks to all living things (eco-theology!), not just human beings.

In this first part of my conversation with Jay, we learn what EcoEpistemology is, how Jay chose to include New Materialism, Navajo thought, and Jainism in his dissertation, and we begin to look at the thread that ties the entire conversation together: destabilizing whiteness. Bonus: if you are familiar with process theology, you'll hear some echoes!

For the past couple of years or so, I have been very slowly dipping my toes into something called Dialectical Theology, and thought it would be a real treat to have Rev. Lauren R.E. Larkin talk to me about it for Seminary for the Rest of Us. I wasn’t wrong! It was a great conversation on Dialectical Theology and living out Christian faith as a bodily creature. I can confidently say you should start here if you are curious about Dialectical Theology. And if you want to learn more, check out the list below.

Recommended Resources:

Our God Loves Justice by W. Travis McMaken

Evangelical Theology by Karl Barth

This is the third and final part of my conversation with Dirk von der Horst. Make sure to go and listen to the first two parts! We wrap up the segment on David and Jonathan texts, and learn about how Dirk uses music (church anthems, in particular) as a mediator between him and the biblical texts. There is a lot of interplay between the texts, how composers interpreted the text, how scores are interpreted, and how each listener hears a piece, particularly queer listeners. Put on your musical interpretation caps and get ready!

Suzanne G. Cusick: "On a Lesbian Relation with Music: A Serious Effort Not to Think Straight," in Queering the Pitch: The New Gay and Lesbian Musicology

Susan McClary: Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality

Claire Detels: "Autnomous/Formalist Aesthetic, Music Theory, and the Feminist Paradigm of Soft Boundaries," Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 52:1 (1994).

We are continuing the conversation here on relational theology, and in this episode we also dive into the interpretive problems of the David and Jonathan texts. What was the nature of David and Jonathan’s relationship? Can we actually know?

Content note: frank discussion on sexuality and sexual acts.

Further reading:

Rita Nakashima Brock: Journeys by Heart: A Christology of Erotic Power

Catherine Keller: From a Broken Web: Sexism, Separation, and the Self

Ken Stone: Practicing Safer Texts: Food, Sex, and Bible in Queer Perspective

The Women’s Lectionary, by Ashley M. Wilcox, is being released in October 2020. In addition to a providing schedule of scripture texts, Ashley has written 130 commentaries based on those texts, focusing on the women of the Bible and feminine images of God. Listen to this conversation about how Ashley got to writing The Women’s Lectionary, as a Quaker and woman who preaches.

Find Ashley:

In which I introduce myself, and the podcast. Who am I and why Seminary for the Rest of Us?

Links: