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:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eOUKY4i-reTptajsdIrU1YY0TxRWZfxmlKL5p-MIJEc/edit?usp=sharing

Seminary for the Rest of Us, a tiny podcast where everyone is welcome to God-talk, is produced by Sabrina Reyes-Peters. The theme music is by Matthew Scott. Support: https://ko-fi.com/sdrp_Find us on Twitter and Instagram @seminaryshow Email: [email protected]

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.

Learn more: https://elizabethhagan.com/bravechurch/.

Talk to Elizabeth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/elizabethagan

Seminary for the Rest of Us, a tiny podcast where everyone is welcome to God-talk, is produced by Sabrina Reyes-Peters. The theme music is by Matthew Scott. Support: https://ko-fi.com/sdrp_Find us on Twitter and Instagram @seminaryshow Email: [email protected]

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.

https://christiansforabolition.org

https://christiansforabolition.org/resources/

Hannah Bowman is a graduate student in Religious Studies at Mount Saint Mary's University, Los Angeles, a literary agent, and a prison abolitionist. The founder and director of Christians for the Abolition of Prisons, she writes and teaches on the Christian theology supporting abolition; she is also a circle coordinator for the Los Angeles pilot Circles of Support and Accountability restorative-justice prison re-entry program, in collaboration with the Fresno Community Justice Center.

Seminary for the Rest of Us, a tiny podcast where everyone is welcome to God-talk, is produced by Sabrina Reyes-Peters, was occasionally sound engineered by Mason Mennenga, and is web engineered by Charlie Peters.

The theme music is by Matthew Scott. Support: https://ko-fi.com/sdrp_Find us on Twitter and Instagram @seminaryshow Email: [email protected]

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

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

Read the excerpts referenced here: https://tinyurl.com/MT-Chapter-4

Sancta Colloquia on the web: https://laurenrelarkin.com/category/sancta-colloquia/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctacolloquia/

Seminary for the Rest of Us, a tiny podcast where everyone is welcome to God-talk, is produced by Sabrina Reyes-Peters, occasionally sound engineered by Mason Mennenga, web engineered by Charlie Peters, and the theme music is by Matthew Scott. Support: https://ko-fi.com/sdrp_Find us on Twitter and Instagram @seminaryshow Email: [email protected]

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.

Note: Black Lion Academy website is not accessible, but you can get a look at Ambrose's essays here: https://liberty.academia.edu/AmbroseAndreano

Resources:

https://www.academia.edu/45079912/Patristic_Universalism

Get started with Origen: http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/origen.html

Seminary for the Rest of Us, a tiny podcast where everyone is welcome to God-talk, is produced by Sabrina Reyes-Peters, occasionally sound engineered by Mason Mennenga, web engineered by Charlie Peters, and the theme music is by Matthew Scott. Support: https://ko-fi.com/sdrp_Find us on Twitter and Instagram @seminaryshow Email: [email protected]

Resources in the order of appearance:

Dorothee Solle: The Window of Vulnerability

On Christofascism, take a look at Blake Chastain Chrissy Stroop's work.

Helmut Gollwitzer: Our God Loves Justice, by W. Travis McMaken

More info: episode of Sancta Colloquia discussing W. Travis McMaken's work, Our God Loves Justice, and a past episode of Seminary for the Rest of Us on dialectical theology.

A couple of podcast episodes  in which Dr. McMaken gives some background on Helmut Gollwitzer and discusses Our God Love Justice: Theology and Socialism, The Magnificast

Folks to give your full attention to, a non-exhaustive list: Eboni Marshall Turman - Kelly Brown Douglas - Willie Jennings - Jemar Tisby - Nathan Cartagena - Wil Gafney - M. Shawn Copeland - Truth's Table - Austin Channing Brown - Daniel White Hodge - Lisa Sharon Harper - Raymond Carr - Drew G.I. Hart - Chanequa Walker-Barnes - Bree Newsome - Bernice King - Ally Henny - Angela Davis - James Cone

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)

Seminary for the Rest of Us, a tiny podcast where everyone is welcome to God-talk, is produced by Sabrina Reyes-Peters, occasionally sound engineered by Mason Mennenga, web engineered by Charles Peters, and the theme music is by Matthew Scott. Support: https://ko-fi.com/sdrp_Find us on Twitter and Instagram @seminaryshow Email: [email protected]

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:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeditarMestizo @MeditarMestizo

Blog: Mestizo Meditations https://www.nathancartagena.com/

Recommended resource: Teaching Bodies: Moral Formation in the Summa of Thomas Aquinas by Mark D. Jordan https://g.co/kgs/kojmQx

Seminary for the Rest of Us, a tiny podcast where everyone is welcome to God-talk, is produced by Sabrina Reyes-Peters, occasionally sound engineered by Mason Mennenga, web engineered by Charles Peters, and the theme music is by Matthew Scott. Support: https://ko-fi.com/sdrp_Find us on Twitter and Instagram @seminaryshow Email: [email protected]

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:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeditarMestizo @MeditarMestizo

Blog: Mestizo Meditations https://www.nathancartagena.com/

Recommended resource: Teaching Bodies: Moral Formation in the Summa of Thomas Aquinas by Mark D. Jordan https://g.co/kgs/kojmQx

Seminary for the Rest of Us, a tiny podcast where everyone is welcome to God-talk, is produced by Sabrina Reyes-Peters, occasionally sound engineered by Mason Mennenga, web engineered by Charles Peters, and the theme music is by Matthew Scott. Support: https://ko-fi.com/sdrp_Find us on Twitter and Instagram @seminaryshow Email: [email protected]

In this episode, Lauren R.E. Larkin (whom you might remember from a previous episode on dialectical theology), host of Sancta Colloquia, and I introduce our special project: Sacred Seminary Symposium, and talk about what we learned from the Intro to Mujerista Theology. There’s a lot to dig into, including privilege in theology, liberation, the kind of fruit theology produces, and more. Follow along, read along, and let us know what your thoughts are! Here are the excerpts we reference:

“In developing a method to do theology that uses religion of grassroots Latinas as its source, mujerista theology puts into practice a preferential option for the oppressed.” (1)

“Mujerista theology is not a disembodied discourse but one that arises from situated subjects, Latina grassroots women, and, yes, even me.” (3)

“‘In other words, the claim that I can speak only for myself assumes the autonomous conception of the self in Classical Liberal theory--that I am unconnected to others in my authentic self or that I can achieve an autonomy from others given certain conditions. But there is no neutral place to stand free and clear in which one’s words do not prescriptively affect or mediate the experience of others, nor is there a way to decisively demarcate a boundary between one’s location and all others.” (Alcoff qtd in Isasi-Diaz 7)

“The goals of mujerista theology have always been these: to provide a platform for the voices of Latina grassroots women; to develop a theological method that takes seriously the religious understandings and practices of Latinas as a source for theology; to challenge theological understandings, church teachings, and religious practices that oppress Latina women, that are not life-giving, and, therefore, not theologically correct.” (1)

“[...] my liberation is not possible apart from the liberation of grassroots Latinas. I do what I do because I believe it is a liberative praxis[...]”(6)

Seminary for the Rest of Us, a tiny podcast where everyone is welcome to God-talk, is produced by Sabrina Reyes-Peters, occasionally sound engineered by Mason Mennenga, web engineered by Charles Peters, and the theme music is by Matthew Scott. 

Support: https://ko-fi.com/sdrp_. 

Find us on Twitter and Instagram @seminaryshow. 

Email: [email protected]