Other Lectures

God First Loved Us: Reflections on the Theological Grounds of Liberation

April 24th, 2002, Jefferson Hall, University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, Virginia

The project hosted Roberto Goizueta for a presentation on the theological grounds of liberation. Goizueta is currently professor of systematic theology at Boston College. He is the author of a number of articles in liberation theology and on the preferential option for the poor, and his books include: Theology: Expanding the Borders (co-edited with Maria Pilar Aquino, Twenty-Third Publications, 1998) and Caminemos con Jesús: Toward Hispanic/Latino Theology of Accompaniment (Orbis, 1995). Professor Goizueta's current research projects also include theological aesthetics, and Christology in U.S. Latino/a theology.

Mr. Goizueta's paper (48k, pdf): God First Loved Us: Reflections on the Theological Ground of Liberation

Religion and the Civil Rights Movement

February 27th, 2002, Bonhoeffer House,
Charlottesville, Virginia

The project hosted Rev. Ed King at the Bonhoeffer House for an informal discussion with students. Rev. King (chaplain at Tougaloo College, Mississippi, during the height of the civil rights movement) talked about the role of religion in the movement. He also touched on the moral problem of the involvement of children in the non-violent resistance, and the use of prayer and scripture.

Mr. King's paper (336k, pdf): Religion and the Civil Rights Movement

Excluded Neighborhoods

January 24th, 2002, Christ Episcopal Church,
Charlottesville, Virginia

Rev. Mark Gornik,
Pastor in Sandtown (west Baltimore)

On January 24, the Project on Lived Theology hosted a lecture delivered by Rev. Mark Gornik entitled "Excluded Neighborhoods" held at Christ Episcopal Church in Charlottesville. Drawing from his fifteen years of living and pastoring in the west Baltimore neighborhood of Sandtown, Gornik argued for the necessity of an historical sensibility in the church's attempt to understand and address the concerns of inner city America. An appreciation for the history of a neighborhood like Sandtown helps us rediscover the value of theological categories such as creation, fall, and redemption. Gornik spoke with particular passion on the theme of exclusion, which in practice can foster false narratives of human sociality. An exposure of these false narratives and an embodiment of a Biblical counter-narrative of peace and plenty can restore hope to the lives of the underprivileged, and prophetically propel the state towards a more humane set of social practices.

The event brought together an eclectic mix of scholars, students, and citizens who, in addition to engaging Gornik's Sandtown experience, reflected collectively on the deep relevance of Gornik's themes in downtown Charlottesville.

Mr. Gornik's paper (87k, pdf): Excluded Neighborhoods

Beauty and Justice: Aesthetics in a World of Unjust Ugliness

January 23rd, 2001, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Charlottesville, Virginia

John de Gruchy is currently the Robert Selby Taylor Professor of Christian Studies at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He is also the editor for the Journal of Theology and Southern Africa and heads up the Research Institute on Christianity in South Africa. He is the author of a number of books, including the most recent one entitled Christianity and Democracy.

Mr. de Gruchy's Lecture (40.1k, pdf): Holy Beauty: A Reformed Perspective on on Aesthetics within a World of Unjust Ugliness

This lecture was originally delivered at the 2001 Sprunt Lectures at Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia, and was sponsored by the Institute for Reformed Theology (http://reformedtheology.org) at Union-PSCE. This work will be available in the book: Reformed Theology for the Third Christian Millennium: The 2001 Sprunt Lectures, along with lectures by Nicholas Wolterstorff, Peter Paris, Dawn DeVries and Jan Rohls. The title may be obtained in late spring from Westminster/John Knox Press.