Spirit Alive: Prophets and Social Justice Minicourse

A five-week minicourse conducted by theology professor Dr. Carol Dempsey
Thursdays, Jan. 16 – Feb. 13
7:00 p.m. EST via Zoom

For centuries, readers and interpreters of the Bible have traditionally read the text “with the grain.” Many have sought to use the Bible for personal and spiritual enrichment and nourishment. Today, however, we live in the twenty-first century globalized world, and if we want to achieve global justice, then we have to begin reading the biblical text “against the grain” and interpreting it critically. New interpretation theories help us to see how cultures and cultural attitudes have shaped the Bible and how the Bible, as the most read book in the world, continues to shape and re-inscribe various oppressive cultural attitudes today that have had an effect on our political, social, economic, and religious institutions. In other words, how does one’s reading of the Bible and its use contribute to present-day patriarchy, kyriarchy, abusive hierarchy, racism, gender discrimination, heteronormatism, ethnocentrism, classism, ableism, anti-Semitism, imperialism, and marginalization in our world today?

This presentation explores new ways of reading the prophetic literature of the Bible “against the grain” to discover new understandings of ancient poems and the work to be done for global justice. Included in our discussion is the topic of the gendering of “God” as we explore hegemonic power.

IMPORTANT – PLEASE NOTE: If you register for the first session of this five-week minicourse presentation, you are automatically registered for all five sessions within the course and will receive a link 24 hours before each session starts. You do not have to attend all sessions.

If you register for any session after the first, you are automatically registered for that session and the remaining sessions within the course. You will receive the link to join each session 24 hours before each session starts. You do not have to attend all sessions.

Registration is free.

REGISTER

Carol J. Dempsey, OP, Ph.D., is a professor of biblical studies at the University of Portland. The author of eight books and the editor/co-editor of 12 books, she serves on several editorial boards, which include the Catholic Biblical Quarterly, the Journal of Biblical Literature, and Old Testament Abstracts, among others. She is currently working on several book manuscripts. When not working, she enjoys playing with her little parrotlet, Ava Grace, who brings her boundless joy with her sweet peeps, mischievous antics, and delightful personality.