Date/Time
Date(s) - February 12, 2016
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location
Epiphany Chapel, Vancouver School of Theology
Categories No Categories
Come Out, My People! God’s Call Out of Empire in the Bible and Beyond
FREE PUBLIC LECTURE, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016: 7pm in the Chapel of the Epiphany with Wes Howard-Brook
The ‘Religion of Empire’ vs. the ‘Religion of Creation’ in the Bible and Beyond
From the moment the Hebrew Scriptures were wedded to the newly formed Christian Scriptures, people have grappled with the blatant contradictions among the texts. Is YHWH a god of “holy war” (Deut 7) or of love of enemies (Matt 5)? Wes Howard-Brook will show how the Hebrew Scriptures contain two, opposing “religions,” and how Jesus sided with one against the other. Where do we stand in the battle between the “religion of empire” and the “religion of creation”?
After a career as an attorney for the US federal government and Washington state governments, Wes Howard-Brook left law practice in 1985 to pursue an MDiv degree at Seattle University. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was part of Galilee Circle, an ecumenical Christian small community, which sought to live the radical Word of the Gospel in both person and public ways, including a series of nonviolent direct actions at various private and public places of war making an imperial violence. Wes Howard-Brook currently teaches at Seattle University and has published six books, including a book entitled “Come Out, My People! God’s Call Out of Empire in the Bible and Beyond” which forms the basis on which the lecture and workshop will be given. He and his partner, Sue Ferguson-Johnson, have nearly 15 years of experience in teaching and writing on Scripture together.
SATURDAY WORKSHOP, FEBRUARY 13, 2016: 9:30 am – 12:30 pm with Wes Howard-Brook & Sue Ferguson Johnson
VST, 6015 Walter Gage Road
Moses vs. Solomon; Jesus vs. Satan: Engaging the Inner Biblical Conflict”
Two examples of the inner-biblical conflict between the “religion of empire” and the “religion of creation” will be explored in this workshop. First, see how the story of Solomon’s accession to the throne and the passing of it to his son (1 Kings 1-13) expresses the “religion of empire,” while the Exodus narrative presents a “religion of creation”-focused legitimation for rebellion against tyrannical kings like Solomon and his son. Then we’ll look at Mark 8 and other New Testament texts that show Jesus proclaiming and embodying the “religion of creation,” while denouncing the “religion of empire” as a demonic lie.
See above for information on Wes Howard-Brook.
Sue Ferguson Johnson is a spiritual director, a retreat leader and a Scripture teacher of many years’ experience. Formerly a psychologist, Sue left her practice to engage in full-time ministry in 2002. Sue was raised in the United Methodist Church, but along with her husband Wes Howard-Brook is now at home in the Mennonite Church, where she has been instrumental in reshaping the local church from a committee model to a prayer-Scripture-discernment model.
Please visit here to register for the workshop.
http://vst.edu/events/event/come-out-my-people-gods-call-out-of-empire-in-the-bible-and-beyond/