In an age of rising Christo-fascism, I’m as committed now as ever to reading the Bible well. The bad guys shouldn’t get the good material.
This discussion above, recorded several weeks back but no less important now than it was then, is with two friends and colleagues. I first knew Dick Hester as a consultant during a difficult moment in our neighborhood work about 12 years ago. After some time had passed, we kept bumping into one another and became friends. He’s a wise mentor and a careful thinker.
Ben Boswell is a renegade pastor and a dear friend. We share theological musings, political reading lists, and cold beverages frequently.
The discussion focuses on the Gospel according to Luke, which is this year’s gospel focus in the lectionary. Many mainline churches will preach their way through Luke this year. Perhaps some colleagues will find this useful.
One last note: in my excitement for the subject, I blew by one recommendation I intended to make during the discussion. My mentor and friend Ched Myers has a new book from Fortress Press (also home of Our Trespasses). It is an economic reading of Luke. It is profoundly good, and Ched’s words, as usual, were bouncing around in my head during this discussion. Healing Affluenza and Resisting Plutocracy is an important theological intervention for our current moment.
Book News: After more than a year with lots of speaking and talks, my calendar is beginning to slow. I’m ready to book for late summer and beyond.
I anticipate having an item soon about awards the book didn’t win (but came close to winning!). But instead: last night I facilitated an event with Levine Museum of the New South, an important institution here in Charlotte. After the event, a woman brought her copy of the book to me, recently acquired and filled with flags and highlighter markings in the first few chapters. She had grown up in the Brooklyn neighborhood that is the primary setting of the book. She had found those chapters to feel like home—she recognized the place, and could put herself into it. As a white guy writing (at least in part) about a Black place, this was really powerful feedback to me. I spent years trying to craft sentences that rang true to the place and its legacy, while staying true to my own voice. It’s nice to hear that it worked for someone with intimate knowledge of the place.
One Last Note: Today begins the papal conclave to select the successor to Pope Francis. I only know of one track about papal conclaves, and it’s a dandy:
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