TIME: 10:00 a.m.
PLACE: Grace United Methodist Church in Naperville, IL
RE: The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race
In January, Rev. Harriett Cross will present on Willie James Jennings' The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race.
Jennings traces modern Christian thinking back a millennium to show the roots of segregated societies in Western Christian socialization. He identifies the choice between a mission of establishing Christian nations and a mission of fostering communion among diverse groups and persons. The persistence of social division challenges the successfulness of Christians to fulfill the commandment of neighborly love.
Jennings addresses such issues as slavery, geography, Native
American history, anti-Semitism, and tells of loss, cultural amnesia, and
missed opportunities in Christian communities. He exposes how the loss of
land and the supersessionist ideas behind the Christian missionary movement are
both deeply implicated in the invention of race. Jennings suggests new ways of seeing ourselves
and the communities in which we live.
