submitted by bergc2@augsburg.edu
The Bernhard M. Christensen Symposium
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
11 a.m.–12 p.m.
Foss Center, Hoversten Chapel
All Things Are New: The Language of Our Life in the Face of Empire
Brian Bantum, PhD
Neil F. And Ila A. Fisher Professor of Theology
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
It’s difficult to remember a time when there was order and expectation. Uncertainty and chaos feel like the norm. Problems seem too big to overcome, and words are too weak to point a way forward. How do we speak of God? How do we live in the face of chaos? As we begin a new season, let us reflect on a God who creates in the chaos and becomes flesh in the face of empire.
Brian Bantum, PhD, writes, speaks, and teaches on identity, racial imagination, creating spaces of justice, and the intersection of theology and embodiment for audiences around the United States. He is a contributing editor of The Christian Century and is the author of “Redeeming Mulatto: A Theology of Race and Christian Hybridity,” “The Death of Race: Building a New Christianity in a Racial World,” and “Choosing Us: Marriage and Mutual Flourishing in a World of Difference,” which he co-authored with his spouse, Gail Song Bantum.
About the Christensen Symposium
The Christensen Symposium provides the opportunity to explore and apply the lessons rooted in former Augsburg President Bernhard M. Christensen’s legacy:
• Christian faith liberates minds and lives.
• Diversity strengthens vital communities.
• Interfaith friendships enrich learning.
• The love of Christ draws us to God.
• We are called to service in the world.