Ethnicity, Justice, and the People of God
What you'll learn
- How the range of meanings of ‘justice’ diverge and intersect in society and the Bible.
- The historical and ecclesial conditions behind present-day division in the Church.
- Contributions of the Reformation, Modernity, and Post-Modernity to racist ideas.
- The nature of sin in the world.
- How the coming of Messiah Jesus forced a radical recategorization of traditional group ideologies.
- What it means for God to be the ‘God of Justice’, manifest through Jesus.
- Scriptural resources for addressing injustice.
- The foundations of Black ecclesial theology and responses to structures of oppression.
- God’s Kingdom vision for a gathering of culturally diverse peoples to God’s family.
Requirements
- A current edition of the Bible. We suggest 'The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation' ed. N.T. Wright & John Goldingay, but any Bible will do.
Description
We are excited to introduce a unique, team-taught course with guest-lecturer Prof. Esau McCaulley, Associate Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College, & Prof. N.T. Wright. This collaboration, which centres around the contribution of the Bible to contemporary discussions of ethnicity and justice, is the result of a continued friendship that began when Wright served as McCauley’s doctoral supervisor at the University of St. Andrews. The initial lecture opens with a conversation between Prof. McCaulley and Prof. Wright as they explore why these themes are vitally important today.
Ethnicity, Justice, and the People of God represents the thought of two world-class biblical scholars who throughout their careers have shared a commitment to reviving overlooked emphases of biblical justice in the public imagination. This course traces various strands of thought regarding ethnicity and justice throughout history and the various responses people in the Church have offered. Along the way, both scholars highlight scriptural resources to aid believers in witnessing to injustice and practical possibilities for participating in God’s vision to put all things right.
Historically, some in the Church have used the scriptures and their faith to enable, uphold, and embolden structures of injustice. However, these same scriptures and faith have been used by others in the Church to respond to and resist these systems. By affirming that from the very beginning, God’s plan for New Creation was a gathering of diverse peoples to all share in the divine story, in different but compatible ways, Prof.’s McCauley & Wright encourage students to deepen their understanding of how race, justice, and faith come together in the life of God’s people.
This course contains 10 teaching sessions along with quizzes to check your comprehension, Q&A sessions, reflection questions to help you deeply engage with the material, whether individually or in conversation, as well as a bonus section which includes an extra lecture, interview materials, and reflection resources. There are no extra academic articles or required readings. We invite you to join us for this exciting collaboration between Prof. McCaulley and Prof. Wright.
Who this course is for:
- Christians seeking to better understand structures of sin from a Biblical perspective.
- Church members wanting to practice the signs of the New Creation in everyday life, especially as it pertains to injustices.
- Educators beginning to challenge themselves and congregations towards more boldly inclusive theology.
- Small group leaders gathering resources for corporate learning about justice.
- Pastors and educators seeking a model for how to engage in conversations and collective theological reflection on responsibility to the Oppressed.
- Students feeling hopeless in the face of persistent societal sin.
Instructors
![N.T. Wright](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 64 64"%3E%3C/svg%3E){kind=avatar}
- 4.8 Instructor Rating
- 26,724 Reviews
- 120,440 Students
- 41 Courses
N.T Wright received his BA, MA and D.Phil. from Oxford University. He taught New Testament at Cambridge, McGill and Oxford Universities 1978-1993. He was Dean of Lichfield, then Canon of Westminster, then Bishop of Durham (Church of England), 1994-2010. Prof. Wright is Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, and is currently Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University. He has published over 85 books and hundreds of articles. In 2014 Prof. Wright received the Burkitt Medal from the British Academy for services to New Testament scholarship. He enjoys music, golf the Isle of Harris, and spending time with his family in the midst of a busy schedule of writing and travelling.
- 4.6 Instructor Rating
- 239 Reviews
- 1,329 Students
- 1 Course
Rev. Esau McCaulley, PhD is an assistant professor of New Testament at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. His first book entitled Sharing in the Son’s Inheritance was published by T & T Clark in 2019. His second book Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope was published by IVP academic on September 1st, 2020. It has won numerous awards including Christianity Today’s book of the year. He is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. His writings have also appeared in places such as Washington Post, The Religious New Service, and Christianity Today. He is married to Mandy, a pediatrician and navy reservist. Together, they have four wonderful children.
- 4.8 Instructor Rating
- 26,724 Reviews
- 120,440 Students
- 41 Courses
David Seemuth has a Ph.D. from Marquette University in the field of Religious Studies with an emphasis on New Testament Theology. He has taught at the graduate level for over 30 years at numerous universities and seminaries. He also has 21 years of on-line teaching experience. His passion is to see that people not only understand the Scripture, but also apply them to daily life.
- 4.8 Instructor Rating
- 26,487 Reviews
- 119,221 Students
- 39 Courses
Jennifer Loop is currently a doctoral candidate at Durham University. She is the Director of Ministry Engagement for the Wisconsin Center for Christian Studies, and plays a critical role in the online education, both organizational and theological, by guiding the online student experience. Jennifer enjoys engaging with a ‘virtual community’ of diverse students and learners to explore how theology, faith and practice intersect.