Faculty News

It's Time for a New New Testament

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:15:00 GMT

Prof. Hal Taussig writes about the 75 otherwise unknown documents, discovered in Egypt, from the early Christ movement in the Huffington Post.

"More than 75 otherwise unknown documents from the early Christ movements of the first and second centuries have been discovered in the sands of Egypt, the markets of Cairo, or in unprocessed sections of European and Near Eastern libraries in the past 150 years. As these documents have been translated and studied by scholars, it has become clear that many of them belong to the very heart of Christian beginnings. Unfortunately the public knows little about these documents and churches almost never read them." Read More>>

Professor Sam Cruz participates in prayer for an End to Stop and Frisk

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:12:00 GMT

A group of ministers and faith leaders gathered in New York City for a Good Friday Prayer for an end to stop and frisk. Read More>>

Reimagining Lent By Rethinking Repentance

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:11:00 GMT

Prof. Thatamanil writes about reimagining Lent as a season of joy in the Huffington Post.

“Lent can be for Christians a dour and dispiriting time because we suppose it to be a season to remember our sinfulness and move into repentance. But might Lent be reimagined as a season of joy? Yes, but only if we rethink ‘sin’ and ‘repentance.’” Read More>>

Gary Dorrien, Union Theological Seminary Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics, wins the PROSE award for his book 'Kantian Reason and Hegelian Spirit'.

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:30:00 GMT

Every year, the Association of American Publishers meets to award prizes to the best book in 40 categories covering Professional and Scholarly publishing. This year, Union Theological Seminary’s professor of Social Ethics, Gary Dorrien was awarded the prize for Best Book of the Year in Theology and Religious Studies category for his book Kantian Reason and Hegelian Spirit. Read More>>

Daisy L. Machado Preaches at a Protest Against an Immigration Detention Center

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:47:00 GMT

Watch Daisy L. Machado, Union Theological Seminary Dean of Academic Affairs, participate and preach at a protest against an immigration detention center, Willacy Detention Center in Raymondville, Texas in January, 2010. Watch the Full Video>>

Can Only One Religion Be True?

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 19:05:00 GMT

Dr. Paul Knitter's dialogue with Harold Netland, Can Only One Religion Be True?, is now available from Fortress Press. Read More>>

Christian Left Sees Optimism in Obama's Second Term

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 18:59:00 GMT

The Washington Post speaks to Dr. Gary Dorrien about President Obama's second term. Read More>>

Dr. Lundblad on Roe v. Wade

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:31:00 GMT

Dr. Barbara Lundblad addresses Roe v. Wade in terms of Jesus' ministry and Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. Read More>>

Dr. Forbes Preaches in Newtown, CT

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:55:00 GMT

Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes preached a message of hope in Newtown, CT, on the eve of Martin Luther King Day. Read More>>

Dr. Hamori to Appear on "Back to the Beginning: with Christiane Amanpour"

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 21:18:00 GMT

Dr. Esther J. Hamori, Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible at Union, will appear on "Back to the Beginning: with Christiane Amanpour," an ABC special two-part event, 9pm, Friday December 21 and Friday December 28. Read More>>

Orthodoxy in America 2012 Lecture, featuring the Very Reverend John Anthony McGuckin

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:54:00 GMT

The Way of a Pilgrim How the Orthodox Philokalic Tradition Came to Modern America - And What America Made of It. Presented by the Very Reverend John Anthony McGukin The Ane Marie and Ben Emil Nielsed Professor in Late Antique and Byzantine Christian History, Union Theological Seminary. Watch the Video>>

The Orthodox Renaissance

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 19:22:00 GMT

Professor John McGuckin is featured in the December 2012 issue of First Things as one of the leading voices in "The Orthodox Renaissance." Read More>>

Christianity and Culture in the City

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 18:40:00 GMT

The new edited volume by Professor Samuel Cruz, Christianity and Culture in the City: A Postcolonial Approach, offers an introduction to the broad diversity of contemporary Christianities in a rich, complex, changing, and challenging city context. Dr. Cruz focuses upon a variety of changing communities with dynamic and striking cultural experiences, and the volume provides both scholarly and practical insights as to how Christianities in the city relate to and transform city institutions and communities that are undergoing dramatic shifts and invite opportunities for intentional study. Read More>>

Dr. Forbes Given Lifetime Achievement Award

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:24:00 GMT

A Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., Harry Emerson Fosdick Distinguished Professor, for his advancement of greater awareness and understanding of multi-cultural and interfaith values. Read More>>

Dean Machado to Keynote at 35th Catholic Volunteer Network Conference

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:06:00 GMT

Congratulations to Dr. Daisy L. Machado, Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Church History, for being invited to be a keynote speaker at the 35th Annual Catholic Volunteer Network Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio! Dr. Machado’s talk, titled “Radical Faith, Radical Action, Radical Love,” will focus on what programs, members and volunteers can do to make sure the vision for their program is being carried out and made evident in the work they do. Read More>>

Black Liberation Theology and the Lynching of Jesus

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:42:00 GMT

Gary Dorrien reviews James H. Cone's The Cross and the Lynching Tree in the latest issue of Tikkun.

Read the full text on Union's website.

Prof. Knitter Receives 2012 Book Award from Society of Buddhist Christian Studies

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 19:22:00 GMT

Congratulations to Paul F. Knitter, Paul Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions and Culture, whose book Without Buddha I Could Not Be a Christian received the 2012 Book Award from the Society of Buddhist Christian Studies!

Find the Book on Amazon>>

The European Reformation by Dr. Euan Cameron, Henry Luce III Professor of Reformation Church History

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 14:17:00 GMT

This book is a survey and analysis of the European Reformation of the sixteenth century. During this period western Christianity underwent the most dramatic changes in its entire history. From Iceland to Transylvania, from the Baltic to the Pyrenees, the Reformation divided churches and communities into 'Catholic' and 'Protestant', and created varying regional and national traditions. The new Protestant creed rejected traditional measures of piety--vows, penances, pardons, and masses--in favor of sermons and catechisms, and an everyday morality of diligence, neighborly charity, and prayer. In the process, it involved many of Europe's people for the first time in a political movement inspired by an ideology and nourished by mass communication. Using the most recent research, Cameron provides a thematic and narrative synthesis of the events and ideas of the Reformation. Find this book on Amazon>>

The Work of Memory

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 17:45:00 GMT

On the anniversary of September 11, 2001, Prof. Thatamanil meditates on the role that memory plays in Christianity, patriotism, Islamophobia, and retaliatory violence. "Given the enormous power of memory," he writes, "everything depends on the why." Read More>>

A Hopeful Fanatic: Reflections on Mark 9:30-37 by Barbara Lundblad

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:47:00 GMT

On September 23, Day1.org will feature preaching by Dr. Barbara K. Lundblad, Union's Joe R. Engle Professor of Preaching. “Was Jesus a hopeless romantic when he set a little child in the midst of the disciples that day in Capernaum?” she says. “No, Jesus was not a hopeless romantic—he was a hopeful fanatic. Jesus was fanatic about opening up the commonwealth of God to those nobody wanted to see, fanatic about extending hospitality to those considered no more than property…. That day in Capernaum Jesus held a little child in his arms and brought the words of heaven down to earth. I can imagine Jesus whispering in the child’s ear: ‘You are God’s beloved child.’” Read More>>

Professor Samuel Cruz Featured in Brooklyn's 'Home Reporter News'

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 16:38:00 GMT

“Even when I was a young man, studying at Union Theological Seminary seemed like a dream. I couldn’t even enter as a student, and to find myself teaching there, it’s surprising.” Read More>>

Professor David Carr on George Zimmermann’s Comment

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:47:00 GMT

"When things go horribly awry, it's not uncommon for people to look to God as the one who drew up the plan,” says David M. Carr, professor of Old Testament at Union Theological Seminary[…] “It's one thing to attribute a natural disaster to God’s plan to try and make sense of the world,” he said. “It’s another thing to justify something you did as God’s plan. That’s taking it to another level.” Read More>>

ON Scripture: Death of John the Baptist, Featuring Rev. Dr. Barbara K. Lundblad

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 17:57:00 GMT

Barbara K. Lundblad, Professor of Preaching at Union Theological Seminary, discusses the Biblical text Mark 6:14-29, featured in the ON Scripture: The Bible article, "The Downfall of Giving Into Fear”. Watch the Full Video>>

Navigating the Rivers of Episcopal Identity in the Latest Issue of The Episcopal New Yorker

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 17:52:00 GMT

Prof. Cameron writes about Episcopal identity in the latest issue of The Episcopal New Yorker.

"In our Christian experience we encounter the loving acts and hear the reconciling message of Jesus Christ within our communities and our hearts. Read More>>

Biblical Standards for Marriage

Wed, 30 May 2012 18:02:00 GMT

Associate Professor of Old Testament Esther Hamori writes about the biblical standards for marriage.

"Opponents of marriage equality often appeal to the Bible to support their views. So what is this "biblical standard for marriage" we keep hearing about? Marriage in the Bible is not restricted to one man and one woman, or in fact to any one model." Read More>>

Love as a Public Virtue

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:04:00 GMT

Prof. Thatamanil writes about love as a public virtue in the Huffington Post.

Fairness, kindness and, above all, love seem like ethereal notions empty of force in a world of power politics and free wheeling capitalism. Realpolitik is for the sober-minded whereas love is best left to otherworldly preachers and slightly addled spiritual gurus. Read More>>

Kantian Reason and Hegelian Spirit

Mon, 07 May 2012 18:07:00 GMT

In this thought-provoking new work, the world renowned theologian Gary Dorrien reveals how Kantian and post-Kantian idealism were instrumental in the foundation and development of modern Christian theology. View this Book on Amazon>>

Dean Daisy L. Machado will appear as a featured guest and speaker at SMU, Perkins School of Theology

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:11:00 GMT

Dean Daisy L. Machado will appear as a featured guest and speaker at SMU, Perkins School of Theology program on the subject of “Ecocide and Femicide on the Border: Ecofeminism and the Maquiladora Murders” on Thursday, April 26.

Why Progressives Should Support Obama

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:13:00 GMT

Ian Reifowitz of The Daily Kos review's Prof. Dorrien's new book, The Obama Question.

"I've just finished reading Gary Dorrien's new book: The Obama Question: A Progressive Perspective. First, I'm happy to report that his book covers very different ground than mine, Obama's America: A Transformative Vision of Our National Identity, which comes out in July. Whew." Read More>>

The Undeserving and the Common Good

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:20:00 GMT

"Today the Republican Right is preaching a very aggressive version of the former social vision, a throwback to Social Darwinist ideology. The story of our time, in this view, is that a great people is being throttled by a voracious federal government. Americans are over-taxed; government is always the problem; somehow the federal government caused the financial crash; we have a debt crisis because we have too much government; another whopping tax cut for the upper end is always in order; and taking down Obama is more important than anything." Read More>>

Beyond Fear and Silence

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:18:00 GMT

Professor Barbara Lundblad on Mark 16:1-8 for ON Scripture

"This story leaves us wondering and longing for more. Mark's Easter gospel (Mark 16: 1-8) ends with silence rather than 'Alleluia!' That wasn't the word the women said at the end of their long night of waiting. That's not what they said when the Sabbath was over as they made their way to the tomb. Read More>>

Interview with Professor John McGuckin

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:22:00 GMT

by Eastern Christian Books

"The different strands to my life, of course, are all interwoven. The theological task is the chief coloration of my priestly service to the Church. Living in both worlds of Academy and Ekklesia is interesting-- but no more strange than most men and women will experience in the contemporary world where multiple identities and roles often overlap, and sometimes ‘grind’ against one another. I have long held it necessary to bring critical historical scholarship to the illumination of deep truths." Read More>>

What Kind of Country?

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:25:00 GMT

Prof. Dorrien asks "What Kind of Country? Economic Crisis, the Obama Presidency, the Politics of Loathing, and the Common Good" in the March issue of Cross Currents. Read More>>

Text, Image and Christians in a Graeco-Roman World: A Festschrift in Honor of David Lee Balch

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:23:00 GMT

Niang, Aliou C. and Carolyn Osiek, editors. Text, Image and Christians in a Graeco-Roman World: A Festschrift in Honor of David Lee Balch. Princeton Monograph Series. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Books, 2012. View the Book on Amazon>>

Imagining the Hateful Obama

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:28:00 GMT

Prof. Dorrien writes about how President Obama has been the target of fear and loathing.

The most baleful aspect of the 2012 election is that many Americans are eager to believe ludicrous things about President Obama. Read More>>

The Reagan Era, Still Going

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:32:00 GMT

Prof. Dorrien talks about the ways in which the Reagan era has not ended.

Religious leaders and religious communities are mostly united on the idea that we humans are bound together in a web of reciprocity and mutual support—and that there is something godly about such interdependence. Read More>>

Lent: The Wilderness within and without

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:30:00 GMT

Prof. Dorrien offers a Lenten reflection on Jesus' temptation and the financial crisis.

Lent is the time when we think of Jesus in the wilderness. The gospel of Mark is short and vivid on this topic: "He was in the wilderness 40 days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him." Read More>>

Professor Dorrien on the Occupy Movement

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:47:00 GMT

Prof. Dorrien writes about the future of Occupy Wall Street and gives an interview about the movement's background.

The Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary talks about the future of the Occupy movement in this Web exclusive.

Read the Article>>

Read the Interview>>

The Bible Is Pro-Birth Control

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:40:00 GMT

Prof. David Carr discusses the biblical basis for debates about birth control.

Not many in the current debate realize that the Bible contains a book that celebrates non-reproductive sex and features substances used by ancient women for birth control. Read More>>

Why I Still Support Barack Obama

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:36:00 GMT

Prof. Dorrien explains Why I Still Support Barack Obama for Fox News.

Every week on the lecture trail I meet progressives who are demoralized and/or infuriated by Barack Obama's performance as president. [...] Often they assume that I agree, since I have criticized many of Obama's policies throughout his presidency. But my progressive friends and allies are overlooking three things. Read More>>

Obama’s Communitarianism

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:50:00 GMT

Prof. Gary Dorrien analyzes Obama's communitarianism in The Huffington Post.

Barack Obama is a liberal-leaning, moderate, pragmatic communitarian. His thought was shaped in the 1980s and early 1990s, when debates over liberalism versus communitarianism re-energized the field of political theory. Read More>>

Imagining the Fighting Obama

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:52:00 GMT

Prof. Gary Dorrien writes for The Huffington Post about a different vision for Obama's presidency.

"Barack Obama got to be president by persuading political independents that a likable type like himself could inspire cooperation across party lines to solve the nation's problems." Read More>>

America’s Original Sin: A Q&A with James H. Cone

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:54:00 GMT

Union trustee Susan Reed interviews Dr. Cone for Oprah Magazine.

For more than 40 years, James H. Cone has been the world's leading African-American theologian. Read More>>

Dr. Forbes’ Message of Spiritual Healing

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:57:00 GMT

The New York Daily News reports on Dr. James Forbes' vision for his work at Union Theological Seminary.

Asked why he’s working so hard, the 86-year-old who led Riverside for 18 years pulls a worn Bible from the neatly crowded shelves of his fifth floor Union Theological Seminary office and flips through the pages to a relevant passage. Read More>>

The Gospel of the Penniless, Jobless, Marginalized and Despised

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:02:00 GMT

Chris Hedges talks to James Cone about his new book, The Cross and the Lynching Tree.

“The Cross and the Lynching Tree are separated by nearly two thousand years,” James Conewrites in his new book, “The Cross and the Lynching Tree.” “One is the universal symbol of the Christian faith; the other is the quintessential symbol of black oppression in America. Read More>>

The Current State of Bible Scholarship

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:00:00 GMT

Alan Brill interviews Dr. David Carr about his new book, The Formation of the Hebrew Bible: A New Reconstruction, and developments in the field of biblical scholarship. Read More>>

Strategy and Memory for Progressive Believers

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:05:00 GMT

Tikkun praises Prof. Gary Dorrien's Economy, Difference, Empire.

This book is an indictment of imperialist fantasies, enormous suffering visited on others, and the “shredding” of America’s reputation in “the war on terror.” Read More>>