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Essays

The Politics of Burning Hearts

We must remember that even when the pandemic is over, this nation will still be under threat by people and forces who have declared war on everything and everyone it defines as “other”. We must remain committed to being hospitable to the stranger, and caring for the most vulnerable.

Announcing the Emerging Scholars Cohort

Please join us in congratulating and welcoming this excellent cohort of scholars to the Political Theology Network.

Violence and Thinking About Violence

Thoreau is a figure who all at once embodies, hyperbolizes, and in that hyperbolization lays excruciatingly bare the contradictions of what Michael Warner calls “liberal culture,” and that for our part we might name secular capitalist modernity.

Restricting religious practice in the era of COVID-19: A de-westernised perspective on religious freedom with reference to the case of Greece

These restrictions must take into careful consideration the historicity of each religious tradition, the social influence of religious beliefs among its citizens, but also theological and exegetical specificities that influence the tradition’s adaptability to the current emergency. Without such thoughtful considerations and a close collaboration with trusted religious authorities, religious communities could be alienated, which can be disruptive in times that require rather unity of thought and action.

Others Amidst Pandemic: Friends, enemies, and in between

Differentiating journalists as enemies is always alarming, but especially so during a public health crisis.

Viral Sovereignty

In the face of COVID-19, we do not have the capacity to breathe, much less decide.

Following Christ in Resurrection Hope

This relativizes politics into a realm that cannot penetrate or disturb the Christian’s faith or take away our salvation and our hope. This is why the real danger for the Christian is not just biopolitics, but also ideologies that provide an alternative salvation through false gods.

Spending Easter with the Angel of Death

God doesn’t tell us to go out and face death unnecessarily. The Israelites put lamb’s blood on their doorposts, a sign of their trust that God loved them and would spare them. But they knew better than to leave home. That would not have been trusting God, it would have been flouting God’s warnings.

Thoreau’s Asceticism as Obedience to a Higher Law

Thoreau’s asceticism was always also related to his hope for just economy – a way of life beyond slavery or exploitative capitalism. I am thus invested in thinking about Thoreau’s religion – his ascetic practice in the woods and the theological commitments that drove it – as deeply tied to his politics.

Niebuhrian Insights on Human Nature and Anxiety for A Time of Crisis

…seeing these responses through a Niebuhrian lens challenges me to acknowledge these actions for what they are—reactions to anxiety—and to confront what it is that I am actually afraid of and trying to avoid—facing the fragility of life and love.

Navigating the Coronavirus Waves

Political leaders need a moral compass and scientific counsel to navigate the coronavirus waves to come.