[Oe List ...] Theology and A True Easter Sermon

Sun Mar 23 13:18:12 EDT 2008

Thanks Janice,

We were indeed blessed thanks to the Spirit Movement to be participants in 
the theological revolution of the 60's.  It has given me a hunger and 
curiosity about theology especially of an existential variety.

This brought me to a gift that perhaps others of you might like to 
partake.  I am participating in a course in Existentialism in Literature 
and Films given at the UofC Berkeley.  It is education at a distance and 
called a Podcast.  I can take it from my home and at my own speed. It is 
free (see

http://webcast.berkeley.edu/course_details.php?seriesid=1906978538

Now one of the lectures is on Kierkegaard's Sickness Unto Death which 
brings me to a request.

As I remember it, the original RSI had a session on Sin using a key section 
of Sickness Unto Death. In the present course the same section is used to 
highlight the reflection on the reflection to define the Self and the state 
of Despair.

Does anyone have any material on how we treated the paper or a lecture to 
go with it?

Len

PS  For just a taste of the course, I would recommend listening to the 
lecture on Sickness Unto Death but do first download the handouts for this 
lecture, Kierkegaard Self Text-and Kierkegaard Self Char .  You can find 
the handouts for the course at:
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~hdreyfus/7-s08/html/Handouts.html

At 06:29 AM 3/22/2008 -0500, you wrote:
>
>I passed along the Palm Sunday sermon from Denise Cumbee Long to a number 
>of people.  Several responded with thanks.  The note below came from a 
>bright and caring retired UM pastor and district superintendent (served in 
>Wisconsin).  He and his wife were good friends in Cornell College (Mount 
>Vernon, Iowa) but I hadn't seen them for several years when we spent time 
>together in 2006 at the 50th anniversary of our graduation.
>
>The reason I share this is the eloquence with which Norm Stephenson talks 
>about what this theology means to him.  I look forward to sharing with him 
>the Living the Questions materials, Crossan, Borg, Spong, etc.  There 
>really is a theological revolution going on among Christians and 
>beyond.  When we see the need for going beyond ecumenical to interfaith 
>for seriously tackling what needs to happen - then we need to look at 
>Rabbi Michael Lerner and the Network of Spiritual Progressives.
>
>Those of us lucky enough to bump into RS-1 in the 60s and early 70s have 
>had for all these years a more adequate theological framework than many - 
>though atonement theology wasn't addressed (or attacked) specifically that 
>I can remember.  The Academy and many other learning opportunities 
>deepened the insights.  I appreciate the fact that Ecumenical Institute 
>training was not only aimed at clergy!  We lay folks were expected to step 
>up to theological sophistication and real commitment.   Replacing 
>controlling, fearful theology with more thoughtful, more "the way life is" 
>theology is a great gift.  Beyond the damage done by stirring up fake or 
>trivial personal guilt (Jesus died because I lost my temper?!), this 
>substitutionary atonement ignores the real systemic guilt of our current 
>empire - and our personal failures to get involved in justice.
>
>Blessed Easter to you all,
>Janice Ulangca
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: <mailto:normjangb at yahoo.com>Norman Stephenson
>To: <mailto:aulangca at stny.rr.com>Janice Ulangca
>Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 11:59 PM
>Subject: Re: A fine sermon for Holy Week
>
>Hi Jan,
>
>What a wonderful Holy Week/Good Friday gift I/we received from you today!
>
>I have to wonder if at sometime I revealed to you that the most pervasive 
>theological question throughout my adult life (which also means during the 
>whole of my ministry) has been the "standard" belief in the 
>substitutionary atonement theory/belief of Jesus' death on the cross.  You 
>can understand why so often I felt like a phony during the Lenten run up 
>to Easter!  This struggle has not been any fun!!
>
>Today I received your forwarded copy of the sermon by Pastor Denise Cumbee 
>Long.  As I read it, it was as if a locked, bolted, and shuttered window 
>had been thrown open and a refreshing (healing?) wind (sounds like the 
>Holy Spirit) blew in.  With it came powerful insights which had my soul 
>saying WOW more than once. A helpful byproduct of the sermon is the 
>prompting to read more of the authors she cites.
>
>In any event, many thanks for thinking of us as you forwarded the 
>sermon.  Jan says hi.  If for no other reason, she is happy to observe the 
>diminishing of my "theological frown", too often present following a Holy 
>Week service, including the one we attended last night.
>
>We send our love from Tucson, AZ.  Our weather has been wonderful, in 
>contrast to much which has been reported from the northern states.  We 
>begin our trek home on April 8th, with stops along the way to visit family 
>and friends.
>
>Again, many thanks for thinking of us.
>
>Norm
>
>Janice Ulangca <aulangca at stny.rr.com> wrote:
>Good Friday, 2008
>
>Friends,
>This may be especially meaningful for those who struggle with "Jesus died 
>for my (our) sins."  It comes from a colleague in Chapel Hill, NC who is 
>part of Binkley Baptist Church.  He occasionally passes on sermons from 
>his minister, and says of her:
>She is the interim minister at my church. I wish she would be the 
>permanent minister but that is not to be. Prior to serving as our interim 
>minister she worked in farm worker ministries with the North Carolina 
>Council of Churches. Her undergraduate degree is in literature and it 
>shows. She has a law degree as well as a divinity degree. Her husband is a 
>UCC minister and serves a church in Raleigh, NC.
>
>Blessed Easter.
>
>Janice
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: <mailto:hfgreene at mindspring.com>Herman Greene
>To: <mailto:oe at wedgeblade.net>'Order Ecumenical Community'
>Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 7:49 AM
>Subject: [Oe List ...] A True Easter Sermon from Denise Long
>
>
>
>----------
>From: Maureen Rosen [mailto:office at binkleychurch.org]
>Sent: Monday, March 17, 2008 8:48 AM
>To: 'Maureen Rosen'
>Subject: Yesterday's Binkley Sermon
>
>Good Morning!  Denise's sermon from yesterday, Palm Sunday, is 
>attached.  Thanks!
>
>Maureen Rosen, Office Manager
>Binkley Baptist Church
>1712 Willow Drive
>Chapel Hill NC 27514
>919-942-4964
>office at binkleychurch.org
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>OE mailing list
>OE at wedgeblade.net
>http://wedgeblade.net/mailman/listinfo/oe_wedgeblade.net
>No virus found in this incoming message.
>Checked by AVG.
>Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.21.8/1337 - Release Date: 3/20/2008 
>8:10 PM
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://wedgeblade.net/pipermail/oe_wedgeblade.net/attachments/20080323/55c030dd/attachment.html 