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Problematizing Whiteness in Religious Scholarship: A Call for Racial Justice
Introduction A recent Twitter thread asked users to “Watch Whiteness Work” by pointing out examples of White Privilege [1] across various contexts (Husky 2023). This raises important questions for religious scholarship regarding whether our academic disciplines may also perpetuate systems of inequality [2] we ostensibly critique. As Christian ethicists and theologians concerned with justice and righteousness, how might our scholarship be vulnerable to racial bias? The study of religion and theology within higher education is responsible for confronting internalized racism within its canon and methods. As womanist scholar Emilie Townes notes, appeals to the Bible and doctrine often supplied the ideological justifications for systems of slavery, segregation, and other evils propagated upon…
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Avatar Discipleship – Who am I engaging with the avatar or the person?
How do you disciple Christians in the metaverse? Is it possible to disciple a person represented by an avatar? Who are you discipling, the avatar or the invisible person it represents? Who are we really engaging with? These are questions often discussed in the church I work with in Virtual Reality (VR). These aren’t just questions that are relevant to VR. According to recent statistics in America[1] over 25 million attend church online. People use the description ‘in person’ for those who attend onsite church, but if we are ‘online’ are we not present ‘in person’ as well? If I attend church via Zoom or YouTube then the experience may…
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Embodiment Spirituality and No Words Theology. Is this what was resurrected? Journal entries and theological reflections from Holy Week 2024.
I am sharing here my journal entries and theological reflections from Holy Week, 2024. When journalling I usually start with a question and then sit quietly and wait for the answer. This is what I wrote. Remind me again. What is Theology? It is the study of the Divine. This, spirituality, and education – from neuro-queering and embodied perspectives – are my academic, professional, and lived experience specialisms and expertise. What do I need to know today, which is Good Friday? On Good Friday we are reminded of the fate which awaits humanitarian and humane humans who challenge the empire, its systems, and the status quo. When enough of us:…
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My Friend, Siddhartha
I wish I had read Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha when I was a teenager, but I’m so glad I picked it up at 25. While browsing through the clearance section of a Barnes and Noble,–a great place to find collections of ancient myths, story books depicting the lives of sacred figures, and modern spiritual inspirations–I picked up a coloring book that advertises itself as an aid for meditation. I must have been leaning into my artistic side that day because another little book caught my eye among the disheveled stacks: an Illustrated Edition of Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha. It felt as if the gold lettering on the book’s spine was illuminating my…
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People-Centred Beliefs: Interviewing Individuals to Understand Religious Identities
Over the last few years, I have seen the difference it makes when individuals are provided opportunities to speak about their histories, traditions and practices and how it can change outsider perspectives on these aspects of humanity. During my Masters, I began studying aspects of individualized, syncretic beliefs through the vernacular religions of divination practitioners with backgrounds in Christianity, I found that my contributors had very personal connections to their practices and that they were keen to share their beliefs in the hopes that it would ease the tenuous relationship that many people perceive to be between organized religion and modern spirituality. To me, this understanding is the embodiment of…
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“Infesting the Herd”: The Arian Heresy in the Philippines
As a newbie worker in the church, there are some things that I have observed in the ministry. One of which is the cycle of wrong teachings that was already proven to be errant long ago. I often assume that the indolence to learn is the reason for ignorance about the dangerous doctrines that once infested the early congregations of saints. While I am blessed that a Trinitarian religious group once conquered my country, there is still a historical controversy that alarmingly grows at present. The music of the Philippines is one of the subjects I studied at graduate school level. I presented on the first chapter of D.R.M. Irving’s…
