The St. Ambrose Conference on Bible and Justice
May 30-June 2, 2013
Peruse the entire conference schedule below, or click on a link to jump to that day’s schedule or sessions:
Thursday, May 30
Keynote Address: Richard Horsley
Friday, May 31
Session One
Session Two
Session Three
Keynote Address: Elsa Tamez
Saturday, June 1
Special Presentation and Workshop: Norman Gottwald
Session Four
Session Five
Keynote Address: Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza
Sunday, June 2
Keynote Address: David Horrell
Session Six
You can also click here to download a PDF of the complete conference schedule.
All conference events will be held in the Rogalski Center unless otherwise noted
Thursday, May 30
1-6 p.m. Registration
5:30 p.m. Dinner, Cosgrove cafeteria
7:30 p.m. Keynote Address
Richard Horsley, University of Massachusetts: "The Bible, Empire, and Justice"
8:30–10 p.m. Social hour, light snacks and cash bar
Friday, May 31
8–9 a.m. Breakfast, Cosgrove cafeteria
9–10 a.m. Session One
Room 1
- Eric D. Barreto, Luther Seminary: “Crafting Colonial Identities: Hybridity and the Roman Empire in Luke-Acts”
- John Norton, Gamaliel Foundation: "If You Want Peace, Work for Justice: If You Want Justice, Work for Community"
Room 2
- Jennifer Henry, Emmanuel College, Toronto School of Theology: "Theological and Biblical Animation for Indigenous Rights Solidarity in Canada"
10–10:30 a.m. Coffee break
10:30 a.m.–noon Session Two
Room 1 GENDER
- Kelly J. Murphy, Augustana College: “Gender, Justice, and Judges?: Reading with Reception History”
- Sarah Parks, McGill University: “Q’s Gendered Parallels: Egalitarian Innovation in the Earliest Jesus Movement”
- Tadd Ruetenik, St. Ambrose University: “Slavery, Justice, and Sacrifice: Understanding Toni Morrison’s Beloved with Genesis 22”
Room 2 ENVIRONMENT
- Christopher W. Dost, Sacred Heart University: “Toward a Zootheology of the Hebrew Scriptures: Considerations on the Place of Animals in Old Testament Theology”
- Ryan D. Harker, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary: “Reading the Beatitudes in the Garden: A Rhetorical Analysis and Agrarian Interpretation of Matthew 5.3-10”
- Kiara Jorgenson, Luther Seminary: “The Role of Repentance and the Virtues toward the Christian Fulfillment of Ecological Vocation”
Room 3 EMPIRE
- Thomas Carpenter, St. Ambrose University: “From Beyond the Veil: Du Bois’ Double Consciousness in Daniel’s 4th Empire”
- Elliot Ratzman, Swarthmore College: “Just and Unjust Zionisms in Recent Biblical Theology”
- Sarah Thompson, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary: "Building Partnerships to Transform Violence and Oppression: The Story of Christian Peacemaker Teams Intertwined with Acts 4:1-22"
Noon–1 p.m. Lunch, Cosgrove cafeteria
2–3 p.m. Session Three
Room 1 POVERTY
- Matt Lowe, Independent Scholar: “Being Conformed to His Death: Cruciform Spiritual Formation as a Response to Empire”
- Eric Stewart, Augustana College, Rock Island: “The Spaces of Social Justice: Lived Space or Utopia?”
Room 2 ENVIRONMENT
- Ronald A. Simkins, Creighton University: “A Non-Anthropocentric Bible: Putting Humans in Their Place”
- Rick L. Williamson, Mount Vernon Nazarene University: “Ecological Echoes in the Apocalypse?”
Room 3 EMPIRE
- Chris Seeman, Walsh University: “‘It Is Not Like This Among You’ The Kingdom of God, Gentile Behavior, and the Sin of Empire in Mark’s Gospel”
- Valerie Stein, University of Evansville: “Empire-building for Jesus: Christian Rhetoric in Intercountry Adoption”
3:15–3:30 p.m. Bus to Figge Art Museum
Board bus in front of Rogalski Center for transportation to Figge Art Museum
3:45-4:30 p.m. Figge Art Museum
Time for viewing of exhibitions
4:30–5:30 p.m. Keynote Address
Figge Museum, John Deere Auditorium
Elsa Tamez, Latin American Biblical University: “Poverty: Greed and Structural Sin”
5:30–5:45 p.m. Return to campus
Board bus for return to St. Ambrose University
6–7:30 p.m. Dinner outdoors, fish tacos dinner, cash bar, patio behind Rogalski Center
Saturday, June 1
8–9 a.m. Breakfast, Cosgrove cafeteria
9–10:30 a.m.
Special Presentation and Workshop
Norman Gottwald, New York Theological Seminary: “Bridging the Academic and Activist Gap”
10:30–noon Session Four
Room 1 POVERTY
- Michael Barram, St. Mary’s College of California: "What Is and What Ought to Be: Located Reflections on Economic Justice Values in Genesis 1-3”
- Pat Finan, Center of Concern’s Education for Justice Project: “Good News to the Poor: Walking in Solidarity toward Social Change”
- Aaron Sherwood, Roanoke College: “Neediness in the Land and the Poor Among Us: Deuteronomy 15 and Mark 14:3–9; Matthew 26:6–13”
Room 2 EMPIRE
- Mara Adams, St. Ambrose University: “Wrestling with the Angel: Memory, Justice, and Post-conflict Identity in Northern Ireland”
- Ethan Gannaway, St. Ambrose University: “Bringing Paul Back to Earth: A Late Antique Tomb and the ‘Biblical Mystique’”
- John B. Thompson, St. Ambrose University: “‘Overlapping Consensus’ between Christian Theology and Capability Theory”
Room 3 GENDER
- Olegs Andrejevs, Loyola University: “What is the kingdom of God like and with what am I to compare it?” Women missionaries in Q 13:20-21 and Q 15:8-10”
- Kevin Hall, Oklahoma Baptist University: “When Women Sing of War: Theological Reverberations of the Song of Hannah”
- Joseph A. Marchal, Ball State University: “The Exceptional Proves Who Rules: Intersections and Exceptionalisms across Imperial Sites”
Noon–1 p.m. Lunch, Cosgrove cafeteria
3–4 p.m. Session Five
Room 1 ENVIRONMENT
- Caitlin Michelle Desjardins, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary: “‘Let the Earth Put Forth’: Towards an Anabaptist theological response to terminator genes and the international struggle for seed sovereignty.”
- Robert Grant, St. Ambrose University: “And God Saw that it was Good”
Room 2 POVERTY
- Richard I. Frank, University of California–Irvine: “Forgive Us Our Debts”
- Timothy Golden, West Chester University: “Making the Crooked Places Straight: Liberation Theology in Luke 3 and in Defensor Pacis”
Room 3 GENDER
- Ron Moe-Lobeda, University Lutheran Church: “The Mystery of Eve and Adam: A Prophetic Critique of the Monarchy”
- Madison N. Pierce, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School: “With a Little Help from Paul’s Friends: Romans 16 as Starting Point for the Women in Ministry Debate”
4:30–5:30 p.m. Mass, Christ the King Chapel
5:30–6:30 p.m. Dinner, Cosgrove cafeteria
7:30 p.m. Keynote Address
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Harvard University: “Gender Wo/men and Justice in Biblical Interpretation”
8:30–10 p.m. Social hour
Cash bar, light snacks
Sunday, June 2
8–9 a.m. Breakfast, Cosgrove cafeteria
9–10 a.m. Keynote Address
David Horrell, University of Exeter: “Justice, Reconciliation, and the Environment: An Ecological Christology in Colossians?”
10–10:30 a.m. Coffee break
10:30 a.m.–noon Session Six
Room 1
- Micah D. Kiel, St. Ambrose University: “‘Those He wanted…’: The Use of Scripture in Church Documents about Ordination”
- Timothy Milinovich, University of the Incarnate Word: “Imperialist Paradigms in Church and Household: Empire-critical Perspective on Power and Relationships in Colossians”
- Jason Ripley, St. Olaf College: “Glorious Death, Roman Imperialism and the Gospel of John.”
Room 2
- Matthew J.M. Coomber, St. Ambrose University: “‘Those at Ease Have Contempt for Misfortune’: Addressing Anti-Poor Sentiment through Biblical Texts.”
- Christopher Porter, Loyola University: “The Sin of Sodom: A Warning for Consumer Society”
- Hilary Jerome Scarsella, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary: “Gender, Power, and the Taking of Justice: Luke 8:40-56”
Room 3
- Sean Friend, Iliff School of Theology: “Greening the Bible? Lectio Sacra and Ecological Catastrophe”
- Trisha Wheelock, Grand View University: “Empire and Esther: An Alternative Ethic”
- Ruth Whiteford, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis: “Poverty and Debt in Relation to the Sabbatical Year and Jubilee Year”
Noon–1 p.m. Lunch, Cosgrove cafeteria
Schedule of Events