|
Event
Rev. Scotty McLennan / Jesus Was A Liberal
Tuesday, February 22
7:30 PM
Scott McLennan
Jesus Was A Liberal
Berkeley Arts & Letters at First Congregational Church of Berkeley
$12 general, $6 student, in advance, at Brown Paper Tickets, online or call 800-838-3006; $15 at the door
Rev. Scotty McLennan, Dean for Religious Life at Stanford University and the model for Doonsbury's iconic Reverend Scot Sloan, has written the definitive book about today's political and religious landscape. Jesus Was a Liberal: Reclaiming Christianity for All is the progressive answer to the sweeping popularity of the Evangelical movement at one extreme and atheism at the other. Rev. McLennan opens a new dialogue, not only for liberal Christians, but for all people of faith, to speak about and address what he terms "the great social issues" -- economic justice, war, and environmental destruction.
Over the last twenty-five years, those in the Evangelical right rose to power by influencing politics from pulpits and in the media, by counseling presidents and political leaders directly, by shoveling money to candidates who shared their positions, and ultimately by controlling a huge swath of public opinion on certain hot button issues like gay marriage and abortion.
Then, there was the backlash. Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and others fashioned atheism as a smart, progressive answer to Evangelical extremism. McLennan emerges with the most comprehensive answer to both sides that has been presented, declaring his intention to show that "Science and religion are compatible; we are committed to the use of logic, reason, and the scientific method. Doubt is the handmaiden of faith. Love is the primary Christian value, and it is directly related to the promotion of liberty and justice in society at large."
McLennan calls for Christian advocacy and action in a time of national turmoil. Philosophical and political ethics, McLennan argues, can be supplemented by religious ethics that "lie deep in the hearts and minds of so much of humanity."
The Rev. Scotty McLennan is the dean for religious life at Stanford University. He was the university Chaplain at Tufts University from 1984 to 2000, and senior lecturer at the Harvard Business School for ten of those years. In 1975, he was ordained to the ministry (Unitarian Universalist) and admitted to the Massachusetts bar as an attorney. He is the author of Finding Your Religion and was the inspiration for Doonesbury's Rev. Scot Sloan.
7:30 PM / First Congregational Church of Berkeley
2345 Channing Way at Dana / Berkeley
|
Discussion
|
 |
LocationFCCB (1st Congregational Church of Berkeley)
2345 Channing Way at Dana
Berkeley, CA 94704
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
|
Contact
|
