  THE THEOPOLITICAL IMAGINATION: CHRIST & CAESAR IN NEW PERSPECTIVE (William Cavanaugh, 4 sessions) State and national culture make virtually religious claims upon citizens, especially in America whose founding myths serve to confuse the issues. After an era in which religion has identified itself closely with particular political movements, many American Christians are rethinking the relationship between religion and politics. This seminar offers a fresh look at political theology for those disenchanted with the direction and emphases of current Christianity in the Public Square. WITCH-HUNTING & CULT-BUSTING (Gordon Melton, 3 sessions) The late-20th century religious explosion launched hundreds of organizations responding to the "cults." Such approaches were often long on confrontation, short on dialogue and respect: they often took the familiar shape of clashes with the Evil Other. This seminar surveys this landscape and considers unexamined assumptions and underpinnings of a faulty (and often unChristian) methodology and imagines a truly Christian approach for approaching the religious Other. (DE)CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM: POSTMODERNISM, TRUTH & FAITH (Crystal Downing, 3 sessions) Denouncers of postmodernism regard deconstruction as an axe laid to the roots of truth. But in the right hands, deconstruction is an effective tool for clearing the cultural and philosophical underbrush choking Christianity. This seminar argues deconstruction can make a (de)constructive difference in the way we relate (our faith) to others (meanwhile extolling the virtues of parenthetical wordplay!) PEACEMAKERS WORKSHOP (CPT Peacemaker Team - Jim Fitz, Tim Nafziger & Charletta Erb, 2 sessions) Jesus calls us to love our enemies and turn the other cheek. What does that mean - really? Are we supposed to let people roll over us? What about places like Colombia, where armed groups have been fighting for over 45 years? Using eyewitness accounts and role-playing scenarios drawn from Christian Peacemaker Teams experiences, this seminar is an opportunity to try enemy-loving and explore peace-making situations. US vs. THEM: IDENTITY, OTHERNESS & RECONCILIATION (Miroslav Volf, 3 sessions) Balkan violence is a microcosm for future world conflict if "ethnic cleansing" - eradication of the Other - remains a such a popular means of maintaining cultural identity. Croatian theologian Miroslav Volf applies the Gospel and Trinitarian theology to the problem of tribalism in our suddenly very small world with its abundant WMDs. How should we think about Otherness? Can identity exist without some essential opposition to the Other, i.e. "Us vs. Them"? CONSPIRACY! RUMOR PANICS AND MYTHS OF "THE EVIL OTHER" (Bill Ellis, 3 sessions) Societies are easily thrown into tizzies by claims that shadowy conspirators are plotting to attack Our Way of Life. Christians have been a target of such persecutions. But Christian culture has also perpetuated its own rumor panics, including Medieval Witch Hunts and, more recently, the contagious hysteria of Satanic Cults. This seminar explores what makes these stories compelling and difficult to debunk, and as damaging to both "true believers" and their targets.
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