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Early feminist theologians criticized the Christian doctrine of sin for its focus on female sexual purity and its enabling of the marginalization and oppression of women. Others have questioned whether the entire theological category of sin should be abandoned in favor of other ways of talking about the human predicament. In her new book “Sexism and Sin-Talk: Feminist Conversations on the Human Condition,” Union Presbyterian Seminary Assistant Professor of Theology and Ethics Rachel Sophia Baard argues for a feminist critique of traditional sin-talk alongside a constructive reinterpretation of the doctrine of sin — one that can be life-affirming for all persons. Baard claims that the Christian idea of sin — that tragic flaw at the core of human experience — provides one of the best tools for understanding the evils of sexism, patriarchy, and traditional sin-talk itself. She likewise provides a new rhetoric of sin-talk, one that accounts for the diverse experiences of the human family, not simply those of pow

The Public Square is the space where people of different walks of life encounter each other as they move through their daily lives. It’s not limited to the political space. It could be a shopping mall or a church. The church has a word to say about how we gather and live together in community. The Strategic Plan for Union Presbyterian Seminary states, in part, that Union “is teaching not just for church leadership but for leadership in the entire public sphere.” President Brian Blount shared his thoughts on “The Church in the Public Square” with Joe Slay. DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT

The Many, a musical group passionate about creating music for people to sing together about peace and justice and a world where all belong, will perform at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, October 14-15. Tinsley Jones, director of the seminary's Leadership Institute, interviewed the group via Skype from their home base in Chicago. The full 50-minute conversation is available here for those who want to learn more. Drawing on indie pop and gospel influences, The Many makes music to help give voice to faith and doubt, questions and fears, laments and longings, music that speaks to a non-violent God, a Jesus who is with us and for us, and to a Spirit that can’t be easily defined or controlled. It’s music for a movement of resistance to hatred and division, for reconciliation and restoration, and music that always reminds us “we are on this earth to love.” Their music is made for people to sing with each other, in churches, in living rooms, in basements and bars, anywhere, everywhere, in spi

Author and professor emeritus Ronald P. Byars at home. Regular worshipers may be believers on Sunday but (nearly) atheists by Thursday. The general public, not making fine distinctions, lumps mainline Protestants together with fundamentalists fighting to hold on to a privileged status already lost. Circumstances favor religious skeptics, who find themselves with rising influence. Church members in mainline denominations feel caught between a rock and a hard place. Thus comes the critical question of the moment: is Christian faith of an intellectually serious and recognizably generous sort still possible? Union Presbyterian Seminary Professor Emeritus of Preaching and Worship Ronald P Byars's new book "Believer on Sunday, Atheist by Thursday" invites readers to explore basic questions about faith itself, and classically inclined Christian faith in particular. Faith is a kind of knowing, but a knowing that makes use of doubt and asserts that it is possible to be confident without claiming absolute certain

Rev. Dr. Richard Voelz, right, is interviewed by Union alumnus Darren Utley about his new book. Preachers stand up to speak each week in challenging times to unsettled congregations. Each week seems to bring a new difficult subject: mass shootings and other forms of violence; hard conversations around race, ethnicity, and multi-religious contexts; immigration; poverty; climate change; foreign and domestic terrorism; and bickering about it all on social media. Rev. Dr. Richard W. Voelz, Union Presbyterian Seminary assistant professor of preaching and worship, has authored a new book for preachers hungry for ways to envision the work of preaching in these times, as well as for tools that will help them speak to difficult and contentious topics. “Preaching to Teach: Inspire People to Think and Act” merges the related functions of preaching and teaching, and equips the reader to accomplish both. It is the newest addition to a collection called The Artistry of Preaching Series. In a divided and weary world

What has the Lord demanded of us and how are we living in that call as a seminary? Are we responding adequately to God’s call for justice in our teaching, witness, and service as an organ of the Reign of God? Associate Professor of Bible Rodney Sadler, will explore this topic at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond during “Seminary For a Day.” He previewed his keynote address with Tinsley Jones, director of Union’s Leadership Institute, which is sponsoring the event on September 28, 2019.

Union Presbyterian Seminary has been awarded a grant to develop a map to help churches find new ways to communicate the value of religious practices for children and families in a diverse and complicated world. Children, are confronting a world rife with new and terrifying realities. Active shooter drills in schools is just one of those realities. Millennial generation parents are drifting away from mainline churches and, with that exodus, losing the opportunity for the church to help them and their children develop the faith necessary to confront the new realities. And budget cuts throughout traditional Christian denominations are hamstringing church educators’ and pastors’ ability to reach the upcoming generation. The Lily Endowment grant will fund research to help congregations retool their approaches to faith formation in ways that address the challenges of contemporary family life and also offer ideas about how Christian spirituality can be more effectively presented in the public realm as a positive c

In 2015, Yale Divinity School Professor John Collins heard a presidential election ad urging listeners to vote according to “biblical values.” In the ad, the Reverend Franklin Graham announced he would be traveling to all 50 states to hold prayer rallies and call the nation to God. Collins was so troubled by it that he launched a course that year titled “What are Biblical Values?” It's also the theme of the Sprunt Lectures he will deliver at Union Presbyterian Seminary. The easy and unfounded application of scripture to political viewpoints is as prevalent today as at any time in history. It’s not uncommon to see election ads touch on right to life issues and the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman. Collins says the problem is when it comes to a host of social and political issues, the Bible has much less to say than is generally supposed.

Are worship and the arts viable methods for building community? How can music and drama support the efforts of community engagement? You’re about to learn the story of a small Massachusetts congregation that used community organizing, theater programs, and relationship building to revitalize a diminished ministry and enliven an urban neighborhood. Fourth Presbyterian Church of Boston was near closing when it embraced a commitment to serve its surrounding neighborhood with community organizing and a variety of ministries, including a community music and art program. One piece of that program grew into a popular children’s musical theater program for the neighborhood, which then fed the congregation’s growing use of music, drama and even musical theater in its worship and congregational life. The Reverend Burns Stanfield has served as the church's pastor for the last 27 years and led its afterschool offerings in music, art and children’s theater. he’s also a musician and an instructor at Harvard Divinity Scho