Westar Institute invites members and the general public into conversation with Westar scholars of religion throughout the year. Online and in-person events provide opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds and interests to discuss questions that matter. (See Westar Program Descriptions)

Upcoming Events

Praxis Forum Event
An important discussion on race, scholarship, and ministry today.
Free Registration and Details

Discovering Radical Theology
An evening with John D. Caputo
August 27, 7:30 - 9:00 EST

Join in an interview with John D. Caputo and moderator Terrance Dean, a Westar Think Tank Analyst. Dr. Caputo will review the meaning and importance of radical theology today. Enjoy this groundbreaking discussion involving the weakness of God and the folly of the kingdom of God.
Registration $20.00 USD

The Jesus Seminar at 35
Brandon Scott and Lane McGaughy
Online Event September 15 and 16

Dominic Crossan
Jesus: Ascension or Resurrection?
Online Event September 30

Completed Seminars
(Seminar papers available here)
Mini-Seminar on the Clobber Passages

June 15
--Sex or Sexuality Revisited: Leviticus 18-20 (Tamar Kamionkowski)
--Johnathan’s Love for David: Ambiguity as Liberation (Dirk von der Horst)

June 15

--Do Not Neglect to Show Hospitality (Michael Carden)
--Marriage, Disposable spouses, and the Gender Binary in Mark 10:1-12 and Matthew 19:3-12 (Susan M. (Elli) Elliott)

June 16
--Malakoi and Arsenokoitai (Perry Kea)
--Romans 1 (Art Dewey)

God Seminar

From God to the Future
Sarah Morice Brubaker and Jordan Miller reflect on the most important theological implications of the seminar’s critical exploration of the varieties of post-theistic conceptions of God.

Saving God from Religion
Robin Meyers, who appears in the critically acclaimed documentary "American Heretics," has published "Saving God from Religion," a major new book that is directly pertinent to the spirit and ideas of the God Seminar.

Natalie Perkins of the Praxis Forum guides Meyers through a discussion of the book.

Resources

Christianity Seminar

SESSION 1 of 4
--Becoming a People of the Book (Jason BeDuhn)
Ballot Items

--Some Observations on the Evolution and Politics of Roman Imperial Canons  (Chris Shea)
Ballot Items

SESSION 2 of 4
--Scripture and Resistance Hybridity: Without Canon (Hal Taussig)
Ballot Items

--Gathered around Absence (Erin Vearncombe)
Ballot Items

SESSION 3 of 4
--If Not Christians, What? (Brandon Scott, Hal Taussig, and Erin Vearncombe)
Ballot Items

SESSION 4 of 4
--Public Working Session:  Christianity Seminar Phase II
(No Ballot Items)