Thursday, February 27, 2020
7:00PM
Mulder Chapel, Western Theological Seminary
101 E. 13th Street, Holland, MI 49423
On Thursday, February 27, Western Theological Seminary is welcoming Dr. Gregory Lee, who will present a talk on “An Augustinian Theology of Mass Incarceration.” The lecture will be held at 7:00PM in Western Theological Seminary’s Mulder Chapel (101 E. 13th Street, Holland, MI 49423). This event is hosted by the Girod Chair of Western Theological Seminary and the Saint Benedict Institute is a co-sponsor.
The United States incarcerates far more individuals than any nation in the world, at radically disparate rates for different racial groups. This lecture draws on the thought of Augustine to encourage new approaches toward criminal justice. Augustine’s understanding of personal sin stresses the possibility of redemption for individual wrongdoers, and his account of collective evil exposes systemic injustice as a pervasive feature of humanity’s fallen condition. These insights commend Christians’ solidarity with oppressed communities, and the exercise of mercy and restorative practices in response to criminal offenses.
Dr. Gregory Lee is associate professor of theology and urban studies at Wheaton College and a core faculty member for Wheaton in Chicago, a residential program in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago. His scholarship draws on Augustine’s theology to analyze contemporary social issues, focusing especially on race, class, and justice. He lives with his family in the inner city of Chicago, where he is theologian in residence at Lawndale Christian Community Church.
This event is co-sponsored by the Girod Chair of Western Theological Seminary, the Hope-Western Prison Education Program, and the Saint Benedict Institute.