This audio recording was conducted in the Library of Southeastern. Mary Cosby was a minister at the Church of Our Savior in Washington DC. Cosby begins her sermon by laying out her outline and discussion topics (0:00:00-0:03:43). She speaks about her childhood memories of memorizing Scripture in her Baptist church, and she reads John 13:1-38 (0:03:44-0:11:16). In the first part of her sermon, Cosby says that salvation comes through freedom and not law, and she points to the act of servanthood as the way believers become children of God (0:11:17-0:32:37). In the second part of her sermon, Cosby speaks about salvation as the entrance into a new reality, and she discusses at length the current abuses of power and wealth the United States government is currently engaging in to show that Christians must not align themselves with the world but rather the alternative community of God (0:32:38-1:12:48). Cosby opens for questions from the audience, and the first question is about how Cosby’s church is structured for missions (1:12:49-1:17:07). For the second question, Cosby shares the story of a church member who met Jesus Christ through an advanced doctrine study (1:17:08-1:25:37). The librarian concludes the talk by inviting everyone downstairs for refreshments, and she gives a word of prayer (1:25:37-1:26:47).
Motlaepula Chabaku was a South African refugee. The service begins with announcements over community concerns, and the speaker gives a word of prayer (00:00-02:35). Motlalepula Chabaku is introduced as the Missionary Day speaker (02:36-04:09). Chabaku reads from Matthew 4:18-21 and Luke 8:1-3, and she speaks at length about how the inequality of race, gender, and economic status seen, not only in her home country of South Africa but all over the world, is contrary to the Scriptures and the justice of God (04:10-34:51). The service ends with an invitation and a last word from Chabaku about a hymn that changed her life (34:52-38:20).
Robert T. Handy was Professor of Church History at Union Theological Seminary in New York. The service begins with organ music (00:00-06:55). Glenn T. Miller gives a word of prayer (06:56-07:31). Robert T. Handy is introduced as the Carver-Barnes Lecturer (07:32-08:10). Handy begins his lecture by stating his theme of religious liberty and the dynamics of history (08:11-10:06). Handy examines the history of religious freedom from English Baptist Separatism to the establishment of the First Amendment, and he speaks about the challenges facing religious freedom today (10:07-52:36). Miller ends the service with a few announcements (52:37-53:45).
Charles Emerson Boddie was President Emeritus of the American Baptist Theological Seminary. The service begins with a Scripture reading by C. Michael Hawn and a word of prayer (00:00-02:13). Charles Emerson Boddie is introduced as the chapel speaker, and 1 Timothy 6:12-14 is publicly read (02:14-07:00). Boddie begins his sermon by reading 1 Timothy 6:12-14, but most of his sermon focuses on a benediction written by Clarence Jordan with a charge to be motivated in following Christ and his gospel (07:01-24:18). Boddie ends the service with a word of prayer (24:19-25:05).
Rosemary Reuther was a professor at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. She was also a leading ecofeminist scholar and Roman Catholic theologian. The service begins with the introduction of Rosemary Ruether (00:00-00:37). The title of Ruether’s lecture is “The Maleness of Christ: Can Christology Be Liberated from Patriarchy.” She begins with the question of how Christology has been used to exclude women, and she examines how the terms “image of God,” “Son of God,” came to be defined in a patriarchal culture where women are only saved and made in the image of God under the headship of men (00:38-15:33). Ruether moves to explore the alternative ways of interpreting and constructing Christology, first by revealing the feminine and gender neutral language in Hebrew Scriptures of describing the character of God, second by showing how the gospel elevates the status of the last in society embodied in the women disciples, and third by pointing to how the early church viewed an alternative life where the genders are equal (15:34-31:18). Ruether states that two interpretations of Paul emerged in the second century, one using the Pastoral Epistles to promote a patriarchal community and another using a Pauline extra-biblical text to promote an “eschatological community” of celibacy, and she argues that these two communities converged during the late Patristic era to form the clerical norms of the Eastern and Western traditions (31:19-35:48). Ruether views the Reformation as a revolt against this synthesis, and she concludes that two lines of Christology emerged that are now present in the modern day: a patriarchal Christianity and a mystical transcendent Christianity (35:49-40:35). She recognizes in the early modern era an emerging of a new movement seeking for original equality which has spawned various movements including liberalism, socialism, and feminism (40:36-45:41). Ruether concludes the lecture by stating the new Christology by surpassing Jesus’ historical maleness and cultural characteristics for him to be a representative to all mankind, and she desires to shift Christ’s focus to being a liberator of the poor (45:42-53:56). The service ends with a word of prayer (53:57-54:23).