November 2, 3:00-4:30 pm, Chicago: At the 2008 American Academy of Religion meeting, deCoursey will participate in a panel discussion, “Observing Genocide: Christian Theological Paradigms for Intervention and Non-Involvement in Mass Violence.” The following is an abstract of her talk on the theme, “Theological Anthropologies Expressed in the Politics of Intervention in Genocide:”
Rwanda is has one of the largest Christian populations in the world. During the genocide there in 1994, hundreds of thousands of Christians were killed, often by fellow Christians. People flocked to church buildings to seek sanctuary from the slaughter, but found that their voluntary assembly only expedited their massacre. But Rwanda is not the only nation to have experienced genocide. It is not even the only “Christian” nation whose citizens have perpetrated this ultimate crime. Thus, as a scarily global phenomenon, genocides teach us about who we are as humans. The politics of intervention in genocide can reveal a theological anthropology of hope and of faith in human goodness. Too often, those in whom faith is placed do not fulfill those expectations. Yet the testimonies of victims and survivors of genocide reveal truths about human power that witnesses to the genocide must hear.
November 7, Indianapolis: Along with Voices for an Open Spirit coordinator Ken Kline-Smeltzer, deCoursey will be preaching at the opening worship service at the Progressive Brethren Summit, held at the Northview Church of the Brethren. For more information about the summit, please visit the website of the Womaen’s Caucus of the Church of the Brethren. Their sermon will address the theme of “A Challenged Church,” and will preach from II Corinthians 4: 1-12.
