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The Friday Forum Reading List

2020-11-05-ffbg-readinglist

The Adventist Forum invites you to join our monthly discussion on thoughtful books that promote community, value scholarship, and imagine ways for Adventists to live an abundant kingdom life together.

The panel discussions are hosted by Carmen Lau, Adventist Forum board chair, and Alexander Carpenter, Spectrum editor elect. They are joined by regular panelist Bonnie Dwyer, Spectrum editor, and a variety of guest conversation partners.

2021 Book Schedule:


December 10, 2021 (10 a.m. Pacific Time)

The End of the Scroll: Biblical Apocalyptic Trajectories by Herold Weiss (published by Energion Publications, June 24, 2020, 366 pages). 

Guest Conversation Partners: Herold Weiss, PhD, professor emeritus of religious studies at Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN, and John R. Jones, PhD, associate professor of New Testament studies at La Sierra University.

Registration required to join the Zoom discussion. Email Alexander Carpenter  (alexander@spectrummagazine.org) for a Zoom link and instructions. The events will also be live-streamed on the Spectrum Facebook page. Dates and times subject to change; visit this page for any updates to the schedule.


 

Previous Friday Forum Book Group Discussions:

November 12, 2021 (10 a.m. Pacific Time)

Dinosaurs, Volcanoes, and Holy Writ: A Boy-Turned-Scientist Journeys from Fundamentalism to Faith by James L. Hayward (published by Resource Publications, April 29, 2020, 254 pages).

Guest Conversation Partner: James L. Hayward, PhD, professor emeritus of biology at Andrews University.

CLICK HERE to watch the panel discussion on this book.


October 15, 2021

Climate, Catastrophe, and Faith: How Changes in Climate Drive Religious Upheaval by Philip Jenkins (published by Oxford University Press, May 11, 2021, 272 pages).

Guest conversation partners: Michael W. Campbell, PhD, professor of religion at Southwestern Adventist University; Nicholas Zork, minister for worship and the arts at Church of the Advent Hope in Manhattan and adjunct professorfor the Andrews University Department of Music; and James L. Hayward, PhD, professor emeritus of biology at Andrews University.

CLICK HERE to watch the panel discussion on this book.


September 10, 2021

The Galápagos Islands: A Spiritual Journey by Brian D. McLaren (published by Fortress Press, October 1, 2019, 150 pages).

Guest conversation partner: James L. Hayward, PhD, professor emeritus of biology at Andrews University.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH our panel discussion on this title. 


July 16, 2021

After Evangelicalism: The Path to a New Christianity by David P. Gushee (published by Westminster John Knox Press, August 25, 2020, 242 pages). 

Guest conversation partner: Matthew J. Lucio, pastor in Illinois and host of the Adventist History Podcast.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH our panel discussion on this title.


June 18, 2021

The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth by Beth Allison Barr (published by Brazos Press, April 20, 2021, 256 pages).

Guest conversation partners: Dr. Greg Schneider, Professor Emeritus of Religion and Social Science at Pacific Union College, and Sarah McDugal, author, speaker, and founder of Wilderness to WILD, an organization providing resources to women survivors of abuse.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH our panel discussion on this title.


May 14, 2021

Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez (published by Liveright, June 23, 2020, 368 pages).

Guest conversation partners: Greg Schneider, professor emeritus of Religion & Social Sciences at Pacific Union College and author of the book The Way of the Cross Leads Home: The Domestication of American Methodism, and Heidi Campbell, a doctoral student in gender studies at Baylor University.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH our panel discussion on this title.


April 9, 2021

Call My Name, Clemson: Documenting the Black Experience in an American University Community by Rhondda Robinson Thomas (published by University of Iowa Press, November 2, 2020, 284 pages).

Guest conversation partners: Rhondda Robinson Thomas, author of the book we'll be discussing and Calhoun Lemon Professor of Literature at Clemson University, and Alita Byrd, interviews editor for Spectrum. Read a recent USA Today interview with Dr. Thomas by clicking here.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH our panel discussion on this title.


March 12, 2021

The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone (published by Orbis Books, January 1, 2011, 224 pages).

Guest conversation partners: Maury Jackson, DMin, associate professor of Practical Theology at La Sierra University and Chris Oberg, lead pastor at La Sierra University Church.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH our panel discussion on this title.


February 12, 2021

The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby (published by Zondervan, January 22, 2019, 256 pages).

Guest conversation partners: Michael Nixon, Esq, vice president for Diversity & Inclusion at Andrews University and Scott Moncrieff, PhD, professor of English at Andrews University.

Read Scott Moncrieff’s book review of The Color of Compromise by clicking here.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH our panel discussion on this title.


January 8, 2021 

White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity by Robert P. Jones (published by Simon & Schuster, July 28, 2020, 320 pages).

Guest conversation partners: Rich Hannon, columns editor for Spectrum.

Read Rich Hannon’s book review of White Too Long by clicking here.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH our panel discussion on this title.


December 11, 2020

God and the Pandemic: A Christian Reflection on the Coronavirus by N. T. Wright's (published by Zondervan, June 19, 2020, 96 pages) and In the Time of Coronavirus: Chronicles of a Pandemic by Hanz Gutierrez (published by Adventist Forum, forthcoming).

Guest conversation partners: Andy Lampkin, PhD, bioethics professor at AdventHealth University, Mark Carr, MDiv, PhD, regional director of Ethics for Providence Health & Services, and Hanz Gutierrez, chair of the Systematic Theology Department at the Italian Adventist Theological Faculty of “Villa Aurora” and director of the CECSUR (Cultural Center for Human and Religious Sciences) in Florence, Italy.

Read Andy Lampkin's book review of God and the Pandemic by clicking here.

Read Mark Carr's book review of In the Time of Coronavirus by clicking here.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH our panel discussion on this title.


November 6, 2020

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson (published by Random House, August 4, 2020, 496 pages).

Guest conversation partners: Jason Hines, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Healthcare Administration at AdventHealth University and Scott Moncrieff, PhD, professor of English at Andrews University.

Read Scott Moncrieff’s book review of Caste by clicking here.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH our panel discussion on this title.


October 16, 2020

More Beautiful and More Terrible: The Embrace and Transcendence of Racial Inequality in the United States by Imani Perry (NYU Press, February 28, 2011, 266 pages). Guest conversation partners: Andy Lampkin, PhD, bioethics professor at AdventHealth University and Mark Carr, MDiv, PhD, regional director of Ethics for Providence Health & Services.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH our panel discussion on this title.


September 25, 2020

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo (published by Beacon Press, June 26, 2018, 186 pages). Guest conversation partners: Andy Lampkin, PhD, bioethics professor at AdventHealth University and Mark Carr, MDiv, PhD, regional director of Ethics for Providence Health & Services.

Read Mark Carr's book review of White Fragility by clicking here.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH our panel discussion on this title.


 

Book cover images courtesy of the respective publishers.

 

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