Both liberals and conservatives claim Jesus and Christian values. How can this be? And how can the Mormon idea of Zion reclaim the essence of Christ and his message?
Time:
Friday, February 3, 2017, 7:30-9:30 pm
Location:
Home of Elizabeth and Mark England
1194 S. 500 E., SLC, UT
Please come in the back door if you arrive late.
The Discussion:
What new wisdom about Jesus does this embattled space between white American liberals and conservative arouse in all of us? The fact is that even as we press Jesus into our political narratives He evades partisan appropriation on either side of the divide. The only government that Jesus served was the Kingdom of God and that Kingdom is utterly characterised by its motivation to rid the world of injustice, inequality and violence. We Mormons have called this Kingdom, ‘Zion’ – an idea that has become sadly more nostalgic than it motivates our faith. Yet, though we have failed the idea of Zion, around the world we still sing and ache for Zion.
What would Mormonism look like if we marked our religion with the imprint of the poor, the marginalized and the oppressed? What if we lived into a spiritual narrative that looked for the God in the wounds of the very least and we used that wisdom to build a Zion Kingdom that could fill the Earth? And what new posture of faith would we need to live out Jesus’ Kingdom of God teachings?
In this discussion we’ll reclaim Zion and mine our collective wisdom to find a path that gives us a reason for radical trust in God’s generosity to transform the world.
About Gina Colvin:
Gina Colvin PhD, a Research Fellow at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch New Zealand, and a student of theology at Laidlaw College is the host of A Thoughtful Faith Podcast and blogs at KiwiMormon. A discourse and cultural analyst by training Gina writes about the intersection of faith, religion and culture. Her forthcoming book with Joanna Brooks ‘Towards a Post-Colonial Mormonism: Consciousness, Resistance and Creativity” highlights the need for all Mormons to look beyond the discourses of White American colonial patriarchy that now characterise its fiercest and most divisive cultural expressions.
Resources to explore: