An NCB Workshop Retreat
Join us for a hopeful and inspiring time of biblical study and conversation as we explore some of the ways in which Jesus engaged the power of empire, even as he bore witness to the in-breaking of an altogether different imperial rule, the Reign of God, and invited everyone—including us, today—to participate in it.
Living under Roman Occupation, Jesus and his contemporaries were subject to the most awesome imperial force the ancient world had ever known. Politically, the Romans claimed to be bringing peace and security, even as they often ruled with an iron fist, using violence to subdue and manage subject peoples. The economic system, including burdensome taxation and widespread expropriation of land, was devastating for myriads of vulnerable people. Religious institutions and those who ran them were often corrupt, trading on access to imperial power rather than loyalty to and service among the common people. Not surprisingly, Jews in the first century regularly debated the most effective ways in which to engage the empire: some chose collusion, others chose strict adherence to religious laws and teachings, while still others violently opposed the authorities. Jesus came into the mix teaching and behaving in ways that tended either to confound or inspire those around him—or both!
Refreshments and lunch will be provided.
About the Presenters
Michael Barram, PhD is a professor in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at Saint Mary’s College of California. In addition, he is a member of and regularly teaches at First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley. As a biblical scholar, Barram’s work focuses on the formative function of biblical texts for moral and economic reasoning—and on the emerging subfield of biblical interpretation known as missional hermeneutics. He is the author of Mission and Moral Reflection in Paul (Lang, 2006); Missional Economics: Biblical Justice and Christian Formation (Eerdmans, 2018); co-editor of the recently-released anthology, Reparations and the Theological Disciplines: Prophetic Voices for Remembrance, Reckoning, and Repair (Lexington, 2023); and co-author of Liberating Scripture: An Invitation to Missional Hermeneutics (Cascade, 2024).
Rev. Mark Stryker is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), who has served three large churches as an Associate Pastor in New York and California, the last being First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley. Prior to that he worked for 8+ years in campus ministry with undergraduate and graduate students in New Jersey and New York. He has an MDiv with emphasis in Systematic Theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and has done additional academic work at Princeton Theological Seminary and Regent College. He is a voracious reader, particularly of historical fiction, short stories, medieval spirituality, and ancient philosophy.
Location: First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, 94704