Fall 2012 Meeting of the Pacific Coast Theological Society

Friday, November 2nd 2012 to Saturday, November 3rd 2012

You are cordially invited to attend the Fall Meeting of the Pacific Coast Theological Society (PCTS) on Friday, November 2 from 2pm-8:30pm and Saturday, November 3 from 9 am–12pm in the Tucson Room at Church Divinity School of the Pacific.

The theme is “How Should We Read Romans?” Utilizing the new commentary from Herman Waetjen (SFTS, Emeritus), The Letter to the Romans: Salvation as Justice and the Deconstruction of the Law, papers and discussion will focus on such topics as Waetjen’s “hermeneutics of disclosure”—a postmodern hermeneutics in which the interpreter’s subjective experience of reading the text is correlated with historical-critical knowledge and social-scientific criticism. This approach moves beyond the Cartesian subject/object split to treating the Bible as a “presence-at-hand” enabling a contemporizing of Paul’s theology and opening engagement with such philosophers as Kant, Derrida, Žižek, Badiou, Agamben and others.

Friday afternoon papers will be presented by David Balch (PLTS) and Doug McGaughey (Willamette University) with respondents Jack Crossley (USC) and Herman Waetjen. Saturday morning will be an open discussion session based upon on sections of Waetjen’s Commentary on Romans found online at the PCTS website (www.pcts.org). As is the custom of the Society, all the papers and accompanying readings are posted on the PCTS website and read ahead of time.

Free Public Lecture Friday Evening:  We are also pleased to announce a free public lecture Friday evening, November 2 at 7 p.m. in the Tucson Room at CDSP given by President and Dean W. Mark Richardson of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. He will speak on the future of theology.

Note that the Friday afternoon session is followed by cocktails and dinner.  Reservations for dinner ($25) are required—Please contact Sharon P. Burch, Treasurer, (415) 256-1842 or spburch@att.net. Saturday morning, the group will convene at 9 a.m. for coffee and light refreshments. The open discussion session follows and finishes by noon.

PCTS is a professional society dedicated to the exchange of views on topics germane to the theological endeavor. Membership is open to scholars and students interested in the theological endeavor broadly defined. Dues are $45 per academic year for actively employed scholars and $22.50 for retirees and students. Go to www.pcts.org for further information.