Luke Bretherton
@WestLondonMan
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Regius Professor of Moral & Pastoral Theology (from 01.01.25) @UniofOxford ; Director, @McDonaldCentre ; & Host of the Listen, Organize, Act! Podcast
London, England
Joined October 2009
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The Piety of Profanity: A Thread
Been in London this past few weeks & struck again by how “cussing” as the Americans call it punctures the sounds of the streets in a way that is absent in the small southern university town where I live.
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There is something theologically fitting about Trump holding aloft a closed bible before a shuttered church he cannot enter. It is a book he doesn't read & a structure dedicated to something he can't understand that preaches a narrow way he entirely opposes in all he says & does.
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Delighted to announce that I will be the next Regius Professor of Moral & Pastoral Theology at Oxford University. Sad to be leaving such wonderful friends and colleagues at Duke but excited for what come next
@ChCh_Oxford
@DukeDivinity
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My colleague Stanley Hauerwas popped in from his office next door to drop off a present today-a set of tapes of Reinhold Niebuhr’s ethics lectures. It includes his farewell speech in which he argues the biggest threat to Christian ethics are nuclear weapons and Karl Barth!
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A privilege and joy to be ordained with the other 38
@dioceseoflondon
ordinands at St Paul’s Cathedral yesterday. This a shot with the wonderful Bishop Emma and my fellow Kensington Diocese ordinands.
@StPaulsLondon
@e_ineson
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Just reading through the proofs of my new tome. Should be out later this year.
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Excited to announce that my new book "A Primer in Christian Ethics: Christ and the Struggle to Live Well" is coming out later this month. Cambridge UP are offering a 20% discount on it through to the end of Sept. Do pass on the flier to others you think might be interested😀
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Very sad to hear one of my teachers at King’s College London and a hugely influential modern Orthodox theologian Metropolitan John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon died today. His life and work were a blessing to many.
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RIP Jurgen Moltmann who died on Monday.A theologian who has influenced me greatly and who was in person full of joy and a hunger to know God more deeply
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As an advocate of Karl Polanyi’s work who thinks his insights about the link between capitalism & the rise of fascism are more salient now than ever it is good to see him having a moment
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I’m excited to announce that I’ll be working with St Mellitus College in the UK for the next three years, teaching there in the Fall, while still teaching at
@DukeDivinity
in the Spring semester. More details here:
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Powerful and moving piece by
@ebruenig
on witnessing a state execution. It is also a remarkable piece of journalism that combines detailed observation, confessional, and moral reflection.
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Watching the Queen arrive at Holyrood House from the top of Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh having just dropped off my youngest at his halls of residence to start university. Poignant.
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Huge congratulations to
@AlbertoLaRosa90
on defending his dissertation today on a theology of home & migration. He passed with flying colors! Had a drink to celebrate with Gene Rogers (who was on the committee) and Stanley Hauerwas stopped by to say well done.
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Going forward, one thing is clear, Trump told the truth. Or rather, as in the true meaning of apocalypse, he is an unveiling of what was so often denied, unseen, & hidden from sight in America. In his torrent of lies he speaks true. And this truth is still to be reckoned with.
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Best empirical analysis I’ve read of Trump’s core supporters by means of homeownership rates & other concrete metrics. Really interesting data. Basically “white homeowners in fast-growing exurbia.”
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Just submitted my manuscript of “Christ and the Common Life: A Guide to Political Theology” to Eerdmans! Should be out 2019. It’s an intro to historical & contemporary theological reflection on politics while making a case for democratic politics as a form of neighbor love.
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Teaching Niebuhr’s “Children of Light, Children of Darkness” tomorrow. Makes me think he would consider current anxieties about polarization foolish & naive, premised as they are on an unexamined assumption that society should be harmonious & conflict is a failure.
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In response to
#Covid_19
as well as social distancing measures we need social accompanying ones. Churches & other groups can create lists of & organize young people to do check-in's & do shopping for those shut-in, the aged, & vulnerable who cannot get to shops or are isolated.
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A student just sent me this photo of him using my tome to help plug a leak. I knew my book would eventually come in useful for something!
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#Duke
President orders statue of Robert E. Lee in front of the
@DukeChapel
to be removed this morning.
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Many congratulations to Nathan Hershberger who passed his doctoral exam today. His thesis reframes how to understand the relationship b/w scripture & ethics thru exploring how Scripture both wounds us & is a means we participate in the wounds of Christ
@DukeDivinity
@dukereligion
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Whatever the rights and wrongs of the issue, living in the US and watching the furor over Dominic Cummings unfold in the UK I find myself overwhelmed by a sense of how quaint it all seems - O that that was the level of corruption and hypocrisy I had to worry about!
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Rev Canon Dr
@giles_fraser
and myself are launching a mini series of theology seminars for those in the London/M25 area who have higher degrees in any aspect of theology and would enjoy getting together to discuss, give papers etc. If interested, DM me and I can send details.
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These uprisings are a declaration of emergency from below.
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Honor and delight to be interviewed by
@KaitlynSchiess
about politics, spirituality, and how not be upset at the Thanksgiving table for the Disrupters podcast
@IVP
@DukeDivinity
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Both are political theologies in action. But Henry II crawling on his knees through to the cathedral in repentance for the unjust murder of an innocent man is one thing. Trump casually striding to St John's surrounded by henchmen having violently cleared the way is quite another.
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Very helpful intervention on the Amy Coney Barrett nomination by
@ebruenig
putting it a wider legal, political and historical context
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I have nothing very interesting to say on Ukraine other than to lament. I having no comment on it being Ash Wednesday other than I need the liturgy to call me to repent. So here is a picture of the magnolia tree coming into bloom that made me grateful for mercies like Spring
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So proud of Emily Dubie, one of my wonderful doctoral students, who has been awarded a 2022 Manfred Lautenschlaeger Prize for Theological Promise by the University of Heidelberg-her work develops a theology of love when need outstrips capacity & the role of prayer in moral agency
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Spent the day in Cambridge - some serious no mow May going on.
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Desmond Tutu was a profound inspiration to me. He incarnated a vibrant, joy-filled, life-giving, tough & uncompromising democratic political theology committed to discovering the image of God in all - no matter who they were. May his legacy continue
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Excited to announce season 2 of the Listen, Organize, Act! Podcast to be released at the end of July. It explores the people, texts, & ideas that organizers use again & again to inspire shared action & explain the meaning, purpose, & character of democratic politics
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Religious scholar peeps & religion & politics junkies, what do you make of
@JeffSharlet
thesis that “Trumpism” (as a kind of new social and political movement) draws on & perpetuates a form of American Gnosticism mixed with Prosperity Gospel teachings?
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Great to be with Keri Day, Vincent Lloyd, Jennifer Herdt & Jonathan Tran at the Political Theology, Democracy & Virtue” symposium here at
@DukeDivinity
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The pandemic clarifies the class structure: those who can stay at home vs. those who have to work outside the home to stay fed. Is the new politics health & safety for the stay at homes through rendering those who work outside it more precarious? Or is another way possible?
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This is the best depiction of the emotional and intellectual journey of writing any academic book or article I’ve ever seen!!
Some real life stuff here.
"Success isn't linear" by Yoann Bourgeois
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I’m tempted to pitch my new “Primer in Christian Ethics: Christ and the Struggle to Live Well” as the authentic alternative to
@Jordanbpeterson
Stoic/Jungian version of Christianity 😁 In any case, here is a flier that gives 20% off
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Good to be back in, well, west London - alongside being close to family it has the added benefit that my twitter handle makes sense again!
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Couple of shots of the panel discussion at the book launch of Christ and the Common Life
@DukeDivinity
with Sarah Coakley, William Cavanaugh, Melissa Snarr, & Patrick Smith. Thank you for a great conversation!
@VanderbiltU
@DePaulU
@Cambridge_Uni
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Watched Babette’s Feast-used to think it was a deconversion story: art & pleasure saves you from the dead hand of unenlightened religion (a standard modern script) But it’s richer & more nuanced: body & spirit+asceticism & delight in the goods of creation are needed to live well
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I’m thinking of writing something on pastoral leadership as a political practice drawing together debates in political theology, organizing & the cure of souls. Interested to know what others have found good theologically on pastoral leadership?
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Does anyone know a word for being constantly flabbergasted by the actions of another while entirely expecting it?
I fear English lacks such a term so I am seeking one from another language.
Trump is the obvious but not exclusive example.
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Dogwood season in North Carolina. Their blossoming is always a moment of sheer delight for me.
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Great to be at the
@CitizensUK
General Election assembly. Civil society led, grass roots, participatory democracy in action!
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I can’t help but be struck by the parallels between the tyrants Bonhoeffer describes in this passage from his Ethics and a bevy of contemporary leaders.
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A delight to be interviewed by
@JusBrierley
& Belle Tindall for the Re-Enchanting Podcast. We discussed elections, the role of Christians in politics, & spiritual & moral struggles of citizenship as a form of neighbour love
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My eldest son became a US citizen today-he's now taunting me that he'll vote for a 3rd party Sigh He misunderstands the act of voting-seeing it in terms of personal expression not as an act of care for the community based on a judgment about who & what will enable it to flourish
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My book “A Primer in Christian Ethics: Christ and the Struggle to Live Well” (Cambridge University Press) is OUT NOW in all formats For a 20% discount use the following code: APCE2023 at the Cambridge University Press site
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Happy birthday Alasdair MacIntyre, who is 90 today. Which means he lived through the first rise of fascism and its defeat.
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In these times when so many Christians are drawn to anti-democratic movements & authoritarian leaders it’s important to understand what democracy is, its biblical basis, & why a commitment to democracy is a confessional matter. This piece does just that
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I alway find this clip of Jean Vanier moving. He was someone who blessed others with his life and embodied a politics of gentleness. May he rest in peace.
#JeanVanier
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Again can’t recommend enough
@JusBrierley
podcast The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God & commend its focus on the crisis of meaning as a key feature of our cultural moment. But the podcast misses how the real issue driving this & the shifts it tracks is a crisis in agency 1/3
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Rich, compelling,
Personal and v important conversation between
@ebruenig
&
@seanilling
on forgiveness, what it is & is not & what it means in our social media driven & polarized political moment. Do listen!
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The queen is dead. Long live constitutional monarchy - a paradoxically democratic institution to be cherished in a world of increasingly authoritarian republics.
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Grateful to the Center for Social Concern
@NotreDame
for hosting me this weekend. Saw firsthand the festivities of a home game which were amazing & realized a lifelong ambition to be on a yard sign - disconcertingly these were all over campus.
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Mathew Desmond’s important piece on who really benefits from government welfare and subsidies. Conclusion: “The American government gives the most help to those who need it least. This is the true nature of our welfare state.”
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A theological statement condemning white supremacy & racism by a broad range of Christian ethicists (including me)
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My response to Oliver O'Donovan, Stanley Hauerwas, and David Muir's take on my book "Christ and the Common Life" - I mainly focus on my disagreements with O'Donovan's political theology.
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In Durham - England. They don’t have this in Durham, North Carolina, although Duke Chapel is impressive in its own way 😁
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Great to see such a good turn out of
@DukeDivinity
Certificate in Faith-Based Organizing students last night at the community organizing coalition Durham CAN’s candidate forum last night. It was held at Monument of Faith Church. Small ‘d’ democracy in action!
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The only meaningful & insightful advice I have read on how to respond to Trumpism. Do this & make real change
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Full blossom season here at Duke. Always a source of wonder.
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Spotted this by Brick Lane. Feel like it should be a philosophical axiom for the twitterverse. Adoration & reverence for others combined with long suffering patience are in all too short supply these days.
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Came across this in my files - published in 2010. I laughed. If only we knew what was coming!
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Just released the first of a two part episode of the Listen, Organize, Act! Podcast discussing the work of Saul Alinsky, the dean of community organizing, & the different traditions & influences that shaped his democratic vision. Pt 1 is with
@AmandaTatts
of
@SydneyPolicyLab
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Strongly recommend this insightful & considered review essay by Mark Lilla of recent work by what I would call authoritarian & reactionary postliberal thinkers (or more obscurely, if one is up on Trotsky, reactionary entryists).
@nybooks
@blue_labour
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Spotted this last night in Dalston. It’s my new icon for Augustine’s theology of the coinherence of the city of God and earthly city 😁
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Sobering if a little jarring reflection from Cyprian of Carthage's "On Mortality" written in response to a severe plague he witnessed.
#Covid19ethics
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@ebruenig
wielding Augustine to great effect to show up the atomised, individualistic, anti-family logic shaping Republican family policy - a party that once billed itself pro-family values.
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Great overview of the history & contemporary practice of churches giving sanctuary to those seeking refuge from criminals, political dissidents to refugees in
@nybooks
#Sanctuary
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The view from Gipsy Hill. Ventured deep into South London last night for a friends book launch. Was reminded that London is really a set of sprawling villages with some large buildings in between.
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Ancestor thinking vs. legacy thinking: a thread.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time talking with folk in various fields I’m connected to who are either just retiring or retired. Something has nagged at me in reflecting on the ways they talk about the world amid this transition. 1/9
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Out walking on Dartmoor I cut through a wood to reach a different path & came across this gateway with no path leading up to or away from it. The gate stands but the way disappears. An allegory for something.
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In Chicago for the Society for Christian Ethics, which gives me the opportunity to admire my favorite multistory car park
#SCE
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Piece on examples where religion and populism combine to generate democratic renewal, & how these contrast with anti-democratic, nationalistic forms of populism.
@elizabethjdias
@ABCReligion
@ebruenig
@sullivanamy
@jackmjenkins
@patrickwintour
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It seems we've moved from a politics of effect - what can this party, group, person do for me & what interests are served by them - to a politics affect - can this party, group, person reinforce my feelings about myself or the world.
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As someone who is constantly berated by all members of my family for walking too fast I am feeling horribly smug about the results of this research.
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Best translation of the new papal encyclical
#FratelliTutti
title I've seen is "all y'all" by
@JeremyMcLellan
. The more prosaic one is "we are all brothers" implying universal fellowship or we are all in this together.
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New series of the Listen, Organize, Act! Podcast coming soon with episodes on the democratic vision of Thucydides, Alinsky, Ella Baker, Bayard Rustin, Arendt, Bernard Crick, & Sheldon Wolin as well as the relationship between the Bible and organizing. Tune in!
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Just posted a part 1 of a 2 part episode of the Listen, Organize, Act! Podcast focused on Bayard Rustin. In this first episode I discuss Rustin’s life, organizing work, Quaker theology, & radical democratic vision with
@UnionSeminary
Sarah Azaransky-she is riveting so do listen!
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Maybe I am missing something but I’m perplexed why the
#Democrats
don’t make the obvious point that the real threat to law & order in the US is not from folks on the streets but from the bloke in the White House. Trump & his embezzling cronies are the anarchists causing mayhem
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Great discussion of
@Pontifex
political theology & its articulation in Laudato si' by
@austeni
in an excerpt from his new book.
@commonwealmag
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Am haunted by what is going to happen to incarcerated folk over
#Covid_19
. Many inmates have conditions which make them vulnerable, conditions are unsantary, & prisons systems seem to have no protocols other than lockdown, which as per Italy, produces riots.
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My guilty pleasure this morning is listening to techno remixes of prosperity preacher Paula White’s prayer invocation on behalf of Trump’s election victory. Occasionally the internet brings gifts - just occasionally.
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Very much looking forward to doing a panel discussion on Christian humanism, among other things, at the
@nyencounter
conference this Saturday in person with
@suzania
,
@ChristineEmba
, & Anne Snyder. See you there if you are in NYC!
@Plough
@commentmag
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What Happens When Americans Stop Going to Church? Answer: “without a church community, in many cases, the nation’s political system becomes their church—and the results are polarizing.” Worth a read.
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if you’ve been wondering what everyone is singing in the democratic protests in Hong Kong it’s Sing Hallelujah the unofficial anthem of the protests movement. Shout out to the churches for being so involved
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