The Kingdom of God is Within You

In April, the Wesley Advocates Class will begin Leo Tolstoy's book The Kingdom of God is Within You translator Constance Garnett.

The Complete Plays of John Millington​ Synge

Beginning on 21 February, we’ll begin The Complete Plays of John Millington Synge, a 20th-century Irish playwright depicting mainly Irish villagers, from fishermen in the Aran Islands to farmers and tavern keepers on the West coast, in plays ranging from high comedy (The Well of the Saints) to deep tragedy (Deirdre of the Sorrows)—all in beautiful, lyrical language.

Separation of Church and State

Most of us recognize the phrase “separation of church and state.” Many of us interpret that to mean the church stays out of the state’s business and the state stays out of the church’s business. But you will not find the phrase “separation of church and state” anywhere in the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson originally coined that phrase in a letter to the Danbury Baptists on 1 January 1802 to assuage Baptists’ fears. He told them that a “wall” had been erected to protect them. At the time, Jefferson and others used the metaphor to refer exclusively to keeping the state out of the church’s business, not to keeping the church out of the state’s business. Since then, however, the metaphor and the law itself evolved to take on new and more complex meanings. 

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

by Neil de Grasse Tyson
​
Next week, 11 October, we begin Neil de Grasse Tyson's book Astrophysics for People in a Hurry (ISBN 978-0-393-60939-4).  The book is a collection of Tyson's essays from the Natural History magazine.

Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife

by Bart Ehrman

As fall approaches, the Wesley Advocates class will begin a study of Bart Ehrman's new book Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife.  

Short Stories for May

Katherine Mansfield, "Miss Brill"
Tobias Wolff, "Hunters in the Snow"
Graham Greene, "The Destructors"
Nadine Gordimer, "Once Upon a Time"
D. H. Lawrence, "The Rocking-Horse Winner"
​Flannery O'Connor, "Greenleaf"
Katherine Mansfield, "The Daughters of the Late Colonel"
​Philip Roth, "Defender of the Faith"

The Plague

The Wesley Advocates class will revisit Albert Camus's novel The Plague beginning on April 5th.  The class will return to Paradise Lost at a later date.

​Paradise Lost

On 23 February, our class begins reading John Milton's great epic Paradise Lost.  This exciting poem "justifies the ways of God to man."  It describes the war in heaven--prideful, jealous Lucifer and a third of the angels in rebellion against the Eternal Father, the Son, two thirds of the angels; the creation of Hell and Pandemonium; the creation of Earth with all of her creatures; Adam and Eve's bliss in Paradise; and the Fall, seen by Milton as surely the Fortunate Fall.

Call It Grace

The Wesley Advocates class will begin Serene Jones's book Call It Grace in January. 
"Theology is a place and a story. Theology is the place and story you think of when you ask yourself about the meaning of your life, of the world, and the possibility of God."

The First Seven Ecumenical Councils 325-787

On 10 November we began reading The First Seven Ecumenical Councils 325-787 by Leo Donald Davis. After an opening chapter introducing the Roman world into which Christianity is born, Davis devotes a chapter to exploring the arguments, agreements, and dogma deriving from each of the seven major church councils recognized by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant churches--beginning in Nicaea in 325 CE, whence came trinitarian and christological doctrine, church hierarchy, rules about the eucharist, and the Nicene Creed.

The Winter's Tale

On 29 September the Wesley Advocates class will begin reading William Shakespeare's play The Winter's Tale, a late romance written in 1608.  The play concerns King Leontes's jealousy and his unjust accusations against his queen and his best friend, then the resulting disasters causing him to lose his wife, son, and infant daughter.  In this extraordinarily beautiful play, Shakespeare addresses, sin, confession, penitence, and forgiveness; indeed, with his character Paulina, he asks that we do awake our faith.  

The Sixth Extinction

Our next book this summer is Elizabeth Kolbert's study The Sixth Extinction.  In Earth's five previous extinctions--occurring between 444 and 66 million years ago, we lost between 76% and 96% of all species living at the time.  An investigative, science reporter, Kolbert addresses the current extinction, losses, great and small, as we alter life on our planet.  Kolbert describes both the "wondrous creatures and ecosystems" existing now and those already lost in rampant species extinctions.

​Paul's Case and Other Stories

We will turn to Willa Cather's Paul's Case and Other Stories in July.

Meditations

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On 9 June the Wesley Advocates class began studying Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, a study of the Roman emperor's Stoic philosophy and his attempts to understand virtue and live virtuously.

Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural ​

By Ronald C. White Jr.

On 5 May we begin Ronald White's book, Lincoln's Greatest Speech:  The Second Inaugural address, delivered 4 March 1865, just over a month before Lincoln's death--in 703 words, Lincoln articulates the country's suffering and transformation during the Civil War.  White illuminates Lincoln's own struggles over doubt expressed in this speech marking the "culmination of Lincoln's moral and rhetorical genius."

​Benito Cereno

By Herman Melville

The Wesley Advocates will be reading the novella, Benito Cereno, by Herman Melville starting the first Sunday in April.  Benito Cereno was published in 1855.

​The U.S. Constitution

In January, the Wesley Advocates class will start our study of the U. S. Constitution. We will read and discuss the Constitution and several important cases relevant to each section. 

Canon of Scripture

By F. F. Bruce

The Wesley Advocates class will spend most of November and December studying F. F. Bruce's Canon of Scripture, a scholarly examination of how the Old and New Testaments came to exist as they now do for Christians.  Bruce begins by discussing our major sources for the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, and what we Methodists call the Old Testament; he explores legends, suppositions, and actual evidence about the texts' creation and transmission and acceptance.  

Genghis Khan and the Quest for God

By Jack Weatherford

Until mid-September, our class will read and discuss Weatherford's study Genghis Khan and the Quest for God, a work describing not only Mongol history and religion, but also Genghis Khan's insistence on religious freedom throughout Asian and European lands he conquered in the 13th century.  

Becoming Jefferson's People: Re-Inventing the American Republic in the Twenty-First Century

  By Clay S. Jenkinson

Throughout July, the Wesley Advocates will read Clay Jenkinson's book, Becoming Jefferson's People: Re-Inventing the American Republic in the Twenty-First Century.  In this short work, Jenkinson, a nationally know scholar and creator of The Thomas Jefferson Hour on National Public Radio, offers short essays in response to Jefferson's writings (quoted from essays and letters mostly) on such topics as self-reliance, leadership, wine, church and state, science, love of books, and "a little rebellion now and then."

Called to Be Holy

By John N. Oswalt
​
The Wesley Advocates will begin John N. Oswalt's book Called to Be Holy (recommended to us by Kaitlin Moore-Morley) at the end of May.

The Sound and the Fury

By William Faulkner
At the end of March, the Wesley Advocates class will begin studying two works by William Faulkner, Nobel Prize winning Mississippi author.  The class will start with "That Evening Sun" (1931).  The second work is the novel, The Sound and the Fury (1929).

Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs

By Lisa Randall
On December 10th, we begin our study of Lisa Randall's Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs.  This work concerns the history and nature of our universe, seen and unseen, especially the ways various bodies live, move, and die within and without our galaxy.

Wesley and The People Called Methodists
By Richard P. Heitzenrater

On August 13th, we began Richard P. Heitzenrater's Wesley and The People Called Methodists(2nd ed).  This thorough study examines Methodist history from its inception within the Church of England in the 1720s, through the principal work of John and Charles Wesley, and into the decades just beyond them.  
The Fourth Gospel:  Tales of a Jewish Mystic
By John Shelby Spong
During June and the first part of July, we wil read and discuss John Shelby Spong's book "The Fourth Gospel:  Tales of a Jewish Mystic."  

The Summer of 1787:
The Men Who Invented the Constitution
By David O. Stewart

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The Wesley Advocates class will begin The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution by David Stewart at the end of March.

"Crafting the Constitution was one of the most amazing collaborations in human history. David O. Stewart's book is both a gripping narrative on how it was done and a useful guide to how we should regard that wonderful document today."  
​– Walter Isaacson

The Epic of Gilgamesh
(trans. Danny P. Jackson)

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In February, we will begin The Epic of Gilgamesh (trans. Danny P. Jackson), one of the world's oldest literary documents.  

The Mythmaker:  Paul and the Invention of Christianity

During December and January, the Wesley Advocates class is studying Hyam Maccoby's highly praised book the Mythmaker:  Paul and the Invention of Christianity.

The Irony of American History
Reinhold Niebuhr

Our class has begun discussing Reinhold Niebuhr's The Irony of American History, considered amongst the most important 20th-century works about the United States.  Derived from Niebuhr's lectures at Westminster College and Northwestern University, this book explores the disjunctions--the ironies--between "the hopes or our forefathers and the reality of our present situation."  A prominent theologian and teacher, Niebuhr considers topics such as American innocence simultaneous with nuclear-weapons development, Messianic consciousness in the midst of manifest destiny, and continuing class struggles in a "classless" society.
"If we should perish, the ruthlessness of the foe would be only the secondary cause of the disaster.  The primary cause would be that the strength of a giant nation was directed by eyes too blind to see all the hazards of the struggle; and the blindness would be induced not by some accident of nature or history but by hatred and vainglory."

Being Mortal:  Medicine and What Matters in the End
Atul Gawande

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In September, our class turns to Atul Gawande’s best seller Being Mortal, a study of patients and physicians involved with terminal illness and death, an honest exploration of end-of-life issues.  Along with this book, we hope to view a PBS Frontline episode devoted to this study and patients in Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital.     

The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon: Portrait of a Protestant Saint
Stephen Haynes

We will begin The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon: Portrait of a Protestant Saint by Stephen Haynes the middle of July.  This text explores Bonhoeffer's reception by clergy and laity as seer, prophet, apostle, prisoner of conscience, martyr and saint.

Gilead
​Marilynne Robinson ​

This month the Wesley Advocates class is reading Marilynne Robinson's Pulitzer-prize winning novel Gilead, a tale told as memoir recounting the lives and faiths of three generations of Congregational ministers in Iowa and Kansas. The narrative stretches from the 1960s to the Civil War and back again.
  • 2004 Pulitzer Prize winning novel
  • A New York Times Top-Ten Book of 2004
  • Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction

Mere Christianity
C. S. Lewis

The Wesley Advocates class will start Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis the first week in May.  Mere Christianity was originally given as a series of radio broadcasts by Lewis during the Second World War.  

Christians in the Public Square
Ellen Ott Marshall

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Wipf and Stock Publishers
In April, the Wesley Advocates class will be reading Christians in the Public Square by Ellen Ott Marshall.  The class will have the honor of hosting Ellen Ott Marshall on April 24th at Trinity United Methodist Church.
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Ellen Ott Marshall and her parents, Karen and Phil Ott

The Faerie Queene, Book I
Edmund Spenser

"Early in 2016 our class will begin Edmund Spenser's, The Faerie Queene, Book I, the great Renaissance epic of Protestant faith.  In Book I we follow the allegory of Redcrosse, knight of holiness, on his quest to serve the pure damsel Una, who represents the one true church, the Church of England.  Together--and apart--they encounter monsters, demons, and evil knights and duplicitous ladies representing the Seven Deadly Sins, false religions, even the Roman Catholic Church.  Like everyone struggling to achieve holiness, Redcrosse Knight suffers many doubts, missteps, failures as he seeks to prove his worthiness as Una's champion and, ultimately, to free her parents, Adam and Eve, long imprisoned by Satan."

Assist Me To Proclaim - John R. Tyson

In September, the Wesley Advocates class will begin our study of a new book, Assist Me to Proclaim: The Life and Hymns of Charles Wesley by John R. Tyson.
​
It is part of the Library of Religious Biography Series.
May 2021
Reading Assignments for:
  • May 2 - Tolstoy, The Kingdom of God Is within You - Chapters 7 and 8
  • May 9 - Tolstoy, The Kingdom of God Is within You - Finish 
  • May 16
  • May 23
  • May 30
April 2021
Reading Assignments for:
  • April 4 - Easter Sunday - No Class 
  • April 11 - Tolstoy, The Kingdom of God Is within You - Chapters 1 and 2
  • April 18 - Tolstoy, The Kingdom of God Is within You - Chapters 3 and 4
  • April 25 - Tolstoy, The Kingdom of God Is within You - Chapters 5 and 6
March 2021
Reading Assignments for:
  • March 7 - Synge, The Well of the Saints, 1905
  • March 14 - Synge, The Playboy of the Western World, 1907
  • March 21 - Synge, The Tinker's Wedding, 1909
  • March 28 - Synge, Deirdre of the Sorrows, 1910
February 2021
Reading Assignments for:
  • February 7 - Separation of Church and State - Symbols and Spaces 
  • February 14 - Separation of Church and State - Q & A
  • February 21 - Synge, Intro and In the Shadow of the Glen, 1903
  • February 24 - Synge, Riders to the Sea, 1904
January 2021
Reading Assignments for:
  • January 3 - Separation of Church and State - The Free Exercise Clause, Chapter 4 from Conkle’s ​Constitutional Law - The Religion Clauses - Embedded and Evolving Constitutional Values 
  • January 10 - Separation of Church and State - Chapter 5 from Conkle’s ​Constitutional Law - The Religion Clauses - The Free Exercise Clause Part I 
  • January 17 - Separation of Church and State - Chapter 5 from Conkle’s ​Constitutional Law - The Religion Clauses - The Free Exercise Clause Part II
  • January 24 - Separation of Church and State - Chapter 6 from Conkle’s ​Constitutional Law - The Religion Clauses - The Establishment Clause Part Iand II
  • January 31 - Separation of Church and State - The Establishment Clause Part III
December 2020
Reading Assignments for:
  • December 6 - As I Lay Dying, Faulkner - Reading 5
  • December 13 - Separation of Church and State -Historical Roots of Our Church-State Relationship
  • December 20 - Separation of Church and State - The Founders and Original American Understanding - Chapters 1 and 2 from Conkle’s ​Constitutional Law - The Religion Clauses 
  • December 27 - Separation of Church and State - Embedded and Evolving Constitutional Values - Interpreting the Religion Clauses: Doctrinal Fundamentals - Chapter 3 from Conkle’s ​Constitutional Law - The Religion Clauses 
November 2020
Reading Assignments for: 
  • November 1 -  As I Lay Dying, Faulkner - Reading 1
  • November 8 -  As I Lay Dying, Faulkner - Reading 2
  • November 15 -  As I Lay Dying, Faulkner - Reading 3
  • November 22 -  As I Lay Dying, Faulkner - Reading 4
October 2020
Reading Assignments for:
  • October 4 - Heaven and Hell by Bart Ehrman - Chapters 13, 14, and Afterword
  • October 11 - We begin Neil de Grasse Tyson's book Astrophysics for People in a Hurry - Preface, Chapters 1, 2, and 3
  • October 18 - Astrophysics for People in a Hurry - Chapters 4, 5, and 6
  • October 25 - Astrophysics for People in a Hurry - Chapters 7, 8, and 9
September 2020
Reading Assignments for:
  • Septembers 6 - Heaven and Hell by Bart Ehrman - Preface-Chapter 3
  • September 13 - Heaven and Hell by Bart Ehrman - Chapters 4, 5, 6
  • September 20 - Heaven and Hell by Bart Ehrman - Chapters 7, 8, 9
  • September 27 - Heaven and Hell by Bart Ehrman - Chapters 10, 11, 12
August 2020
​Reading Assignments for:
  • August 2 - Paradise Lost - Book 9
  • August 9 - Paradise Lost - Book 10
  • August 16 - Next Reading List Discussion
  • August 23 - Paradise Lost - Book 11
  • August 30 - Paradise Lost - Book 12
July 2020
Reading Assignments for:
  • July 5 - Paradise Lost - Book 5
  • July 12 - Paradise Lost - Book 6
  • July 19 - Paradise Lost - Book 7
  • July 26 - Paradise Lost - Book 8
June 2020
Reading Assignments for:
  • June 7 - Paradise Lost by John Milton - Book 1
  • June 14 - Paradise Lost by John Milton - Book 2
  • June 21- Paradise Lost by John Milton - Book 3
  • June 28 - Paradise Lost by John Milton - Book 4
May 2020
Reading Assignments for:
  • May 3 - The Plague ​by Albert Camus - Part 5
  • May 10 - Mansfield and Wolff Stories
  • May 17 - Greene and Gordimer Stories
  • May 24 - Lawrence and O'Connor
  • ​May 31 - Mansfield and Roth
April 2020
Reading Assignments for:
  • April 5 - We agreed to re-read Albert Camus's novel The Plague ​- Part 1
  • April 12 - The Plague ​by Albert Camus - Part 2
  • April 19 - The Plague ​by Albert Camus - Part 3 - 4.2
  • April 26 - The Plague ​by Albert Camus - Part 4.3 - 4.7
March 2020
Reading Assignments for:
  • March 1 - Paradise Lost by John Milton - Book I
  • March 8 - (TBA)
  • March 15 - Paradise Lost by John Milton - Book 2
  • March 22 - (Stay at home order)
  • ​March 29 - (Test for Virtual Class)
February 2020
Reading Assignments for:
  • February 2 - Call It Grace by Serene Jones - Chapter 8
  • February 9 - Call It Grace by Serene Jones - Chapters 9 and 10
  • February 16 - Call It Grace by Serene Jones - Chapters 11, 12, and 13
  • February 23 - Begin Paradise Lost  by John Milton - "Epic Conventions" handout  - "PL Brief Plot Outline" handout - Elledge, "Important Concepts and Topics in Paradise Lost" - Rivers, "Political and Religious Issues in the Time of Milton"
January 2020
Reading Assignments for:
  • January 5 - Finish discussing the Davis book, Chapters 8 and 9.
  • January 12 - Call It Grace by Serene Jones - Preface, Introduction, and first two chapters.
  • January 19 - Call It Grace by Serene Jones - Chapters 3 and 4
  • January 26​ - Call It Grace by Serene Jones - Start with Chapter 4 and proceed to 5, 6, and 7.
December 2019
Reading Assignments for:
  • December 1 - WASSAIL
  • December 8 - Chapter 4 - The First Seven Ecumenical Councils 325-787
  • December 15 - Chapter 5 - The First Seven Ecumenical Councils 325-787
  • December 22 - Chapter 6 - The First Seven Ecumenical Councils 325-787
  • December 29 - Continue reading - The First Seven Ecumenical Councils 325-787
November 2019
Reading Assignments for:
  • November 3 - Williams Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale ​- Act V
  • November 10 - Please read the preface and Chapter 1 of Davis, The First Seven Ecumenical Councils 325-787
  • November 17 - Chapter 2 - The First Seven Ecumenical Councils 325-787
  • November 24 - Chapter 3 - The First Seven Ecumenical Councils 325-787
October 2019
Reading Assignments for:
  • ​October 6 - Williams Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale ​- Finish Act I and Act II
  • October 13 - Williams Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale ​- Act III
  • October 20 - Book Signing
  • ​October 27 - Williams Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale ​- Act IV
September 2019
Reading Assignments for:
  • September 1 - Elizabeth Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction - Chapters 5, 6, and 7
  • September 8 - Elizabeth Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction - Chapters 8 and 9
  • September 15 - Elizabeth Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction - Chapters 10 and 11
  • September 22 - Elizabeth Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction - Chapters 12 and 13
  • ​September 29 - Williams Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale ​- Essay and Act I
August 2019
Reading Assignments for:
  • August 4 - Willa Cather's Paul's Case and Other Stories - ​"Paul's Case"
  • August 11 -Willa Cather's Paul's Case and Other Stories - "The Enchanted Bluff"
  • August 18 - Elizabeth Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction - pages 1-46.
  • August 25 - Elizabeth Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction - Chapters 3 & 4
July 2019
Reading Assignments for:
  • July 7 - Marcus Aurelius's Meditations - finish
  • July 14 - Finishing Meditations
  • July 21 - Poem and begin reading Paul's Case and Other Stories
  • July 28 - Willa Cather's Paul's Case and Other Stories - "Eric Hermannso's Soul"
June 2019
Reading Assignments for:
  • June 2 - Finish White's book, Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural
  • June 9 - Begin Marcus Aurelius's Meditations -  Introduction and books 1-3.
  • June 16 - Marcus Aurelius's Meditations - book 4
  • June 23 - Marcus Aurelius's Meditations - books 5 and 6
  • June 30 - Marcus Aurelius's Meditations - books 7, 8, and 9
May 2019
Reading Assignments for:
  • May 5 - Introduction to Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural by Ronald C. White Jr.
  • May 12 - White, pages 13 - 59
  • May 19 - White, pages 60 - 120
  • May 26 - White, pages 121 - 179
April 2019
Reading Assignments for:
  • April 7 - We discuss the first 57 pages of Melville's Benito Cereno.
  • April 14 - We finish our discussion of Melville's Benito Cereno.
  • April 21 - Easter Sunday - Class will not meet.
  • April 28 - Booklist decisions
March 2019
Reading Assignments for:
  • March 3 - The Fifth Amendment- Class led by Brian and Barb Williams (Check the Class Discussions)
  • March 10 - 2019 General Conference Discussion
  • March 17 - U. S. Constitution - Section 9 (The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments)
  • March 24 - Q & A  on U. S. Constitution
  • March 31 - The Storyteller's Night Sky by Mary Steward Adams
February 2019
​Reading Assignments for:
  • February 3 - U.S. Constitution - Section 4, also read Article I and the 10th Amendment to the Constitution
  • February 10 - Separation of Powers and the Executive Branch
  • February 17 - Safeguards of Liberty - First Amendment (Check the Class Discussions)
  • February 24 - Safeguards of Justice (Check the Class Discussions) - We will continue discussion on 1st Amendment and then discuss the 2nd, 4th, and 6th Amendments.
​
January 2019
​Reading Assignments for:
  • January 6 - U.S. Constitution - Section 1 
  • January 13 - U.S. Constitution - Section 2
  • January 20 - Snow Day 
  • January 27 - U.S. Constitution - Section 3
December 2018
​Reading Assignments for:
  • December 2 - Wassail
  • December 16 - F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture - Chapters 13-17
  • December 23 - F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture - pages 216 to 251
  • December 30 - F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture - pages 255 to 297. (Introduction to U.S. Constitution for next week.)
November 2018
​Reading Assignments for the Week of:
  • November 4 - F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture - pages 98 - 144
  • November 11 - F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture - pages 98 - 144
  • November 18 - F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture - pages 145-169
  • November 25 - Kaitlin Moore Morley will be our teacher this week.  Next week is the Wassail.