16th Annual Bishop E.T. Dixon Lecture Set For January 27
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
AUSTIN, Texas – The Huston-Tillotson University Center for Religious Life Campus Ministry will present the 16th Annual Bishop E. T. Dixon Lecture on Thursday, January 27 at 2 p.m.
This year’s lecture, titled “It’s A Conversation; Why Is Scripture Still Relevant After 2,500 Years?” will be presented virtually via zoom. (Meeting ID: 974 6262 1796; Passcode: 814393)
Dr. James Kraft, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Huston-Tillotson University, and Dr. Herbert Marbury, Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East, Vanderbilt School of Divinity, are the featured speakers.
Huston-Tillotson is affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ, and offers a minor in religious studies. Dixon, for which the lecture is named, is one of two HT graduates to receive “bishop” status. He graduated magna cum laude from Samuel Huston College in 1943 before earning a degree from Drew Theological Seminary. Dixon served the church and community in numerous positions while establishing innovative programs before and after becoming president of Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. He retired in 1992 and died in 1996.
Dr. Kraft began his academic pursuits in Spokane, Washington, at Gonzaga University, majoring in philosophy and religious studies while also training to be a Catholic priest. He received both a master’s degree and Ph.D. in philosophy, philosophy of religion, Theology, and religious studies at The Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif. Dr. Kraft has worked happily for twenty years at Huston-Tillotson University since 2001. In 2013, Dr. Craft published the first book in the history of humanity on epistemology (the study of knowledge and how we have it) of religious disagreement. He is currently pursuing his second Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland on the epistemology of disagreement about self-knowledge.
Dr. Marbury is Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible and the former Chair of the Divinity School Faculty at Vanderbilt University. A fifth-generation Methodist minister, he follows in his father’s footsteps, the late Chaplain (LTC) Herbert L. Marbury, and his mother, Annette R. Marbury, who is an educator. Dr. Marbury holds a Ph.D. in Religion from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Divinity degree from Gammon Theological Seminary at the Interdenominational Theological Center. He spent his undergraduate years at Emory University studying English and African American Studies. Dr. Marbury has taught Hebrew and Biblical Interpretation at American Baptist College and served as a mentor in the Doctor of Ministry Program at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio for the program group “The Black Church and Social and Civic Empowerment.”
Given that the stories and wisdom of the Bible were written for specific people confronting specific problems starting around 2500 years ago, how can they have relevance and authority for us today? From one view, world-renowned Bible scholar Dr. Marbury answers this question by pointing to the fact that these stories and wisdom give African Americans and others identity and a way of making sense of the world. Because humans are created in the image of God, these stories and wisdom can transcend our realities, pointing to a God whose identity is essentially unfolding in the histories and strivings of humans.
From a second view, philosopher of religion and scholar of knowledge, Dr. Kraft answers this question with a deep appreciation of scripture and some skepticism about the human ability to know God through scripture. Because humans have extensively shaped scripture—notably with an editor(s) 2,500 years ago bringing together sometimes challengingly different descriptions of the stories and wisdom, and notably with Matthew and Luke modifying later the gospel of Mark sometimes to emphasize their understanding of Jesus—it becomes occasionally hard to know which parts of scriptures express the views of God versus the opinions of humans.
From a third view, you, the audience, express your understanding of the relevance of scripture today, and we hope to learn from each other.
About Huston-Tillotson University
Huston-Tillotson University, the oldest institution of higher learning in Austin, Texas, has roots dating back to 1875. HT is an independent, church-related, historically black, four-year liberal arts institution located on a 23-acre tree-lined campus near downtown in East Austin. Huston-Tillotson University’s mission is to nurture a legacy of leadership and excellence in education, connecting knowledge, power, passion, and values. The University offers associate and master’s degrees in addition to Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in more than 19 areas of study.
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