Essay / Theology

"Theology Comes West"

The new issue of Biola Magazine has a sidebar article about the upcoming Los Angeles Theology Conference.

In our conversation, the interviewer (Amber Amaya) picked up on the theme of the incongruity of combining “Los Angeles” and “theology.” She quotes me as saying that “everyone has been really positive and very polite, but there’s kind of this sense that L.A. is not really smart, as if we don’t have a cluster of world-class universities here. … We clearly do, and we have lots of theological schools working here.” I also admit in the interview that “it’s a little bit of California boosterism and a little bit of Los Angeles pride to think that a city this great and with this many theologians working in it deserves a conference.”

I really appreciate Biola Magazine highlighting the fact that although this new annual conference is an important international event, it is also grounded in a regional sensibility. We are trying to help southern California come on board as a place for serious theology to happen.

Friends and alumni of Biola should already have received the glossy magazine in the mail; but everybody can check out the full text of the article at the web version here.

The conference is open to everybody, but if you’re a theology buff living in the western United States, this is especially for you. The conference is coming up on Jan 17 and 18, 2013, at Biola. We’ve got major speakers giving plenary addresses on the theme “Christology, Ancient and Modern.” We’ve got 9 shorter presentations harvested from our call for papers. We’ve got great theologians in the audience as well as up front. We’ve got book exhibitors with deep discounts on their stock in an ample exhibit hall.  We’ve kept the price reasonable, so consider registering for this historic first gathering.

 

Share this essay [social_share/]