MADISON — The next Theology on Tap will be Thursday, May 31, at 7 p.m. at The Brink Lounge. Shawn Willox will present “Pop-Christology: Engaging the Jesus of Popular Culture.”
Willox, the director of religious education at Good Shepherd Parish in Madison, holds a master’s degree in theology from the University of Notre Dame.
Nearly 2,000 years ago not far from the shores of the Sea of Galilee, near a small Roman city known as Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples the two-fold question, “Who do people say that I am?” and “Who do you say I am?”
The answer is something Christians have struggled to understand ever since. From age to age, art and culture have offered many different responses to those questions.
Since the enlightenment, ruminations on the person of Jesus Christ no longer hold the cultural dominance they once enjoyed; nevertheless, they are still very much a part of Western society. In our post-modern 21st century American culture, portrayals of Jesus are not confined to sacred art. Images of Christ pop up on the Internet, television, movies, books, and numerous other forms of media.
How do we interpret these diverse depictions of the savior? Rather than simply writing them off as a blasphemous mix of the secular and sacred, how can we engage them to deepen our understanding of who Jesus is?
Theology on Tap is a monthly event where people in their 20s and 30s are invited to enjoy free beer and engaging talks by some of the leading thinkers, speakers, educators, innovators, and activists in the nation as they share their insights on various contemporary issues facing young adults today.