Resurrecting Perfection: Beauty, Bodies, & the Afterlife
Date: February 21, 2020 7:00 pm
Venue: Epiphany Chapel
G. Peter Kaye Lectures
Keynote & Conversation with Candida Moss
The resurrection of the body is one of the foundational statements of Christian theology, but what will the resurrection be like? Paul tell us we will be glorified but does not go into specifics about what glorified actually means. As a result, most theological discussions of what the resurrection will be like are grounded in assumptions about the kinds of earthly bodies that are more desirable. From the beginning of Christian history up until the present day, definitions of beauty and the perceived undesirability of female, disabled, and non-caucasian bodies has affected both how the Bible is read and how heavenly bodies are imagined.
Professor Candida Moss is the Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology at the University of Birmingham. She is a columnist for The Daily Beast, religion news commentator for CBS, and has contributed to the LA Times, Politico Magazine, New York Times, BBC, CNN, National Geographic, Smithsonian, Discover Channel, History Channel, Washington Post, Huffington Post and others. Her work primarily focusses on ideas about martyrdom, death, suffering, and afterlife in the New Testament and literature of Early Christianity. Moss has additional interests in disability theory and theology, religion and public life, the Bible and education, and cultural heritage. More recently Professor Moss has focused on the intersection of religion and politics and the influence of certain religious ideas on international relations, policy making, and education.
The public is invited to attend and participate in this important conversation. While the event is complimentary, seating is limited, and early arrival is encouraged.
About the G. Peter Kaye Lectures
Gilbert Peter Kaye was both the Chancellor and Chair of the Board of Governors at the Vancouver School of Theology. He also served as headmaster at Shawnigan Lake School on Vancouver Island. Peter Kaye served on the Board of the Vancouver Foundation with distinction for 27 years, the last 10 as Chair of the Board. During his tenure, the Vancouver Foundation became the largest community charitable fund in Canada. Peter Kaye was born in Yorkshire England in 1910; he came to Canada in 1933 as an official with the Yorkshire and Pacific Securities Company Ltd., of which he later became president. He died in Vancouver in May of 1987.
This lectureship at VST was established that same year by the Vancouver Foundation to honour its former Board Chairperson, Peter Kaye. The purpose of the lectureship is to bring to the campus “scholars of international reputation chosen for their ability to make a serious intellectual contribution to theological enquiry in a way that nourishes the spiritual life of the church and the wider community.”