Theologian James Cone, the Charles A. Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology at Union Theological Seminary, will return to the Denison University campus to present a Goodspeed Lecture on "The Easy Conscience of America's Churches" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 20) in Slayter Hall Auditorium. Cone has visited Denison eight times previously, most recently in 1999.

"Beginning with his first work,Black Theology and Black Power, Dr. Cone has set the terms upon which the Christian faith has been interpreted in the Black community," says Professor David Woodyard, the chair of the religion department at Denison. "He is also the most widely read theologian by Denison students. While relentlessly intellectual, he appeals to general audiences well."

Cone's lecture is funded by the Goodspeed Lecture Series, which features scholars whose work is in the field of religion or is related to religious issues. The fund is named in honor of the late Edgar J. Goodspeed, a 1890 Denison graduate, who was one of nine biblical scholars who worked on the Revised Standard Version of the Scriptures, published in 1946, which has superseded the King James Version in official usage in many American denominations.

Cone is the author of 11 books includingA Black Theology of Liberation(Lippincott, 1970),Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or Nightmare(Orbis Books, 1991) and, most recently,Risks of Faith: The Emergence of a Black Theology of Liberation, 1968-1998(Beacon Press, 1999). He has also published more than 150 articles and lectured at over 1,000 colleges, universities, divinity schools and community organizations throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Cone serves on the editorial boards of The Journal of Religious Thought, The Journal of the Interdenominational Theological Center and Sojourners and he is a frequent contributor to other scholarly publications. His work has been translated into Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Malayalam, Portuguese and Spanish.

In 1999 Cone was awarded the Fund for Theological Education Award given by the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature for his contributions to theological education and scholarship. He also received a Theological Scholarship and Research Award from the Association of Theological Schools in 1994 and Ebony Magazine's American Black Achievement Award in the category of Religion in 1992. He is the vice president of the Society for the Study of Black Religion and a member of both the American Academy of Religion and the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians.

Cone earned a bachelor of arts degree from Philander Smith College (Little Rock, Ark.) and a bachelor of divinity from Garrett Theological Seminary (Evanston, Ill.). He also earned a master of arts degree (1963) and a doctor of philosophy (1965) from Northwestern University. In 1986, Denison awarded Cone an honorary doctor of humane letters.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

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