The Dead Theologians Society
Pursuing Discipleship through the Christian Classics
| Participating in a Dead Theologians Society discussion group offers unique advantages for Christian thinking and discipleship in our culture obsessed with novelty and the churn of the hourly news cycle. Here is some background information and simple guidance about how to conduct a DTS discussion. |
A Short History
The Dead Theologians Society, or Delta Theta Sigma (DTS),
started in the fall of 1990, on the campus of Florida State
University, when some InterVarsity Christian Fellowship students
began meeting weekly to discuss what they had each learned
from reading Oswald Chambers's devotional classic, My Utmost
for His Highest.
Dead Poets Society was then a recent movie, and the
students agreed that a "Dead Theologians Society" was needed
to promote the serious discussion of some of the best in Christian
literature.
To promote the Society, the Greek acronym Delta Theta Sigma
was adopted for the designation of the Dead Theologians Society.
Since that time, this idea of "discipleship through the Christian
classics" has spread quickly, and DTS reading groups continue
to develop.
How It Works
The Dead Theologians Society offers an enjoyable opportunity
to learn from those whose writings have stood the test of time.
Two "traditions" which have developed as a part of the Society
are:
- During the discussion hour, no one may quote a living
person.
- If a living theologian dies during the course of the discussion
series, a "toast" is held in his or her honor, issuing a
welcome to the Society with favorite quotations from all
attendees.
Running a Dead Theologians Society series is quite simple.
After an introductory week in which to discuss an overview
of aims and to choose (or announce) the first reading, two
questions form the basis for each subsequent discussion:
- What is your overall impression of the reading for today?
- What stands out in a particular section that found helpful,
questionable, or challenging?
What to Read Together
Some of the readings that DTS's founder, Robbie Castleman,
highly recommends are:
The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis
Confessions by St. Augustine
The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Encounters with Silence by Karl Rahner
Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton
The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy Sayers
Orthodoxy by G.K.Chesterton
Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
The Pursuit of Holiness by A.W. Tozer
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
And it's worth noting: Henri Nouwen (In the Name of Jesus),
James Torrance (Worship, Community, and the Triune God of
Grace), and Carl Henry (The Uneasy Conscience of Modern
Fundamentalism) have all recently "been welcomed into
the Society" (that is, died). Try one of their outstanding
works in your Dead Theologians Society and let
us know about how it went.
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