Robert O Smith | University of North Texas (original) (raw)

Papers by Robert O Smith

Journal of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, 2023

This article places contemporary attacks on CRT within the long history of American evangelical i... more This article places contemporary attacks on CRT within the long history of American evangelical investment in protecting racial segregation. Utilizing the insights of Randall Balmer, we trace that racist heritage within the current attack, answering some pressing questions along the way. We utilize the CRT-specific method of counterstory to help communicate our findings.

Writers: Craft & Context, 2023

We wrote this course design in May 2023 in the great state of Texas. At that point, Texas educato... more We wrote this course design in May 2023 in the great state of Texas. At that point, Texas educators like us were two months into what had proven a harrowing conclusion to our spring se-mester. Near the beginning of March 2023, we were informed the state legislature would soon present several bills[1] aimed at Texas state public institutions of higher education—bills that mimicked and echoed many of the other anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and anti- Critical Race Theory (CRT) bills already institut-ed within our K–12 systems. With higher education now in the legislature’s crosshairs, tenure was under threat; these proposed bans on DEI and CRT included provisions for denying/stripping tenure or outright dismissing professors ensnared in student and public complaints. This is the context in which we have built and taught our course: Critical Theory, Critical Race Representations: Counterstory as Literary Intervention.

Global Transformation of Christian Zionism, 2022

This essay explores how I came to study Christian Zionism, my assessment of the movement as an im... more This essay explores how I came to study Christian Zionism, my assessment of the movement as an imperial theology, along with new trajectories of my research into settler colonialism as a manifestation of western Christian supersessionist anxieties. These analytical trajectories provide opportunities for new forms of trans-contextual solidarity.

Current Dialogue (World Council of Churches), 2012

The development of Christian self-understanding through the context of Judaism is an important ag... more The development of Christian self-understanding through the context of Judaism is an important agenda for Christian theology. This agenda is a
relatively recent movement within Christian theology. Within Western Christian contexts, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, it is only within the past 150 years or so of biblical study and 70 years or so of theological reflection that this agenda has taken hold and borne important fruit. On the other hand, Christian theologies of Judaism—or more precisely, Christian theologizing about Judaism—have a much longer pedigree, and not just in Western Christianity but in Christianity as a whole. This paper discusses the contemporary American Christian Zionist rejection of replacement theology and explore how this movement is nevertheless based on a theological tradition that constructs Jews for its own theological purposes.

Theology Today, 2018

American Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land started within a historical and ideological contex... more American Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land started within a historical and ideological context shaped by American territorial expansionism. The settler-colonial impulses informing that expansionism were carried to Palestine, where Palestinians were encountered as ''savages'' compared explicitly to American Indians. Erasure of the Holy Land's Indigenous inhabitants is thus sanctioned. Herman Melville's Clarel and Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad record this encounter. We must be aware of this history if it is not to be repeated in contemporary pilgrimage practices.

Theology Today, 2019

Recent claims that we live in a "Bonhoeffer Moment" traverse the ideological spectrum of the Unit... more Recent claims that we live in a "Bonhoeffer Moment" traverse the ideological spectrum of the United States. This discourse, while enlightening, has unintentionally reproduced a limitation in Bonhoeffer's own thought. In 1979, Gustavo Gutiérrez observed that "the absence of social analysis prevented Bonhoeffer from carrying his intuition to its mature theological implications." Building on Gutiérrez's observation, I propose a reading of Bonhoeffer in "Indian Country," a dual designation of the American West and the informal US military designation of territories where war is being waged. In "After Ten Years," Bonhoeffer remarks that, for him, the ability to see "from below" was neither innate nor inevitable. Rather, his radical resistance was a result of a process of learning. If we are to live fully into a "Bonhoeffer Moment" in the United States, a similar process of learning among "the powerless, the oppressed, and reviled" is necessary.

ReOrient: The Journal of Critical Muslim Studies, 2019

Jewish dissent to the concept of a "Judeo-christian Tradition" reveals it to be a political assem... more Jewish dissent to the concept of a "Judeo-christian Tradition" reveals it to be a political assemblage offering conditional, incomplete access to structures of white, western christian power. While the concept offers pragmatic benefits to Jews, it does so at the expense of Jewish distinction from christian beliefs and purposes and to the exclusion of Islam and Muslims. The supersessionist foundations of the "Judeo-christian" concept inspire and perpetuate christian settler-colonial domination of Jews and Judaism. destabilizing this concept promotes new levels of liberative dialogical engagement, moving us beyond present systems of theological, political, and economic injustice.

Journal of Church and State, 2004

Journal of Church and State, 2004

An attempt to understand Christian Zionism in the context of US debates over religion and politics.

Journal of Church and State, 2004

Dialog: A Journal of Theology, 2004

Dialog, 2009

• "We are Israel's best friend in the world because of the character we have as a nation.… This i... more • "We are Israel's best friend in the world because of the character we have as a nation.… This is not a political battle at all. It is a contest over whether or not the word of God is true." • "I stand before you today … as an Israeli of the heart…. We hear your voice cry out in the desert, and we will never leave your side." • "The establishment of the nation of Israel is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy and the very essence of its fulfillment." • I am a "stalwart friend of Israel"-"their security is sacrosanct." • "There's nothing that would bring the wrath of the Christian public in this country down on this government like abandoning or opposing Israel in a critical matter." The above quotations demonstrate a commonplace fact: there is a great deal of religiously-inflected energy within American politics surrounding the State of Israel. What may be more surprising is the identity of some of those by whom or where some of these were spoken. They were uttered, respectively, by Sen.

The development of the Palestinian Identity has been the focus of many studies and conferences. H... more The development of the Palestinian Identity has been the focus of many studies and conferences. However, all of the studies so far concentrate on the emergence of this identity in the last hundred years. Although several papers in this book still have dealt with the development of the Palestinian Identity in late Ottoman and early British Mandate Palestine, another focus of the event was however on analyzing the understanding of the Palestinian Identity in relation to the biblical story, history and archeology and how this understanding has been reflected in poetry and the art. The self-Understanding of the Palestinians of themselves in relation to time and space and their relationship to other marginalized groups is a question of high political and social relevance. The participation of scholars from different parts of the world in the event did not only bring an international scope, persuasions and perspectives , but helped fostering an ecumenical, interdisciplinary, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural environ, dialogues and philosophy.

Reinforcing the proclivities of American empire, Christian Zionists work to refine and justify th... more Reinforcing the proclivities of American empire, Christian Zionists work to refine and justify the American myth of sacrificial violence which for now enables President Trump’s efforts to bend the world to his will.

An exploration of Martin Luther's apocalyptic interpretation of the Turko-Catholic threat to the ... more An exploration of Martin Luther's apocalyptic interpretation of the Turko-Catholic threat to the early Reformation era. Published in On the Apocalyptic and Human Agency: Conversations with Augustine of Hippo and Martin Luther, ed. Kirsi Stjerna and Deanna A. Thompson (Cambridge: Cambridge Scholar’s Publishing, 2014). (file drawn from sample on the Cambridge website)

Books by Robert O Smith

The Invention of History: A Century of Interplay between Theology and Politics in Palestine, 2011

The papers in the book analyzes major theological trends and shifts of the twentieth century in s... more The papers in the book analyzes major theological trends and shifts of the twentieth century in several contexts: Displacement Theolpolitics by Dr. Mitri Raheb; A Century of Interplay between Theology and Politics in Palestine: A Dutch Perspective by Dr. A.H. Drost; Old Testament Hermeneutical and Archaeological Shifts vis-à-vis Palestine in the Twentieth Century
By. Prof. Ulrike Bechmann; Archeological Shifts vis-à-vis Palestine in the Twentieth Century by Prof. Dieter Vieweger; God the Liberator: Theology, History, and Politics by Prof. Luis Rivera Pagan; The Invention of History: A German Perspective
by Prof. Ottmar Fuchs; Palestinian Theological Praxis in Context: An Analysis of the Approaches of Sabeel, Al-Liqa’, and Diyar by Dr. Samuel J. Kuruvilla; Hermeneutical Shifts vis-à-vis Palestine in the Twentieth Century (Romans 9-11) by Prof. Paul Tarazi; American Expansionism, Theologies, and the Israel/Palestine Question by Dr. Robert O. Smith; Towards a New Theological Understanding vis-à-vis Palestine in the 21st Century by Dr. Jamal Khader; Postcolonial Theologies: Promise and Challenge for the Middle East by Prof. Gabriel A. Salguero; Theological Developments in Europe vis-à-vis Palestine in the 20th Century:
Major Trends in Scandinavia by Dr. Göran Gunner; By Dr. The Conflict of Narratives from Memory to Prophecy by Dr. Rafiq Khoury

Palestinian Identity in relation to Time and Space, 2014

The idea of focusing a conference on Palestinian Identity in relation to time and space is indeed... more The idea of focusing a conference on Palestinian Identity in relation to time and space is indeed pertinent. The development of the Palestinian Identity has been the focus of many studies and conferences. However, all of the studies so far concentrate on the emergence of this identity in the last hundred years. Although several papers in this book still have dealt with the development of the Palestinian Identity in late Ottoman and early British Mandate Palestine, another focus of the event was however on analyzing the understanding of the Palestinian Identity in relation to the biblical story, history and archeology and how this understanding has been reflected in poetry and the art. The self-Understanding of the Palestinians of themselves in relation to time and space and their relationship to other marginalized groups is a question of high political and social relevance.
The participation of scholars from different parts of the world in the event did not only bring an international scope, persuasions and perspectives, but helped fostering an ecumenical, interdisciplinary, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural environ, dialogues and philosophy.

Journal of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, 2023

This article places contemporary attacks on CRT within the long history of American evangelical i... more This article places contemporary attacks on CRT within the long history of American evangelical investment in protecting racial segregation. Utilizing the insights of Randall Balmer, we trace that racist heritage within the current attack, answering some pressing questions along the way. We utilize the CRT-specific method of counterstory to help communicate our findings.

Writers: Craft & Context, 2023

We wrote this course design in May 2023 in the great state of Texas. At that point, Texas educato... more We wrote this course design in May 2023 in the great state of Texas. At that point, Texas educators like us were two months into what had proven a harrowing conclusion to our spring se-mester. Near the beginning of March 2023, we were informed the state legislature would soon present several bills[1] aimed at Texas state public institutions of higher education—bills that mimicked and echoed many of the other anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and anti- Critical Race Theory (CRT) bills already institut-ed within our K–12 systems. With higher education now in the legislature’s crosshairs, tenure was under threat; these proposed bans on DEI and CRT included provisions for denying/stripping tenure or outright dismissing professors ensnared in student and public complaints. This is the context in which we have built and taught our course: Critical Theory, Critical Race Representations: Counterstory as Literary Intervention.

Global Transformation of Christian Zionism, 2022

This essay explores how I came to study Christian Zionism, my assessment of the movement as an im... more This essay explores how I came to study Christian Zionism, my assessment of the movement as an imperial theology, along with new trajectories of my research into settler colonialism as a manifestation of western Christian supersessionist anxieties. These analytical trajectories provide opportunities for new forms of trans-contextual solidarity.

Current Dialogue (World Council of Churches), 2012

The development of Christian self-understanding through the context of Judaism is an important ag... more The development of Christian self-understanding through the context of Judaism is an important agenda for Christian theology. This agenda is a
relatively recent movement within Christian theology. Within Western Christian contexts, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, it is only within the past 150 years or so of biblical study and 70 years or so of theological reflection that this agenda has taken hold and borne important fruit. On the other hand, Christian theologies of Judaism—or more precisely, Christian theologizing about Judaism—have a much longer pedigree, and not just in Western Christianity but in Christianity as a whole. This paper discusses the contemporary American Christian Zionist rejection of replacement theology and explore how this movement is nevertheless based on a theological tradition that constructs Jews for its own theological purposes.

Theology Today, 2018

American Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land started within a historical and ideological contex... more American Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land started within a historical and ideological context shaped by American territorial expansionism. The settler-colonial impulses informing that expansionism were carried to Palestine, where Palestinians were encountered as ''savages'' compared explicitly to American Indians. Erasure of the Holy Land's Indigenous inhabitants is thus sanctioned. Herman Melville's Clarel and Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad record this encounter. We must be aware of this history if it is not to be repeated in contemporary pilgrimage practices.

Theology Today, 2019

Recent claims that we live in a "Bonhoeffer Moment" traverse the ideological spectrum of the Unit... more Recent claims that we live in a "Bonhoeffer Moment" traverse the ideological spectrum of the United States. This discourse, while enlightening, has unintentionally reproduced a limitation in Bonhoeffer's own thought. In 1979, Gustavo Gutiérrez observed that "the absence of social analysis prevented Bonhoeffer from carrying his intuition to its mature theological implications." Building on Gutiérrez's observation, I propose a reading of Bonhoeffer in "Indian Country," a dual designation of the American West and the informal US military designation of territories where war is being waged. In "After Ten Years," Bonhoeffer remarks that, for him, the ability to see "from below" was neither innate nor inevitable. Rather, his radical resistance was a result of a process of learning. If we are to live fully into a "Bonhoeffer Moment" in the United States, a similar process of learning among "the powerless, the oppressed, and reviled" is necessary.

ReOrient: The Journal of Critical Muslim Studies, 2019

Jewish dissent to the concept of a "Judeo-christian Tradition" reveals it to be a political assem... more Jewish dissent to the concept of a "Judeo-christian Tradition" reveals it to be a political assemblage offering conditional, incomplete access to structures of white, western christian power. While the concept offers pragmatic benefits to Jews, it does so at the expense of Jewish distinction from christian beliefs and purposes and to the exclusion of Islam and Muslims. The supersessionist foundations of the "Judeo-christian" concept inspire and perpetuate christian settler-colonial domination of Jews and Judaism. destabilizing this concept promotes new levels of liberative dialogical engagement, moving us beyond present systems of theological, political, and economic injustice.

Journal of Church and State, 2004

Journal of Church and State, 2004

An attempt to understand Christian Zionism in the context of US debates over religion and politics.

Journal of Church and State, 2004

Dialog: A Journal of Theology, 2004

Dialog, 2009

• "We are Israel's best friend in the world because of the character we have as a nation.… This i... more • "We are Israel's best friend in the world because of the character we have as a nation.… This is not a political battle at all. It is a contest over whether or not the word of God is true." • "I stand before you today … as an Israeli of the heart…. We hear your voice cry out in the desert, and we will never leave your side." • "The establishment of the nation of Israel is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy and the very essence of its fulfillment." • I am a "stalwart friend of Israel"-"their security is sacrosanct." • "There's nothing that would bring the wrath of the Christian public in this country down on this government like abandoning or opposing Israel in a critical matter." The above quotations demonstrate a commonplace fact: there is a great deal of religiously-inflected energy within American politics surrounding the State of Israel. What may be more surprising is the identity of some of those by whom or where some of these were spoken. They were uttered, respectively, by Sen.

The development of the Palestinian Identity has been the focus of many studies and conferences. H... more The development of the Palestinian Identity has been the focus of many studies and conferences. However, all of the studies so far concentrate on the emergence of this identity in the last hundred years. Although several papers in this book still have dealt with the development of the Palestinian Identity in late Ottoman and early British Mandate Palestine, another focus of the event was however on analyzing the understanding of the Palestinian Identity in relation to the biblical story, history and archeology and how this understanding has been reflected in poetry and the art. The self-Understanding of the Palestinians of themselves in relation to time and space and their relationship to other marginalized groups is a question of high political and social relevance. The participation of scholars from different parts of the world in the event did not only bring an international scope, persuasions and perspectives , but helped fostering an ecumenical, interdisciplinary, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural environ, dialogues and philosophy.

Reinforcing the proclivities of American empire, Christian Zionists work to refine and justify th... more Reinforcing the proclivities of American empire, Christian Zionists work to refine and justify the American myth of sacrificial violence which for now enables President Trump’s efforts to bend the world to his will.

An exploration of Martin Luther's apocalyptic interpretation of the Turko-Catholic threat to the ... more An exploration of Martin Luther's apocalyptic interpretation of the Turko-Catholic threat to the early Reformation era. Published in On the Apocalyptic and Human Agency: Conversations with Augustine of Hippo and Martin Luther, ed. Kirsi Stjerna and Deanna A. Thompson (Cambridge: Cambridge Scholar’s Publishing, 2014). (file drawn from sample on the Cambridge website)

The Invention of History: A Century of Interplay between Theology and Politics in Palestine, 2011

The papers in the book analyzes major theological trends and shifts of the twentieth century in s... more The papers in the book analyzes major theological trends and shifts of the twentieth century in several contexts: Displacement Theolpolitics by Dr. Mitri Raheb; A Century of Interplay between Theology and Politics in Palestine: A Dutch Perspective by Dr. A.H. Drost; Old Testament Hermeneutical and Archaeological Shifts vis-à-vis Palestine in the Twentieth Century
By. Prof. Ulrike Bechmann; Archeological Shifts vis-à-vis Palestine in the Twentieth Century by Prof. Dieter Vieweger; God the Liberator: Theology, History, and Politics by Prof. Luis Rivera Pagan; The Invention of History: A German Perspective
by Prof. Ottmar Fuchs; Palestinian Theological Praxis in Context: An Analysis of the Approaches of Sabeel, Al-Liqa’, and Diyar by Dr. Samuel J. Kuruvilla; Hermeneutical Shifts vis-à-vis Palestine in the Twentieth Century (Romans 9-11) by Prof. Paul Tarazi; American Expansionism, Theologies, and the Israel/Palestine Question by Dr. Robert O. Smith; Towards a New Theological Understanding vis-à-vis Palestine in the 21st Century by Dr. Jamal Khader; Postcolonial Theologies: Promise and Challenge for the Middle East by Prof. Gabriel A. Salguero; Theological Developments in Europe vis-à-vis Palestine in the 20th Century:
Major Trends in Scandinavia by Dr. Göran Gunner; By Dr. The Conflict of Narratives from Memory to Prophecy by Dr. Rafiq Khoury

Palestinian Identity in relation to Time and Space, 2014

The idea of focusing a conference on Palestinian Identity in relation to time and space is indeed... more The idea of focusing a conference on Palestinian Identity in relation to time and space is indeed pertinent. The development of the Palestinian Identity has been the focus of many studies and conferences. However, all of the studies so far concentrate on the emergence of this identity in the last hundred years. Although several papers in this book still have dealt with the development of the Palestinian Identity in late Ottoman and early British Mandate Palestine, another focus of the event was however on analyzing the understanding of the Palestinian Identity in relation to the biblical story, history and archeology and how this understanding has been reflected in poetry and the art. The self-Understanding of the Palestinians of themselves in relation to time and space and their relationship to other marginalized groups is a question of high political and social relevance.
The participation of scholars from different parts of the world in the event did not only bring an international scope, persuasions and perspectives, but helped fostering an ecumenical, interdisciplinary, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural environ, dialogues and philosophy.