H. Peter Kang | University of Virginia (original) (raw)

Papers by H. Peter Kang

Research paper thumbnail of Oedipus and the War on Crime

The development of criminal law in the United States over the last three decades has been shaped ... more The development of criminal law in the United States over the last three decades has been shaped by increasingly fantastic and inflammatory narratives repeated in political discourse and the popular news media about the growth of crime in our society. This paper is written, in part, as a response to this phenomenon. My central thesis is that literary and theatric art, specifically the art called “tragedy,” discloses aspects of reality that appear hidden from our current legal imagination. As such, we would do well to consider what a study of tragedy might reveal in relation to contemporary criminology. In this paper, I focus on the paradigmatic example of classic tragedy—Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. I interweave reflections on a variety of issues in my analysis, including the prevalence of sexual assault at my alma mater, the rise of popular “Victim’s Rights” movements, and some experiences from my work in ministry at a maximum security prison.

Research paper thumbnail of Viewing the Church as Israel through Liturgy and Ritual

In this short essay I take up and develop an argument presented by George Lindbeck, longtime prof... more In this short essay I take up and develop an argument presented by George Lindbeck, longtime professor of historical theology at Yale University and prominent ecumenist, that the Church should view herself as Israel in such a way that she takes the Old Testament narratives of Israel to be constitutive of her identity. In the first section, I briefly re-present and rework Lindbeck’s argument, showing how it is both an attempt to address certain ecumenical and hermeneutic concerns and an attempt to repair a pernicious logic of supersessionism that is detrimental to the life of the Church. In the second section, I add my own supplement to Lindbeck’s argument by showing how the resources for viewing the Church as Israel are already present within the Church’s ritual and liturgical practices.

Research paper thumbnail of Mapping Triadic Vistas: A Commentary on the Work of Peter Ochs in Response to Leora Batnitzky

A recent article by Leora Batnitzky on Peter Ochs’s work provides the frame of reference for this... more A recent article by Leora Batnitzky on Peter Ochs’s work provides the frame of reference for this paper. In her article, Batnitzky helpfully flags some ambiguities in Ochs’s writing that could point to an implicit self-undermining tension in his overall project. By way of response, this paper attempts to re-map some of the densest areas in Ochs’s thought in a way that hopefully resolves those ambiguities. The proposed delineation is divided into four sections. The first seeks to clarify Ochs’s critique of binarism by making a few key distinctions in terminology and explaining the basic logic behind that critique. The second section presents the basic components of Ochs’s use of triadic logic and touches briefly on the relation between “A-reasonings” and “B-reasonings.” This section also introduces George Lindbeck as a conversation partner whose work can help show, by way of analogy, what Ochs means by these things. The third section examines Batnitzky’s larger suggestion that there exists “an insurmountable tension” between Judaism and Christianity. Agreeing with her assessment of the traditions, I try to show why Lindbeck’s critique of supersessionism complicates the idea that that tension is intrinsically related to Christian self-understanding. The paper concludes, in the fourth section, with an attempt to display what an “Ochsian” style of scriptural reasoning might look like in response to Lindbeck’s call for a new doctrine of non-supersessionism.

Conference Presentations by H. Peter Kang

Research paper thumbnail of Let the Cries of the Captives Come Before You: Discerning Theological Wisdom in the Modern Penitentiary

Paper for the 2016 Society of Scholar Priests Conference. According to the contemporary Anglican ... more Paper for the 2016 Society of Scholar Priests Conference. According to the contemporary Anglican theologian David Ford, “prophetic scriptural wisdom is inextricably involved with the discernment of cries.” In this paper, I examine how the project of “bringing theology home” could benefit from a renewed focus on attending to the cries of imprisoned men and women.
I begin by offering a brief overview and critique of the rationale that led to the creation of the penitentiary system in the United States. In doing so, I draw attention to some assumptions implicit with the Book of Common Prayer rites for the Visitation of Prisoners published around the same time. I then turn to contemporary examples from my experience serving as a chaplain in a maximum security prison: teaching theology classes in which we discussed works like Augustine’s Confessions. I conclude with a reflection on certain insights and exchanges from two theology seminars conducted in the prison by David and Deborah Ford.

Research paper thumbnail of Oedipus and the War on Crime

The development of criminal law in the United States over the last three decades has been shaped ... more The development of criminal law in the United States over the last three decades has been shaped by increasingly fantastic and inflammatory narratives repeated in political discourse and the popular news media about the growth of crime in our society. This paper is written, in part, as a response to this phenomenon. My central thesis is that literary and theatric art, specifically the art called “tragedy,” discloses aspects of reality that appear hidden from our current legal imagination. As such, we would do well to consider what a study of tragedy might reveal in relation to contemporary criminology. In this paper, I focus on the paradigmatic example of classic tragedy—Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. I interweave reflections on a variety of issues in my analysis, including the prevalence of sexual assault at my alma mater, the rise of popular “Victim’s Rights” movements, and some experiences from my work in ministry at a maximum security prison.

Research paper thumbnail of Viewing the Church as Israel through Liturgy and Ritual

In this short essay I take up and develop an argument presented by George Lindbeck, longtime prof... more In this short essay I take up and develop an argument presented by George Lindbeck, longtime professor of historical theology at Yale University and prominent ecumenist, that the Church should view herself as Israel in such a way that she takes the Old Testament narratives of Israel to be constitutive of her identity. In the first section, I briefly re-present and rework Lindbeck’s argument, showing how it is both an attempt to address certain ecumenical and hermeneutic concerns and an attempt to repair a pernicious logic of supersessionism that is detrimental to the life of the Church. In the second section, I add my own supplement to Lindbeck’s argument by showing how the resources for viewing the Church as Israel are already present within the Church’s ritual and liturgical practices.

Research paper thumbnail of Mapping Triadic Vistas: A Commentary on the Work of Peter Ochs in Response to Leora Batnitzky

A recent article by Leora Batnitzky on Peter Ochs’s work provides the frame of reference for this... more A recent article by Leora Batnitzky on Peter Ochs’s work provides the frame of reference for this paper. In her article, Batnitzky helpfully flags some ambiguities in Ochs’s writing that could point to an implicit self-undermining tension in his overall project. By way of response, this paper attempts to re-map some of the densest areas in Ochs’s thought in a way that hopefully resolves those ambiguities. The proposed delineation is divided into four sections. The first seeks to clarify Ochs’s critique of binarism by making a few key distinctions in terminology and explaining the basic logic behind that critique. The second section presents the basic components of Ochs’s use of triadic logic and touches briefly on the relation between “A-reasonings” and “B-reasonings.” This section also introduces George Lindbeck as a conversation partner whose work can help show, by way of analogy, what Ochs means by these things. The third section examines Batnitzky’s larger suggestion that there exists “an insurmountable tension” between Judaism and Christianity. Agreeing with her assessment of the traditions, I try to show why Lindbeck’s critique of supersessionism complicates the idea that that tension is intrinsically related to Christian self-understanding. The paper concludes, in the fourth section, with an attempt to display what an “Ochsian” style of scriptural reasoning might look like in response to Lindbeck’s call for a new doctrine of non-supersessionism.

Research paper thumbnail of Let the Cries of the Captives Come Before You: Discerning Theological Wisdom in the Modern Penitentiary

Paper for the 2016 Society of Scholar Priests Conference. According to the contemporary Anglican ... more Paper for the 2016 Society of Scholar Priests Conference. According to the contemporary Anglican theologian David Ford, “prophetic scriptural wisdom is inextricably involved with the discernment of cries.” In this paper, I examine how the project of “bringing theology home” could benefit from a renewed focus on attending to the cries of imprisoned men and women.
I begin by offering a brief overview and critique of the rationale that led to the creation of the penitentiary system in the United States. In doing so, I draw attention to some assumptions implicit with the Book of Common Prayer rites for the Visitation of Prisoners published around the same time. I then turn to contemporary examples from my experience serving as a chaplain in a maximum security prison: teaching theology classes in which we discussed works like Augustine’s Confessions. I conclude with a reflection on certain insights and exchanges from two theology seminars conducted in the prison by David and Deborah Ford.