Othering | What if there is no "other"?

We were thrilled to have Shane Claiborne joining us again! We learned about othering and even pondered a little bit together: What if there is no "other"?

If you missed Shane's first time with us in October 2020 or would like to review that presentation again, you can access that here: Leaning In: Subversion and Proximity.

Shane Claiborne is a prominent speaker, activist, and best-selling author. Shane worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta and founded The Simple Way in Philadelphia. He heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks who are committed to living "as if Jesus meant the things he said." Shane is a champion for grace, which has led him to jail advocating for the homeless, and to places like Iraq and Afghanistan to stand against war. Now grace fuels his passion to end the death penalty and help stop gun violence.

Shane’s books include Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary RadicalsRed Letter Revolution: What If Jesus Really Meant What He Said?Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary RadicalsFollow Me to Freedom: Leading and Following As an Ordinary RadicalJesus, Bombs and Ice Cream Study Guide: Building a More Peaceful WorldBecoming the Answer to Our Prayers: Prayer for Ordinary RadicalsExecuting Grace: How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why It's Killing Us, his classic The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical (Updated, Expanded)Beating Guns: Hope for People Who Are Weary of Violence, and his newest book, Rethinking Life: Embracing the Sacredness of Every Person.

In Jesus for President, Claiborne and Haw challenge traditional thinking about Christianity: “This is not a set of political suggestions for the world; this is about invoking and embodying the alternative. All of this is an invitation to join a peculiar people -- those with no king but God, who practice jubilee economics and make the world new. This is not the old-time religion of going to heaven; this is about bringing heaven to the world.”

Shane has been featured in a number of films, including "Another World Is Possible" and "Ordinary Radicals." His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. His work has appeared in Esquire, SPIN, Christianity Today, TIME, and The Wall Street Journal, and he has been on everything from Fox News and Al Jazeera to CNN and NPR. He’s given academic lectures at Harvard, Princeton, Liberty, Duke, and Notre Dame. In 2023, Shane received the prestigious The King Center's Beloved Community Award for Social Justice from Dr. Bernice King (daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King).

Shane speaks regularly at denominational gatherings, festivals, and conferences around the globe.