Dr Willie Jennings: Transforming Desire

What do we want? What sort of conditioning has shaped our wanting?

Dr Willie Jennings joins the podcast to explore how our desire has been shaped by the idea of "whiteness"; a way of being in the world that at its heart is about the vision of the self-sufficient man; self-possessed, in control, the master of all he surveys. This identity has its roots in the colonising history which sought to shape the "new world" in ways that were understandable and controllable, creating a way of being and meaning making that became intertwined with the mission and self-understanding of the Church. Willie suggests that as we respond to the pressing question, “Where does it hurt?” we will be able to reconnect with our own embodied lives, grounded in place, and deeply connected by the Spirit to the well-being of one another.

Dr Peter Kline who joins the podcast team for this episode is the Academic Dean and lecturer in Systematic Theology at St Francis Theological College in Brisbane.

Dr Willie James Jennings is a theologian, author and Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale University. His most recent book is “After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging.”