The Rev. Dr. Kristin Johnston Largen

61 Seminary Ridge      Gettysburg, PA  17325

H:  717-476-0984

W:  717-334-6286 ext. 2158

klargen@ltsg.edu

CURRENT POSITION:

July 1, 2006 – Present:            Associate Professor of Systematic Theology,

Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, 

Gettysburg, PA

PREVIOUS POSITIONS:

Aug, 2005 – May 2006:         Lilly Endowment Teaching Fellow,

Claflin University, Orangeburg, SC

Aug, 2002 – June 2005:         Pastor, King of Glory Lutheran Church,

Arvada, CO

EDUCATION

Ph.D.     Graduate Theological Union, May, 2002

                                Dissertation Topic:  “Salvation After Nagarjuna:  A Re-evaluation of

Wolfhart Pannenberg’s Soteriology in light of a Buddhist Cosmology”

M.Div.   Wartburg Theological Seminary:  May, 1997

Thesis:  A comparison of the concept of "word" in Christian and

Advaitic theology

                   Augustana Hochschule, Neuendettelsau, Germany:

                                Special Student, 1994-1995

B.A.       The Colorado College:  May, 1990

                                English major, with Honors

AREAS OF INTEREST

Comparative Theology, Contemporary Systematic Theology, Buddhism, Hinduism, World Religions, the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Literature & Theology

LANGUAGES

                German, French, Latin, Sanskrit

PUBLICATIONS

Review of Merton and Buddhism:  Realizing the Self, for Buddhist-Christian Studies,            forthcoming.

“Buddhist-Christian Dialogue,” entry for Oxford Bibliographies Online [Buddhism],              forthcoming.

“What God has Created will not be Lost:  Constructing a more Inclusive Soteriology,”              LWF publication, forthcoming.

“Prolepsis and the Abolition of Hell,” in Ted Peters’ Festschrift, forthcoming.

Review of Feminist Theologies:  legacy and prospect, edited by Rosemary Radford

Ruether, Currents in Theology and Mission, February 2009 (36:1), 56-57.

“A Christian Rationale for Vegetarianism,” Dialog  48:2 (Summer 2009).

 “’Human Sexuality:  Gift and Trust’”—Ramifications of a Relational Anthropology,”

                Journal of Lutheran Ethics, May 2009.

Review of Martin Luther and Buddhism, by Paul S. Chung, Dialog, 48:2 (Summer 2009).

What Christians can learn from Buddhism:  Rethinking Salvation, Fortress Press,

April, 2009.

“Theological Themes,” Lectionary Homiletics, January, 2009.

“Jonah,” in The Lutheran Study Bible, Fortress Press, Spring, 2009.

“Theological Perspective for Isaiah 43:16-21, & Isaiah 50:4-9a,” in Lectionary Commentary

                Series, Westminster John Knox Press, forthcoming.

Review of A Native American Theology, by Clara Sue Kidwell, Homer Noley,

George E. “Tink” Tinker, Dialog, vol. 48:1 (Spring 2009), 107-108.

 Review of Understanding Islam:  an introduction, by C.T.R. Hewer, Currents in Theology

 and Mission, April 2008 (35:2), 141-142.   

“Rethinking Salvation:  Christian Soteriology in light of Interfaith Dialogue,” in

Deepening Faith, Hope, and Love in Relations with Neighbors of Other Faiths,” Lutheran World Federation, Feb. 2008.

 “On Pluralism, Comparative Theology & Tariq Ramadan:  A Response to Ted Peters,”

                Dialog 46:3 (Winter 2007).

“Theological Themes,” Lectionary Homiletics, Oct./Nov. 2007.

 “Liberation, Salvation, Enlightenment,” Dialog, 45:3 (Fall 2006):  263-274.

Review of The Difficult But Indispensable Church:  Rethinking Church for Today,

 edited by Norma Cook Everist, Dialog, 45:3 (Fall 2006):  311-312.

Review of Gender, Ethnicity, and Religion:  Views from the Underside, edited by

                Rosemary Radford Ruether, Dialog, 45:1 (Spring 2006):  111-113.

Review of Mary Mother of God, edited by Carl E. Braaten & Robert W. Jenson,

Dialog  44:3  (Fall 2005):  312-313.

“The ‘How’ of Buddhist-Christian Dialogue:  an Inquiry into Methodology,” in The

                Transforming Spiritual Landscape:  Buddhist-Christian Encounters, edited by

Ronald Y. Nakasone.  Fremont, CA:  Dharma Cloud Publishers, 2005.

Review of A World According to God, by Martha Ellen Stortz, Dialog 44:2

(Summer 2005):  194-196.

“Christian Theology as depicted in The Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter

 Narratives,” Journal of Religion & Society, Volume 7 (2005).

“Interreligious Dialogue & the Christian Claim,” Dialog 43:2 (Spring 2004):  133-138.

Review of Super, Natural Christians, by Sallie McFague, Dialog 42:1

(Spring 2003):  96-98.

Review of Longing for Running Water, Ivone Gebara, dialog 40:3 (Fall 2001):  242-4

Wittgenstein and Religion, edited with David Stagaman and James Kraft.  Manila:

                Ateneo de Manila University, 2001.

Review of The Sound of Liberating Truth:  Buddhist Christian Dialogues in Honor of

 Frederick J. Streng, edited by Sallie B. King and Paul O. Ingram.  Pacific

World Third Series, no. 2 (Fall 2000):  250-252.

“Pied Beauty:  A Celebration of Uniqueness,” Currents in Theology and Mission,

                27:4 (August, 2000):  267-270.

 “Discerning God’s Call,” Currents in Theology and Mission, 27:1 (Feb. 2000):  42-44.

Review of Elaborations on Emptiness:  Uses of the Heart Sutra, Donald S. Lopez, Jr.

Pacific World, Third Series, no. 1 (Fall 1999):  121-124.

Review of Systematic Theology, vol.3, Wolfhart Pannenberg.  The Sewanee

Theological Review, vol. 42:3 (Pentecost, 1999):  373-376.

"Over All Creation," Currents in Theology and Mission, vol. 25, April, 1998,

137-141.

PRESENTATIONS:

“What God has Created will not be Lost:  Constructing a more Inclusive Soteriology,”              Theology in the Life of Lutheran Churches: Transformative Perspectives and     Practices Today, Lutheran World Federation Conference, Augsburg, Germany,   March 2009.

“Was Thomas Merton’s Soteriology Influenced by His Experience with Buddhism,” 

                AAR presentation for the Society for Buddhist Christian Studies, Nov., 2008.

“A Lutheran Understanding of Vocation,” Project Connect Annual Gathering of

                Pre-Seminary Groups, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Feb. 9, 2008

Response, Luther Colloquy on Luther & Calvin on the Eucharist,

Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg,  October 31, 2007

SELECT Video Presentation:  “Revelation and the History of Religions,” as part of the

 SELECT DVD course on “Systematic Theology:  Fundamentals of Christian

 Theology,” 2007.

“Biblical Authority in light of Religious Pluralism,” Spring Convocation,

Gettysburg Seminary, April 2007

“Christian Theology as illustrated in The Lord of the Rings & Harry Potter,” Great Plains

                Regional AAR Meeting, Provo, Utah, March 26^th-27^th, 2004.

Public Lecture Series, “Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus:  How what they

                believe is important to us,” Immanuel Lutheran Church, Modesto,

                California, April 11, 18, 25, and May 2, 2002.

”Methodology in Buddhist-Christian Dialogue,” Buddhist-Christian Dialogue

                Conference, April, 2001, Berkeley, California.

“Experiencing God in the Voice of the Poet,” Western Regional AAR Meeting, March,

                2001.

“Transformation Through Appropriation:  Christian Reflections on Nagarjuna,”

Faith Intersect Panel, Nikkei 2000 Conference, San Francisco, CA, April, 2000.

“Pied Beauty:  A Celebration of Uniqueness,” American Academy of Religion, ELCA

                Women’s Meeting, November, 1998.

OTHER ACTIVITIES & MEMBERSHIPS

June 2008-June 2009   Member, Wabash Pre-Tenure Theological School Faculty

                                                                Workshop Group

Jan. 2008 - present    Editor-in-Chief, Dialog       

Jan. 2008 – present   Member, Society for Buddhist/Christian Dialogue

Fall 2006- present     Member, Comparative Theology Group, AAR

Fall 2006 – present    Rostered, Metro DC Synod

2004 – present              Dialog Editorial Council     

1997 – present              Member, American Academy of Religion