6/14/14

Is David Brat Jewish? No, he is a Christian Theological Conundrum

No, David Brat is not a Jew. He is a Christian.

"Brat upsets Cantor" is not the title of a Bar Mitzvah boy's memoir. Brat beat Eric Cantor in a primary election in Virginia.

What kind of Christian is Brat?

The answer to that is not clear.

He is a theological conundrum according to two writers in (A)theologies via Religion Dispatches. He is the subject of "multiple denomination disorder."

Here's part of what they say:

"...There’s his PhD dissertation from American University, of which the last chapter is a discussion of Protestantism and science in the nineteenth century. There’s his unpublished textbook on economics and philosophical ethics,The Philosophy of Economics: A History of Science, Method and Ethics.  And there is also the article he wrote in 2011 for the journal Interpretation, entitled “God and Advanced Mammon – Can Theological Types Handle Usury and Capitalism?”  
"In that article, Brat defends usury against unnamed “theological types” who believe it un-Christian to charge interest on loans based on the historic proscription of usury. Here, curiously, Brat describes himself as an “orthodox Calvinist” and describes his theological tradition as “the Reformation,” even though hiscampaign site says that he attends a Roman Catholic Church.
"His Curriculum Vitae  does little to shed light on the matter of his ecclesial home. Under “Affiliations” are listed four different congregations: St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Christ Church Episcopal, Third Presbyterian Church, and Shady Grove Methodist Church. (No dates or locations are given.) Brat’s interview with The National Review supports this picture of theological eclecticism, inasmuch as he cites John Calvin, Karl Barth, and Reinhold Niebuhr as influences. .." 

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