Friday Night Lecture: Does God Command Immoral Actions?

Name: Friday Night Lecture: Does God Command Immoral Actions?
Start: 2025-09-12T18:30:00-05:00
End: 2025-09-12T21:00:00-05:00
Location: 365 East Campus Mall, Suite 200, Madison, WI, United States, Wisconsin 53715

Schedule

Fri Sep 12 2025 at 06:30 pm to 09:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

365 East Campus Mall, Suite 200, Madison, WI, United States, Wisconsin 53715 | Madison, WI

Join us on Friday, September 12 at 6:30 p.m. at Upper House for an evening with theologian and biblical scholar J. Richard Middleton. Middleton will explore the provocative question “Does God command immoral actions?” using the story of Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22) as a central example, inviting us to engage deeply with the moral and theological complexity of this foundational text.
Friday Night Lectures feature three short, engaging talks interwoven with live Q&A, table discussion, and time to connect with others. Attendees will enjoy a welcoming atmosphere with complimentary beverages and hors d'oeuvres as we reflect on challenging questions of faith, Scripture, and ethics.
J. Richard Middleton is Professor Emeritus of Biblical Worldview and Exegesis, at Northeastern Seminary and Roberts Wesleyan University, in Rochester, NY. A native of Jamaica, he immigrated to Canada for graduate studies and moved to the USA for a teaching position. He is past president of the Canadian-American Theological Association (2011–2014) and the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies (2019–2021). Middleton’s research area is Old Testament theology with a focus on creation, suffering, and the ethics of power. He is the author of five books; the most recent are The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1 (Brazos, 2005); A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology (Baker Academic, 2014); and Abraham’s Silence: The Binding of Isaac, the Suffering of Job, and How to Talk Back to God (Baker Academic, 2021). He is currently working on two new books, one on the power dynamics between prophet and king in 1 Samuel and the other on the biblical worldview for our troubled times.