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The third Faculty Pub Night of the 2024-25 season features Eric Martin, lecturer of theological studies (Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts). He will discuss his recent book, "The Writing on the Wall: Signs of Faith Against Fascism."

About Faculty Pub Night

Students, staff, faculty, alumni, and members of the public are all invited to the 2024-25 series of Faculty Pub Night at the William H. Hannon Library. Eight LMU professors are selected annually to discuss their latest publication or project in a comfortable setting and format that welcomes diverse perspectives for an inclusive conversation aimed to educate the entire community. All Faculty Pub Nights are free and open to the public.

About the Author's Work

How can people of faith connect their religious traditions with the rise of overtly fascist violence in the United States? That's the question this book takes up. With first-hand accounts from the largest white supremacist gathering in modern American history at Unite the Right in Charlottesville, Virginia, it shares how the clergy resisting Nazis and the KKK point a way forward for Christians in particular. But "The Writing on the Wall" expands outward to ask what churches can learn from antifascists, Black Lives Matter, and those working on the ground to combat the continuing coalition of far-right militias and gangs that promise to endure with or without Trump in office. In the wake of a deadly Capitol insurrection robed in Christian imagery, this book invites the faithful to imagine a counter-witness that does more than merely preach against hate. Using biblical exegesis, storytelling, interviews, thought experiments, art, and theology, "The Writing on the Wall" explores how we can rethink notions of civil disobedience, nonviolence, love, prayer, and liturgy to enflesh a worthy faith in the face of a fascist creep.

About the Author

Eric Martin teaches on religion, social movements, and the Bible and LMU and UCLA. He focuses mainly on the theologies and spiritual expression of radical social movements in the 20th and 21st centuries. His work grows from being in community with the Catholic Worker and Charis, the antifascist house church in Charlottesville. His first book, "The Berrigan Letters: Correspondence of Daniel and Philip Berrigan", collected the letters between figureheads of the Catholic Left during the Vietnam War and the plowshares movement. As a side gig, he writes shoddy poems.

About the William H. Hannon Library

The William H. Hannon Library fosters excellence in academic achievement through an array of distinctive services that enable learners to feed their curiosity, experience new worlds, develop their ideas, inform their decision-making, and inspire others. More information can be found at http://library.lmu.edu

For more information about this event, contact the Outreach and Engagement team at the William H. Hannon library via email at library.outreach@lmu.edu or call 310-338-5234.