Try Jesus

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Written By Open Plaza

Stephen R. DiTrolio Coakley and Rev. Dr. Loida Martell ruminate on the ubiquitous phrase

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“We live in a world of profits,” says Rev. Dr. Loida Martell, “and, unfortunately,  we have lost sight of prophets.” A pioneer throughout her career—from veterinary medicine to theology—she pays close attention to terminology and meaning. A store sign that read “Try Jesus” inspired her to probe deeper into the oft-repeated phrase. In this conversation with Stephen R. DiTrolio Coakley, Rev. Dr. Martell unpacks the many definitions of ‘try’ and how we apply them to Christ’s teachings in a globalized world, where “love has grown cold” toward the disenfranchised. To follow Jesus, she reminds us, means always asking, To whom am I being a neighbor?

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“Try Jesus,” Teaching Theology in a Global and Transnational World, 25 February 2012

 
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Stephen DiTrolio Coakley

Stephen R. Di Trolio Coakley is a PhD student at Princeton Theological Seminary in the Department of History and Ecumenics (World Christianity and History of Religions). He worked and taught in Buenos Aires, Argentina before moving to Princeton, New Jersey. His research interests include Pentecostalism, Latin American history, political theology, and decolonial theory.

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Loida Martell

The Rev. Dr. Loida I. Martell is the 18th Vice President of Academic Affairs/ Dean of Lexington Theological Seminary, where she also serves as Professor of Constructive Theology. Dr. Martell is a licensed doctor in veterinary medicine as well as an ordained minister in the American Baptist Churches/ USA. She is a bi-coastal Puerto Rican who has taught in various institutions of higher learning. She pastored in New York City for 15 years, creating bilingual programs for the churches she served. Dr. Martell pioneered the study of evángelica theology. In addition to various articles, she co-edited Teología en Conjunto: A Collaborative Hispanic Protestant Theology (1997), and co-authored Latina Evangélicas: A Theological Survey from the Margins (2013). Focusing on the impact of globalization has led her to write on wide-ranging subjects such as mass incarceration and immigration, climate change and emergent diseases, and racism. In addition to her membership in the American Academy of Religion, the Society of Biblical Literature, and the American Veterinary Medical Association, Dr. Martell represents the American Baptist Churches/USA on the National Council of Churches Convening Table for Theological Studies and Matters of Faith and Reason, serves on the NCC Racial Task Force, and served as President of La Comunidad of Hispanic Scholars of Religion (AAR/ SBL) from 2016–2019.

 
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