This workshop is intended for pastors and laity alike and will meet via Zoom for 3 Saturdays from Nov. 7 - Nov. 21, 2026.
Time: 8 - 10 am CST
Gift-giving and gratitude seem to be topics suited to universities that offer courses in the poetry of Madonna, the history of tableware, or the sociology of shoes.
Is saying “thank you” more than a matter of etiquette? Is gift-giving any more than a heart-warming holiday custom? For the past century, scholars in a variety of disciplines have devoted sustained attention to gifts and return gifts.
Anthropologists have studied gift cultures. Philosophers have analyzed the contours of the “pure gift.” For theologians, the gift has become a master concept uniting theology proper, creation, Christology, ecclesiology, and everything else.
In this, recent scholarship has recovered the insights of ancient, medieval, and early modern writers for whom “benefits” and gratitude were serious moral concerns.
In this short online Workshop, Peter Leithart will examine the biblical theology of gift and gratitude and lead discussions of several key texts on the subject.
Schedule:
Date Biblical Topic Text
Nov 7 Triune Gift Seneca, de Beneficiis, Books I-III
Nov 14 Gift of Creation Mauss, The Gift, chs. 1-2
Nov 21 Communion in Gift Milbank, “Can A Gift Be Given?”
About This Event
Taught by Peter Leithart.
This workshop is intended for pastors and laity alike and will meet via Zoom for 3 Saturdays from Nov. 7 - Nov. 21, 2026.
Time: 8 - 10 am CST
Gift-giving and gratitude seem to be topics suited to universities that offer courses in the poetry of Madonna, the history of tableware, or the sociology of shoes.
Is saying “thank you” more than a matter of etiquette? Is gift-giving any more than a heart-warming holiday custom? For the past century, scholars in a variety of disciplines have devoted sustained attention to gifts and return gifts.
Anthropologists have studied gift cultures. Philosophers have analyzed the contours of the “pure gift.” For theologians, the gift has become a master concept uniting theology proper, creation, Christology, ecclesiology, and everything else.
In this, recent scholarship has recovered the insights of ancient, medieval, and early modern writers for whom “benefits” and gratitude were serious moral concerns.
In this short online Workshop, Peter Leithart will examine the biblical theology of gift and gratitude and lead discussions of several key texts on the subject.
Schedule:
Date Biblical Topic Text
Nov 7 Triune Gift Seneca, de Beneficiis, Books I-III
Nov 14 Gift of Creation Mauss, The Gift, chs. 1-2
Nov 21 Communion in Gift Milbank, “Can A Gift Be Given?”