Powers is the inaugural William Bernard Vann Fellow in Christianity and the Armed Forces at Durham University. He’s a former Special Operations Weather Team officer in the U.S. Air Force and a veteran of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
After completing his time in the military, he obtained his M.Div. and Th.M. degrees from Columbia Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in theological studies from Emory University. He is the author of Full Darkness: Original Sin, Moral Injury and Wartime Violence.
The lecture is part of “The Wars Within, The Wars Without,” a program designed to help connect veteran students at Marshall with veterans from throughout the state of West Virginia.
Dr. Robin Riner is a professor of anthropology and the co-director of the program.
“As a veteran, scholar, and member of the clergy, Dr. Powers’ perspective on military trauma is unique and invaluable,” Riner said. “As we recognize the so-called ‘soul wounds’ many of our veterans face as a result of serving in our military, it is critical that we understand why they occur and give veterans resources for dealing with them.”
Powers’ lecture will address the ways that Christian theology shapes and also fails to shape our thinking about contemporary moral, ecclesial and political issues, especially those involving the experiences of violence, moral injury, identity, and justice.
The lecture is sponsored by the West Virginia Humanities Council and Marshall’s College of Liberal Arts and Office of Academic Affairs. For more information contact Riner by e-mail at conleyr@marshall.edu or visit www.marshall.edu/warswithin.