Weekly Gathering
Dead Theologians Society
Every week, we gather to read the great voices of Christian history. No expertise required. Just curiosity, good conversation, and usually some food.
Find Next Meeting“It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.”
C.S. Lewis
About
What is the Dead Theologians Society?
At Dead Theologians Society, we come together to read and seriously engage with the great thinkers of the Christian tradition. We read slowly, we discuss, sometimes argue (respectfully), and we take seriously the idea that people who lived centuries ago still have something to say to us today.
Each semester we work through a classic text together, Augustine's Confessions, Athanasius' On the Incarnation, Julian of Norwich's Revelations, and more. We read a chapter each week, then gather to discuss.
DTS is often the first place people encounter Cranmer House. It's low commitment, intellectually stimulating, and deeply formative.
When We Meet
Thursdays at 7:00 PM
We rotate between Oral Roberts University and the University of Tulsa, with occasional gatherings at St. John's Episcopal Church.
Who Can Come
Join us. No theological prerequisites. Nobody will quiz you at the door. Just come and join the conversation.
Currently Reading
On the Incarnation
by St. Athanasius of Alexandria
This Week
Introduction & Chapters 1–3
Next Week
Chapters 4–6
“For the Word of God came in His own Person, because it was He alone, the Image of the Father, Who could recreate man made after the Image.”
St. Athanasius — On the Incarnation, Chapter 3
Previous Semesters
Voices We've Explored
4th Century
Confessions
St. Augustine
20th Century
Life Together
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
4th Century
On the Incarnation
St. Athanasius
14th Century
Revelations of Divine Love
Julian of Norwich
15th Century
The Imitation of Christ
Thomas à Kempis
20th Century
The Screwtape Letters
C.S. Lewis
On Both Campuses
Where We Meet
DTS meets every other Thursday at ORU and every other Thursday at TU. Both campuses are praying the same prayers, reading the same works, and deepening their faith together. Some grew up in other Christian traditions. Some didn't grow up in church at all. Turns out St. Athanasius doesn't care. What he said to his flock 1,500 years ago still resonates.
Our Conviction
Why Read the Church Fathers?
We live in an age of spiritual amnesia.
Most Christians today have never heard of Augustine, Athanasius, or the great cloud of witnesses who shaped our faith. We've lost touch with our own history.
The Dead Theologians Society exists to reconnect us with that history, not because the past is perfect, but because we need more than just our own generation's wisdom to navigate the challenges of faith.
Your questions aren't new. Anxiety about suffering, doubting God's existence, the struggle to live rightly in a complicated world. St. Augustine wrestled with this. So did Sts. Athanasius, John Chrysostom, and the Desert Fathers. They didn't always have easy answers, but in their writings you find honest ones, written for those of us who want a living faith.
Questions
Common Questions
Your First Night
What to Expect
We open in prayer before diving into the text. Fr. Thom gives a little context, then we go through the text in depth for an hour. We ask questions, challenge answers, and come together at the end as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Ready to Join?
We'd Love to See You
DTS meets every Thursday at 7:00 PM. Check the calendar for this week's location and reading. We'd love to see you there.