David S. Pacini
- PhD, Harvard University, 1979
- AM, Harvard University, 1974
- MTS, Harvard University, 1972
- AB, Colgate University, 1969
Since coming to Candler in 1980, Dr. David S. Pacini’s aim in teaching historical theology has been to help students deepen their respect for other faith traditions and recognize the inherent connectivity between all faiths. In addition to his role as Director of the Master of Theological Studies program, he also coordinates the Theology and the Arts concentration as part of the Master of Divinity degree program, chairs the Historical Studies in Theology and Religion program in Emory’s Graduate Division of Religion and has served on a number of university committees.
Pacini’s research explores the boundaries and intersections of literature, art history, psychoanalytic theory and philosophical theology in modern European thought. The author of The Cunning of Modern Religious Thought, and Through Narcissus’ Glass Darkly: The Modern Religion of Conscience, which respectively address the epistemological and moral dimensions of modern philosophical theology, Pacini is currently at work on the concluding volume of this trilogy, Jesus and the Philosophers: Seeing Salvation, which plumbs the aesthetic dimensions of Christology.
A popular lecturer known for linking art history with historical theology, Pacini is also the editor and annotator of Between Kant and Hegel: Lectures on German Idealism that his teacher, Dieter Henrich, gave at Harvard and Columbia in 1973.
Selected Publications
Books
Through Narcissus' Glass Darkly: The Modern Religion of Conscience. Fordham University Press, 2008
Editor,Between Kant and Hegel: Lectures on German Idealism. Harvard University Press, 2004
The Cunning of Modern Religious Thought. Augsburg Fortress, 1986
Chapters and Articles
"The Fable of History and the Fable of Theology." A Middle East Mosaic, Random House, 2000
"Excurs: Das Lesen der Heiligen Schrift: Der theologische Ort modernar Spiritualitaet." Geschichte der christlichen Spiritualitaet Dritter Band: Die Zeit nach der Reformation bis zur Gegenwart, Echler Verlag, 1997
"Symbol Then and Now: Remembering and Connecting." In Good Company: Essays in Honor of Robert Detweiler, Scholars Press, January 01, 1994
"Contexts of Autonomy." Aesthetic Judgment and the Moral World: Studies in Kant, Stanford University Press, 1992
"History of Western Philosophy and Psychology," "Theory and Praxis," "Materialism," and "Narcissism." Dictionary of Pastoral Care and Counseling, Abingdon Press, May 28, 1990
"Reading Holy Writ: The Locus of Modern Spirituality." Christian Spirituality: Post-Reformation and Modern, Crossroad, 1989
"In the Shadow of Modernity: Spirit-Centered Wholeness." Spirit-Centered Wholeness: Beyond the Psychology of Self, Edwin Mellen Press, 1988
Selected Awards
Eleanor Main Graduate Faculty Mentor Award, Laney Graduate School, Emory University, 2019
High Honors in Philosophy and Religion, Colgate University
Austen Colgate Scholar, 1968-1969.
Phi Beta Kappa, Colgate University
Robinson Biblical Literature Prize
George Cobb Fellow
Franklin G. Brehmer Scholar, 1966-1969.
Service of Word and Table, Cannon Chapel, November 10, 2015
Service of Word and Table, Cannon Chapel, March 18, 2014
"Prayer and Transformation: Meditation as a Practice of New-Mindedness" - Candler Practical Ministry Webinars, March 21, 2013
Selected courses
Augustine, Descartes, and Wittgenstein on the First Person “I”
Comparative Theology and Literature
Faith and Reason
History of Theology from the Reformation to the Twentieth Century
Jesus: Faith and History
Paul's Letter to the Romans and Philosophical Influences in its Interpretation
Pseudonymous Authorship of Soren Kierkegaard
Reality of God
Theology of Friedrich Schleiermacher