Dead Theologians Society
A Short History
Delta Theta Sigma started in the Fall of 1990 on the campus of Florida State University when InterVarsity Christian Fellowship students began meeting weekly to discuss Oswald Chamber’s devotional classic, My Utmost For His Highest.
Dead Poets Society was then a recent movie and the students agreed that a “Dead Theologians Society” was needed to promote the serious discussion of Christian literature. To promote the Society, the Greek acronym Delta Theta Sigma was adopted for the designation of the Dead Theologians Society. Since that time, the idea of “discipleship through the Christian classics” has spread quickly and DQS reading groups continue to develop. The Dead Theologians Society offers an enjoyable opportunity to learn from those whose writings have stood the test of time.
Two “traditions” which have developed as a part of the society are:
- That during the discussion hour, no one may quote a living person.
- And, that if a living theologian dies during the course of the semester, a “toast” is held in his or her honor, welcoming him or her to the society with favorite quotes from all attendees.
Books Discussed to Date
- A.W. Tozer's Kowledge of The Holy
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together
- Bro. Lawrence's Practicing The Presence of God
- John Bunyan's Pilgrim’s Progress
- G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy
- Dorothy Sayers' Mind of the Maker
- Thomas a’Kempis' Imitation of Christ
- Henri Nouwen's The Genesee Diary
- Henri Nouwen's The Way of the Heart
- Flannery O’Conner's The Habit of Being
- C.S. Lewis' The Weight of Glory
- C.S. Lewis' The Abolition of Man
- Thomas Merton's Thoughts in Solitude
- George McDonald's Creation in Christ
- Augustine's Confessions
- Lesslie Newbigin's Foolishness to the Greeks