Speaker: Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff (Yale University, Yale, New Haven)
Series title: “The God We Worship”
Dates: October 1 – 7, 2013
Location: Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
These lectures will be the fourth installment in the Kantzer Lecture series (for past lectures, see here). More details coming soon …
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The “Kantzer Lectures in Revealed Theology” take an academic approach to contemporary issues in theology. Co-moderated by Thomas McCall, Douglas Sweeney, and Kevin Vanhoozer, and patterned after Scotland’s Gifford Lectures in Natural Theology, the Kantzer Lectures bring leading theologians to Trinity’s campus for learned presentations that will be published in book form by William B. Eerdmans. The Kantzer Lectures provide a platform for the kind of Christian thinking that demonstrates the pastoral function of Christian doctrine by featuring prominent theologians committed to the project of faith seeking understanding, and to making this understanding practical.
The Henry Center is pleased to announce that the audio and video from Dr. Michael Rea’s lecture and interview on divine hiddenness and divine silence are now available. Click here to stream the audio or here to stream the video of his lecture. Click here to stream the audio or here to stream the video of his interview. Visit our media vault to download the audio files. See below for a description of the event:
On March 14, Dr. Rea was the speaker for the Scripture and Ministry lecture series sponsored by the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding. The lecture was held in TEDS chapel. Dr. Rea spoke on the topic of “Divine Hiddenness, Divine Silence.”
“Divine silence—or, as many think of it, divine hiddenness—is the source of one of the two most important and widely discussed objections to belief in God. It is also one of the most important sources of doubt and spiritual distress for religious believers. Many people seem to be utterly broken by divine silence in the midst of their own suffering or the suffering of others, or simply by the ongoing and unsatisfied longing for the presence of God. In this talk, Michael Rea explains why divine silence poses a serious intellectual obstacle to belief in God, and then goes on to consider ways of overcoming that obstacle. After considering several ways in which divine silence might actually be beneficial to human beings, he argues that perhaps silence is nothing more or less than God’s preferred mode of interaction with creatures like us. Perhaps God simply desires communion rather than overt communication with human beings, and perhaps God has provided ways for us to experience God’s presence richly even amidst the silence. Rea concludes that it is plausible to think that Biblical narratives and the liturgies of the church are the vehicles by which God’s presence is mediated to us.”
The Henry Center welcomes Pastor Bill Shields on Tuesday, March 20, and Thursday, March 22 for the 11:00 a.m. TEDS chapel service. There will be a free lunch immediately following in Hinkson Hall. We hope to see you there as we share a meal with Pastor Shields and as we learn from his years of experience in pastoral ministry.
Pastor Bill Shields is one of the pastors at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Lindenhurst, Illinois (where he has served since 2007). In his nearly 25 years of ordained ministry, he has served two other congregations: American Lutheran Church in Rantoul, Illinois, and First Lutheran Church in Pontiac, Illinois. In recent years, Bill has also accompanied his good friend Dr. Robert Yarbrough on several teaching trips to Sudan. Bill grew up in southeastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. He received a B.A. from Wheaton College, with a double major in Bible and Sociology. He earned his M.Div. at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. Bill has been married to Lisa, his High School sweetheart, for 29 years. They have five children: Rebekah, Matthew, Rachel, Nathan, and Isaac.
The Henry Center is pleased to announce that the audio and video from Dr. Jo Anne Lyon’s lecture and interview on Wesley, sanctification, and social justice are now available. Click here to stream the audio or here to stream the video of her lecture. Click here to stream the audio or here to stream the video of her interview. Visit our media vault to download the audio files. See below for a description of the event:
On February 22, Dr. Lyon was the speaker for the Scripture and Ministry lecture series sponsored by the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding. The lecture was held in TEDS chapel. Dr. Lyon spoke on the topic of “The Spirit and Scripture: Transforming People and Culture.”
“The Wesleyan Quadrilateral is a lens for viewing the world as it relates to the role of the church in bringing about Justice. Wesley’s view of Sanctification is an integral part of doing justice. The results continue to live with us today. This view of Social Justice and Sanctification became the embodiment of the beginnings of the American Holiness Movement. Structural Evil was identified and advocacy was also a part of one’s faith life. Today the Spirit is calling through the Scriptures and empowering His people to do Kingdom work in this second decade of the 21st century. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can redeeming work be done. It is happening!”
Michael Rea is professor of philosophy and director of the Center for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Notre Dame. On March 14, he will be the speaker for the Scripture and Ministry lecture series sponsored by the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding.
The lecture will be held in TEDS chapel and will also be live-streamed here. This event is free and open to the public.
Refreshments will begin at 12:45 pm, followed by the lecture at 1:00 pm (with Q&A to follow).
The topic of the lecture …
“Divine Hiddenness, Divine Silence”
Divine silence, or divine hiddenness, is an important source of doubt and spiritual distress for religious believers, and is often seen as supporting atheism. Many seem to be utterly broken by divine silence in the midst of suffering, or by unsatisfied longing for the presence of God. In this talk, Michael Rea explains why divine silence poses a serious obstacle to belief in God, and then goes on to consider ways of overcoming that obstacle. After considering several ways in which divine silence might benefit us, he argues that perhaps silence is simply God’s preferred mode of interaction with creatures like us. Perhaps God desires communion more than overt communication, and perhaps we can experience God’s presence richly even amidst the silence. Rea concludes that it is plausible to think that Biblical narratives and the liturgies of the church are vehicles by which God’s presence is mediated to us.
Dr. Jo Anne Lyon is one of the three General Superintendents of the Wesleyan Church. She was elected as the first woman General Superintendent at the June 2006 General Conference. Dr. Lyon was ordained as a minister in the Wesleyan Church in 1996; that same year she founded World Hope International, an organization desiring to alleviate suffering and injustice through education, enterprise and community health.
On February 22, she will be the speaker for the Scripture and Ministry lecture series sponsored by the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding. The lecture will be held in TEDS chapel. Refreshments will begin at 12:45 pm, followed by the lecture at 1:00 pm (with Q&A to follow). This event is free and open to the public.
She will be speaking on the topic of “The Spirit and Scripture: Transforming People and Culture.”
The Henry Center is pleased to announce that the audio and video from Thabiti Anyabwile’s Jonathan Edwards and the Church lecture are now available. Click here to stream the audio or here to stream the video. Visit our media vault to download the audio file. See below for a description of the event:
Jonathan Edwards and American Racism:
Can the Theology of a Slave Owner Be Trusted by Descendants of Slaves?
Jonathan Edwards is arguably the most important theologian that North America has produced. He is a hero to many Christians. Yet he also owned slaves, a fact that has raised important questions about his moral credibility. Should we really be holding Edwards up as a theological role model? Should we be trying to learn from him? These are live questions here at Trinity and beyond. Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile has thought about these questions–as a pastor, an African American, and adherent to Reformed theology. We invite you to listen in as he reflects about them personally, engaging two other African-American pastors and the audience in an edifying installment of the Edwards Center series ‘Jonathan Edwards and the Church,’ moderated by Dr. Sweeney.
The Henry Center invites students, pastors, and all interested parties to join an exciting two-part conversation on the TEDS campus — “Jonathan Edwards and Race in America: Two Conversations.” In an earlier blog post, we mentioned that on Feb 1 Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile will be speaking on Jonathan Edwards and American Racism (for details, see the previous blog post).
On the following day, Feb 2, Professor Michael Emerson will continue this important conversation about race and religion. Dr. Emerson is a sociology professor at Rice University and co-director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research. He has written important works on the relationship between race and religion. Some of his well-known books are Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America (co-authored with Christian Smith; Oxford University Press, 2000), which was named the 2001 Distinguished Book of the Year by the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. He is also the author of People of the Dream: Multiracial Congregations in the United States, published by Princeton University Press in 2006.
Dr. Emerson will speak in the ATO chapel on Thursday, Feb 2, at 11am on: “How Race Works, and Why it Matters for the Church.” His talk will be based on Ephesians 6:12. After chapel, there will be a free luncheon for all in attendance. Dr. Peter Cha, associate professor of pastoral theology at TEDS, will moderate a conversation with Dr. Emerson and the audience. A TEDS alumnus, Rev. Peter Hong, will also be a part of that conversation. He is a second-generation Korean American who planted a multiracial church in Chicago ten years ago. The church is called New Community Covenant Church and now has about 600 members.
After the luncheon is over (1pm), interested local church pastors and other students can remain for a longer conversation with the speakers (till about 2pm).
Can the Theology of a Slave Owner Be Trusted by Descendants of Slaves?
Jonathan Edwards is arguably the most important theologian that North America has produced. He is a hero to many Christians. Yet he also owned slaves, a fact that has raised important questions about his moral credibility. Should we really be holding Edwards up as a theological role model? Should we be trying to learn from him? These are live questions here at Trinity and beyond. Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile has thought about these questions–as a pastor, an African American, and adherent to Reformed theology. We invite you to listen in as he reflects about them personally, engaging two other African-American pastors and the audience in an edifying installment of the Edwards Center series ‘Jonathan Edwards and the Church,’ moderated by Dr. Sweeney.
Speaker: Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff (Yale University, Yale, New Haven)
