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Author: Paul Post
Dead Theologians Book Group
The group is reading Augustine: On Christian Doctrine and Selected Introductory Works (Theological Foundations), Augustine (edited by Timothy George). Nashville: B & H Academic, 2022. Four works on Christian doctrine, written in the context of catechesis, by Augustine. Review
We currently meet Wednesdays3 at 7:45AM on Zoom. We are likely to shift to Tuesdays or Thursday.
Contact Paul Post if you would like more information or to join us!
Wisdom Groups
It seems there is a common challenge among Christian faculty.
Many professors are not sufficiently relationally connected to other Christian faculty or with Christian organizations that serve students on campus; likewise, Christian faculty often feel a lack of competency in integrating their faith with their work in order to live in a missional, Christ-centered way.
We are piloting a new program we are calling Wisdom Groups, seeking to bring together faculty from various academic fields to explore what it might mean to be a truly wise Christian professor. Faculty will plan to gather bi-weekly in groups of 3 to 8 in order to read a prompt, discussing how we might follow Jesus as sage, while practicing group spiritual disciplines. Meetings will last no more than an hour and 15 minutes. Wisdom Groups will launch September, 2023. More details about time and location will be coordinated after we gather faculty’s availability (below).
This pilot program is a collaborative effort between The Thompson Institute and the Fellowship of Christian Faculty at OSU. It will be spearheaded by Aaron Badenhop, and is a fruit of his doctoral project called “The Wise Professor: The Skillful Art of Living in God’s Mission”
We imagine the biggest obstacle for participation might be our busy schedules. Though we cannot promise that a group will align with your schedule, our next step is to try to capture individual faculty’s typical weekly availability to form bi-weekly groups. Please fill out the form below to let us know what days and times are good for you.
Themes will focus on such questions as:
- Why “wise” professors?
- What is wisdom?
- Is Jesus truly wise?
- Does the academy foster wisdom?
- How does wisdom relate to God’s mission?
- Is wisdom more than knowledge?
- How might wisdom respond to antagonistic environments?
ESN Conversation: More Than Things, with Paul Louis Metzger
SEPTEMBER 14, 2023
3 pm ET | 2 pm CT | 1 pm MT
12 pm PT | 9 am HT
Register
We live in a culture of commodification. People are too often defined by what they do or own; they’re treated as means to an end or cogs in a machine. In a world dominated by things, Paul Louis Metzger argues, we must work hard to account for one another’s personhood.
ESN Conversation: Being God’s Image with Carmen Joy Imes
June 20, 2023 at 3 pm ET
What does it mean to be human? This is a question at the root of so many of our academic discussions. This timeless question proves critical as we seek to understand our purpose, identity, and significance. Carmen Joy Imes, a professor of Old Testament at Biola University explores what it means to be created as the image of God for our purpose, calling, and identity in the world. This has implications for our work, our gender relations, our care for creation, for community, and our future destiny. She seeks to recover the theologically rich message of the creation narratives starting in the book of Genesis as they illuminate what it means to be human.
Register for ESN Conversation |
ESN Conversation: Non-Toxic Masculinity with Zachary Wagner
April 18, 2023 at 12 pm ET
Dismissals such as “boys will be boys” and “not all men” are ingrained in our world. And the purity culture of our youth sold the same excuses with a spiritual spin. Can we break the toxic cycle and recover a healthy identity for men? In “Non-Toxic Masculinity,” Zachary Wagner tells men, “If you are in Christ, this is your problem—and you should be part of the solution.”
Register for ESN Conversation |
ESN Conversation: Following Jesus in a Warming World
March 15, 2023, 12 pm ET
Have you ever looked at the effects of climate change and the apathy of so many around you and wondered, “What are we missing here?” Climate activist Kyle Meyaard-Schaap understands this feeling from personal experience. But in his years of speaking to and equipping Christians to work for climate action, he’s seen the trend begin to shift. More and more young Christians are waking up to the realities of climate change. They want to help, but they’re not sure how.
Kyle Meyaard-Schaap is vice president of the Evangelical Environmental Network.
ESN Conversation: First Nations Version/A Just Passion
American Scientific Affiliation Winter Symposium: Scientists and the Church
The Emerging Scholars Network has partnered closely with the American Scientific Affiliation on Early Career Tracks at the ASA annual meetings and at other ASA events. Christians who are scientists often experience a “double loneliness.” Colleagues are sometimes suspicious of their Christian commitments and fellow church members are suspicious of their science. This conversation between a scientist and a church leader is a great opportunity to explore how we may foster a better conversation as scientists with those in our churches.
WHEN: Saturday, January 28, 2023 at 10:00 AM PST/1 PM EST
COST: Free (a free-will donation is suggested)
SPEAKERS: Walter Kim, President, National Association of Evangelicals and Jessica Moerman, Vice President of Science and Policy, Evangelical Environmental Network
TITLE: Scientists and the Church
Genetic Engineering. Climate Change. Artificial Intelligence. Vaccines. Any one of these contemporary topics involves science and scientists. Many of these scientists are faithful members of our congregations. How do these church members experience discussions within their faith communities when nonscientists attempt to understand these issues from their faith perspective? And how can churches better engage Christians who are scientists in serving the church?
BIOS:
Walter Kim became the president of the National Association of Evangelicals in January 2020, after serving as a pastor for 15 years at Boston’s historic Park Street Church and four years at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia. He has spent nearly three decades preaching, writing, and engaging in collaborative leadership to connect the Bible to the significant intellectual, cultural, and social issues of the day. He serves on the boards of Christianity Today and World Relief. Kim received his PhD from Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, his MDiv from Regent College in Vancouver, and his BA from Northwestern University, and he is a licensed minister in the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference.
Jessica Moerman is a climate and environmental scientist, pastor, educator, and advocate. She serves as Vice President of Science and Policy at the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN). Jessica is also cofounding pastor at Grace Capital City church, which she planted in 2016 with her husband Chris in Washington, DC. Prior to joining EEN, Jessica was a AAAS Science and Technology Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy. She received her PhD in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences from Georgia Institute of Technology and has held research positions at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Michigan, and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where she researched how climate has changed throughout Earth’s history. She regularly speaks on issues related to climate change, pollution, children’s health, the clean energy transition, environmental stewardship, and the intersection of science and faith. She has appeared on national media outlets, including the NBC TODAY Show, Good Morning America, and the Christian Broadcasting Network.
This symposium is open to the general public. Please help us spread the word by inviting your church, pastor, friends, family, students, and colleagues to attend too. You can do so by forwarding this flyer or posting the event on your social media pages. The event is free to attend, but donations to support programming are appreciated.
The post American Scientific Affiliation Winter Symposium: Scientists and the Church appeared first on Emerging Scholars Blog.
ESN Conversation: Learning Humility with Richard Foster and Brenda Quinn
January 12, 2023, 2 pm ET
Not only is humility vanishing from contemporary culture, but we are also witnessing how destructive a lack of humility has become among our churches and ministry leaders. And yet, Richard Foster, the founder of Renovaré, insists in his new book, Learning Humility, that humility is central to the journey toward character formation and spiritual transformation.