HOW TO GO
What: Pruett Conference: Academy & Religious Faith Science and Theology as Partners
Where: University of Dayton River Campus, 1700 S. Patterson Blvd., Dayton
When: April 21-22
Registration: 5 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday; Chester Finn opening
Sessions: 8:30 a.m. to approximately 3:30 p.m. (with lunch)
Cost: $39
More info: (937) 222-4691 or www.udayton.edu/continuing_education
Are faith and academics at war? Must we accept either scientific evolution or religion, but not both? How did the earth get here? And, how on earth did we get here? Can we believe with our hearts and also accept what’s true in our minds?
People have pondered these questions for centuries. The Thelma Fordham Pruett Conference will attempt to answer these questions and more next weekend at the University of Dayton.
“The conference has one goal, to offer alternative truth claims to those that are presented by the Creation Museum and other advocates of a literal six-day creation of the earth,” said Rodney Kennedy, lead pastor of First Baptist Church on West Monument Avenue in Dayton. “Science has taught us that the universe is about 14 billion years old, and that the best available explanation for the beginning is the ‘big bang.’ There is nothing in scripture to refute the big bang. God created the heavens and the Earth, and I believe she took her sweet time doing it.”
Chester Finn Jr. will deliver the keynote address at the conference. He was the professor of education and public policy at Vanderbilt University from 1981 to 2002. He served as assistant secretary of education under President Ronald Reagan. Finn has led the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation in Washington, D.C., since 1997 and served as a fellow at the Manhattan Institute from 1999 to 2002. He is currently a senior fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution and chairman of Hoover’s Koret Task Force on K-12 education.
Other speakers include representatives from various local universities. Peter Enns will speak about “Academic Inquiry and Religious Faith: Reflecting on a Journey,” and Thomas Kidd will lecture on “Faith and America’s Founding: Bridging Church and Academy.” Breakout sessions include: Paul Benson, “Liberal Education and the Resources of Tradition”; Andy Black, “Prayer and Evolutionary Science in the Twenty-First Century”; and Donna Curry, “Faith and Health: Taking a Look at the Influence of a Shared Religious Core Upon a Family’s Well-being.”
There are so many avenues from which to choose at this conference. Jacob H. Dorn will talk about “Religious Responses to Darwin.” Sherry Gale’s topic will be “STEM & B: Science Theology,Engineering, Mathematics and the Bible.” Marlena Graves will lead a discussion on “Cultivating a Life With God and Healthy Souls in the Wilderness of Academia.” For those who aren’t afraid of scientific jargon, choose Shawn Graves’s session on “Disagreements in the Academy: A Case for Epistemic Humility.”
Other breakout sessions are available, too.
In addition, Rabbi David Sofian’s topic is “Do I Have to Leave My Brain Behind to Have Faith?” and Susan and William Trollinger will describe “The Academy, Religious Faith, and How Not to Understand Young Earth Creationism.”
The main sponsor of the conference is First Baptist Church. This conference is offered through a grant from the Fordham Institute. Conference co-sponsors are Temple Israel, Christ Episcopal, United Theological Seminary and the University of Dayton Continuing Education Department.
“First Baptist Church has a century and a half tradition of commitment to intellectual integrity. This conference is an outgrowth of our commitment to a community of creative thinking where dissent and diversity of thought are embraced and discussed,” said Kennedy. “My desire is that conference attendees will be strengthened in their faith by hearing our 21 presenters offer an alternative to six-day creationism, intelligent design and scientific creationism.”
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