FALL 2013
The Center for Faith and Inquiry is dedicated to promoting first order scholarship, reflection, creativity, and conversation, drawing from Christian intellectual and spiritual traditions, the various academic disciplines, and the wisdom found in societies and cultures at large. The insights and ideas derived from our work aim to serve Gordon College, the Body of Christ, and the common good.
Cover Photo May 2013 in Berlin, Germany: JAF alumni learn about the role of research academies at Gendarmenmarkt square
From the Director This past year has been a rich and memorable one in the life of the Center, starting with the name itself. We now are called the Center for Faith and Inquiry and our new e-mail address is cfi@gordon.edu. The changed name reflects a broader re-envisioning of the Center: a new logo and website, restructured programs, a promotional video and the first annual dinner with our topnotch Advisory Council and faculty Steering Board. I am thankful to our staff members Ryan Groff and Debbie Drost for their hard work this past year. 2012-13 was an exciting year. We hosted the Conference on Faith & History and stimulating FSU lectures by Rusty Reno, Miroslav Volf and Leila Ahmed, among others. The Spring Symposium gathered students to ponder “What is Beauty?” and Center-supported faculty projects considered topics ranging from immigration reform to the moral case for open-source software. A May study trip took several alumni of the Jerusalem & Athens Forum (JAF) honors program to sites of the Protestant Reformation in the former East Germany. Finally, the results of a past conference have recently been published as a book, Imago Dei: Human Dignity in Ecumenical Perspective. The 2013-14 academic year promises to be a rewarding one too. We welcomed the tenth cohort to the JAF program and will mark this anniversary at Homecoming and at a reunion this spring. The FSU lecture series features a promising line-up and launches two annual, named lectures: the Walter and Darlene Hansen Lecture and the Thomas T. Howard Lecture. Our “big event” will be a major conference on November 14-16, “Protestantism? Reflections in Advance of the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, 1517-2017.” We invite you to attend the conference, from which we hope to derive an edited book in time for the actual Reformation centenary in 2017. (I knew I had been thinking about this date too much when I recently dated a check “2017”!) We cherish the environment of Gordon College for fostering our work. We thank you for your encouragement, prayers, and support.
Tal Howard Director and Professor of History
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JERUSALEM AND ATHENS FORUM The Jerusalem and Athens Forum (JAF), an interdisciplinary honors program at Gordon College Through a great books course in the history of Christian thought and literature and a variety of program components, JAF strives to help students reflect on the relationship between faith and intellect, deepen their own sense of vocation, and awaken their capacities for intellectual and moral leadership.
“JAF was one of the most meaningful and important experiences of my undergraduate career. I read books I would not have otherwise read, and entered discussions with people I would not have otherwise met. It was a truly meaningful community of students and professors.” —Elizabeth (Libby) Baker ’12 JAF alumna ’09-’10 Elizabeth Baker is pursuing a Ph.D. in European history at the University of Notre Dame, where she is a Presidential Fellow, and is a member of the sixth cohort of the Lilly Graduate Fellows Program.
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Highlights JAF Outings Students began the year with a retreat to Adelynrood Retreat and Conference Center, visited the Shaker Village in Canterbury, NH, and worshiped at St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Parish. Students also saw a new production of Kafka’s Metamorphosis and visited Hellenic College, the only Eastern Orthodox liberal arts college in America. Mike Tishel, JAF alumnus (‘06- ‘07) and assistant director of the Office of Vocation and Ministry at Hellenic, gave students a brief introduction to Orthodox worship before welcoming the group to a Saturday Vespers service.
Ninth Annual JAF Debate In April, JAF students participated in the ninth annual JAF debate. They debated the resolution: “The death penalty should be abolished.” The audience voted a win for the pro-team.
Texts The ninth cohort of the Jerusalem and Athens Forum read several books recently integrated into the program, including Cicero’s On the Good Life and Miroslav Volf’s Exclusion and Embrace, and revisited old favorites like Aristotle’s Ethics, and selections from Dante’s Divine Comedy, Josef Pieper’s Leisure, the Basis of Culture, and Flannery O’Connor’s The Complete Works.
Fall Events Annual Adelynrood Retreat
What Are the Liberal Arts For?
September 6–7
September 28
JAF students, staff and faculty visited Adelynrood Retreat and Conference Center in Byfield, MA and historic Newburyport as part of the annual retreat on September 6-7.
As part of a year-long celebration of JAF’s tenth anniversary, program alumni participated in a discussion during Homecoming on Saturday, September 28. A reunion banquet will be held this coming spring.
Peter Berger September 12 The renowned sociologist was on campus for two afternoon discussions. He was interviewed by fellow Austrian-American Gregor Thuswaldner, associate professor of German and Linguistics and a fellow in the Center for Faith and Inquiry.
Faculty-Student Discussions September 24 JAF hosted an open faculty-student discussion with Stephen L. S. Smith and Bruce G. Webb, authors of the new book Economic Growth: Unleashing the Potential of Human Flourishing (AEI, 2013).
Photo Discussions with Prof. Dr. Waschke and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang-Fluegel in Halle, Germany
Photo Luther’s Augustinian cell, Erfurt, Germany
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FAITH SEEKING UNDERSTANDING An Ongoing Lecture Series at Gordon College Fides quarens intellectum, faith seeking understanding, is a venerable phrase in the Christian intellectual tradition associated especially with Augustine of Hippo (354–430) and Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109). It was chosen as our lecture series title because it suggests our view at Gordon College that faith should not be a matter of self-satisfied piety and isolation from the life of culture and intellect. Rather, we should be engaged in the great issues, ideas and debates of our day. The speakers we invite each year seek to nurture both faith and understanding and explore the relationship between the two.
New Named Lectures Beginning in 2013-14
Beginning in 2014-15
The Walter and Darlene Hansen Lecture
The Malcolm Reid Lecture
The Thomas T. Howard Lecture
The John Mason Lecture
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Past Speakers 2012-13 MICHAEL GERSON
RUSSELL R. RENO
PATRICK SMITH
September 13–14, 2012
October 25, 2012
February 21, 2013
Opinion writer and nationally syndicated columnist, Washington Post; former speechwriter for President George W. Bush
Editor, First Things
Assistant Professor of Theology and Philosophy, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
“Piety and the Life of the Mind”
“Whose Responsibility is Opportunity?”
DAVID TAYLOR September 22, 2012 Pastor, artist and author “For the Beauty of the Church”
CARLOS M. N. EIRE
MASSIMO FAGGIOLI November 29, 2012
MIROSLAV VOLF
Assistant Professor, University of St. Thomas
April 4–5, 2013
“Vatican II: Catholicism Then and Now”
Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic Theology, Yale Divinity School; Founding Director, Yale Center for Faith & Culture
JENNIFER BRYSON
“Religious Violence: A Theological Perspective”
October 4, 2012
February 14, 2013
Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies, Yale University
Director, Islam & Civil Society Project, The Witherspoon Institute, Princeton University
“Did Miracles Ever Cease? The Reformation and the Supernatural”
“Valuing Life at the End of Life”
“Religious Freedom after the Arab Spring”
LEILA AHMED May 2, 2013 Victor S. Thomas Professor of Divinity, Harvard University “Women and Islam Today”
Upcoming Speakers 2013-14 DAVID SWARTZ
RABBI JAMES RUDIN
RUTH GROENHOUT
October 3, 2013
December 6, 2013
February 27, 2014
Asbury College
Saint Leo University and American Jewish Council
Professor of Philosophy, Calvin College
The Annual Franz Lecture “The Evangelical Left: Oxymoron or Opportunity?”
MATTHEW MILLINER
“American Christianity Today: A Jewish Perspective”
ANTHONY ESOLEN February 10, 2014
October 28, 2013
Professor of Renaissance English Literature and the Development of Western Civilization, Providence College
Wheaton College The Walter and Darlene Hansen Lecture “Visual Heresy: Imaging the Father in the History of Art”
“Life Under Compulsion: Killing the Liberal Arts”
Photo The first annual Herrmann Lectures
“Care, Suffering, and Justice: American Medicine in the 21st Century”
MARY ANN GLENDON March 20, 2014 Learned Hand Professor of Law, Harvard University Law School; Former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Thomas T. Howard Lecture “Politics as a Vocation?”
Photo JAF students/alumni join Presidential Fellows for a discussion with theologian Miroslav Volf
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Photo Luther at the Diet of Worms, Anton Alexander von Werner, 1877
RESPECTFUL CONVERSATIONS Ongoing conversations between the past and present, differing views, and among academic disciplines “Respectful Conversations” was a favorite phrase of the founding director of the CFI, Harold Heie, as he felt the work of a university or college should be thought of as an ongoing civil conversation among those with different points of view, between the past and the present, and among different academic disciplines. These activities of the CFI help sustain this vision; they help “keep the conversation going,” as it were, here at Gordon College.
“CFI’s annual Spring Symposium is an important part of my spring courses. While it provides an important opportunity for students to showcase their work before peers and faculty, the event also situates their learning within a broader, campus-wide conversation about an important topic.” —Jennifer Hevelone-Harper, Ph.D. Professor of History at Gordon College
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Conversations Spring Symposium The Gordon College Spring Symposium has become an annual tradition. One day in the spring semester, all classes are canceled, and students, faculty, and staff engage in learning from one another around a particular theme. The theme for Symposium 2013 was “What is Beauty?” and the keynote given by Tom Howard, author and emeritus professor of English at St. John’s College, was titled “Dove Descending: Reflections on T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets.”
CFI Fellows Program The CFI Fellows Program helps support the scholarly work of Gordon College faculty—and, occasionally, kindred spirits at other institutions— whose work strongly resonates with the mission of the Center for Faith and Inquiry. Three fellowships were awarded for the 2013-14 year: “A New Approach to Theistic
Evolution: Determinate Outcomes of Random Processes,” a joint project of Brian Glenney (philosophy), Craig Story (biology), and Mike Veatch (mathematics); “American Evangelicalism and Immigration Reform,” Ruth Melkonian-Hoover (political science); and “The Moral Case For Open-Source Software,” Karl-Dieter Crisman (mathematics).
American Evangelicalism: Present Conditions, Future Possibilites Harold Heie, founding director and senior fellow of the Center, hosts this new conversation at www. respectfulconversation.net. The purpose of this conversation is to provide a welcoming space for those who disagree about the present conditions and future possibilities for “Evangelicalism,” to express their views, and to model
respectful conversation about their disagreements. Contributors include Randall Balmer, Amy Black, Peter Enns, Stanton Jones, Richard Mouw, Soong-Chan Rah, John Wilson, and Amos Yong, among others.
Herrmann Lectures The Center for Faith and Inquiry at Gordon College has partnered with the John Templeton Foundation to honor the pioneering work of Dr. Robert Herrmann, who addressed, throughout his distinguished career, the “Big Questions” constellated around the theme of science and religion. This year’s speaker will be Owen Gingerich, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and of the History of Science at Harvard University and a senior astronomer emeritus at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. The lectures will be given on October 8-10, 2013 and will consider the influence of Copernicus, Dawin, and Hoyle.
Conferences Protestantism? Reflections in Advance of the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, 1517–2017 November 14-16, 2013 A major conference sponsored by the Center for Faith and Inquiry at Gordon College in partnership with the University of Notre Dame, the Boston Theological Institute and Refo500. This project is funded by a grant from the Religion and Innovation in Human Affairs program of The Historical Society.
Imago Dei: Human Dignity in Ecumenical Perspective Originally a one-day ecumenical conference at Gordon, this is now an edited volume by Tal Howard with John Behr, Russell Hittinger, and C. Ben Mitchell, and an afterword by Gilbert Meilaender (Catholic University Press, June 2013). Learn more at cuapress.cua.edu
Register and learn more at www.gordon.edu/ protestantism CENTER FOR FAITH AND INQUIRY | 7
Publications Publications supported by CFI in recent years Mark A. Noll and
Thomas Albert
James Turner, edited
Howard: God and the
with Robert Joustra:
by Thomas Albert
Atlantic: America,
God and Global
Howard: The Future
Europe, and the
Order: The Power of
of Christian Learning:
Religious Divide.
Religion in American
An Evangelical and
(Oxford, 2011). Since
Foreign Policy
Catholic Dialogue
the 18th-century
(Baylor University
(Brazos, 2008).
Enlightenment, the
Press, 2010). Even
Evangelicals and
United States and
Jonathan Chaplin
though America
Roman Catholics have been responsible
Western Europe’s paths to modernity
was founded upon a belief that its
for the establishment of many colleges
have diverged sharply with respect
mission was providentially ordained,
and universities in America, but they
to religion. In short, Americans have
its foreign policy decisions have failed
have historically taken markedly
maintained much friendlier ties with
to recognize the growing significance
different approaches to education
traditional forms of religion than their
of religious faith as a global concern.
and viewed one another’s efforts with
European counterparts. What explains
With an eye on the turbulent century
some suspicion. Recent years, however,
this transatlantic religious divide?
ahead, God and Global Order implores
have seen the development of a more cooperative tone. In this volume, Mark Noll and James Turner offer candid
Winner of the 2012 Christianity Today Book Award for History
reassessments of the strengths and
Thomas Albert
weaknesses of each tradition.
Howard: Imago
Dan Russ: Flesh-
Dei: Human Dignity
and-Blood Jesus:
in Ecumenical
Learning to Be Fully
Perspective (Catholic
Human from the Son
University Press,
of Man, 2nd edition
2013) serves as
(Wipf & Stock,
an indispensable resource for those
2013). Christians usually do not find
wishing to deepen their grasp of the
it difficult to see
theological bases for Christian views
Jesus as God. But many are lacking in
of human dignity, as well as for those
their understanding of Jesus as human,
who believe that Christ’s words “that
resulting in a stunted view of what it
they be one” (John 17:21) remain a
means for us to be human. But a well-
theological imperative today. The
developed understanding of Jesus’s
combination of ethical inquiry and
humanity can show us the essential
ecumenical collaboration makes this
differences between being human
timely book a unique and compelling
and being sinners. In Flesh-and-Blood
contribution to present-day Christian
Jesus, Dan Russ helps readers get to
thought.
know Jesus Christ more fully through reflecting on his humanity.
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Contributors: John Behr, Russell Hittinger, C. Ben Mitchell Originally a one-day conference at Gordon College in April 2010
policy makers to recognize the power of faith to inform and enhance U.S. foreign policy. The contributors warn that ignoring the far-reaching role of faiths (those both religious and secular) and their influence upon international agendas could carry disastrous consequences both for the U.S. and for the larger global order. Chapters originally given as part of a conference at Gordon College in September 2005
People DIRECTOR
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Thomas Albert Howard, Ph.D.
Kenneth G. Elzinga, Ph.D.
Mark A. Noll, Ph.D.
Director and Professor of History
Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics University of Virginia
Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History University of Notre Dame, IN
Christian Smith, Ph.D.
Richard and Carolyn Lippmann
William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology, Director of the Center for the Study of Religion, University of Notre Dame, IN
Wayland, MA
STAFF M. Ryan Groff, M.A. Administrative Director Debbie Drost Program Manager
FACULTY STEERING BOARD Stan Gaede, Ph.D. Scholar-in-Residence and President of the Christian College Consortium Bruce Herman, M.F.A. Lothlórien Distinguished Chair of Fine Art Jennifer Hevelone-Harper, Ph.D. Professor of History Ruth Melkonian-Hoover, Ph.D. Department Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science Bruce Webb, Ph.D. Emeritus Professor of Economics and Business Marvin R. Wilson, Ph.D. Ockenga Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies
William R. Cross Vice President, Eaton Vance Management, Boston, MA
Tom and Lyn Shields Beverly Farms, MA Janet H. Wills President and CEO, Wills Financial Group Eric Convey Vice President, O’Neill and Associates Former Managing Editor, Boston Business Journal Alan Jacobs, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor of the Humanities Baylor University, TX Malcolm Reid, Ph.D. Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Gordon College; Director of Outreach and Assistant Rector at Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church, Danvers, MA Tom Howard, Ph.D. Emeritus Professor, St. John’s Seminary Boston, MA
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Photo Anna Taylor, art major and JAF alumna (‘08-’09), co-created this piece for the Ken Olsen Science Center at Gordon College,
Gordon College is partnering with the John Templeton Foundation to honor the pioneering work of Dr. Robert Herrmann, who, throughout his distinguished career, addressed the “Big Questions” surrounding science and religion. Hosted by the Center for Faith and Inquiry and supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
Owen Gingerich
Denis Alexander
Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and History of Science at Harvard University, and senior astronomer emeritus at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion at St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge, and member of the International Society for Science and Religion
October 8-10, 2013
2014