Christian Ethics Symposium Focuses On 'Trinity, Community And Self'
Four distinguished scholars will discuss "In the Image of God: Trinity, Community and Self" during the spring ethics symposium from 2 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, in the Paul W. Powell Chapel at George W. Truett Theological Seminary. The symposium is sponsored by Baylor University's Center for Christian Ethics.
The symposium features presentations by and open discussion with Dr. Stanley J. Grenz, distinguished professor of theology at Truett Seminary and Baylor University; Dr. Rebecca Konyndyk De Young, assistant professor of philosophy at Calvin College; Dr. David W. Music, professor of church music at Baylor; and The Rev. Julie Pennington-Russell, senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Waco.
The symposium is among the gatherings and study opportunities sponsored during the year by the Center for Christian Ethics. The March 25 event will focus on several questions, including if a congregations' fellowship and worship shape members in the pattern of love that preexists in the triune life and if ethical perspectives are distorted by inadequate portrayals of God.
"Many of the theological and ethical differences that divide Christian communities can be traced back to preferences for one or another member of the Trinity," said Dr. Robert B. Kruschwitz, director of the Center for Christian Ethics. "Our panelists will explore how these preferences inform our worship, character formation and witness."
One of the top evangelical theologians, scholars and authors in North America, Grenz joined Baylor and Truett Seminary in 2002. He is the author or co-author of 23 books, and the symposium will honor his recent books, The Social God and The Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei (2001) and Theology for the Community of God (2000). A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Colorado, Grenz earned his master's of divinity degree from Denver Seminary and his doctorate in theology from the University of Munich.
DeYoung earned her master's and doctorate from the University of Notre Dame and serves as assistant professor of philosophy at Calvin College. With research interests including virtue ethics and Thomas Aquinas' moral thought, she has published articles in Perspectives: A Journal of Reformed Thought and Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture. She is currently working on a book project, Aquinas's Ethics.
Music is the author of Christian Hymnody in Twentieth-Century Britain and America: An Annotated Bibliography, Instruments in Church: A Collection of Source Documents and Hymnology: A Collection of Source Readings. He has published numerous articles, compositions and arrangements, and served as the 2001-2002 president of the Baptist Church Music Conference. He earned master's and doctoral degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Pennington-Russell earned her master's of divinity degree from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. She serves as a member of the Religious Liberty Council of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs and participates in the Waco Ministerial Alliance.
For more information, contact the Center for Christian Ethics at (254) 710-3774.