'Going Global' Conference Features International Speakers and Interfaith Topics

by Devany Severin, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805

The Center for Jewish Studies and the Latin American studies program at Baylor University will co-sponsor an international conference called "Going Global: Interfaith Journeys on the Road to Liberation in the 21st Century," featuring keynote speakers from around the world on Oct. 11-13.

The conference on Baylor's campus and at the Three Mountain Retreat in Clifton is designed to bring together people who seek liberation and justice for all individuals. Attendees are asked to write a reflective essay in which they address the question of liberation in various countries and specific needs for progress. During the conference the essays will be shared and followed by discussion. Leaders of the conference hope to combine insights from different disciplines, traditions and cultures. Topics of interest will include:
?Poverty, Oppression and the Struggle for Liberation
?Ecology and Eco-responsibility: The Global Challenge
?Perspectives from Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East
?Prospects of an Emerging Global Spirituality
?Liberation Theology and Practice in the 21st Century
?Judaism, Christianity, Islam, world religions and the Search for New Interfaith Perspectives
The conference also will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the publication of Dr. Marc H. Ellis' book, Toward a Jewish Theology of Liberation, that addresses the dilemmas of the present day crisis in Israel and Palestine.

Keynote speakers will include:
?Dr. Marc H. Ellis, director of the Center for Jewish Studies at Baylor
?Dr. Lizbeth Souza-Fuertes, an associate professor in the department of Spanish and Portuguese and the director of Latin American Studies at Baylor
?Rev. Dr. Allan Boesak, an anti-Apartheid activist and prominent Christian minister in post-Apartheid South Africa
?Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruether, a world-renowned inter-faith and feminist theologian
?Dr. Irfan Omar, an Islamic scholar in the theology department at Marquette University in Wisconsin
?Dr. Jeff Halper, professor of anthropology at Ben Gurion University in Negev, Israel
?Dr. Choong-Koo Park, professor of Christian ethics at the Methodist Theological Seminary in Seoul, South Korea
The conference will begin at 8 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, with registration at the Center for Jewish Studies. The following days will include diverse lecture topics and presentations from many conference participants.