Christian Faculty and Staff Fellowship meets February 20

Some thoughts: “Respect for the dignity of others includes treating them as rational creatures capable of being persuaded by rational argument, even in the face of frequent evidence to the contrary.”

― Richard John Neuhaus, American Babylon: Notes of a Christian Exile 

Come to the Christian Faculty Network lunch meeting on Wednesday, February 20 at 11:45 AM (done by 12:45 PM). We meet at the Baptist Campus Ministries building (University Boulevard and 4th Avenue). 

Plan on the best meal deal in town: You can get lunch there for $1 thanks to the generosity of local churches. Don't forget to thank the church workers for what they do for the students. 

We had an engaging discussion on Chapter 4. Clayton Cullaton will share about his ministry work with the students on 2/20. I got a sneak peek, and it's an exciting look at how InterVarsity will impact this campus. 

 Our book for this term: Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul by J.P. Moreland (NavPress, 2012). The title is linked to Amazon. Make sure to get the 2012 version.

  • It's an updated version of the book from 1997. If you have the 1997 edition, you'll find Chapters 7-9 are different. The other chapters have few changes. It's OK to use your older copy, however, because there is some good material in those older chapters. We won't include those chapters in the final exam!
  • We will have a few spare books for those unable to get their own copy.
  • Moreland makes the case for the intellectual appeal and rigor of Christianity. It has a cultural, worldview, and apologetics outlook and is relevant to us who want to be salt and light in the groves of academe. The book can be a basis for other readings we would do. 

Click here to get outlines of the book chapters. 

I came across an interesting article about the Christian intellectual tradition. Some key quotations:

  • "…a necessary component of faith is reason."
  • "…the church fathers knew that faith cannot be self-authenticating, and that to believe in something false or ignoble is not admirable, but foolish."
  • "…one of the reasons why faith has been divorced from reason is that by laying stress on the attitude of the believer rather than on the truth of the thing believed, it is easier for people to negotiate our diverse and heterogeneous society."
  • "…by acquiescing in a subjective notion of faith, religious people unwittingly empty faith of its cognitive character." 

Today, these things came pass:

  • 1864 Charles Cardwell McCabe, a Methodist chaplain, sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic for President Abraham Lincoln.
  • 1919 Lucy Peabody and Helen Montgomery brought together women for a day of prayer for missions, which has become a World Day of Prayer.

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