Each year, a new question is selected and is addressed on campus throughout that academic year in a variety of settings. Past themes have included: “What is a life of significance?” “Who is God?” and “What is Truth?” Past presenters have included theologian Miroslav Volf and writer Kathleen Norris.
Marty will speak on “Christians in a World of Too Many Others: Pluralism as Challenge & Opportunity,” at 7:30 p.m. September 12 in Anderson Chapel. He has contributed extensively to The Christian Century and Context, in which he writes about the meeting of religion and culture. He also is the author of many books, including The One and the Many: America’s Search for the Common Good and Places Along the Way. Marty is the emeritus professor of the history of modern Christianity at the University of Chicago Divinity School and an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Carmen Acevedo Butcher will speak on “Life Lessons from Wise Women: Hildegard of Bingen, Catherine of Siena, and Clare of Assisi” at 7:30 p.m. October 4 in Anderson Chapel. She is an associate professor of medieval and renaissance literature at Shorter College in Rome, Georgia. She has written numerous books on medieval Christians, and her book Incandescence is a 365-day devotional journey with women mystics. In 2006, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education named Butcher the 2006 Georgia Professor of the Year. The NPU Department of History is co-sponsoring the event.
Kurt Senske will speak on “Faith-Based Values: Doing Well by Doing Good” at 7:30 p.m. October 25 in Anderson Chapel. He is currently chief executive officer of Lutheran Social Services. Senske has recently authored the book Personal Values: God’s Game Plan for Life, and previously published Executive Values: A Christian Approach to Organizational Leadership. The School of Business and Non-Profit Management is co-sponsoring the event.
Eddie Glaude will address “Faith and the Challenge of Racism” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008, in the Anderson Chapel. He is an associate professor of religion and African-American studies at Princeton University and a frequent contributor to The Tavis Smiley Show. Glaude’s book Exodus!: Religion, Race, and Nation in Early 19th Century Black America won the Scarborough Book Prize for outstanding scholarly study of black cultural life. His newest book is In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America. The North Park Writing Center is co-sponsoring the evening.
Karen Lebacqz will cover “Ethical Decisions: The Faith Factor” at 7:30 p.m. April 9, 2008, in Anderson Chapel. A former president of the Society of Christian Ethics, Lebacqz has written extensively on theories of justice, professional ethics, and bioethics, including Justice in an Unjust World and Ethics and Spiritual Care. She previously was professor of theological ethics at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. North Park Theological Seminary is co-sponsoring the evening.
