ELCA Campus Ministry at Grand Forks Hosts Jesus Seminar

Grand Forks, North Dakota Friday & Saturday April 13-14, 2012

Sex, Death, and Evolution Ethics in the Second Axial Age

Jack A. Hill & Joe Bessler

LECTURE

Why the Classical Christian Tradition Couldn't Deal with Sex and Death, much less Evolution
In order for us to begin to understand the complex realities of sex, death, evolution and many other issues in our global society, we need to understand that the way Christians came to think about Reality in the ancient world kept them-and still tries to keep us-from facing these issues honestly. (Joe Bessler)

Friday, 7:30–9 P.M.

WORKSHOPS

Ethics in the Digital Age: Are There any Moral Anchors?
How can we get some commonsense moral handles on the dividing issues of our day-marriage equality, euthanasia and evolution? The key is to appreciate both the possibilities and pitfalls within our own moral heritages, in the light of Jesus' ethic. (Jack Hill)
Probing our Moral Experience/Brainstorming on Gospel Moral Insights
In small groups, participants discuss some of their own moral struggles, both in childhood and today; and explore how the historical Jesus could be an ethical resource for reflecting on these struggles. Then, Jack and Joe provide input on these explorations. (Jack Hill & Joe Bessler)

Saturday, 9:30 A.M.–Noon

An Ethics for Tomorrow
Drawing on a wide range of experiences in Africa, the Caribbean and the South Seas, Hill argues for a pragmatic, global ethics which could transform moral life today. Citing stories of moral heroes at home and abroad, he stresses a community ethics of forgiveness, sharing the wealth and sustaining the earth. (Jack Hill)
How Then Should We Live?
An interactive dialogue with Joe and Jack, in which the two presenters will engage each other and the audience in a discussion of the practical ethical and theological issues that have surfaced in the seminar. (Joe Bessler & Jack Hill)

Saturday, 1:30–4 P.M.

FACULTY

Jack A. Hill (Ph.D., Vanderbilt University) is Professor of Religion at the AddRan College of Liberal Arts, Texas Christian University. He is a specialist in social ethics and the author of Ethics in the Global Village (2008); Seeds of Transformation (1998) and I-Sight: The World of Rastafari (1995)
Joe Bessler (Ph.D., University of Chicago) is the Robert Travis Peake Associate Professor of Theology at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, OK. He is the author with law-school dean Martin Belsky of Law and Theology (2005) and is presently at work on a book for Polebridge Press, Scandalous Jesus: A Political Theology.
ALL EVENTS AT

University of North Dakota
Friday night: River Valley Room, Memorial Union
Saturday: Christus Rex Lutheran Campus Ministry Center
Grand Forks, North Dakota 58202