***NEWS RELEASE***
For Immediate Release
June 21, 2017
CONTACT:
Beth Harrison, Hamilton Strategies, 610.584.1096, ext. 104, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, or Deborah Hamilton, 215.815.7716 or 610.584.1096, ext. 102
‘Philosophy of Science’ Panel Features Trio of Critical Thinkers at Southern Evangelical Seminary Conference This Fall
Panelists Will Explore Where Faith, Science and Philosophy Intersect; Early Bird Deadline for Charlotte Event is Aug. 1
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Many in today’s culture consider science to be synonymous with “rational,” while faith can be “irrational.” And at the same time, many scientists think philosophy is dead. Some even think science is inherently atheistic. But is this the case?
What are the distinctions between philosophy and science? How do philosophical assumptions inform one’s view of science? Is there a philosophy of science? And are these areas of study out of bounds for Christians?
These very questions will be explored during a special panel discussion with scholars J.T. Bridges, J.P. Moreland and Jay Richards titled “The Relationship Between Science, Philosophy and Christianity” at the 24th annual National Conference on Christian Apologetics from Southern Evangelical Seminary (SES, www.ses.edu), which for 25 years has been educating Christians about how to best defend their beliefs.
One of the largest events of its kind, the timely theme for the 2017 conference is “Pursuing a Faith That Thinks,” and the two-day event will delve into headline-making topics on Oct. 13-14 at Calvary Church in Charlotte, N.C. The panel is set for 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 14.
“Many may ask why a seminary is interested in science, but here at SES we delight in offering our students the expertise our faculty members and conference speakers hold in this interesting realm,” said SES President and Evangelical leader Dr. Richard Land. “For example, what is the difference between science and scientism? Should Christians even be concerned with philosophy and science? Year after year, the annual National Conference of Christian Apologetics gives critically thinking Christians the chance to converse on an intellectual level with other believers and then take that exciting, newfound knowledge and apply it to everyday life.”
For the upcoming panel, three scholars will come together to start this intellectual conversation at the conference:
- J. Thomas Bridges has a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University, an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a master’s in philosophy from Baylor University and a Ph.D. from SES in philosophy of religion. His academic interests include intelligent design, the problem of evil and the philosophical theology of Thomas Aquinas. Bridges teaches graduate-level philosophy classes, including epistemology, metaphysics, symbolic logic, and the history of modern and contemporary philosophy. He is the Academic Dean of SES.
- J.P. Moreland is a distinguished professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University in La Mirada, Calif., where he has taught for 25 years. He has authored, edited or contributed papers to 95 books, including “Does God Exist?” “Universals,” “Consciousness and the Existence of God” and the “Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology.” He has published more than 85 articles in journals such as Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, American Philosophical Quarterly, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, MetaPhilosophy, Philosophia Christi, Religious Studies, and Faith and Philosophy. He has also published 120 articles in magazines and newspapers.
- Jay W. Richards, Ph.D., is the executive editor of The Stream. He is an assistant research professor in the School of Business and Economics at The Catholic University of America and a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute. Richards has authored many books, including the New York Times bestsellers “Infiltrated” (2013) and “Indivisible” (2012), co-authored with James Robison. He is also the author of “Money, Greed and God,” winner of a 2010 Templeton Enterprise Award, and co-author of “The Privileged Planet” with astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez. His most recent book, co-authored with Jonathan Witt, is “The Hobbit Party: The Vision of Freedom that J.R.R. Tolkien Got and the West Forgot.” Richards has a Ph.D., with honors, in philosophy and theology from Princeton Theological Seminary.
Besides these three panelists, the conference will also welcome the nation’s top apologists, who will give the thousands in attendance new presentations on studies, research, history and insight into apologetics and other intellectual, scientific and religious fields. In addition to Land and SES co-founder Norman Geisler, confirmed speakers include Michael Brown, Gary Habermas, Ken Ham, Richard Howe, Greg Koukl, Hugh Ross, Frank Turek and J. Warner Wallace, along with many others.
For more information on SES, visit its web site at www.ses.edu or its Facebook page, follow the SES Twitter feed, @sesapologetics, or call (800) 77-TRUTH.
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For information on SES or to set up an interview, contact Beth Harrison, 610-584-1096, ext. 104, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, or Deborah Hamilton, 215-815-7716 or 610-584-1096, ext. 102.
