Copyright (c) 2013 University of Pennsylvania All rights reserved. http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman Recent documents in Boardman Lectureship in Christian Ethics en-us Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:04:34 PST 3600 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/17 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/17 Tue, 07 Nov 2006 19:25:18 PST The difference between "Pax Christi" and "Pax Romana" is discussed. Sölle suggests that Christians cannot have the peace of Christ in their hearts while the Pax Romana guarantees the continuation of the world order. The following people responded to her lecture: Fred Block, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania; Laura Lyn Inglis, Assistant Professor of Religion, Stockton State College; Joan Martin, Chaplain, Temple University; William Werpehowski, Associate Professor of Religion, Villanova University.

]]> Dorothee Sölle http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/16 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/16 Tue, 07 Nov 2006 17:16:49 PST David J. O'Brien takes up some of the problems of Chatolicism and American public life. A panel of Dr. David DeLaura, Avalon Foundation Professor and Chair of the Department of English, University of Pennsylvania, Rev. Dr. J. Bryan Hehir, Scertary, Dept. of Social Develpment nad World Peace of the Untied States Catholic Conference, and Dr. Rodger Van Allen, Professor of Religious Studies, Villanova University gave remarks after the lecture.

]]> David J. O'Brien http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/15 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/15 Tue, 24 Oct 2006 19:03:08 PDT The congressman called for a commitment to change. Drawing on memories of his close association with King, he noted that to many in his time, Martin Luther King, Jr. was a dreamer of impossible dreams. Nevertheless, King turned several "impossible dreams" into living realities. The fact that King managed to have public facilities desegregated, in the face of strong opposition, serves as a good example. From this the congressman found encouragement that, although injustice continues to plague society, if we pledge ourselves to the kind of ideals that inspired King, we will find it possible to create a more equitable order. In response to the lecture, Dr. Mary Frances Berry, the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought, recalled that, beyond racism, King opposed the Vietnam war. She urged the audience to work toward the kind of society of which he dreamed.

]]> Walter E. Fauntroy http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/14 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/14 Mon, 16 Oct 2006 20:06:12 PDT The twenty-eighth Boardman Lecture in Christian Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania comprised a series of four lectures delivered over the course of several days by John W. Bowker, who at the time of lectures was Dean of Chapel and Director of Studies at Trinity College, University of Cambridge. Bowker argues for accountability among human beings as moral agents in a world that requires our willingness to accept the challenges of such accountability and such agency.

]]> John W. Bowker http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/13 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/13 Sat, 14 Oct 2006 18:51:23 PDT Sister Mary Scullion reframes ethics as trans-religious, as the concern for justice in the world, and speaks to a diverse audience, one committed to thoughtful reflection on what constitutes "right action in the global, interfaith community we share." Responses to the lecture were given by Steven Gold, Attorney; Leona Smith, President, National Union for the Homeless Director, Homeless Project; Amata Miller, Economist and Education Coordinator for NETWORK; Rev. Paul Washington, Jr, Church of the Advocate, Philadelphia; Akila Malik, Student Director, University City Hospitality Coalition.

]]> Mary Scullion, RSM http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/12 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/12 Fri, 29 Sep 2006 17:24:45 PDT Rosemary Radford Ruether's lecture calls white Christian feminists to be mindful of their "single-issue western... critique is false and dangerous." The rich diversities of women's experience demand a diversity of issues, priorities and tactics. It is, as Professor Ruether reminds us, in the dialogue of western Christian women with "third world" Christian women, that "white western feminism becomes clearly one feminism among others, rather than...'feminism as such.'"

]]> Rosemary Radford Ruether http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/11 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/11 Fri, 29 Sep 2006 16:48:40 PDT The sudden collapse of socialism does not entail the triumph of capitalism. In fact, by its nature, capitalism is not the kind of system that should be described as triumphant. It is a system whose origin is rooted in part in the experience of human contingency, imperfection and sin. Capitalist institutions are involved in ethical ambiguities; but, by contrast, traditionalist, precapitalist leaders do not believe that ordinary men and women can live freely and responsibly without the tutelage of dictators and ruling elites. Pope John Paul's 1991 encyclical Centesimus Annus, offer greater clarity about the ethical situation of human beings engaged in business than anything yet produced by any theologian or church body. Novak hopes to persuade his audience that there is something in the encyclical "for all men of good will." Novak discusses the encyclical, which supplies the architecture for a practical business ethic in the modern society.

]]> Michael Novak http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/10 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/10 Mon, 18 Sep 2006 18:25:19 PDT Stephen L. Carter, author of The Culture of Disbelief: How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religious Devotion, speaks about some of the same topics covered in his book: whether American leaders and intellectuals take religion seriously, and whether these same leaders take a stand on the importance of religion and how religion functions in the lives of the many Americans who are believers. His approach in this lecture is that of religious affiliation and belief in the Supreme Court confirmation process.

]]> Stephen L. Carter http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/9 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/9 Sun, 17 Sep 2006 16:48:12 PDT William May argues for a middle course regarding euthanasia and assisted suicide, rejecting absolutist positions and makes the point that neither life at any cost nor killing to cure a disease serves society or individuals very well. Elsa Ramsden, David Hufford, Neville Strumpf, Albert Stunkard, all participate in a panel discussion after the formal lecture.

]]> William F. May http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/8 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/8 Tue, 22 Aug 2006 11:05:40 PDT Archbishop Runcie's presentation represents well his interest in and experience of the complex intersection between religion and world events. Both his consideration of the difficult history of the Christian Church, and his call to greater understanding of other religions reflect his long work with and commitment to these issues. His refusal to simplify the problems tied to religion is characteristic both of his efforts to find real solutions to world problems and his intellectual rigor.

]]> Robert A. K. Runcie Rt. Revd. Lord, Retired Archbishop of Canterbury http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/7 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/7 Tue, 08 Aug 2006 16:32:44 PDT John Staudenmaier, S.J. is the author of Technology's Story Tellers: Reweaving the Human Fabric (MIT Press 1985) and editor of the half-century old journal Technology and Culture, the International Quarterly of the Society for the History of Technology. His lecture, which is divided into two parts, begins with a brief interrogation of the technology of electric lighting systems, which he views as both the expression and the "technological fulfillment" of modern western society's "deep seated longing to escape" the uncertainties of night. The second part of his lecture, Staudenmaier turns to the 16th century manual of mystical power, the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, as a resource for reviving this lost capacity of listening to the "holy dark."

]]> John M. Staudenmaier S.J. http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/6 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/6 Thu, 16 Feb 2006 18:14:49 PST The Boardman Lecture, in cooperation with the Center For Theology and The Natural Sciences and The John Templeton Foundation, funded a conference on Creation and Theory of Evolution. The conference explored religion and science by offering two different approaches to the question of human origins. Geneticist Francisco Ayala explains the present state of our understanding of evolution and argues that such human phenomena as morality and religion are by-products of the evolutionary process that cannot be explained by natural selection. His lecture appears as "The Evolutionary Transcendence of Humankind." Dr. Pannenberg stressed that the God of religious faith must be the Creator of the same nature that is studied by scientists. He explores aspects of the Genesis creation story that are compatible with the theory of evolution. His lecture is "Human Life: Creation Versus Evolution?"

]]> Francisco J. Ayala et al. http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/5 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/5 Thu, 12 Jan 2006 18:29:54 PST Elizabeth Johnson probes the theological implications of God symbolism, as well as the effect that symbolism has on conceptions of women's dignity and humanity. In the Boardman lecture, she argues that "how a group names its God has critical consequences, for the symbol of the divine organizes every other aspect of a religious system." Professor Johnson engages the work of other Christian and Jewish scholars who have addressed this issue to illustrate how far we have come, and perhaps, how far we still have to go. She is careful to acknowledge the dangers of naming God "She." One such danger is the possibility of losing the Christian heritage of the Trinity, which is based on the image of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all of whom have been imagined as male. However, Professor Johnson argues that the Trinity is not a "literal formula," and that the gendered terms were never intended to be the only permissible images of God for Christians. She concluded that only when the full mystery of the living God who is so complex and powerful as to be beyond gender is understood, can we move past the "idolatrous fixation on one image of God" that has dominated Christian thinking.

]]> Elizabeth Johnson http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/4 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/4 Tue, 10 Jan 2006 19:44:43 PST Harvey Cox examines ways in which the categories of religious and moral reflection be brought to bear in political life in a pluralistic democracy in such a way that an American polity can be restored to democratic vigor.

]]> Harvey Cox http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/3 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/3 Thu, 15 Dec 2005 18:11:10 PST Dr. Lipner’s comparative discussion of Christian and Hindu thought draws upon his own scholarly explorations of these traditions, while at the same time considering the nature of cross-cultural dialogue. How do religious ideas resonate within their own contexts? Which aspects of these concepts are most likely to invite associations in a new milieu? Responding to such questions, Lipner advocates a focus on “love,” agape and bakhti in Christian and Hindu traditions. His analysis carefully enters each tradition before considering shared ground.

]]> Julius Lipner http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/2 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/2 Wed, 07 Dec 2005 18:42:14 PST Professor Volf counters the claim that religion fosters violence and that the “resurgence of religiously legitimized violence” is a direct consequence of a “contemporary resurgence of religion.” Limiting himself to a case-study of Christianity, he argues that the cure to social violence “is not less religion, but, in a carefully qualified sense, more religion.” Professor Volf identifies and criticizes a number of influential arguments found in the work of several authors, including Mark Juergensmeyer, Maurice Bloch, Regina Schwartz and Jacques Derrida, which he believes erroneously link Christianity and violence. These arguments are organized around four general themes: religion, monotheism, creation, and new creation. At the heart of his thesis lies the distinction between ‘thin’ and thick’ religion. According to Professor Volf, ‘thick’ religion entails a stronger, more conscious commitment to a faith rooted in a concrete tradition, while ‘thin’ religion entails nothing more than a vague sense of religiosity “whose content is shaped by factors other than faith (such as national or economical interests).” Throughout the lecture, Professor Volf contends that although ‘thin’ Christian faith may potentially lead to violence, ‘thick’ Christian faith actually serves to create and sustain a culture of peace. In the conclusion of his Lecture, he offers some reflections on “why misconceptions about the violent character of Christian faith abound” in contemporary society.

]]> Miroslav Volf http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/1 http://repository.upenn.edu/boardman/1 Thu, 10 Nov 2005 10:17:08 PST Prof. Dyson explores the ambiguous relationship between "Religion and Terrors", arguing that religion has resources for helping us address and overcome various forms of terror, but also the potential for creating or contributing to conditions of terror. He reflects at length on the conditions of terror both within the United States and abroad. Prof. Dyson also discusses the events of September 11th. However, he maintains that "we have made a critical conceptual error by making 9/11 the referent for other forms of terror". It is true, he argued, that on 9/11 many Americans understood for the first time what it means to be subject to arbitrary acts of violence. But, he insists, we must come to recognize that this experience of terror has been and continues to be the "condition under which most people live every day of their lives". The majority of Prof. Dyson's lecture deals with the ways in which certain groups within our society—-such as racial minorities, women, gays and lesbians—-have been continually subject to acts of terror and how certain religious beliefs, practices and institutions within America have been complicit in, and sometimes responsible for, these acts. He insists that although it is important to reflect on the events of 9/11, we must also face up to the long history of other forms of terror within America. Unlike 9/11, these forms of terror have become so institutionalized and so "routinized" within American society that they are often rendered invisible. By demonstrating how patterns of mobility, the distribution of power, and the use of punishment have created conditions of terror within the United States, Prof. Dyson offered us a more complex definition of 'terror'.

]]> Michael Eric Dyson