News

At the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America, there is a forthcoming conference entitled The Nature of Experience: Issues in Culture, Science, and Theology, which will be held December 3-5, 2009.

For information about the Symposium, please call 202-526-3799 or contact information@johnpaulii.edu. Registration ends Friday, November 20, 2009.

Speakers include David L. Schindler, D. C. Schindler, Conor Cunningham, Michael Hanby, Nicholas Healy, amongst others.

Please click here for more details.

Posted by Eric Lee at 10:02 AM | Permalink

Two forthcoming lectures put on by the Centre of Theology and Philosophy this Autumn:

"How to Prove the Existence of God: Some Remarks on Anselm's Proslogion" by Dr Lydia Schumacher



Tuesday 24th November 4:00 pm



"Experience and Transcendence: A basic philosophical problem after Luhmann, Kierkegaard and German Early Romanticism" by Dr Johannes Hoff



Friday 11th December 4:00pm

For more information, download the event post here and please distribute.

Posted by Eric Lee at 10:51 AM | Permalink

At the "Spinoza and Bodies" conference held September 10-11 at the University of Dundee, Dr. Michael Mack and PhD candidate Anthony Paul Smith presented papers whose audio recordings may be listened to here, amongst other presenters at the conference.

Michael Mack, "Spinoza and Freud, or how to be mindful of the mind"

Anthony Paul Smith, "The Ethical Relation of Bodies: Thinking with Spinoza towards an Affective Ecology"

Posted by Eric Lee at 4:05 PM | Permalink

On the 3rd and 4th of November, Conor Cunningham will be at St. Edward's University and Baylor University, respectively, to screen the documentary "Did Darwin Kill God?" which he wrote and presented for BBC2. The Viewings will be accompanied by a Questions & Answers session afterward.

Please click on the thumbnails below to view the PDF posters for each event.

Posted by Eric Lee at 11:08 AM | Permalink

The Faraday Institute for Science & Religion and The Darwin Festival in Cambridge present:

Did Darwin Kill God? The BBC2 Documentary
Introduced by the presenter Conor Cunningham
Followed by questions and discussion

5.45pm, 7th July 2009

Full information available on the event poster here.

Posted by Eric Lee at 10:32 PM | Permalink

On the occasion of the publication of The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox or Dialectic? (by John Milbank & Slavoj Žižek; Creston Davis, ed.) comes a public debate between John Milbank and Slavoj Žižek, which took place on 18 June 2009, chaired by Giles Fraser, vicar of Putney..

Some photographs, as well as an entire audio recording in MP3 format of this event can now be found here.

Posted by Eric Lee at 1:30 PM | Permalink

Christian Social Teaching and the Politics of Money:
An International Conference on Religion and the Recession

9 and 10 July 2009
Senate Chamber
University of Nottingham

The working hypothesis of the conference is that there is there is a 'middle' position between an exclusively religious and a strictly secular perspective: faith can lead to a strong notion of the common good and a belief that human behaviour, when disciplined and directed, can start to act more charitably. There can also be secular intimations of this: the more faith-inspired practices are successful even in secular terms (more equality, more consensus, more human happiness, a better ecology), the easier it will be for secular institutions to adopt such a regulatory framework without having fully to embrace its religious basis. [More ]

Speakers: Gabriella Berloffa, Phillip Blond, Luke Bretherton, Stratford Caldecott, Peter M. Candler Jr, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, Zaki Cooper, Jon Cruddas MP, Very Revd Dr Jeffrey Cuttell, Revd Dr Andrew Davison, Donal Dorr, Shahid Ebrahim, Giuseppe Folloni, Maurice Glasman, Philip Goodchild, Revd Dr John Hughes, Rt. Revd Dr John Inge, Dr Michael Mack, Archbishop Mons. Javier Martínez, John Médaille, John Milbank, Michael Northcott, James Noyes, Simon Oliver, Adrian Pabst, Ann Pettifor, David L. Schindler, Rt. Revd Dr Peter Selby, Neil Turnbull, Norman Wirzba, Stefano Zamagni, Paul Spencer Williams [to see more information about these speakers, click here]

• More information
• List of Speakers and Participants
• Booking form
• Programme
• Conference poster

All are welcome. For further information, contact adrian.pabst@nottingham.ac.uk / james.noyes@nottingham.ac.uk

Posted by Eric Lee at 7:51 PM | Permalink

INSISTENCE OF THE THEOLOGICO-POLITICAL
How and Why Did Modern Political Philosophy and Theory Become Engaged with the Theological?

Time and place:
June 11th - 13th 2009
Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki
Finland

Today it seems that Max Weber's thesis of the 'disenchantment of the world' was too premature. Far from being in decline in the modern world, religion is experiencing a resurgence. Today the human desire for transcendence seems to be as vital as it ever was. Yet this resurgence has not only meant an increasing role of religion in public life. It has also meant a revival of the theological in political philosophy and theory. The Bible, God, Messiah, Day of Judgment, the sacred, grace, and angels have become legitimate subject matters and notions in philosophical and theoretical discourses. What is the meaning of this revival? Is it a consequence of the general resurgence of religion? Are philosophers, being not satisfied with the Enlightenment Reason, giving itself again up to the mystical?

Or are we witnessing something else — inasmuch as we know that also agnostic and sometimes even openly atheist philosophers appeal to the theological discourse? Are philosophers perhaps realizing that the theological has always been there: at the heart of modern political thought, as Carl Schmitt once claimed? Does then philosophy's turn to the theological mean philosophy's attempt to understand better late modern society and thereby itself? It is indeed claimed that in order to understand late modern society and its political deadlocks, we must address again the question about the relationship between the theological and the political. But is this claim justified? In sum: why and how did modern political philosophy and theory become engaged with the theological?

These are the questions being addressed in this conference — aiming at a better understanding of the insistence of the theological in political philosophy.

Keynote speakers

• Philip Goodchild, Professor (Religious Studies), The University of Nottingham, Great Britain, speaking on "Economies of Promise: On the Credit Crunch and the Gospel"
• Hent de Vries, Professor (The Humanities Center), Johns Hopkins University, USA, Collège international de philosophie, France

Please see this website for full details including the conference programme.

Posted by Eric Lee at 9:43 PM | Permalink

'A Secular Age': Tracing the Contours of Religion and Belief
Date: Monday 8th - Thursday 11th June 2009
Location: Mater Dei Institute of Education

The conference will explore the way in which theology and philosophy, when placed in dialogue with the social sciences, can reinvigorate public discourse. Some of the themes which will be discussed include:

• Assessment of Charles Taylor's A Secular Age;
• the relationship between religion, belief and modernity: a critical assessment;
• the role of theology and philosophy in the public square;
• the decline of the appeal to an objective moral order and the rise of the human rights culture;
• moral sources and diverse contexts today.

Plenary Speakers

Professor Ruth Abbey (University of Notre Dame, USA)

Dr. Eoin G. Cassidy (Mater Dei Institute of Education, Dublin City University, Ireland)

Professor Eamonn Conway (Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland)

Professor Michael Conway (Pontifical University of Maynooth, Ireland)

Professor Michael Cronin (Dublin City University, Ireland)

Dr. Conor Cunningham (University of Nottingham, UK)

Dr. Joseph Dunne (St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Dublin City University, Ireland)

Professor Michael Paul Gallagher (Gregorian University, Rome)

Professor Patrick Hannon (Pontifical University of Maynooth, Ireland)

Dr. Padraig Hogan (National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Ireland)

Professor Gregor McLennan (University of Bristol, UK)

Professor John Milbank (University of Nottingham, UK)

Dr. Fainche Ryan (Mater Dei Institute of Education, Dublin City University, Ireland)

Click here for more information on the speakers. Click here for more information on the conference itself.

Posted by Eric Lee at 6:59 PM | Permalink

SCM Press and The Centre of Theology and Philosophy invite you to a

Book Launch and Seminar

Monday, 16 March 2009

4 pm - 7 pm

University of Nottingham Staff Club Lounge

The Future of Love: Essays in Political Theology

John Milbank, Professor in Religion, Politics and Ethics and Director of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy, will talk about his new book.

Posted by Eric Lee at 8:06 PM | Permalink

Regent's Park College
Oxford Centre for Christianity and Culture
Darwin reconsidered: marking the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection

The following lectures will be given at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays in Regent's Park College, Pusey Street, Oxford. The lectures are open to the public. [PDF of conference poster]

PROFESSOR STEPHEN FULLER, Warwick
20 Jan.: 'Darwin's original sin: the rejection of theology's claims to knowledge.'

PROFESSOR JOHN HEDLEY BROOKE, Durham
27 Jan.: 'Darwin on nature and God.'

DR THOMAS DIXON, Queen Mary, London
3 Feb.: 'Darwin and ethics: morals from history.'

PROFESSOR CELIA DEANE-DRUMMOND, Chester
10 Feb.: 'Beyond separation or synthesis: Christ and evolution as theodrama.'

DR JUSTIN BARRETT
17 Feb.: 'From Homo erectus to Homo religiosus: cognitive evolution and religion.'

PROFESSOR JOHN LENNOX
24 Feb.: 'Darwin and secularism.'

DR CONOR CUNNINGHAM, Nottingham
3 Mar.: 'Darwin contra Darwinism: the anti-evolutionary thinking of some recent Darwinists.'

DR JOHN WEAVER, President, Baptist Union of Great Britain
10 Mar.: 'The challenge of evolutionary theory for the twenty-first century Church.'

Posted by Eric Lee at 6:59 PM | Permalink

The CENTRE of THEOLOGY and PHILOSOPHY, NOTTINGHAM
and ST STEPHEN'S HOUSE, OXFORD present

Returning to the Church

Catholicity, Ecclesiology and
the Mission of the Church of England

Rogier van der Weyden, Seven Sacraments Altarpiece. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp

Speakers include: John Milbank, Alison Milbank, Graham Ward,
Alister McGrath, Michael Northcott, Jeremy Morris, Simon Oliver

5-7 January 2009
St Stephen's House, Oxford

Contact andrew.davison@theology.ox.ac.uk
For full details see: www.ssho.ox.ac.uk/ecclesiology
Click here to download a PDF of this poster.

Posted by Eric Lee at 3:52 PM | Permalink

SATURDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2008

Scripture and Liturgy in the Theology of Benedict XVI

A conference with

Aidan Nichols OP, Michael Waldstein, Scott Hahn, Adrian Walker

This important theological conference with Dr Scott Hahn, the popular American writer and biblical scholar, which also features Dominican theologian Aidan Nichols, leading Biblical scholar Michael Waldstein, and Adrian Walker the translator of the Pope's book on Jesus Christ, will take place at the Catholic Chaplaincy of Oxford University opposite Christ Church College on Saturday 1 November 2008. It is organized by the Centre for Faith and Culture in Oxford and cosponsored by Dr Hahn's 'St Paul Center for Biblical Theology' in Steubenville, Ohio.

The purpose of the conference is to focus attention on the principles underlying the Pope's ongoing 'reform of the reform' of Catholic liturgy. The relationship between SCRIPTURE AND LITURGY underpins the Pope's teaching. The Pope reminds us that 'The privileged place for reading and listening to the Word of God is in the liturgy.' Furthermore, that liturgy is cosmic, for the love of the Trinity moves the stars. These principles are inspiring a new liturgical movement.

Further event details and a conference programme may be found here.

A conference poster may be downloaded here [PDF].

Posted by Eric Lee at 4:47 PM | Permalink

At this year's AAR in Chicago, a panel is being held on the recently-released Belief and Metaphysics volume in the Veritas series entitled "The Return of Metaphysics: A dialogue on the occasion of the publication of Belief and Metaphysics." The panel is graciously sponsored by SCM Press' Veritas Series and The Centre of Theology and Philosophy. Please click on the poster above to see the larger version which lists all the details for the event, including the list of panelists.

Posted by Eric Lee at 4:59 PM | Permalink

This is the upcoming Centre of Theology and Philosophy conference called The Grandeur of Reason: Religion, Tradition and Universalism. If you're interested in attending and/or presenting, we are now accepting reservations for the conference as well as paper abstracts for panels. All the information you need is on the conference site, which contains the full conference description, location details, booking, call-for-papers, and paper abstract submissions.

Posted by Eric Lee at 9:48 AM | Permalink

The Pope and Jesus of Nazareth
19 and 20 June 2008
The University of Nottingham, Nottingham

Supported by the British Academy

Click below for full details:

• The full Conference Poster
• A list of the Conference Speakers and Participants
• The Full Conference Programme

Posted by Eric Lee at 9:34 PM | Permalink

Society for Continental Philosophy and Theology
2008 Conference

Postmodernism, Truth, and Religious Pluralism
April 11-12
Gordon College

Click here to download the full conference programme

Posted by Eric Lee at 5:58 PM | Permalink

[Click for larger version]

Posted by Eric Lee at 2:10 PM | Permalink

[Click for larger jpg | Click for Full PDF]

traditio presents:

RADICAL
ORTHODOXY
A C O L L O Q U I U M

Tuesday 13 November
2:30 pm
Ratio Studiorum:
How the Jesuits Invented Modern Higher Education
John F Montag SJ
St. Louis University

Wednesday 14 November
2:30 pm
If Jesus is Fully Human, He Must be God
Patrick Aaron Riches
Centre of Theology and Philosophy
University of Nottingham

Thursday 15 November
2:30 pm
Nihilism, Art, Theology and the Prodigal Son,
Or, There is no Sex outside Marriage
Conor Cunningham
Centre of Theology and Philosophy
University of Nottingham

Thursday 15 November
4:00pm
Panel Discussion on Radical Orthodoxy
with
John F Montag SJ
Patrick Aaron Riches
Conor Cunningham
Peter Candler
Tony Baker
Robert Miner (chair)

Treasure Room
Armstrong Browning Library

Sponsored by:
THE OFFICE OF THE VICE PROVOST FOR RESEARCH
THE HONORS COLLEGE
THE INSTITUTE FOR FAITH AND LEARNING
WM. B. EERDMANS PUBLISHERS
SCM PRESS

Posted by Eric Lee at 3:28 AM | Permalink

The seminar program seeks to promote a strong Christian voice in the academy by addressing issues of current debate within various disciplines from the perspective of a deep Christian commitment and encouraging the production of first-order scholarship.

Academic Seminars

Congregations and Religious Diversity in Contemporary America
http://www.calvin.edu/scs/2008/warner/
R. Stephen Warner, University of Illinois at Chicago
June 23-July 18, 2008
Co-sponsored by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
Funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Communitas: A Visiting Scholars Program
http://www.calvin.edu/scs/2008/communitas/
June 23-August 1, 2008
Funded by the
Provost's Office of Calvin College

The application deadline is January 31, 2008

For further information on these and other events, please visit
http://www.calvin.edu/scs/

Seminars in Christian Scholarship
Calvin College
1855 Knollcrest Circle SE
Grand Rapids MI 49546-4402
616.526.8558
616.526.6682 fax

Posted by Eric Lee at 2:51 AM | Permalink

SCPT: The Society for Continental Philosophy and Theology

CALL FOR PAPERS
SCPT's Fourth Biennial Conference
Postmodernism, Truth, and Religious Pluralism

April 11-12, 2008
Gordon College (Wenham, MA)

Keynote Speakers:
Roger Haight (Union Theological Seminary)
Richard Kearney (Boston College)

With the so-called "return of religion," it is almost impossible not to address the issue of religious pluralism, which acutely raises the question of truth. What kind of positive sense of religious truth is possible in a postmodern era? What is religious truth--is it representational, propositional, orthopractical, symbolic, aletheiological, or something else altogether? How does the notion of "truth" square with a multiplicity of religious traditions? Is the very term "religion" appropriate in a pluralistic society, since the term is distinctly western? How might the earnest faith of a Christian, say, be compatible with the equally earnest faith of other believers or even non-believers? With the varieties of religions (not to mention the varieties of expressions of religions), how can their respective differences be respected? Are there forms of religious expression that simply cannot find a place in the public square?

We encourage papers that draw on continental figures; philosophical traditions such as deconstruction, feminist philosophy, hermeneutics, and phenomenology; and religious traditions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.

Only complete papers (maximum of 3,000 words) will be accepted. Papers should be prepared for blind review and sent to Trent.J.Koutsoubos@Wheaton.edu as email attachments.

DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 15, 2008

The Society for Continental Philosophy and Theology seeks to promote inquiry at the intersection of philosophy and theology. For more information about SCPT, visit http://www.scptonline.org . For further information regarding the conference, contact Bruce.Ellis.Benson@Wheaton.edu.

Posted by Eric Lee at 1:49 AM | Permalink

Philosophy and Liturgy: Ritual, Practice, and Embodied Wisdom
May 20-22, 2008
Hosted by James K.A. Smith, John Witvliet, and Nicholas Wolterstorff
Prince Conference Center at Calvin College
Sponsored by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship; funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Plenary speakers: Sarah Coakley, Terence Cuneo, Reinhard Hütter, Peter Ochs, James K.A. Smith, and Nicholas Wolterstorff.

The renaissance in Christian philosophy has engendered sustained philosophical reflection on a number of key aspects of Christian theology, but there has been a notable paucity of philosophical engagement with a central aspect of Christian practice: worship and liturgy.  This conference brings together leading scholars in philosophy and theology to investigate key themes in worship with the tools of philosophy, with the ultimate goal of informing Christian practice. There is also the reciprocal goal of letting Christian liturgical practice become a fund for philosophical reflection on classic questions and themes.  The conference will thus stage a reciprocal encounter between philosophy and liturgy, with the goal of generating a liturgical philosophy, and a philosophically-informed liturgy.

Call for Papers: We invite scholars (including advanced doctoral students) working at the intersection of philosophy and liturgy to submit their work for possible inclusion in the conference.  We welcome two kinds of submissions: (1) completed papers for presentation; and (2) works to be included in an electronic "poster session" that will also be a topic of discussion at the conference.  Such pieces could include previously published work at the intersection of philosophy and liturgy, or shorter "research notes" (of 3-4 pages) that identify a key question or topic for the field and report on work in progress.  The latter materials will be posted online before the conference.  Both completed papers and works for the poster session should be submitted to seminars@calvin.edu by February 15, 2008.  Those accepted will be notified by March 15, 2008.  For further information and updates, visit www.calvin.edu/scs/philosophyandliturgy.

Posted by Eric Lee at 6:25 PM | Permalink

PRESENTATION OF THE ENGLISH EDITION OF THE BOOK BY LUIGI GIUSSANI
THURSDAY, MAY 24TH 2007


Fr Julián Carrón
Professor of Theology at the Università Cattolica, Milan and President of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation

Dr Peter E. Hodgson
Senior Research Fellow in Physics at Oxford University

Prof. John Milbank
Professor of Religion, Politics and Ethics at the University of Nottingham

Click here to watch the video.

Posted by Eric Lee at 5:38 PM | Permalink

(click for larger version)

• Conference Feedback - Updated!
• 'Belief and Metaphysics', a diary
• 'Belief and Metaphysics': gallery / slideshow

Posted by Eric Lee at 6:40 PM | Permalink

The Oxford University Graduate Theology Society Presents

Radical Orthodoxy: 8 Years On

Prof. John Milbank
Response by Dr Douglas Hedley

Conference Poster

Posted by Eric Lee at 4:53 PM | Permalink

The Centre of Theology and Philosophy, in partnership with the Instituto de Filosofía Edith Stein de Granada (www.if-edithstein.org), will hold its annual conference, over four days, in Granada, Spain, doing so under the invitation of Archbishop Javier Martinez.

September 15th-18th, 2006, Granada, Spain:

Belief and Metaphysics

'Could it turn out that nobody has ever believed anything?' (Paul Churchland)