Nice. I have a vague dream of getting a Templeton Prize someday so I can spend some time reinventing Christianity. :-)
-- Ernie P. On Jan 5, 2012, at 9:05 AM, [email protected] wrote: > > > The Christian Post > U.S.|Wed, Jan. 04 2012 05:13 PM EDT > Biola University Receives $3M to Fund Center for Christian Thought > > By Alex Murashko | Christian Post Reporter > > Christian-based Biola University in Southern California recently received a > $3 million grant toward a new initiative aimed at bringing world-renowned > scholars together to collaborate and engage others outside academia on > important questions facing Christianity in the 21st century. > The La Mirada-based university announced Wednesday that the John Templeton > Foundation awarded the research grant, which is the largest amount ever > received by the college, to the institution’s Center for Christian Thought > late last month. The center program launches during the school’s upcoming > spring semester. > > The center’s director Gregg Ten Elshof told The Christian Post that the > initiative will not only provide a tremendous base for research among > Christian scholars, but to the whole Christian community as well. > > Asked about the goals for the Center for Christian Thought, Ten Elshof said, > “First, to facilitate first rate, multi-disciplinary Christian scholarship. > The idea is to pull together Christians from a variety of disciplines to > think and write about questions that are significant for Christians. > > “Secondly, the goal is to translate and disseminate this scholarship to > non-academic thoughtful Christian audiences,” he explained. “We want to > facilitate cutting edge Christian scholarship, but we don’t want it to be the > kind of thing only of value to other academics.” > > Ten Elshof said that the center will become a resource open to everyone > through its website that will include video interviews with scholars. A > pastor-in-residence will be assigned every semester and they will be > preparing and delivering sermon series based on the center’s theme for the > current session. > > > During the initiative’s inaugural semester, which begins in February, > philosophers Alvin Plantinga from Calvin College, and Yale University’s > Nicholas Wolterstorff will come to the Center as visiting scholars, joining a > team of eight research fellows who will focus on the theme of “Christian > Scholarship in the 21st Century: Prospects and Perils.” > > Participants will examine the role of Christian scholarship in today’s world > and seek to identify issues of particular importance for Christian scholars > in years ahead, university officials said. > > Plans for each year include researchers publishing books, articles, blog > posts, videos, lectures, podcasts and other resources. Also, each year will > conclude with a public conference where participants will present their > research related to the year’s theme. > > “In the years ahead, we envision the Biola University Center for Christian > Thought will be a leading source of scholarship on some of the most important > issues facing the Church, the academy and the broader culture,” said Biola > President Barry H. Corey in a statement from the university. > > “This will not be merely a cerebral think tank. Instead, I believe the rich > conversations integrating the historic Christian truths with the big > questions of our day will have currency around the family kitchen table, from > the pulpit and in the media,” Corey stated. > > Ten Elshof added that the center will provide a way for everyone to gain from > the initiative. > > “Christians in general, not just academics, can benefit from the exposure to > the leading Christian thinkers of our day. And the leading Christian thinkers > of our day often want to be communicating to thoughtful, non-academic > Christians.” > > “The thinking is let’s provide the kind of mechanisms and resources for that > kind of communication,” Ten Elshof explained. > > > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
