Resources for integrating Christian faith, life and witness
with the academic enterprise.
November 3 - 5, 2005 at The University of Chicago.
The very first Redemption of Reason conference drew it's name and framework from 1998 lecture by Dallas Willard. One of the goals of this conference was to provide resources to students, academics and anyone interested in engaging the difficulties of reason, logic and the secular mindset in the face of Christianity.
Thursday:
Dallas Willard (Philosophy)
Albert Alschuler (Law)
Philip Gleason (History)
Susan Emmerich (Environmental Science)
Friday:
Cornelius Plantinga (Theology)
George Walker (Political Philosophy)
Paul Griffiths (Religion)
Charles Emmerich (Law)
George Marsden (History)
Saturday:
Roundtable
Student papers
November 9 - 11, 2006 at The University of Chicago Divinity School.
The 2006 Redemption of Reason conference drew it's inspiration from the book Science and Christianity: Conflict or Coherence? by Professor Henry Schaefer. The conference addressed the issue of conflict and coherence between science and Christian faith using examples drawn from history and the personal experiences of the speakers.
Perspectives on Science and Chritian Faith the official journal of the American Scientific Affiliation, an organization of Christians in the sciences, published a number of the papers from this conference in the June 2007 issue.
Thursday:
Henry F. Schaefer III
Pattle P. Pun
Alvin Plantinga
Ian Hutchinson
Donald G. York
Friday:
John Suppe
Patricia Reiff
Alan Padgett
Cal DeWitt
Ard Louis
Saturday:
Fall Quarter 2007 at The University of Chicago Divinity School.
October 19, 2007.
November 1 - 3, 2007.
Spring Quarter 2008 at The University of Chicago Divinity School.
May 9, 2008.
In 2007 / 08 the Conference was split into 3 sessions with the main conference being held in November. The focus was Biblical, Theological, and Philosophical principles, for redeeming reason and integrating Christian faith and the academic enterprise. The goal was to present scholars from a range of academic disciplines - biblical studies, politics, literature, philosophy, theology, religious studies, and church history - who can be models and guides for us all.
J. Richard Middleton opened the conference series in October. The main conference in November featured Jean Bethke Elshtain, Roger Lundin, Kelly James Clark, Timothy Larsen, and Vincent Bacote. The May conference concluded with Gerald McDermott and Curtis J. Evans.
In recognition of the 60th Anniversary of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights [UDHR 60]
( December 10, 1948 – December 10, 2008 )
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m
Tom DeWolf will be signing copies of his book Inheriting the Trade at the U of C bookstore.
7:00 p.m.
Screening of Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North; a PBS documentary produced by Katrina Brown, whose ancestors in the DeWolf family were the biggest slave traders in America.
Watch an excerpt | Learn more.
Tom DeWolf, author of the book on this project will be present to answer questions on his book and the movie. In addition, he will talk about his participation in an ongoing racial reconciliation discussion project called Coming to the Table and organized by the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University.
Top9:00 a.m.
M. Cathleen Kaveny - Imagination, Virtue, and Human Rights: Lessons from Australian and American Law.
Listen to this session.
Jean Bethke Elshtain - Due to ill health Prof . Elshtain will not be able to speak. We are leaving her name here for the links to some of her work, relevant to the issues in this conference.
10:30 a.m.
Randolph Stone - Mass Incarceration and its Aftermath: What do we do when hundreds of prisoners are released and return to troubled communities.
Listen to this session.
12:00 p.m. - Lunch.
Lunch is provided for registered participants.
1:00 p.m.
Michael Perry - Human Rights in Society - Religious vs. Secular Foundations.
Listen to this session.
2:30 p.m.
Jeanne Ward - Human Rights for Women and Children.
Listen to this session.
4:00 p.m.
Panel Discussion
Panel: Nicholas Wolterstorff, Neha Gill, Michael Perry and Jeanne Ward.
Listen to this session.
6:00 p.m. - Dinner.
Dinner is provided for registered participants.
7:00 p.m.
Panel Discussion with people involved in Social Justice and Human Rights Ministries.
9:00 a.m.
Nicholas Wolterstorff - Love and Justice.
Listen to this session.
10:30 a.m.
As We Forgive - A journey into the lives of three Rwandan genocide survivors who discover the power and pain of radical forgiveness.
11:30 a.m.
Panel Discussion
Panel: Nicholas Wolterstorff, India McCanse, Michael Perry and Jeanne Ward
Listen to this session.
India McCanse is dialogue coordinator for the Restorative Justice Initiative at Marquette University Law School, the only program at a law school in the United States.
RJI works in collaboration with the Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking at the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota. RJI recommends two other university programs, one at Fresno Pacific University and the other at Eastern Mennonite University. RJI also recommends these organizations working on restorative justice - Victim Offender Mediation Association, National Center for Victims of Crime and Prison Fellowship International, as well as the Justice Department and its project on juvenile delinquency.
Scholarly and law reveiw articles on restorative justice are available online at the RJI website.
Prison Fellowship International has a number of articles about restorative justice in Rwanda, especially the Gacaca trials, as well as reports about the reconciliation process going on in South Africa, Sierra Leone, Kosovo, Peru and other places.
Prison Fellowship International also has a wide range of general resources on restorative justice, as well as specifically Christian resources.
12:30 p.m. - Lunch.
Lunch is provided for registered participants.
1:00 p.m.
Presentations and Resources by Social Justice and Human Rights Groups.