Engaging the Doctrine of Creation
Trinity School for Ministry | Ambridge, PA
The Christian doctrine of Creation is one of the most contested doctrines of the modern era. But arguments with the natural sciences can distract us from the Bible’s narrative of God’s creation and redemption of the world, and disconnect that narrative from the life of the Church. This Conference will explore the biblical narrative of creation, its significance for the historic Church, and its implications for the worship and mission of the Church today.
Featured speakers:
Jonathan Wilson (PhD, Duke University) taught for many years at Carey Theological College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is currently Senior Consultant for Theological Integration at Canadian Baptist Ministries, and a Teaching Fellow at Regent College in Vancouver. He also serves as Adjunct Supervisor at the International Baptist Theological Seminary and the Free University of Amsterdam. He is the author or editor of several books, including God So Loved the World: A Christology for Christian Disciples, Living Faithfully in a Fragmented World: from After Virtue to a New Monasticism and God’s Good World; Reclaiming the Doctrine of Creation. He writes the lead “theological integration” article for each issue of Mosaic: The Canadian Baptist Magazine.
Edith Humphrey (PhD, McGill University) is the William F. Orr Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (2002-present). The author of many articles on the literary and rhetorical study of the Bible, she has also written a number of books, including: Further Up and Further In: Orthodox Conversations with C. S. Lewis on Scripture and Theology; Scripture and Tradition: What the Bible Really Says; Grand Entrance: Worship on Earth as in Heaven; And I Turned to See the Voice: The Rhetoric of Vision in the New Testament; and Ecstasy and Intimacy: When the Holy Spirit Meets the Human Spirit. She is currently working on two research projects: Mediation and the Immediate God and Church fathers’ reading of justification in St. Paul’s letters.
Paul Blowers (PhD, University of Notre Dame) is the Dean E. Walker Professor of Church History at Emmanuel Christian Seminary. The author of numerous publications, he is a scholar of patristics and early Christianity and has also written on the Stone-Campbell heritage. He is former President of the North American Patristics Society and Associate Editor of the Journal of Early Christian Studies. He is co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Biblical Interpretation, general editor of The Bible in Greek Christian Antiquity and translator of On the Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ: Selected Writings of St. Maximus the Confessor. Among other books, Paul has authored Maximus the Confessor: Jesus Christ and the Transfiguration of the World, Exegesis and Spiritual Pedagogy in Maximus the Confessor, and Drama of the Divine Economy: Creator and Creation in Early Christian Theology and Piety.
Sandra Richter (PhD, Harvard University) is the Robert H. Gundry Chair of Biblical Studies at Westmont College. She has taught at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY, Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, MS and Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. Her academic publications focus on both “name theology” and economics in Deuteronomy, and she has a commentary forthcoming with Eerdmans on Deuteronomy. Her church-oriented publications include The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament and Stewards of Eden: What the Scripture has to Say about Environmentalism and Why It Matters. Dr. Richter travels and speaks widely on these subjects.
Chris Armstrong (PhD, Duke University) is a church historian and educator currently serving as Program Fellow in Faith, Work, and Economics for the Kern Family Foundation. He taught from 2004 to 2013 at Bethel Seminary (MN), where he founded and directed Work with Purpose, a Kern-funded initiative on faith, work, and economics. From 2014 to 2018 he served at Wheaton College (IL) as faculty member and founding director of another Kern-supported project, Opus: The Art of Work. His recent book Medieval Wisdom for Modern Christians: Finding Authentic Faith in a Forgotten Age with C. S. Lewis turns to medieval faith for guidance on living well in the world today. Chris also serves as Senior Editor of Christian History magazine.
As in past years, the Ancient Evangelical Future Conference also includes a mix of lectures, panel discussions, and break-out discussion groups in a welcoming atmosphere that links theory and practice. Each day of the event is bounded by the liturgies of Morning and Evening Prayer, and flavored with table-fellowship. Join others in this unique opportunity for reflection, retrieval, and refreshment for the sake of the life and ministry of the Church today.