Farstrup-Mortensen Lectures

Farstrup-Mortensen Lectures - February 20-22, 2009

The Farstrup-Mortensen Lectures exemplify the Grundtvigian ideal of developing one’s humanity, including the intellect, to its fullest and best extent in order to be receptive to the Word of God.

Our 2009 lecture series theme is "Religion and Science."

LECTURERS

GEORGE COYNE, born January 19, 1933, in Baltimore, Maryland, completed his bachelor's degree in mathematics and his licentiate in philosophy at Fordham University, New York City, in 1958. He obtained his doctorate in astronomy from Georgetown University in 1962. In 1976 he became a senior research fellow at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) of the University of Arizona (UA) and a lecturer in the UA Department of Astronomy. The following year he served as Director of the UA's Catalina Observatory and as Associate Director of the LPL. Coyne became Director of the Vatican Observatory (VO) in 1978, and also Associate Director of the UA Steward Observatory. During 1979-80 he served as Acting Director and Head of the UA Steward Observatory and the Astronomy Department, and thereafter he continued as an adjunct professor in the UA Astronomy Department. He retired as Director of the VO in August 2006. He remains on the staff of the VO as Director Emeritus and President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation.

He is a member of the International Astronomical Union, the American Astronomical Society, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the American Physical Society and the Optical Society of America. He has been awarded the following Ph.D. degrees honoris causa: 1980, St. Peter's University, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA; 1994, Loyola University, Chicago, USA; 1995, University of Padua, Padua, Italy; 1997, Pontifical Theological Academy, Jagellonian University, Cracow; 2005 Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; 2007 Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was awarded the Mendel Medal by Villanova University in September 2008.

Dr. Coyne will speak on "Evolution and Intelligent Design" and "Cosmology: the Universe in Evolution."

Evolution or Intelligent Design Lecture Slides

Cosmology Lecture Slides

TED PETERS (Ph.D. University of Chicago) is Professor of Systematic Theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.

SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY. Ted Peters’ teaching portfolio includes the field of theology in the 20^th and 21^st centuries for both doctoral level students and for students preparing to serve in the ordained clergy. He is a Lutheran theologian—an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America--teaching in an ecumenical institution with students from an array of differing denominations; and he engages in inter-religious dialogue as well. He is author of GOD—The World’s Future: Systematic Theology for a Postmodern Era (Fortress 1992; 2^nd ed. 2000); God as Trinity (Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993); and Sin: Radical Evil in Soul and Society (Eerdmans, 1994). He serves as editor-in-chief of Dialog, A Journal of Theology.

SCIENCE AND RELIGION. Ted Peters serves as co-editor with Robert John Russell of the journal, Theology and Science, published by the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences at the Graduate Theological Union. He worked as area editor for "Science and Religion" for the 4^th edition of Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Volumes IV-VIII, and for the 2^nd edition of The Encyclopedia of Religion (Macmillan 2005). He is author of Anticipating Omega (Vendenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2006) and Science, Theology, and Ethics (Ashgate 2003). With Martinez Hewlett he co-authored Evolution from Creation to New Creation (Abingdon 2003) and Can You Believe in God and Evolution (Abingdon 2006). Peters edited Science and Theology: The New Consonance (Westview, 1998). He co-edited with Gaymon Bennett and Kang Phee Seng Bridging Science and Religion (SCM and Fortress, 2003) which has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, German, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, and Indonesian Bahassa. He co-edited with Nathan Hallanger, God’s Action in Nature’s World: Essays in Honor of Robert John Russell (Ashgate 2006).

GENETICS AND SOCIETY. Ted Peters served as Principal Investigator for a research project funded by the National Institutes of Health on "Theological and Ethical Questions Raised by the Human Genome Initiative" hosted at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, 1990-1994. Based on his research he has written Playing God? Genetic Determinism and Human Freedom (Routledge, 2^nd ed., 2002). He edited the findings of the CTNS-NIH project for publication in a multi-author book titled, Genetics: Issues of Social Justice (Pilgrim 1998). He currently serves on the Scientific and Medical Accountability Standards Working Group for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CRIM).

BIOETHICS. As a member of the research team on the "Religion, Culture, and Family" project sponsored by the University of Chicago, he wrote For the Love of Children: Genetic Technology and the Future of the Family (Westminster/John Knox Press, 1996). He served as a member of the Ethics Advisory Board for the Geron Corporation, 1998-2002.

Dr. Peters will speak on "Faith and Science" and "ET Life and the Cosmic Christ."

Faith and Science Lecture Slides

ET and the Cosmic Christ Lecture Slides

MARGARET RACE is an ecologist who works with NASA through the SETI Institute in Mountain View, CA. Her professional interests focus on the environmental and policy implications of large-scale science and technology projects. She currently works with NASA and the international science and space communities in developing and refining planetary protection policies and regulations for space exploration missions. Over the past decade, she has served on numerous National Research Council (NRC) studies of forward and back contamination associated with missions to Mars and other celestial bodies. She has also written extensively on the societal, legal and ethical implications of discovering extraterrestrial life. Dr. Race is also actively involved in science education and public outreach about astrobiology through the mass media, schools, museums, and presentations for general audiences.

Dr. Race received her BA degree (Biology) and MS degree (Energy Management and Policy) from the University of Pennsylvania, and her Ph.D. (Ecology) from the University of California at Berkeley. Her past positions include teaching and research at Stanford University (Human Biology Program), Assistant Dean at UC Berkeley (College of Natural Resources), and Senior Science Policy Analyst at University of California's Office of the President. She was also a Postdoctoral Fellow in Marine Policy and Ocean Management at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a Public Information Specialist with the US EPA, and AAAS Mass Media Fellow at KQED-TV in San Francisco.

She will be speaking on "Searching for ET Life: Scientific, Legal and Ethical Considerations" and "Aliens and Us: Considering The Future of Life Here and Beyond."

Astrobiology & Searching for ET Life Lecture Slides

Aliens and Us Lecture Slides

Farstrup-Mortensen 2009 Photo Album

Please click on this thumbnail image of the program to see a larger version.

Please email or call the church office at bethania.lutheran@verizon.net or 805-688-4637 for more information.