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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 20th
and 21st 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; 2nd
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 4th edition of Religion in Geschichte und
Gegenwart, Volumes IV-VIII, and for the 2nd 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, 2nd 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.
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