Professor James K.A. Smith will present the New College Lectures in Sydney on the 23rd and 24th May 2012. He will also deliver a keynote address on the 26th May to a conference to be co-hosted by CASE and the Anglican Education Commission. The New College Lectures have traditionally been run in Aug/Sept but this ‘space’ is so now crowded with so many Christian events that we are moving the Lectures to May each year.

James Smith is Canadian by birth, but now lives in Grand Rapids (Michigan) where he is Professor of Philosophy at Calvin College. He teaches in the Department of Congregational and Ministry Studies and serves as a Research Fellow of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. He has written or edited 17 books including ‘Teaching and Christian Practices: Reshaping Faith and Learning’ (with David I. Smith), ‘Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview and Cultural Formation’, ‘Science and the Spirit’, ‘Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism?: Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church (The Church and Postmodern Culture)’ and, ‘Hermeneutics at the Crossroads’ (with Kevin Vanhoozer and Bruce Ellis Benson).

The all day conference on Saturday 26th May will be for anyone interested in education, with most of the sessions to be school focussed. Prof Smith will present the opening address. This event is part of the ‘New Perspectives’ agenda that has been an outcome of the work of the Anglican Education Commission, and in particular, the Anglican Education Forum which it has co-ordinated.

This is preliminary notice of both events. Registration for both events will be available soon. Watch the CASE blog and website.

The regular email newsletter from the Centre for Apologetic Scholarship and Education

1. Case Magazine #26

Case #26 is hot off the press! This edition explores many facets of indebtedness from a Christian perspective, ranging from questions of personal debt (should Christians be different in their approach to debt?) to sovereign debt forgiveness (is this something Christians should call for?)  to parallels between moral and financial debt. Other articles expose consumerism, and encourage us to come to grips with the often neglected biblical tension between financial prudence and reckless generosity.

Become a CASE Associate to receive your copy of Case #26 and the subsequent three issues of Case magazine. By becoming a CASE associate you will also receive discounts/free entry to CASE events and will have access to associates-only resources on our CASE website. To find out more about becoming a CASE associate member click here.

2.  Past issues of Case magazine

Individual past issues of Case magazine are now available for sale through the the website here. These are a fantastic resource for individuals, bible study groups, churches, libraries or schools.

As our government wrestles with the issue of climate change and how to respond to it, you might like to look at Case #11 Testing the Weather and Case #13 The Christian and Politics. Other topic areas covered in recent years include Living and Dying Ethically (#17), City Life (#18) and Music and Theology (#23). For a full list of past issues, see here.

Recent Issues: $13.95
Older Issues: $7.95

3.  Latest posts on the CASE Blog

In our CASE blog we seek to engage with issues and ideas that are relevant to contemporary life. We welcome your comments and feedback. Some of our recent blog posts are:

• We are all indebted!
• A Phone App to Help Students & Academics
• Raising Boys Sights Above the Gross & Violent
• The Impact of the Internet on Learning, Truth and Communication
• Indebtedness: What the Bible has to Say About Debt & Saving
• The Christian Mind
• Will the book survive?
• The Increasing Irrelevance of Universities

Thanks for supporting CASE

Trevor Cairney
Director, Centre for Apologetic Scholarship and Education (CASE)
New College, University of NSW, 2052.
Ph: +61 2 9381 1999 F: +61 2 9381 1909.

Articles are provided for research, citing, printing for private use and for linking to other resources. If you wish to use multiple copies of articles, please request permission.

If you no longer wish to receive CASE News or you do not think this email is intended for you, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

New College Lecture Series 2010: 14-16 Sept

Mark these dates in your diary now, for more information»
Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Website http://www.newcollege.unsw.edu.au/newcollegelectures.html
For enquiries or to RSVP (closer to the event):
Phone (02) 9381 1999, Fax (02) 9381 1909

About Professor Begbie: Jeremy Begbie, BA, BD, Ph.D., LRAM, ARCM, FRSCM, is Thomas A. Langford Research Professor at Duke Divinity School, Duke University. He was previously the Associate Principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge, as well as an Affiliated Lecturer in the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge. In addition, he was an Honorary Professor of Theology at the Institute for Theology, Imagination, and the Arts at St. Mary’s College, University of St. Andrews, in Scotland, as well as the Associate Director of the program.

He is known for his writing and lecturing in the subdiscipline of theology which examines the relationship between theology and the arts. In September 1997 he founded the Theology Through the Arts project, whose primary aim is “to discover and demonstrate ways in which the arts can contribute towards the renewal of Christian theology”. Aspects of the project include conversation amongst artists and theologians, academic lectures, publications, and arts festivals.

In January 2009, he left his posts at St. Andrews and at Cambridge to take up his position at Duke Divinity School. Prof Begbie’s publications include: Resounding Truth: Christian Wisdom in the World of Music and Theology, Music, and Time.

CASE together with Morling Theological College & the Micah Challenge are pleased to present

CASE Quarterly Seminar - God Beyond Borders
This Monday 31st May 2010 @ 6.30pm

 
CASE stands for the Centre for Apologetic Scholarship and Education and is an activity of New College at UNSW. CASE exists to explore the importance and place of Christianity in today’s world. It seeks to challenge and equip Christians to understand their faith and act in accordance with it.

The CASE quarterly seminars take place just after the release of the latest Case magazine. They are designed to focus on the content of the edition just published.

The theme of Case 22 was ‘God Beyond Borders’ and brought a range of theological and other disciplinary approaches to bear on the overlapping of local, global, national, and international spheres. It asked the question, how do we make sense of the various layers of community, solidarity and ethical relationships created by the relation of these spheres? What new historical conditions has globalization brought about? In what sense can (or should) Christian community, identity, truth, action and love flow beyond and over borders?

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE PART OF THIS SEMINAR?

The seminar will consist of an introduction from the Director of CASE, Prof Trevor Cairney and an address by Rev Dr Andrew Sloane who wrote an article in the magazine titled ‘Love and Justice in International Frame’.
Rev Dr Sloane’s talk will then be followed by discussion of the theme of the issue and the ideas outlined in the various articles.

Pre-reading: People who RSVP will be sent a free copy of Case 22 as pre-reading for the seminar
Cost: Free
Location: Faculty Lounge, Administration Building, Morling College, 120 Herring Road, Macquarie Park, 2113.
Time: 6.30-8.00pm, Monday 31st May 2010
Contact Information and RSVP: Ms Katarina Spurling, New College Phone: 02 9381 1999 Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Join us and some of the authors in this month’s Case # 20 magazine (To Give A Reason) for a round-table discussion on the topic of apologetics.

• Date and time: Thursday 29 October, 4pm–5:30pm

• Location: Lower Lecture Room, Moore College, 1 King Street, Newtown, NSW

What is the task of apologetics in the 21st century? Are rationally persuasive arguments less or more important today? Are apologists really that good for Christianity anyway? Case magazine’s special October issue is given to the apologetic enterprise. Authors including Michael Jensen, David Höhne, Richard Gibson, Andrew Bain and William Lane Craig reflect on the meaning, the challenges and the hidden dimensions of Christian apologetics past and present. The CASE quarterly discussion group for October will be held at Moore Theological College.  Dr David Höhne, lecturer in Philosophy and Theology at Moore, will speak briefly about his article on ‘becoming apologetic persons’, in which he critiques the lingering influence of Kant and Schleiermacher, and challenges readers to re-conceive of apologetics not as a matter of rational discourse alone but instead as a matter of ‘head, heart and hands’.

To register: phone 02 9381 1999, email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), web: http://www.case.edu.au.

ISCAST (NSW) - CASE Lecture*
Genetics, Evolution and Christian Faith
Date: Thursday, 17 Sep 2009 at 7:30 pm
Speaker: Dr Graeme Finlay, University of Auckland
Venue: Common Room, New College, at the University of NSW
Cost (on entry): $15 (or $10 concession for pensioners or students)

A light supper will follow the lecture and discussion. Though not essential, an RSVP to Peter Barry by email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (mob.phone: 0419 243 685) would be appreciated.

Dr. Finlay, a Senior Lecturer in General Pathology in the Dept of Molecular Medicine and Pathology at the University of Auckland, is one of the invited speakers at the coming COSAC 2009, Conference on Science and Christianity from Sep 18-20 in Geelong.

He is a committed evangelical Christian keenly interested in the relationship of science and the Christian faith. He has already written three booklets on this topic published in 2004 by Telos Books (Auckland) with the titles: ‘Evolving Creation’ 46pp. ISBN 0-476-00650-3; ‘God’s Books: Genetics and Genesis’ 75pp. ISBN 0-476-00651-1; ‘A Seamless Web: Science and Faith’. 59pp. ISBN 0-476-00816-6. In addition, in 2006 he gave an invited lecture in Emmanuel College at the University of Cambridge on ‘Human Genetics and the Image of God’.

Parking is available on nearby suburban streets or in the multi-story car park near UNSW Gate 14 on Barker Street (enter at Gate 14, turn right at T-junction and drive straight into the car park., but please do not park in reserved spots). 

For further information, contact either Prof. Peter Barry by email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (mob. phone: 0419 243 685) or Dr Lewis Jones at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (mob. phone: 0418 605 687) .

Abstract: The burgeoning science of comparative genomics is revealing how the human genome was assembled.  New genes form over evolutionary time as a result of the operation of familiar genetic processes.  These same processes are encountered today in the study of genetic diseases.  The operation of random or contingent events during human evolution must be integrated with the biblical perspective that God has a purpose and goal for creation.

These issues may be addressed by appreciating that evolution is biological history, and that this biological history shares features of the human history described in Scripture.  In these histories, inanimate matter and conscious human beings have been granted freedom by God, who has committed Himself to creation to redeem and transform it.  God works through this free process to bring creation to its purposed end.  Thus the happenstance inherent in both evolution and human history is integral to the covenantal relationship by which God will establish the new creation.

*Sponsored by ISCAST: Christians in Science & Technology and CASE: Centre for Apologetic Scholarship and Education (at New College, UNSW)

The lectures offer a Christian perspective on the impact of technology on contemporary medical practices. Informed by a biblical understanding of God’s purposes Prof Wyatt (pictured left) will consider the bioethical issues that we face every day as we make decisions about creating, preserving and protecting life.

Tuesday 8 September | Bioethics and creation
How do different conceptions of the origins of the cosmos impact on current bioethical debates? What does creation order imply about reproductive technology, parenthood, and the intrinsic value of human life?

6.15pm The John Niland Scientia Building, UNSW
Drinks & Canapés, lecture to follow from 7.15pm

Wednesday 9 September | Bioethics and redemption
The minimization of suffering is central to the moral vision of utilitarianism. How does the Easter story transform perceptions of suffering and how does this impact on current bioethical controversies about assisted suicide, euthanasia, ageing and degenerative diseases?

Thursday 10 September | Bioethics and future hope
The Enlightenment project aims to create better humans by the use of technology. How should be respond? What are the implications of the Christian hope for bioethics? How should we treat our patients now in the light of the future?

Wednesday and Thursday 7.30pm Main Common Room, New College, UNSW, question time and supper to follow the lectures

Both venues are located on the main campus of the University of NSW in Kensington. For directions, maps and parking consult the College’s website.

RSVP essential for all lectures by 4 September 2009.

Download your invitation here»
Phone (02) 9381 1999, Fax (02) 9381 1909
Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Website http://www.newcollege.unsw.edu.au/newcollegelectures.html

We thought that one way that we could add to the value of Case magazine and learn from one another is to organise a discussion group after each edition of the magazine is published. Case 19, based on the theme of The God of Science is out now. Anyone is welcome to join us on the 30th July to discuss the issues raised in the articles (on naturalism and the biblical worldview, God and evolution, Belief in God, the role and limits of science in moral reasoning) and other ways in which we can think about science from a Christian perspective. So join us for a roundtable with Dr Lewis Jones on this topic.  If you are planning to come please rsvp at by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or on 02 9381 1999.

We thought that one way that we could add to the value of Case magazine and learn from one another is to organise a discussion group after each edition of the magazine is published. Case 18, based on the theme of City Life is out. Anyone is welcome to join us on the 30th April to discuss the issues raised in the articles (on New York, Justice in the City, Busyness and Anonymity) and other ways in which we can think about city life from a Christian perspective. If you are planning to come please rsvp at by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or on 02 9381 1999.

We are excited about a one-day CASE conference that is planned for the 21st March this year on the topic of Medical ethics: Christian perspectives on life and death. This is our first attempt to bring to Sydney a forum where those interested in a biblical approach to the very topic issue of medical ethics can meet like-minded colleagues.  The conference will cover a broad sweep of ethically issues in the medical field. We think it will be a vital day for students and practitioners in the health professions, for Christian workers and indeed, for all Christians.

Topics are:

• Why should Christians be interested in ethics in Medicine?

• Ethical issues at the beginning of life

• Medical research involving children

• The ‘euthanasia debate’: clarifying the issues, the notion of autonomy and a Christian response

• Victorian abortion legislation—where does conscientious objection fit in?

• ‘My Soul Died When My Baby Died’: The Grief of Abortion

There will also be a panel consisting of the day’s speakers when participants can ask any questions to do with bioethics.

The conference will run from 8.30-4 and will be held at New College in Sydney (UNSW). You can download the conference brochure from our website here.