The Forum Lecture Series at UBC (2023-2024)
Thursday, August 17, 2023
The Graduate & Faculty Christian Forum at UBC is hosting the upcoming lectures:
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity
When: October 3, 2023 @ 12:00 noon
Who: John Lennox, Professor Emeritus Mathematics, Oxford University
Biography: John Lennox is Emeritus Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford. He is a bioethicist, philosopher, author, and Christian apologist. He has written many highly-regarded books on religion, ethics and the relationship between science and faith, which covers key developments in technological enhancement, bioengineering and AI. Over the past 15 years, Lennox has been part of numerous public debates defending the Christian faith, including debates with Christopher Hitchens, Michael Shermer and Richard Dawkins. He has lectured and given courses to enthusiastic audiences on science and Christian faith around the globe.
Where: Online, Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87109190368
Theological Implications of the Natural Origins of Life
When: November 23, 2023
Who: Andrew Paul Davison, Cambridge University
Biography: Dr. Andrew Paul Davison works at the intersection of theology, science and philosophy. He is the Starbridge Professor in Theology and Natural Sciences at Cambridge University since 2014. He holds a DPhil in Biochemistry (Oxford, 2000), plus a PhD in Theology (Cambridge, 2013). In the 2016-17 academic year, he was a fellow at the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey, on a NASA-sponsored programme to consider the implications for human society and self-understanding of life elsewhere in the universe. He published in 2023 Astrobiology and Christian Doctrine: Exploring Life in the Universe (Current Issues in Theology). He is news editor for the journal Theology and Science, and editor of the Cambridge University Press series Cambridge Elements in Christianity and Science.
Where: Online, Zoom Link to Be Announced.
The Bible as a Tool for Changing Culture
When: February 7, 2024
Who: Christopher Watkin, French Studies, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
Biography: Christopher Watkin (PhD, University of Cambridge) is senior lecturer in French studies at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He is a scholar with an international reputation in the area of modern and contemporary European thought, atheism, and the relationship between the Bible and philosophy. His published work runs the spectrum from academic monographs on contemporary philosophy to books written for general readers, both Christian and secular, and include Difficult Atheism, From Plato to Postmodernism; Great Thinkers: Jacques Derrida. His recent impressive 2022 tome with Zondervan Academic is Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible's Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture. "This is one of the most brilliant, wisdom-packed books that I have read in some time. Chris is so well-read and thoughtful, a real boon to the Christian faith." -Dr. Gordon E. Carkner
Where: Online, Zoom Link to Be Announced.
Examining the Sources of Gender: Why Sexual Difference Matters
When: March 13, 2024
Who: Abigail Favale, Professor at Notre Dame University
Biography: Abigail Favale, Ph.D., is a professor in the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. She has an academic background in gender studies and feminist theory, and writes regularly about these topics from a Catholic perspective. She is the author of The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory (Ignatius 2022) and Into the Deep: An Unlikely Catholic Conversion (Cascade 2018), as well as numerous essays and articles. Abigail's essays and short stories have appeared in print and online for publications such as First Things, The Atlantic, Church Life, and Potomac Review. She was awarded the J.F. Powers Prize for short fiction in 2017. As you well know, this is one of the hottest topics today.
Where: Online, Zoom Link to Be Announced.
