Sunday Scientist Symposium

Science, ethics, and religion are vital expressions of human life, each with their own methods of exploring reality, determining truth, and communicating this to the public. History even into the modern day is permeated with mistaken claims made in the name of science, ethics, or religion. The search for truth is best undertaken while humbly mindful of human finitude, as captured by the question: “What if we too are wrong?” The honest recognition of this question, or its neglect, has broad reaching implications for religions and scientific freedoms, public trust in scientific and religious institutions, public direction of science and technology pursuits, individual faith journeys and the understanding of God's grace and purpose.

Sunday Scientist Symposium II will provide a format in which three internationally recognized scholars will speak, as theologian, scientist, and ethicist, to the challenge of seeking and speaking truth while building and maintaining trust. The attendees will engage in dialog with the speakers and one another around this theme. Rather than debate which accounts have reached the destination of ultimate truth, the Symposium will emphasize experiences common to those who undertake life's journey simultaneously as people of faith and science.

The symposium is sponsored by the ELCA Alliance for Faith, Science, and Technology; Zygon Center for Religion and Science; and Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Los Alamos, New Mexico

• To explore ways of communicating scientific truths and understanding God's Creation within our congregations and communities.
• To affirm that science is a recognized vocation for Christians.
• To develop the network of people necessary to communicate the Gospel in a world profoundly influenced by science and technology.

   Location

Lifeway Glorieta Conference Center
Glorieta, New Mexico (near Santa Fe)

Registration fee: $60 + room and board.
Deadline: September 1, 2005.

Register now! Attendance limited. First come, first served and the best rooms go first. A block of rooms has been reserved. The registration fee includes symposium, breaks and resource materials. Scholarships are available to those who need them, especially students.

For questions or more information, contact Dr. Robert Kraus, Chair, rhkrausjr@msn.com or Pastor Bruce Kuenzel, pastor1@bethluth.com

For registration questions, contact Dr. Joyce Guzik, jguzik@mindspring.com

A link to the symposium web site can be found at http://www.elca.org/faithandscience

Use of Glorieta, a Lifeway Conference Center for this conference does not imply alignment with or endorsement by any Southern Baptist group.

   Faculty

Prof. Ted Peters, Theologian
Ted Peters is a professor of Systematic Theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Institute in Berkeley, California. He co-edits Theology and Science for the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences and he serves as editor in chief of Dialog, A Journal of Theology. He is author of Science, Theology, and Ethics (Ashgate 2003) and Playing God? Genetic Determinism and Human Freedom (Routledge 2002).

Prof. Gayle Woloschak, Scientist
Professor Woloschak is co-director of the radiation oncology residency program and director of molecular imaging in the Dept. of radiology at Northwestern University. She also holds an adjunct professor of Science and Religion position at Chicago Lutheran School of Theology. Prof. Woloschak is an active and prolific research scientist with interests centered around molecular biology, gene regulation, and nanostructures and nanotechnology for intracellular manipulation.

Prof. Per Anderson, Ethicist
Per Anderson is Professor of Religion at Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, where he has taught Christian ethics since 1986. He was educated at St. Olaf College, Harvard Divinity School, and the University of Chicago. He wrote a dissertation under Langdon Gilkey and James Gustafson on suffering in a technological society and chaired the steering committee of the ELCA Work Group on Science and technology (now ELCA Alliance for Faith, Science, and Technology) from 1988-95.