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Conferences
2002 Gulf States Colloquium on Faith and
Scholarship
Sponsored by InterVarsity Christian
Fellowship's Gulf States Graduate & Faculty Ministries, in cooperation with
the Christian Study Center of Gainesville
Date & Time: Saturday, March 23, 2002, 9:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.
Location: The Christian Study Center of Gainesville, 112 NW 16th Street, Gainesville, FL (directions available via MapQuest)
Program Synopsis:
After a welcome and comments to frame the day's discussion, the Plenary Address will survey central, trans-disciplinary themes concerning the integration of faith and scholarship. Faculty Panelists will then reflect on and develop these themes and interact with attendees in a Question and Answer format. The Graduate Student Panelists will do the same, further advancing the discussion and implications for graduate students. Disciplinary Discussion Groups, led by the Faculty Panelist in one's field (or a closely related field), will then discuss specific ways the day's discussion relates and influences Christian scholarship in that field. Finally, the colloquium concludes with closing comments and a worship response.
Program Schedule:
| 9:00 A.M. | Registration and Reception |
| 10:00 A.M. | Welcome, Opening Comments |
| 10:30 A.M. | Plenary Address by Dr. Richard Horner, Gainesville Christian Study Center Director |
| 11:15 A.M. | Break |
| 11:30 A.M. | Faculty Panel Response #1 |
| 12:15 P.M. | Luncheon |
| 1:15 P.M. | Faculty Panel Response #2 |
| 2:00 P.M. | Break |
| 2:15 P.M. | Graduate Student Panel Response |
| 3:15 P.M. | Break |
| 3:30 P.M. | Disciplinary Discussion Groups |
| 4:30 P.M. | Closing Comments and Worship Response |
| 5:00 P.M. | Colloquium Concludes |
|
5:30 P.M. |
(Optional) Dinner in Gainesville with other attendees |
| 7:00 P.M. | (Optional) Social with UF Christian Graduate Student Chapter |
Cost: $10 per attendee, payable during the Registration period the day of the colloquium. Make checks payable to "InterVarsity Christian Fellowship."
Plenary Address Abstract:
The word "Christian" functions far better as a noun with reference to persons than as an adjective with reference to practices. When we begin with the adjective and practices, we too often emphasize secondary or even artificial distinctives that miss the deeper differences that flow from being Christians. When we begin with the noun and persons, on the other hand, we are more likely to emphasize our relationship with Christ. This relationship not only provides us with a rich personal context for our work but also provides an understanding that frames our work and all of human experience. Characterized particularly by the paradox of the creation and fall, this understanding does the work of a first-order narrative. It frames the work that we do and creates a space for significant and rewarding inquiry, critique, creativity, theorizing, and practice. It also frames the work that non-Christians do. This first-order narrative and its central paradox should affect our work in various ways. It should impact the questions we ask, shape our understanding of method, and enable us to get on with our work expecting to learn a lot from people with whom we have deep disagreements even as we fight it out in the highly contested territories in which we all work.