FREE PUBLIC EVENT: The Hamilton Science & Faith forum and CSCA present a lecture from Patrick Franklin (Associate Professor of Theology, Tyndale Seminary, Toronto) as a part of CSCA’s 2018 Annual General Meeting.
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Note!
4:15 PM: Lecture & Discussion with Patrick Franklin in Room 213, Academic building. (Public; no RSVP required)
6 – 8:30 PM: Dinner (RSVP is now closed) and CSCA Annual General Meeting to follow in Executive Dining Hall A (Same building).
Science as a Missional Enterprise
The CSCA is “a fellowship of scientists and those interested in science, who want to understand how science should best interact with the life-giving Christian tradition” (CSCA website). But what is the mission of the CSCA, on university campuses and in our broader society and communities, with respect to those outside the Christian tradition? Do we seek openly and explicitly to proselytize or evangelize? Or do we seek mostly to bear witness to the faith implicitly, while dedicating ourselves to rigorous science and personal moral integrity? The former approach might not always be appropriate, and might tend to treat science with less than the full integrity it deserves (in the worst case, science becomes an object lesson for faith or a platform for evangelism). But the latter approach might fail to do justice to the New Testament’s call to bear witness to Christ and his kingdom in all we are and do (and it might tend toward Deism rather than a robust and holistic Christian faith). In this lecture, I will endorse a third way, drawing on contemporary missional theology and trinitarian theology. I will argue that a trinitarian, missional framework affirms and encourages the full integrity of both rigorous scientific work (pursued as both means and end) and a holistic and relational approach to bearing witness in ways appropriate to our contexts as scholars and professionals.
Patrick Franklin, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Theology at Tyndale Seminary (Toronto, Canada). He has been a CSCA/ASA member since 2008, invited to be a Fellow of the CSCA/ASA in 2017, and currently serves as Book Review Editor for Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith. He is the author of Being Human, Being Church: The Significance of Theological Anthropology for Ecclesiology (Paternoster, 2016) and many academic articles and book chapters (including two articles and several reviews in PSFC). An experienced pastor, church leader, professor, and scholar, Patrick is passionate about encouraging and facilitating deeper dialogue between the scientific community and local churches and pastors. To this end, he is intentional about building relationships, networking, and providing opportunities to host genuine conversations and nurture ongoing friendships and partnerships.