Veritas Forum is Feb. 15-17

Scholars from Yale, Duke and Oxford universities will visit Fresno State Feb. 15-17 to participate in a forum featuring public discussions of the relationships between faith, truth and the pursuit of knowledge.

Called the Veritas Forum, the event will include three days of meetings, lectures, debates and discussions among invited speakers, students and faculty. It is sponsored by Associated Students and a coalition of other campus and community groups including Campus Crusade for Christ, Next Exit Club, Women's Resource Center, Riverpark Bible Church and National Veritas Forum

From the Latin words meaning "a public discussion of truth," the Veritas Forum is an opportunity for the entire community to explore and discuss the hardest questions of the university, society, and the human heart. Some of these questions will be explored in the context of a particular discipline (e.g. philosophy), while others will be explored in the relation to the historical claims and contemporary relevance of Jesus Christ and the Christian faith.

The Veritas Forum was founded in 1992 by a group of graduate students at Harvard University who sought to bring their hardest questions about life and truth before the campus community. Now a national organization, the Veritas Forum has been held at more than 50 universities across the United States, engaging more than 200,000 students, faculty, and community members.

For more information, see www.fresnoveritas.com.

The schedule is as follows: 

Tuesday, Feb. 15:

• What Do You Believe & Why?

Are all religions just different ways to the same truth? Can one religion be right and all the others wrong? Local panels discuss their worldviews, including their basic tenets and implications for life.

A multi-faith panel discussion and Q&A, moderated by Dr. Robert Maldonado (Philosophy), 2 p.m., Room UC 200.

Buddhist Perspective: Mark Young, Soka Gakkai International

Christian Perspective: James Westgate, Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary

Humanist Perspective: Devin Carroll, Humanists of the San Joaquin Valley

Jewish Perspective: Lise Rosenthal, Temple Beth Israel

Muslim Perspective: Imam Ali Al- Ghazvini, Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno

• Body Bound: Women and Spirituality

Shapemakers , the Wonderbra, plastic surgery, bulimia. What is the role of the female body in 20th century American society? Can women be liberated from the mandates of a culture that compels them to be " Barbies on Botox?"

7 p.m., Satellite Student Union. Discussion by Lilian Barger, followed by a panel discussion and Q&A.

Wednesday, February 16:

• Faith and Work: Like Oil and Water?

Is it right to let your religious faith determine your work principles and policies? David Miller will argue that faith and work can be integrated in a way that can be helpful and constructive.

10 a.m., Music Building Concert Hall. Discussion and Q&A by Dr. David Miller.

• Is the Christian God Green?

Kyle Van Houtan will explore divergent interpretations among American Christians on the importance of environmental issues, and argue that there is a basis in the Judeo-Christian tradition for ascribing ethical value to nature.

2 p.m., Room UC 200, d iscussion followed by a commentary by Dr. Mark Somma (Political Science) and Q&A.

• Time for Truth: Living Free in a World of Lies, Hype, and Spin

Have we lost the idea that truth is objective, independent of our minds? Are we no longer able to distinguish between right and wrong?

7 p.m., Satellite Student Union, discussion and Q&A by Dr. Os Guinness.

Thursday, February 17:

• Truth in Art

Antonye Holyde explores the tension between art as a mind-engaging search for truth and a mind-numbing search for distraction.

10 a.m., University Student Union, Room 312-314, discussion and Q&A.

• The Resurrection: Fact or Fiction?

Who was Jesus of Nazareth? Did he really live? New Testament scholar William Lane Craig will argue that based on historical evidence we must conclude that Jesus did rise from the dead.

1 p.m., Room UC 200, discussion and Q&A.

• Does God Exist?

Two skilled philosophers will debate the existence of God. Dr. William Lane Craig contends that the universe is created and sustained by the God of the Bible. Dr. Austin Dacey argues that evidence points to the absence of the supernatural.

7 p.m., Satellite Student Union. Moderated by Dr. Arthur Wint (Coordinator, Peace and Conflict Studies) 

Information on Participants

Multi-Faith Panel:

Buddhist Perspective: Mark Young, Soka Gakkai International

Christian Perspective: James Westgate, Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary

Humanist Perspective: Devin Carroll, Humanists of the San Joaquin Valley

Jewish Perspective: Lise Rosenthal, Temple Beth Israel

Muslim Perspective: Imam Ali Al- Ghazvini, Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno

Emcees/Moderators:

Dr. Honora Chapman – Coordinator, Classical Studies at CSU, Fresno

Dr. Henry Delcore – Professor, Department of Anthropology at CSU, Fresno

Dr. Jeronima Echeverria – Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at CSU, Fresno

Dr. Robert Harper – Associate Dean of the Craig School of Business at CSU, Fresno

Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor – Professor, Department of Social Work Education at CSU, Fresno

Dr. Robert Maldonado – Chair, Department of Philosophy at CSU, Fresno

Dr. Arthur Wint – Coordinator, Peace and Conflict Studies at CSU, Fresno

Speakers/Discussants:

Lilian Barger: Lilian Calles Barger, a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, is president of The Damaris Project, which assists women in their spiritual journey. Barger holds a B.B.A. from the University of Texas at Arlington. Barger spends her time as a researcher, cultural critic, writer and speaker on the intersection of the teachings of Jesus and contemporary cultural issues. Her book, Eve’s Revenge: Women and a Spirituality of the Body was published in 2003 by Brazos Press.

Dr. William Lane Craig: William Lane Craig is research professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California. Dr. Craig pursued his undergraduate studies at Wheaton College (B.A. 1971) and graduate studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (M.A. 1974; M.A. 1975), the University of Birmingham (England) (Ph.D. 1977), and the University of Munich (Germany) ( D.Theol. 1984). From 1980-86 he taught Philosophy of Religion at Trinity. In 1987 they moved to Brussels, Belgium, where Dr. Craig pursued research at the University of Louvain until 1994.

Dr. Austin Dacey: Austin Dacey is a philosopher and writer who has lectured and published widely on issues at the intersection of science, religion, ethics, and society. He works for the Center for Inquiry, a think tank affiliated with the State University of New York at Buffalo. He serves as director of research and education and executive editor of Philo, an academic journal specializing in philosophical naturalism. He is a regular contributor to the magazines Free Inquiry and Skeptical Inquirer and author of The Case for Humanism: An Introduction, an undergraduate textbook. In 2002 he earned a doctorate in applied philosophy from Bowling Green State University. He lives in New York City.

Dr. Os Guinness: Dr. Os Guinness is senior fellow at the Trinity Forum in McLean, VA; a seminar-style forum for senior executives and political leaders that engages the leading ideas of our day in the context of faith.   Born in China where his parents were medical missionaries, he remained there until 1951 when forced to leave by the communists. Educated in England, he did undergraduate studies at the University of London, and postgraduate studies at University of Oxford where he graduated with a D.Phil in the social sciences from Oriel College.

Antonye Holyde: Antonye Holyde was a child prodigy in music receiving the Young Artist Award for symphony at age eleven, the youngest to do so.  Tonye is president of "No World Records," a non-copy worship music label, and president of Calvary Chapel Bible College at Morro Bay, a central coast seminary that trains pastors.  As a pastor for the past 14 years, Tonye's ministry has been to preach, teach, and reach college students in the central coast in a unique way by engaging the mind toward God in worship and study. He is a husband of 15 years and father of two wonderful daugthers.

Kyle Van Houtan: Kyle Van Houtan is a doctoral candidate at Duke University in the Nicholas School of the Environment. In the realm of environmental ethics, his interests lie in discussing the tacit philosophical assumptions among the environmental sciences. Prior to coming to Duke, Van Houtan earned an MS in ecology from Stanford University (2000). He received a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of Virginia (1996). He has done research in California, Hawaii, Montana, Belize, Peru, and most recently, Brazil.

Dr. David Miller: Professor Miller is the executive director of the Yale center for Faith and Culture, President of the Avodah Institute, and assistant professor of business ethics at Yale University. Dr. Miller has a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in Religion and Society with a specialty in Social Ethics. He also received the Master of Divinity degree from Princeton, and is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Miller lived and worked in London for eight years, where he was a senior executive and equity partner in a private bank, specializing in international securities services, investment management, and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to this Miller worked for IBM for eight years in a variety of sales and marketing management positions in New Jersey and New England.

Dr. Mark Somma: Dr. Mark Somma is a professor of political science at California State University, Fresno.   He has worked on environmental and related issues for many years.   Dr. Somma has published work on political ecology, water politics, environmental public policy and public opinion, and revolutionary environmentalism.   He believes that environmental conflict and environmental issues will soon overshadow other issues and dominate social, economic, and political decisions.   Dr. Somma believes that human society needs a spiritual evolution to sanctify nature and life as a moral and ethical guide.   He argues that deep ecology is the pathway to this spiritual evolution albeit with many key steps remaining to its development.