withallyourmind.net

Today was the final day of the EPS/ETS annual conference. I spent the morning in a panel discussion based on Doug Geivett and James Spiegel’s new book, “Faith, Film and Philosophy: Big Ideas on the Big Screen.” First, Geivett, of Biola University spoke on “Escaping into Reality: How The Truman Show Reveals Epistemological Conditions for Human Flourishing.” Then, David Hunt of Whittier College presented a paper called, “The Sleeper Awakes: Gnosis and Authenticity in The Matrix.” James Spiegel, of Taylor University, then presented his paper, “What Would Have Been and What Could Be: Counterfactuals in It’s a Wonderful Life and Run Lola Run.” Finally, “Rattle and Film: U2 and the Kingdom of God”, a paper by Douglas Blount of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, was presented. This was an enjoyable session examining philosophical issues through film.

In the afternoon, I followed a sort of “aesthetics and culture” track. First, Joseph Wooddell of Criswell College presented a paper, “Christian Artists and Art Critics: The Apologetic Value of Evangelical Involvement.” Then, David Alan Reed of Bethel College presented, “The Logic of Aquinas’s Theory of the Beatific Vision.” Finally, a fellow Biola Master of Arts in Christian Apologetics student, Michele Armstrong presented her paper, “Beauty, Virtue, and Wisdom.”

Tonight at the “Reasonable Faith” Conference, James Sinclair offered a plenary session lecture called, “God, Science and the Cosmos.” The first part of his lecture provided additional support for the second premise of the Kalam Cosmological Argument (that the universe began to exist) from current scientific thought. In the second part, he offered a defense of the Cosmological Fine Tuning Argument.

In the breakout session, I attended Ben Witherington III’s “Knowing the History of Jesus” in which he presented Christ’s own Christology (or how he thought of himself). Jesus spoke continually of two things in regard to himself and his mission: “Son of Man” - an obvious reference to deity from Daniel 7, and “The Kingdom of God” again found to be given to the Son of Man in Daniel 7. He argued Christ had a “high” Christology of himself.

Tomorrow, I will attend several sessions at the “Reasonable Faith” conference. More after that.