There is probably no more persistent trope in Christian theology than the doctrine of the fall, nor one that clashes on its surface most with the science of evolutionary theory. The fall has received an enormous amount of theological attention in recent years. Anthropologists Graeber and Wengrow (in the Dawn of Everything) point to the theological story of the fall as one of the founding myths of our origins which binds us into a pessimistic narrative of our ability as humans to organize ourselves collectively. This conference will examine the notion that there is something wrong with us, and imagine also how we can re-frame the doctrine, and re-imagine the solutions that might allow for individual and corporate thriving. Can we imagine a doctrine of the fall that is true of evolutionary science and leaves room for hope?
Details
Dates: October 27th and 28th 2023
Location: Parnell Conference Centre, 10/20 Gladstone Road, Parnell, Auckland 1052
Key-note Speakers
Dr. Bethany Sollederer
Dr. Bethany Sollereder is a research coordinator at the University of Oxford. She specialises in theology concerning evolution and the problem of suffering. Bethany received her PhD in theology from the University of Exeter and an MCS in interdisciplinary studies from Regent College, Vancouver.
Dr. Kathleen Rushton RSM
Kathleen P. Rushton RSM is an independent biblical interpreter who was a lecturer at Christchurch campus of Te Kupenga – Catholic Theological College and is a Teaching Fellow at Trinity Methodist College, Auckland. Her research focuses on anticipatory readings of John’s Gospel which aim to accommodate both biblical hope and science’s unfinished universe.
Other Speakers
Rev’d. Dr. Anne Van Gend, Emma Belcher, Dr. Doru Costache, Dr. Martin Samson, Rev. Dr. John Owens SM, Dr. Hugh Bowron, Dr. Sarah Beattie, Rev. John Howell, Dr. Emily Colgan & Dr. Aroha Rountree, Assoc. Prof. Michael Mawson, Prof. Carolyn King, Dr. Joshua Wilson Black, Dr. Jay Matanga, Dr. Jonathan Robinson, Dr. Christa McKirland, Ripeka Templeton Bijl, Dr. Drew Everhart, Joanne Watt. For list of names and topics click HERE
