We had a great time with Dr. Gentry at our March lecture.  He traced (quickly!) the history of liberal arts from the time of Moses to the present day.  We also considered the philosophical shift from “faith seeking understanding” to the current idea of “reason seeking that which I can believe.”  We also considered the struggle of specific colleges and universities as they wrestle with promoting academic excellence while still maintaining Biblical commitments.  We discovered together that liberal arts without a Christian foundation miss the point and Christian education that avoids the liberal arts is incomplete at best.

The download of Dr. Gentry’s is available below. (Left click to listen now, right click and choose “save target as” to save to your computer.)

Gentry Lecture Part 1

Gentry Lecture Part 2

By all accounts our February conference was a success!  Dr. Peter Jones of Truth Xchange and Westminster Theological Seminary in California gave two lectures on the “new paganism” and explained its agenda and potential impact on the culture.  Thanks to all those who came out for the lectures at this special [non-Thursday] event.  Recordings of the lecture are available here:

(Left click on the links to listen to the lectures.  To save them to your computer, right click on the link and choose “Save target as”)

Part 1: Introduction to Paganism Lecture Part1
Part 2: The Five Points of Paganism Lecture Part2

Also, Dr. Jones used a visual aid during the second lecture.  Though my drawing skills leave much to be desired, it may be helpful to see the following (which he refers to during the lecture): 5PointsofPaganism

Our guest for January was Dr. John Wingard of Covenant College. Dr. Wingard spoke on the topic of “Film and the Mind of Unbelief” and challenged us all to become film critics. His lecture included points on the value of film as a medium for teaching us about ourselves and the culture.

At the conclusion of his lecture Dr. Wingard recommended four books -
On Christianity and Film:
Robert K. Johnston, Reel Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue (Baker, 2000).
R. Douglas Geivett and James S. Spiegel, eds., Faith, Film and Philosophy: Big Ideas on the Big Screen (IVP, 2007).

On Christianity and the Arts:
Gene Veith, State of the Arts: From Bezalel to Mapplethorpe (Crossway Books, 1991).
Leland Ryken, The Liberated Imagination: Thinking Christianly about the Arts (Harold Shaw, 1989)

Get Dr. Wingard’s discussion outline here: January Discussion Notes

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