Talks & Lectures

2012

2011

  • Spring Semester, 2011: Coordinating Faith and Future of the Planet lecture series at Claremont School of Theology.
  • February 10-12, Phoenix AZ: Big Tent Christianity Conference
  • March 15, Pretoria, South Africa: Lecture series for South-African Science and Religion Forum. Themes included: Science and Religion; Scientific Critiques of Natural Theology; Mind, Body and Religion; Why the ‘New Atheism’ is Bad Science; Cosmology and Eschatology.
  • March 16-17, Durban, South Africa: Lectures at School of Religion and Theology at University of KwaZulu-Natal. Two-day lecture series including pulblic lecture in Pietermaritzburg titled “Dialoging with the ‘New Atheism’: Rethinking Both Science and Religion.”
  • March 18, Capetown, South Africa: Forum at the University of Western Cape on emergent and complex systems.
  • June 4-11, Beijing, China: Lecture series on ecological sustainability.
  • June 21-23, Sharjah, UAE: Plenary lecture at the conference Belief In Dialogue: Science Culture and Modernity at the American University of Sharjah.
  • October 9-16, Seoul, Korea
  • October 18-20, San Diego CA: Soularize Conference, 10th Anniversary
  • November 4-5, Phoenix, Arizona: Donohue Forum in
  • November 18-22, San Francisco CA: American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting

2010

  • Jan. 26-28, Decatur, Georgia: Giving the opening keynote entitled “Jesus and Emergence: Rethinking Believing from the Ground Up” at “Emergence Now,” which is part of an annual seminar series by The Center for Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary. Click here to visit the website.
  • Feb. 12-13, Claremont, California: Presenting a paper entitled “Between Skepticism and Faith: Evolution, Peirce, and Religious Belief” at “Skeptical Faith. On faith, belief, and skepticism,” the annual conference put on by the Danforth Professor of the Philosophy of Religion at Claremont Graduate University. Click here to visit the website.
  • Feb. 23-26, Vienna, Austria: Giving a lecture entitled “Why the New Atheism is Bad Science: Biology, Philosophy, and Religion after Epigenesis and Systems Biology,” at the University of Vienna.
  • Mar. 10-12, Claremont, California: Organizing a conference entitled “Theology After Google: Leveraging New Technologies and Networks for Transformative Ministry,” to empower pastors, laypeople, and up-and-coming theologians of the next generation to do “theology after Google,” theology for a Google-shaped world. Giving a talk entitled “Talking Truth in the Google Age” on March 10th. Click here to visit the website.
  • Mar. 14, Claremont, California: Giving a talk entitled “Quaker Traditions and Practices: What Binds Friends Together When They’re So Diverse?” at the Friends Meeting in Claremont.
  • Mar. 18, Chicago, Illinois: Giving a talk at 4:00pm entitled “Human Uniqueness Evolved and Evolving: Biology, Culture, and Transcendence”, sponsored by the Hyde Park Religion and Science Society (HPRSS) and the Zygon Center for Religion and Science (ZCRS). Click here to visit the website.
  • Mar. 18, Chicago, Illinois: Giving an opening talk at 6:00pm entitled “This Sacred Earth: Why Interreligious Partnerships are Indispensable in Addressing the Global Environmental Crisis” at Shared Earth: An Interfaith Conference on the Environment, sponsored by the Center for Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Click here to visit the website.
  • Mar. 19-21, Goshen, Indiana: Presenting three lectures on “Evolution After the Religion Wars: Rethinking Humanity and Ethics in Light of the Science-Religion Partnership” at the Annual Goshen Conference on Religion and Science. The first lecture is entitled “Starting with the Big Picture: The Evolutionary Emergence of Body, Mind, and Spirituality,” the second is “Apes with Big Brains: Anthropology and the Biological Sciences,” and the third is “What’s a Nice Hominid Like You Doing in a Place Like This? Ethical Dilemmas Our Biology Never Prepared Us For”. Click here to visit their website.
  • Mar. 27, Loma Linda, California: Giving a talk from 10-12:00p entitled “Emergence, Religion, and Faith: Speculating on the Connections at the neurology classroom in the Coleman Pavilion at Loma Linda University.
  • Apr. 9-10, St. Paul, Minnesota: Giving an opening keynote entitled “The Emergence of the Natural World, the Emergence of Religion, Or Why the Value-Free, Belief-Free Study of Religion Can Never Suffice” for the annual meeting of the AAR, Upper Midwest Region. Click here to visit their website.
  • Apr. 15-16, Chicago, IL: Giving a talk on theology and science at Loyola University Chicago.
  • Apr. 22-25, San Anselmo, CA: Giving a talk entitled “Christian Panentheism and Contemporary Science,” in the student-faculty History of Religion Seminar entitled “Nature, Miracle, and Magic” on April 22nd. Participating in a discussion with Bruce Reyes-Chow on “Are Seminaries an Anachronism? Revolutionizing Theological Education and Christianity in the 21st Century” on April 23rd at 4:00pm at Scott Hall of San Francisco Theological Seminary.
  • Apr. 28-30, Claremont, CA: Speaking at the “Conference on Ecological Civilization,” sponsored by the Institute for Postmodern Development in China. Click here to visit their website.
  • May 10-14, Philadelphia, PA: Giving a lecture series entitled “With Science Beyond Science: The Human Quest for Meaning and Transcendence.” This series is sponsored by the Metanexus Institute, and consists of five lectures: 1. “Starting with the Big Picture: The Evolutionary Emergence of Body, Mind, and Spirituality,” 2. “Apes with Big Brains: Anthropology and the Biological Sciences,” 3. “Persons in Quest of Meaning: Psychology, the Arts, and the Social Sciences,” 4. “What’s a Nice Hominid Like You Doing in a Place Like This? Ethical Dilemmas Our Biology Never Prepared Us For,” and 5. “Transcendence and Self-Transcending: Anthropology, Cosmology, and Religion.” Click here to visit the website.
  • June 21-23, Berkeley, CA: Giving a talk entitled “Advances in Theoretical Biology: Biology, Culture, and the Question of Meaning” at a conference on biology, biosemiotics, and theology at University of California at Berkeley.
  • July 7-10, Oxford, UK: Giving a keynote address entitled “Science-and-Theology from the Standpoint of Divine Kenosis” at “God and Physics, Incorporating an 80th Birthday Celebration of the Work of John Polkinghorne,” a conference sponsored by the International Society for Science and Religion at The Clarendon Laboratory at St. Anne’s College. Click here to visit the conference website.
  • July 19-21, Claremont, CA: Giving a talk at a conference on process and biology in Claremont.
  • Sept. 8-10, Raleigh, NC: Attending and organizing a “Big Tent Christianity” meeting, co-hosted by Brian McLaren for the Transforming Theology project.  The public event takes place Sept. 8-10; for registration information and a list of speakers, please click here. The private event is a meeting of 30 Christian leaders from around the country, meeting with Brian and me at a retreat center outside Raleigh Sept. 8-10.
  • Sept. 18, Loma Linda, CA:  An all-day public seminar on my Adventures in the Spirit, at the University Church on the campus of Loma Linda University, with the title, “The Adventure Continues.” Sessions are 10-12 and 1-3. contact Jim Walters at Loma Linda University, <jwalters@llu.edu>  for further  information.
  • Sept. 24-27, Wenatchee, WA: Presenting a series of lectures entitled “Moving Mountains: Energizing your Faith to Transform the World” for the 2010 Albertson Lecture series on Sept. 24th through 27th. Individual lectures are entitled: “A Revolution is Afoot within the Church Today: Why We Should Join It Rather Than Fighting It” on the 24th at 7pm; ”‘Spiritual but not Religious’:  Faith and Belief that Grow from the Heart of Experience” on the 25th at 9am; ”Jesus without the Dogmas, Christians without Walls, or: How Your Hindu And Buddhist Friends Can Point You Back to the Heart of Christianity” on the 25th at 11am; “Birthing a Multi-Religious University: Update on the Claremont University Project” on the 25th at 12:3opm; “Faith and the Future of the Planet: Science, World Religions, and Global Justice on the 25th at 2pm; and “How God Acts: What Happens when Progressives Find Jesus” on the 26th at 9am and 10:30am.  Lectures will take place at First United Methodist Church, 941 Washington St., Wenatchee.  For more information, click here.
  • Sept. 30-Oct. 3, Madison, NJ: Giving a paper at the annual conference of the Transdisciplinary Theological Colloquium at Drew Theological School. The paper is titled, “The God Who IS (Not) One:  Of Elephants, Blind Men, and Disappearing Tigers.”  Click here to visit the website.
  • Oct. 15-25, Beijing, China: Lecture tour to Beijing and various universities around China. The talks will include:
    (1) “Science and Religion as Servants to Create an Ecological Civilization”
    (2) “Toward a Constructive Postmodernism for the Common Good”
    (3) “Process Philosophy and Spiritual Ecology: Using Our Traditions as Resources to Face the  Global Crisis”
    (4) “Constructive Postmodernism and Open Marxism”
  • Nov. 5-7, Basel, Switzerland: Giving an opening keynote (“Neither Exclusion, Relativism, nor Religionswissenschaft: How the Conversation with Science Transforms the Interreligious Dialogue”) for a conference on Jewish, Christian, and Muslim approaches to Religion and Science: “Religion and Science in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.”
  • Nov. 28-Dec. 1, Big Sur, CA: Participating in “Panentheism Across the World’s Religions,” a conference for the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Conference Center. Click here to visit the website.

2009

  • February 19-22, Heidelberg, Germany: “Toward a Constructive Theology of the Person,” paper at the Michael Welker consultation on “Toward a More Complex Theory of Personhood,” University of Heidelberg.
  • March 6, Claremont, CA: “Teaching Theology in a World Where Science Really Matters,” conference on “Theology for a Secular Age,” Claremont School of Theology. Click here to visit the website.
  • March 12-14, Claremont, CA: Co-organizer of a three-day conference on “Rekindling Theological Imagination: Transformative Thought for Progressive Action,” Claremont School of Theology, including public events on “Transforming the Church” and “Transforming Society.” Click here to visit the website.
  • March 23-27, Big Sur, CA: Co-organizer of a five-day conference on “Evolutionary Panentheism” together with the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Conference Center; also presenting “This Sacred Planet.” Click here to visit the conference series website.
  • May 11-15, Uppsala, Sweden: The Olaus Petri annual lectures: “With Science Beyond Science: The Human Quest for Self-Understanding”: Lecture 1: “Apes with Big Brains: Anthropology and the Biological Sciences”; Lecture 2: “Persons Seeking Meaning: Anthropology, the Arts, and the Social Sciences”; Lecture 3: “Transcendence and Self-Transcendence: Anthropology and Religion.”
  • May 27-29, Claremont, CA: Co-organizer of a three-day denominational summit on “Rekindling Theological Imagination: Transformative Thought for Progressive Action,” including a public event at Claremont School of Theology on May 28th, 7-9pm: “Visions for the Future.” Click here to visit the website.
  • July 3-5, Cambridge, UK: Speaking on a panel addressing scientific and philosophical critiques of current views on the evolution of religion at “Evolution, Religion and Suffering,” a two-day conference by the International Society for Science and Religion, St. Edmunds College. Click here to visit the website.
  • July 5-10, Cambridge, UK: Speaking on the evolution of religion and theology in a Darwinian context at “Darwin Festival 2009,” a five-day festival celebrating the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species. Click here to visit the website.
  • September 9-11, Chicago, IL: Having a conversation about Jürgen Moltmann at the 2009 Emergent Villiage gathering entitled “A Theological Conversation with Jürgen Moltmann.” Click here to visit the website.
  • September 28-30, Berlin, Germany: Opening keynote at “God and the Future,” a two-day conference sponsored by the Guardini Foundation and the DFG, which will discuss eschatological, historical, cosmological aspects, the question of God’s foreknowledge, and the openness of the future and freedom at Humboldt-University.
  • October 10-12, Cambridge, MA: Board of Advisors meeting, John Templeton Foundation, Harvard University.
  • October 20, Laurinburg, NC: Giving John Calvin McNair Annual Lecture entitled “Living toward an Open Future: What are the Theological Conditions for Hope in an Age of Science?” at St. Andrews Presbyterian College. Click here to visit the website.
  • October 21, Hamilton, Ontario: Giving a lecture entitled “Living toward an Open Future: What are the Theological Conditions for Hope in an Age of Science?” at McMaster University.
  • October 22, Toronto, Ontario: Giving a lecture entitled “Living toward an Open Future: What are the Theological Conditions for Hope in an Age of Science?” at University of Toronto.
  • October 25, Scottsdale, AZ: Giving a talk entitled “Apes with Big Brains: Anthropology and the Biological Sciences” at Pinnacle Presbyterian Church. Click here to visit the website.
  • October 26, Tempe, AZ: Giving a lecture entitled “Emergent Phenomena in the Natural World: What Do They Suggest about Religion?” at the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University. Click here to visit the website.
  • October 26, Tempe, AZ: Giving a lecture entitled “The Crisis of the Humanities in America: An Analysis and Concrete Proposal for Action” at the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies at Arizona State University. Click here to visit the website.
  • October 26, Phoenix, AZ: Giving a talk entitled “Transcendence and Self-Transcending: Anthropology, Cosmology, and Religion” at Shadow Rock United Church of Christ. Click here to visit the website.
  • November 7-9, Montreal, Quebec: Speaking on the problem of evil, “The Argument from Neglect,” American Academy of Religion annual conference. Click here to visit the website.
  • November 10-11, Burnstown, Ontario: Giving a talk entitled “Transforming Christian Theology: For Church and Society,” with a public lecture on “This Sacred World: What the New Integration of Science and Religion Has to Say about Ecology, Politics, and Human Spirituality” at the Madawaska Institute. Click here to visit the website.
  • November 20-22, San Diego, CA: Opening keynote at the Darwin Festival, California State University San Diego. Click here to visit the website.
  • December 5, Melbourne, Australia: Organizing and speaking at three sessions at the Parliament of the World Religions five-year conference. The sessions are as follows: “Science and Spirituality: Building New Partnerships to Heal the Earth,” “Science, Spirituality, and Overcoming Religious Conflict,” and “Religion, Science, and Environmental Activism.” Click here to visit the website.

2008

  • Jan. 24-27, Heidelberg, Germany: “Toward an Emergent Anthropology,” University of Heidelberg.
  • February 8-9, Claremont, CA: “The Hiddenness of God in Spinoza: A Case Study,” Danforth Conference, “The Presence and Absence of God,” Claremont Graduate University.
  • Feb. 11-12, Hiram, OH: “Why the ‘New Atheism’ Isn’t New: The Path from Scientific Reductionism to Reenchantment,” The Hiram Lectures on Science and Religion, Hiram College.
  • Mar. 5, St. Louis, MO: “From Quantum to Consciousness: Does Emergence Support the Language of Spirit?”, The annual Witherspoon Lecture, Washington University.
  • Mar. 19, Rohnert Park, CA: “Why Making Peace between Science and Religion is Essential for Global Community,” California State University, Sonoma.
  • April 25, Portland, OR: “This Sacred World: Irreducible Complexity in Science and the Emerging God,” Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. Click here to visit the website and/or purchase tickets.
  • May 1, Claremont, CA: “A Process-Oriented Approach to Emergence in Contemporary Evolutionary Biology,” a debate with Professor Joseph Bracken, Center for Process Studies.
  • May 29 – June 1, Doha, Qatar: “Respect without Identity: Why the Warfare Model Must be Wrong,” summit meeting on “Science, Cultures and the Future of Humanity: Could Knowledge, Spirituality and Action Re-Shape the World?” for broadcast on Al Jazeera Television; also “Seeing the Limits of Science from within Science” and “The Six Most Common Errors in Relating Science and Religion.”
  • July 10, Monterey, CA: “Panentheism in Comparativist Perspective, with special focus on Hinduism and the Abrahamic Faiths,” Society of Asian and Comparative Philosophy annual meeting, Asilomar Conference Center.
  • July 9-11, Paris: “Doing Science-Religion Research Outside the Context of Western Europe and North America,” workshop sponsored by Global Perspectives on Science and Spirituality.
  • July 26 – August 2, Star Island, NH: “Sociality and the Emergence of Culture,” lectures and seminars at the annual conference of the Institute for Religion in an Age of Science, “Emergence: Nature’s Mode of Creativity — The Human Dimension.”
  • September, Claremont, CA: “God Beyond Orthodoxy: Process Theology for the 21st Century,” fall Co-Director’s lecture, Claremont School of Theology.
  • October 9-21, Beijing, China: Lectures at various universities.
  • October 22-24, Claremont, CA: “Process Approaches to Science and Religion,” Process and Faith conference, Claremont School of Theology.
  • November 1-3, Chicago, IL: “The Argument from Neglect: A Response to the Problem of Evil” and “Always Reformed, Always Reforming: Why ‘Scientific Atheists’ Can’t be Right about the Doctrine of God”, lectures for the American Academy of Religion annual meeting.
  • November 8-9, Berkeley, CA: “Emergence and Biosemiotics.”
  • 2008-2009, India: This year’s Invited Lecturer for the Council of Philosophical Research in India. Four weeks of lectures at philosophy departments and institutes across India (e.g., New Delhi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore). Also lectures at several conferences, including the ICPR Globalization conference in Delhi, the International Process Network conference in Bangalore, and the “Transforming the Self” conference in Bangalore.