Society of Adventist Philosophers

From left to right (back): Ante Jeroncic, Charles Scriven, David Newman, Oliver Glanz, Ron Osborn, James Walter, Zane Yi, Timothy Golden, Nicolas Miller, Zack Plantak, David Trim, John Markovic, Hans Gutierrez, Gary Wood, Tennyson Samraj, Olive Hemming, Jim Londis, Phil Brantley, Bonnie Dwyer (front) Abigail Doukhan, Anne Collier-Freed, Nancey Murphy, Fritz Guy, Richard Rice (not pictured: Alex Carpenter, Doris Tetz Carpenter, Trisha Famisaren, Yi Shen Ma, Aleksander Santrac, and Daryl Ward) (photo by Alex Carpenter)

“As an Adventist doctoral student of philosopher Nancey Murphy at the tail end of the last century, I sought to redress in various ways the “discontents” accompanying modern foundationalist philosophical assumptions that shaped Adventist theology from its emergence in the nineteenth century.  Still on this quest today, I was grateful to be able to re-engage Murphy’s work at the last meeting of the Society of Adventist Philosophers. My short response to her presentation at this meeting (a version of which follows) only gestures toward ways her characterization of foundationalist and non-foundationalist philosophies might help Adventists to witness faithfully to Adventist truths in our postmodern world.  Yet I hope sharing these gestures will in some way spur on further reflection on the challenge and value of engaging in this kind of critical and constructive theological work by thinkers and leaders within the church…”

You can read the rest of Dr. Anne Collier-Freed’s reflections here.

Join us for our third annual symposium as we consider the issue of  “Foundationalism and Its Discontents”.

Dates: November 15-16, 2012

Location: Chicago, IL (DePaul Center 8010, 1 East Jackson Boulevard)

Keynote address: Nancey Murphy (Fuller Theological Seminary)

Schedule:
November 15, 2012
8:30am – Welcome and Prayer

9:00-10:30am – Session 1
-Timothy J. Golden  (West Chester University of Pennsylvania)
-Alexander Carpenter (Pacific Union College)

10:30-12:00pm – Session 2
-Karen Abrahamson (Andrews University)
-Ron Osborn (University of Southern California)
-Charles Scriven (Kettering College of Medical Arts)

12:00-1:30pm – Lunch

1:30-3:00pm – Session 3
-Nicholas Miller (Andrews Theological Seminary)
-Hans Gutierrez (Italian Adventist College)

3:00-5:00pm – Session 4
“Modern Epistemology and the Possibility of Theology”
Nancey Murphy (Fuller Theological Seminary)

Roundtable discussion (with Anne Collier-Freed, Fritz Guy, Nancey Murphy, and Richard Rice)

5:30pm – Dinner followed by casual after dinner discussion of papers

November 16, 2012

3:30pm – Business meeting*

*Meeting will take place at McCormick Place, Room N 426 b.

Registration: Please register by e-mailing adventistphilosophy@gmail.com. The registration fee is $50 for non-society members and $25 for members. Payments can be made here or at the conference, but please register by sending us an e-mail. (Space is limited this year and priority will be given to society members.) The fee is waived for conference presenters and those who have already made a contribution to the organization of the conference.

Accommodations: Conference participants are responsible for their own meals, lodging and transportation. For more information about possible options, click here.

From left to right: Alex Carpenter, Roy Benton, Ben MacArthur, Fritz Guy, Zane Yi, Gary Wood, Abigail Doukhan, Trisha Famisaran, Zdrako Plantak, Ron Osborn, Shawna Vhymeister, Jim Londis, Ante Jeroncic, John Markovic, Tennyson Samraj (not pictured: Tiago Arrias, Bruce Benson, Bonnie Dwyer, Shirley Freed, Oliver Glanz, Hanz Gutierrez, Maury Jackson, Wonil Kim, Nicolas Miller, Gonzalo Pita, John Reeve, Richard Rice, Aleksandar S. Santrac, Charles Scriven, and James Walters.)

“A new intellectual force for good, truth and beauty is organizing in Adventism. Toward these ultimate ends, and for fellowship, dozens of folks of all ages have gathered in San Francisco for the second annual conference the Society of Adventist Philosophers. The papers and panel discussions focused often on the official topical question, does educating Seventh-day Adventists about philosophy offer promise or peril? Losely connected with the Adventist Society for Religious Studies, which meets as a part of the massive Society of Biblical Literature and American Academy of Religion meetings, this small group of Adventists interested in philosophy drew papers from faculty and administrators at a variety of Adventist educational institutions, including Southwestern, La Sierra, Pacific Union College, Kettering College of Medical Arts, Loma Linda University, Washington Adventist University, Andrews University, Canadian University College, and the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies in the Philippines…”

You can read more of Spectrum’s report of the conference here.

Join us for our second annual symposium as we consider the question “Teaching Philosophy: Promise or Peril?”.

Dates: November 17-18, 2011

Location: San Francisco, CA (Eucharist Commons, 285 Main Street)

Keynote address: Bruce Benson (Wheaton College).

Schedule:
November 17, 2011
9:00am – Welcome and Prayer
9:30-11:00am – Session 1

-Abigail Doukhan  (Queens College, CUNY)
-Tennyson Samraj (Canadian University College)

11:00-12:30pm – Session 2

-Aleksandar S. Santrac (University of the Southern Caribbean)
-Hans Gutierrez (Italian Adventist College)

12:30pm – Lunch

2:00-3:30pm – Session 3

-Zane Yi (Fordham University, Ph.D. candidate)
-Gonzalo Pita (Florida Institute of Technology, Ph.D. candidate)

4:00-5:30pm – Session 4

-Richard Rice (Loma Linda University)
-Shawna Vhymeister (Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies)

6:30pm – Dinner followed by casual after dinner discussion of papers

November 18, 2011
8:30-10:00am – Session 5

-Jim Londis (Kettering College of Medical Arts)
-Gary Land/Gary Wood (Andrews University)
-Ben McArthur (Southwestern Adventist University)

10:15-11:45pm – Panel Session – Where do we go from here?
12:00pm – Lunch
1:30pm – Keynote address – “Christian Philosophy as a Way of Life”

-Bruce Benson (Wheaton College)*

3:30pm – Business meeting*

*Meeting will take place at Moscone Center West, Room #2009.

Registration: Please register by e-mailing adventistphilosophy@gmail.com. The registration fee is $50 for non-society members and $25 for members. (The fee is waived for conference presenters and those who have already made a contribution to the organization of the conference.)

Accommodations: Conference participants are responsible for their own meals, lodging and transportation. For more information about possible options, click here.

The  Society of Adventist Philosophers invites submissions for papers and panels to be presented at its annual symposium.

Theme: Teaching Philosophy: Peril or Promise?
Date: November 17-18, 2011
Location: San Francisco, California
Confirmed Presenters: Gary Land (Andrews University), Jim Londis (Kettering College of Medical Arts), Ben McArthur (Southwestern University), Richard Rice (Loma Linda University), Aleksander Santrac (University of the Southern Caribbean), Tennyson Samraj (Canadian University College), and Gary Wood (Andrews University)
Keynote address:  Bruce Benson (Wheaton College)

We invite authors to submit abstracts or papers reflecting on the perils and/or the promise of teaching philosophy at Adventist colleges, universities or seminaries.  Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

• Historic and contemporary views on the value and dangers of studying/teaching philosophy by Adventists
• The benefits of studying/teaching philosophy for Adventism
• The problems and/or challenges of teaching philosophy in an Adventist context
• Pedagogical considerations and methods for effectively teaching philosophy in Adventist universities or seminaries
• Potential problems and pitfalls for studying/teaching philosophy as an Adventist
• The experience of Adventists studying/teaching philosophy at non-Adventist institutions

Submission Guidelines:

Paper abstracts and panel proposals of up to 300 words should be submitted by July 31, 2011 to adventistphilosophy@gmail.com. Paper length should not exceed 10 pages double-spaced or 3000 words.

Notice of acceptance will be sent by August 15, 2011.