The Nature of the University: Medieval Freedom and Modern Chains

Dr. David Haines

Thursday, October 17 | 7–8:30pm

Bethlehem Baptist Church
Minneapolis

The Medieval period has often been portrayed as a time of intellectual decline, ecclesiastical tyranny, and cultural degeneracy. The Dark Ages seem even darker when compared to the intellectual freedom experienced by academics in the contemporary Western world. Yet, we begin to wonder just how free these contemporary institutions actually are. In this lecture, we will consider the nature and purpose of the University, especially the liberal arts or humanities. We will wonder about how “liberal” they actually are, and we will make some suggestions about what is necessary for education to be truly liberating.

Dialogues Against Despair: Spenser and Bunyan on Literary Perseverance

Dr. Betsy Howard

Tuesday, November 12 | 7–8:30pm

The North Church
Mounds View

Protestant poet-courtier Edmund Spenser and Puritan preacher John Bunyan both grapple with the pernicious and persistent temptation to despair in their famous works The Faerie Queen (1590) and Pilgrim’s Progress (1678). Spenser and Bunyan offer sophisticated assessments of ways through it and, by God’s grace, out of it. This lecture considers what Spenser and Bunyan’s theological-literary imaginations have to offer us today in our own struggle towards hope in God.

O Tannenbaum: Norse Pagans, a Missionary, and a Tree

Dr. James McGlothlin

Thursday, December 12 | 7–8:30pm

Cities Church
St. Paul

You won’t find a single Christmas tree mentioned anywhere in the New Testament accounts of the first Advent (Matt. 1:18–2:18; Luke 1:26–2:21). But decorating trees, even among Christians, is a mainstay of Christmas holiday tradition. What does it have to do with Advent? Come hear Dr. James McGlothlin share the surprising pagan origins of this tradition and what it might teach Christians about redeeming culture.