Goodness of Creation and Human Responsibility

Faith + Culture Forum
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
February 18-20, 2021
120 S. Wingate St., Wake Forest, NC 27587

This is our Father’s world. He created it, and it reflects the goodness and greatness of its Creator. But Scripture also shows us that this universe is a place where a cosmic conflict is playing out. When humanity was called to take part in this great drama, we rebelled. Humanity joined the war against our Creator. Instead of acting as faithful stewards, we squandered God’s gifts. Now Christ has reconciled us to God, and the Church is called to minister in this sin-damaged world.

The goal of this conference is to show the integral link between creation and redemption, to explore how evangelicals can recover important biblical themes concerning the goodness of creation, to examine the place and responsibility of humans in creation, and to present practical actions we should take now. As we explore these themes together, we want to glorify Christ and advance his kingdom.

This conference has concluded.
In coming weeks, we’ll publish the videos of the conference here.

Alister McGrath
Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at the University of Oxford

Katharine Hayhoe
Climate scientist and endowed professor of public policy and law at Texas Tech University

Norman Wirzba
Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Theology at Duke University, and a Senior Fellow at Duke’s Kenan Institute for Ethics

Jonathan Wilson
Senior Consultant for Theological Integration, Canadian Baptist Ministries, and Teaching Fellow, Regent College

Rusty Pritchard
Vice President of Tearfund USA, a nonprofit dedicated to international relief, community development, and advocacy

Mark Liederbach
Professor of Theology, Ethics and Culture, Dean of Students, and Vice President for Student Services at Southeastern Seminary

Thursday, February 18
Starting at 1pm

• 1pm | “The Great God, The Good Creation, The Grand Story, & Our Glorious Response: A Conference Introduction” (Mark Liederbach)
• 2:30pm | “Substantial Healing: Recovering the Ecological Vision of Francis A. Schaeffer” (a paper presentation by Andrew J. Spencer)
• Dinner Break
• 7pm | “Climate Change: Facts, Fictions, and our Faith” (Katharine Hayhoe)

Friday, February 19
Starting at 9:30am

• 9:30am | “Considering Moral Responsibility in Artificial Intelligence” (a paper presentation by Eddy Wu)
• 11am | “Relationships: The Goodness of Creation and Human Responsibility” (Jonathan Wilson)
• Lunch Break
• 1:15pm | “Saving Masculinity and Femininity from the Morgue: A Defense of Gender Essentialism” (a paper presentation by Jordan Steffaniak)
• 2:30pm | “Creation, Redemption, and Wonder: Reflections on Theological Motivations for the Care of Creation” (Alister McGrath)
• Dinner Break
• 7pm | “Creation Care and Whole-Life Discipleship” (Rusty Pritchard)

Saturday, February 20
Starting at 9:30am

• 9:30am | “Creation Through Christ: What Difference Does it Make?” (Norman Wirzba)
• 11:00am | Panel Discussion

This event was made possible through the support of a grant from John Templeton Foundation and in conjunction with the Henry Center for Theological Understanding. The opinions expressed in this event are those of the speaker(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of either organization.

This conference has concluded.
In coming weeks, we’ll publish the videos of the conference here.