PROVIDENCE - Jesuit Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J. will be the keynote speaker at a theological conference ¬ Divine Impassibility and the Mystery of Human Suffering ¬ sponsored by Providence College on Friday, March 30, 2007. Cardinal Avery's address, Divine Providence and the Mystery of Human Suffering, will be held at 6:30 p.m. in Slavin Center's '64 Hall on the college campus. His lecture is free and open to the public.
The question of divine impassibility has resurfaced in theological literature in recent years, reigniting long-standing debate on classical metaphysics and Christian revelation. This conference will feature theologians from a diversity of Christian confessional traditions exploring how a doctrine of God's passibility or impassibility affects how individuals understand His governance of the world.
Cardinal Dulles is the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University, a post he has held since 1988. An internationally-known writer and lecturer, he has authored more than 750 articles on theological topics and has published 22 books including Models of the Church; Models of Revelation; The Catholicity of the Church; The Craft of Theology: From Symbol to System; The Assurance of Things Hoped For: A Theology of Christian Faith; The Splendor of Faith: The Theological Vision of Pope John Paul II; The New World of Faith; and Newman.
Cardinal Dulles' latest book, a revised edition of "The History of Apologetics," was published this past summer. The 50th anniversary edition of his book, "A Testimonial to Grace," the account of his conversion to Catholicism, was republished in 1996 with an afterword containing his reflections on the 50 years since he became a Catholic. Past president of both the Catholic Theological Society of America and the American Theological Society and Professor Emeritus at The Catholic University of America, Cardinal Dulles has served on the International Theological Commission and as a member of the United States Lutheran/Roman Catholic Dialogue. He is presently a consultant to the Committee on Doctrine of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Following Cardinal Dulles' remarks, Fr. Thomas Weinandy, OFM, Cap., will respond. Father Weinandy is the executive director of the Secretariat for Doctrine and Pastoral Practices of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
In addition to Cardinal Dulles address, the conference will feature additional sessions on Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31:
"God's Impassible Suffering in the Flesh: The Coherence of Paradoxical Christology" ¬ presented by Dr. Paul Gavrilyuk, assistant professor of historical theology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. Respondent ¬ Susan Ashbrook Harvey, professor of religious studies at Brown University.
"Karl Barth and the Problem of Divine Impassibility" ¬ presented by Dr. Bruce L. McCormack, the Frederick and Margaret L. Weyerhaeuser Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Seminary. Respondent ¬ Dr. Peter Casarella, associate professor of systematic theology at The Catholic University of America.
"The Dereliction of Christ and the Impassibility of God" ¬ presented by Dr. Bruce D. Marshall, professor of historical theology in the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Respondent ¬ Dr. Paul Gondreau, associate professor of theology at Providence College.
"Ipse Pater Non est Impassibilis" ("The Father Himself Is Not Impassible") ¬ presented by Dr. Robert W. Jenson, senior scholar for research at the Center of Theological Inquiry at Princeton University. Respondent ¬ Dr. R. Trent Pomplun, assistant professor of theology at Loyola College, Maryland.
"No Real Relation: Divine Apatheia and the Problem of Evil" ¬ presented by Dr. David Bentley Hart, the Rev. Robert J. Randall Chair in Christian Culture at Providence College. Respondent ¬ Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., president of Providence College.
For registration and additional information, visit www.providence.edu/divineimpassibility or call 401-865-1349.
(This article originally appeared in The Providence Visitor)
