Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary appreciates the opportunity to bring science into our campus culture and academia through its project, “Faith Seeking Understanding: Integrating Faith and Science in the 21st Century.” With the support of its administration, Southeastern’s project involves a diverse steering committee representing the L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture; Theology, Counseling, and Old Testament departments; and PhD office. The project involves four key components: (1) a science component embedded into five courses, (2) one major campus-wide conference, “Science and the Christian Faith: Moments that Shaped History,” with regional impact in the research triangle of North Carolina, (3) four PhD and faculty colloquia coupled with a campus-wide lecture series involving the four colloquia speakers, and (4) a mentorship program for 13 select students.

Courses with an added science component include Theology I and II at the undergraduate and graduate levels, Foundations of Biblical Counseling for Counselors and for Ministers, and Counseling Theory. Southeastern will bring in experts in the field of science and faith, including Drs. Peter Harrison, Professor of Science and Religion at the University of Queensland; Michael Murray, President of the Arthur Vinings Davis Foundation; Ted Cabal, Professor of Christian Apologetics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Ted Davis, Professor of the History of Science at Messiah College; and Nathan Finn, Provost and Dean of the Faculty at North Greenville University. Southeastern anticipates hosting at least 200 participants at its major conference from within the Southeastern community, other major universities in North Carolina’s research triangle and local pastors and leaders at partner churches. Colloquia and evening lecture speakers include Drs. Jeff Hardin, Jennifer Wiseman, Denis Alexander, and Erica Carlson. Southeastern films and publishes all lectures through its blog, IntersectProject.org. Mentees in Southeastern’s mentorship program read and discuss three science and faith books, meet in a small group setting with scientists and relevant professionals in the area, and visit science-related places, such as the NC Museum of Natural Sciences and the Duke Lemur Center.

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