Coming Event of the Socratic Club

Are There Many Paths to One God?

Wednesday, May 14th, 7 PM

Gilfillan Auditorium, Oregon State University

 
The postmodern value placed on tolerance and diversity today has elevated religious and philosophical pluralism to the status of a prevailing worldview.  Religious pluralists argue that there are many paths to One God.  Is such a claim coherent?  Christians have historically claimed that Jesus Christ provides unique connection and access to God.  Is such a claim justifiable in today's multicultural world, where there exist so many religious faiths and differences of belief?  Two speakers, Todd Miles and Tricia Goodnow, will explore these issues and offer divergent views.
 
Todd Miles is Assistant Professor of Theology and Hermeneutics at Western Seminary in Portland, where he has taught since 2003.  He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees from OSU in Nuclear Engineering and a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  He was previously a faculty member of the Dorothy Sayers Classical School.  He is currently working on a book on Christianity and Scripture entitled Son and Spirit:  A Christian Theology of Religions.

Trischa Goodnow is Associate Professor of Speech Communication at Oregon State University, where she has taught since 1993.  She holds a Ph.D. in Rhetoric from the University of Pittsburgh and a Masters in Communication from Emerson College.  She is the author of several scholarly works, including Elements of Parliamentary Debate: A Guide to Public Argument.  She is currently coach of the United States Debate Team and Vice-President of the Northwest Communication Association..

The debate is the fifth in the Socratic Club's sixth year as a student organization at OSU. The Club is modelled on the original Socratic Club, which was founded at Oxford University in 1941, with C. S. Lewis serving as President. At OSU it offers a forum for opposing points of view on subjects of contemporary debate at the intersection of Christian belief and contemporary culture. Each speaker is given 20 minutes to present one side of an issue, after which the two query each other regarding their differences before the floor is opened to questions from members of the audience. Two events are planned for each quarter; for more information and video recordings of past debates go to http://oregonstate.edu/groups/socratic.