Symposium Sneak Peek #1: Erik Herrmann and Chuck Arand

The 2014 Theological Symposium is fast approaching (September 23-24), and we thought we’d give the world a sneak peek into the four plenary presentations that will be given over the two days. They will all, of course, be centered in the theme, “Faithful Witness to God’s Story in the World Around Us: Bringing a Unique Perspective to Common Human Experiences.”

The first plenary will be given by Erik Herrmann and Chuck Arand. Here’s the official synopsis:

“Living in the Promises and Places of God”

God’s promises create places for life.  At the heart of our faith and life are God’s promises of salvation. This promise creates a peculiar place: a community that lives by and in his Word in spoken, sacramental, and written forms.  But his word has also given rise to all the places of our lives—places in the creation where with all people we experience suffering and joy, work and rest, community and isolation. How do our shared experiences under God’s promises as creator bear witness to the central promise of life found in Christ? How in turn does the experience of our life in Christ illuminate the promises and the places of God that we all share?

And here’s what Professors Herrmann and Arand have to say about it:

“The First Article can and does bear witness to the Third—our experiences in God’s creation have the potential to point us to God’s new creation. What is even more profound is how the experiences of those outside the church may unwittingly have a share in that witness. Whether in the restlessness of the heart of which St. Augustine spoke or—at the other end of the spectrum—the joy and beauty of Beethoven’s Ninth, Christ becomes the meaning and telos of it all.”

For more information on the 2014 Theological Symposium, click here.