Professor and author to lecture at CMU’s “Proclaiming the Unique Claims of Christ” lecture series
Canadian Mennonite University’s annual lecture series Proclaiming the Unique Claims of Christ welcomes professor, author, and guest lecturer Dr. Robert Benne. The 2011 lectures take place March 14 and 15 on campus at CMU.
“We are fortunate to welcome Dr. Benne to Canada for this year’s lecture series,” says Pierre Gilbert, CMU Associate Professor of Bible and Theology at CMU and Associate Professor of Old Testament with Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary. “Dr. Benne is a leading scholar on the topic of Christian higher education, Lutheran ethics, and social thought. He will bring a thoughtful perspective and challenge to the way in which Christians are called to live out their faith – publically and privately – in today’s world.”
Dr. Robert Benne is Jordan-Trexler Professor of Religion Emeritus and Director of the Center for Religion and Society at Roanoke College, Salem, Virginia. A native of Nebraska, Benne received his BA from Midland Lutheran College and his MA and PhD from the University of Chicago. He has been a Fulbright Scholar to Germany (Erlangen, 1959-60) and has done post-doctoral research at Hamburg University in Germany (1971-72) and at Cambridge University in England (1978-79, 1985-85, 1992-93) where he continues as a Visiting Fellow at St. Edmund’s College.
Benne is the author of 11 books, his most recent being Good and Bad Ways to Think about Religion and Politics. Other publications include: The Ethic of Democratic Capitalism: A Moral Reassessment; Ordinary Saints: An Introduction to the Christian Life; The Paradoxical Vision: A Public Theology for the Twenty-first Century; Seeing is Believing: Vision of Life Through Film; and Quality with Soul: How Six Premier Colleges and Universities Keep Faith with Their Religious Traditions.
During the 2011 Proclaiming the Unique Claims of Christ lecture series, Benne will address the uniqueness of Christ as God’s gift to humanity and how our response as Christians differentiates us from the world, while affording the opportunity to speak into ordinary and extra-ordinary spheres of life. The first lecture, “The Unique Gift of Christ,” will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. on March 14; the second lecture, “The Unique Claim of Christ-Living as Christ’s Ordinary Saints in the World” on March 14 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.; and the third, “The Unique Claim of Christ—Living as Christ’s Ordinary Saints in Political Life,” on March 15 from 11:30 a.m. to12:10 p.m. All lectures will be held in the CMU Chapel, South Campus.
The Proclaiming the Unique Claims of Christ lecture series is sponsored by Canadian Mennonite University, the Institute for Theology and the Church, and the Winnipeg Centre for Ministry Studies, an inter-Mennonite partnership that facilitates the offering of graduate and professional theological education in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The Centre is supported by four institutional partners and five Mennonite conferences: Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS); Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary (MBBS); Canadian Mennonite University (CMU); Steinbach Bible College; and The Winnipeg Theological Cooperative, an association of schools in Winnipeg with UWinnipeg’s Faculty of Theology.
Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) is an accredited Christian university offering undergraduate degrees in the arts, music, music therapy, theology, and church ministries, and master degrees in theological studies and Christian ministry. CMU is a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). Located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, CMU has over 1,700 students at its Shaftesbury Campus in Southwest Winnipeg, at Menno Simons College in downtown Winnipeg, and enrolled through Outtatown, CMU’s adventure and discipleship program.