Speaker: Dr. Tremper Longman, Professor of Old Testament Emeritus, Westmont College Title: Ancient Wisdom for God’s People in the 21st Century
The purpose of the book of Proverbs is to make the reader wise (Prov. 1:2-7). Wisdom helps people navigate life well (practical), live with integrity (ethical), and do so in relationship with God (theological). The book addresses many different topics (for example, family, work, speech, relationships) including how to build and live in a community. This presentation will explore Proverbs’ wisdom to see what insight the book gives us about creating and maintaining a healthy church community in today’s complex world.
Tremper Longman (BA, Ohio Wesleyan; MDiv, Westminster Theological Seminary; MPhil, PhD, Yale University) is the Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies emeritus at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA. Prior to joining Westmont in 1998, he was at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He is an adjunct professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, also Visiting Professor of Old Testament at the Seattle School of Theology & Psychology as well as Ambrose University Seminary (Calgary). He has written over thirty books, including several biblical commentaries, as well as Science, Creation and the Bible: Reconciling Rival Theories of Origins with physicist Richard F. Carlson. He is an editor and contributor to the Zondervan Dictionary of Christianity and Science. With John Walton he wrote, The Lost World of the Flood.
Tremper was with us last summer in conversation on The Bible and Abortion. He has been a previous summer Sunday speaker, and was one of the speakers for our 2019 conference with the Biologos Foundation, dealing with the question “can you trust the Bible in a scientific age?” There is a video recording of that conference, including Dr. Longman’s perspective on the relationship between creation and evolution.
Summer Speaker Series
What is the future of Christian community? As the world comes to grips with the impact of the pandemic and quarantine, exacerbated by increased polarization, what does that mean for the followers of Jesus Christ? Each Sunday this summer we’ll hear about an important aspect of our life together—as the Christian community and as Christians in the larger community context in which we live our daily lives. We will meet in person in Stone Fellowship Hall, 9:45-10:45 am, beginning Sunday June, 18 through August 27. We will also take advantage of technology to enable both remote attendance each week, as well as to have one or two remote speakers join us from across the country.
