Dr. Christopher Morse, author, internationally renowned theologian and Dietrich Bonhoeffer Professor of Theology and Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, will be the guest speaker at a Book Talk held on the campus of Hood Theological Seminary on Jan.13 at 7 p.m.
The Book Talk will feature Morseís research on the biblical and creedal references to heaven, and the present day significance of apocalyptic understandings of reality as a coming ěkingdom of heaven,î in his book ěThe Difference Heaven Makes: Rehearing the Gospel as News,î recently published by T&T Clark/Continuum.
ěWe are greatly honored to have Dr. Morse speaking on our campus. He is a widely respected theologian and scholarî said Dr. Albert Aymer, president of Hood Seminary. ěWe are further delighted in that Dr. Morse is a mentor and a former professor of our own Dr. Trevor Eppehimer, professor of systematic theology here at Hood.î
The Book Talk will be followed by a book signing in the Cokesbury Book Store on the Hood Seminary campus.
The public is invited to attend both events, but reservations are recommended as space is limited. Please call the Development Office at 704 636-6926 by 4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 12 to ensure seating.
Morse, an ordained minister of the United Methodist Church, received his B.A. in philosophy from Randolph-Macon College, an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School, and his S.T.M. and Ph.D. degrees from Union Theological Seminary in New York. His field of research and teaching is systematic theology, with particular emphasis on developing the practice of dogmatics and ethics as a ětesting of the spiritsî in regard to formative Christian dogmatic traditions and to the contemporary significance and assessment of church doctrines.
He is an active participant in church and academic associations, including the New Haven Theological Discussion Group, of which he is co-convenor, the American Theological Society, of which he is a past president, and the Duodecim Theological Society.
Among his recent publications are book chapters on former Union faculty members John Macquarrie, Paul Lehmann and Richard Norris. His major published work is a text on Christian doctrine, ěNot Every Spirit: A Dogmatics of Christian Disbelief,î which continues to be used at a number of schools and seminaries. It is currently in its second edition, with a new prologue by the author, and also published by T&T Clark/Continuum.
Morse’s international engagements have included lectures on Bonhoefferís theological legacy at the United Theological College of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, in 2004, on Dogmatics and American Politics, at Neskirkja Church in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 2006, and papers on dogmatics, hermeneutics, metaphysics, and ethics, in relation to apocalyptic themes, presented at the Scottish Universities of Aberdeen, St. Andrews, Edinburgh, and Glasgow in 2007.
Hood Theological Seminary, located at 1810 Lutheran Synod Drive, is a graduate and professional school, historically affiliated with the AME Zion Church, where intellectual discourse and ministerial preparation occur in tandem within the framework of a community of faith. The student body is currently comprised of persons from 16 different denominations.