Macon— Dr. William E. Hull, the Harry Vaughan Smith Distinguished Visiting Professor of Christianity, will give a series of three lectures on the topic “Best-Selling Christianity: Jesus Christ as Superstar” Feb. 8-9 on Mercer University’s Macon Campus.
His first lecture, “The Da Vinci Code: Dan Brown on Women in the Life of Jesus,” will be at 10:50 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 8. He will speak on “Beyond Belief: Dan Brown on Jesus Outside the New Testament” at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 8. His final presentation is entitled “The Passion of the Christ: Mel Gibson on the Death of Jesus” at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 9. All lectures will be held in Newton Chapel and are free and open to the public.
Hull is a research professor at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. A prolific writer, he is author of The Gospel of John, “John” in The Broadman Bible Commentary, The Bible, Beyond the Barriers, Love in Four Dimensions, The Christian Experience of Salvation, Southern Baptist Higher Education: Retrospect and Prospect; and The Quest for Spiritual Maturity.
An ordained minister, Hull has served as pastor and minister of many churches throughout the South. His distinguished teaching career has included teaching positions at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., the Baptist Theological Seminary in Rüschlikon, Switzerland, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, and the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary.
Hull has served as a speaker in a diverse array of settings, including the World Baptist Alliance, the Southern Baptist Convention, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly, Ridgecrest and Glorieta Baptist Conference Centers, various Baptist state conventions and Baptist missions in Europe, Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The Harry Vaughan Smith Distinguished Visiting Professor of Christianity was established at Mercer University in 1990 through a generous a gift from Dr. and Mrs. Harry Vaughan Smith. A 1924 graduate of Mercer, the late Harry Vaughan Smith served as pastor of several prominent churches in Georgia before becoming alumni secretary and assistant to the president at Mercer in 1946, a post he held until 1955. From 1955 to 1970, he served as the executive director of the Georgia Baptist Foundation. Smith is remembered for his faithful work on behalf of all Georgia Baptist causes and his support of Christian education.
