MACON — Prominent author and Christian scholar Dr. Marcus J. Borg has been named the 2009 Harry Vaughan Smith Distinguished Visiting Professor of Christianity at Mercer University. Dr. Borg will give three lectures as part of his appointment. All three are free and open to the public.
Dr. Borg will speak in Newton Chapel on Mercer’s Macon campus. Each lecture will build upon the theme “Rethinking the Big Questions: God, Jesus and the Christian Life.” The times and subjects of each lecture are:
“Thinking about God Again”
Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 10:50 a.m.
“Thinking about Jesus Again”
Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m.
“Thinking about the Christian Life Again”
Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 10 a.m.
“In our day, no one has written more critically and faithfully about Jesus than Marcus Borg,” said event organizer Dr. Richard F. Wilson, professor and chair of the Columbus Roberts Department of Christianity. “His deep and broad learning, his sometimes stunning candor and his disarming piety come together in ways that appeal to large audiences of students, teachers and honest pilgrims.”
Dr. Borg is an eminent scholar, teacher, writer and lecturer, best known for his contributions to contemporary explorations and conversations about the historical Jesus and the relevance of Jesus for today. Dr. Borg was an early member of the Jesus Seminar and one of its most prolific writers of academic and popular books. For 15 years, his Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time has stimulated honest questions and faithful responses to the Jesus of history and the Jesus of faith.
Dr. Borg studied at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., and did graduate work at Union Theological Seminary and earned his M.Phil. and D.Phil. degrees at Oxford University under G.B. Caird. Over 22 years, Dr. Borg has published 16 books, many of which were bestsellers. Three additional books are scheduled for release in 2009 and 2010, including a novel, Time After Time. Dr. Borg is active in the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Ore., where his wife, the Rev. Canon Marianne Wells-Borg, serves as a priest and directs a spiritual development program.
About the Harry Vaughan Smith Professorship:
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.
About Mercer University:
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University has approximately 7,700 students; 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies; major campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah; three regional academic centers across the state; a university press; two teaching hospitals — Memorial University Medical Center and the Medical Center of Central Georgia; educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta; an engineering research center in Warner Robins; a performing arts center in Macon; and a NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
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