2021 Summer Scripture Conference JUNE 20-25, 2021

Speakers to include:

• Father Robert Spitzer
• Dr. Stacy Trasancos
• Dr. Tina Wray
• Dr. Craig Keener
• Father John Kartje
• Brother Guy Consolmagno
• Dr. Steven Smith
• Father John Lodge
• Mr. Joe Paprocki

Sunday, June 20, 2021; 7:45 PM-9:00 PM, CST, "Recent Developments in Cosmology & How They Relate to Creation, an Intelligent God, and Scripture (Genesis 1)"

Monday, June 21, 2021; 9:00 AM-10:15 AM, CST, "Evolution, Scripture and Theology"

Monday, June 21, 2021; 10:45 AM-12:00 PM, CST, "The Scientific Investigation of the Shroud of Turin & Near-death Experiences: How They Relate to Christian Mutations of Second Temple Judaism in the Resurrection Narratives & St. Paul"

Father Robert J. Spitzer, SJ, PhD is a Catholic Priest in the Jesuit order and is currently the President of the Magis Center of Reason and Faith and the Spitzer Center. The Magis Center produces documentaries, books, high school programs, college courses, adult-education programs and social media materials to show the close connection between faith and reason in contemporary physics, philosophy, and historical study of the New Testament. The Spitzer Center produces facilitated curricula to strengthen strategic planning, culture, and spiritual practice in Catholic organizations.

He earned his undergraduate degree at Gonzaga university, a M.A. from St. Louis University, an M.Div. from Gregorian University (Rome), a Th.M. from Weston School (Cambridge), and a Ph.D. from Catholic University of America.

Fr. Spitzer is currently the host of a weekly EWTN television program--Father Spitzer's Universe--that discusses faith, science, philosophy and culture. He has made multiple media appearances, has published eleven books, has had a rewarding career in teaching and has founded six major national institutes.

Monday, June 21, 2021; 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM, CST "The 'Why' of Creation: Unlocking the Meaning of Genesis One". Scripture Scholar Steven Smith delves deeply into the mythic language and symbolism in Genesis one. By helping us discover the ancient Jewish meaning of the text, this talk seeks to dispel quasi-scientific impressions of the Creation narrative once and for all.

Dr. Steven C. Smith is chair of Biblical Studies at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, IL. He earned his Masters in Theology at Wheaton College Graduate School in 2000 and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Loyola University of Chicago in 2008 where he earned his doctorate in New Testament and Early Christianity.

Steven's areas of specialties include: Catholic biblical interpretation/hermeneutics; Johannine literature; Deuterocanonical/wisdom literature; and the Resurrection of Jesus. He is the author of a triology of books, all of which explore various aspects of biblical interpretation: The Word of the Lord (2012), The House of the Lord (2017), and The Face of the Lord (2020).

Monday, June 21, 2021; 7:00-8:15 PM, CST "All Things by Measure, Number and Weight"

Tuesday, June 22, 2021; 9:00 AM-10:15 AM, CST "Genesis, St. John and the Birth of Modern Science"

Tuesday, June 22, 2021; 10:45 AM - 12:00 PM, CST "Completing the Scientific Revolution by Coming Back to the Biblical Worldview of Creation"

Dr. Stacy Trasancos has a doctorate in chemistry and a master’s in dogmatic theology. She worked as a chemist for DuPont before converting to Catholicism and radically restructuring her life. She left her career to stay home with her kids, from there becoming a writer and educator. Now, she is the Executive Director of Bishop Strickland’s St. Philip Institute in Tyler, Texas. She teaches online theology courses for Seton Hall University and Holy Apostles College and Seminary and is a Fellow of the Word on Fire Institute. She is author of "Science Was Born of Christianity: The Teaching of Fr. Stanley L. Jaki" and "Particles of Faith: A Catholic Guide to Navigating Science", which has also been published as a textbook for Catholic high schools and colleges. She has also written a Catholic Answers booklet "20 Answers: Bioethics" and writes the Science column for the National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly. Dr. Trasancos lives with her family in Hideaway, Texas. She has seven children and six grandchildren.

Tuesday, June 22, 2021; 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM "CS Lewis--Space Trilogy and the Scriptures"

Father John Lodge is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biblical Studies and Homiletics at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, University of St. Mary of the Lake; M.A., University of Illinois at Chicago Circle; S.S.L., Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome; S.T.D., Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome; Author of Reading Romans 9-11: A Reader Response Analysis (Scholars, 1997); Professor at Quigley Preparatory South 1976-1978; V.P. and Academic Dean, 1984-1988, 1997-2003; Ecclesiastical President, 2003- Adjunct Professor, Gregorian University, Rome, 1992-1993. Member of the Catholic Biblical Association, Catholic Theological Society of America, American Academy of Religions / Society for Biblical Literature, contributor to Biblica, Bible Today, and Chicago Studies.

Tuesday, June 22,2021; 7:00 PM - 8:15 PM, CST "Digging the Scriptures"

Wednesday, June 23, 2021; 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM, CST "The 5 Most Significant Archaeology Finds from the Bible"

Wednesday, June 23, 2021; 10:45 AM - 12:00 PM, CST "Biblical Cities--Then and Now"

Dr. T.J. Wray is an award-winning Professor of Religious and Theological Studies at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. A respected biblical scholar with a keen interest in ancient near-eastern archaeology and its connection to the biblical text, Dr. Wray has participated in several excavations, including Mt. Zion and Kibbutz Tzuba (the so-called “Cave of John the Baptist”). She was selected as one of two experts to present at the prestigious Biblical Archaeology Seminar and she served as the keynote speaker for the International Women’s Symposium in Magdala Israel. A prolific writer T.J. Wray is the author of many articles and books, including "Good Girls, Bad Girls: The Enduring Lessons of Twelve Women of the Old Testament", "What the Bible Really Tells Us: The Essential Guide for Biblical Literacy", and “Good Girls, Bad Girls of the New Testament: Their Enduring Lessons” (all published by Rowman & Littlefield) and “The Birth of Satan: Tracing the Devil’s Biblical Roots” (Palgrave). She is a regular contributor to The Holy Land Review, The Franciscan Journal of Faith, Culture and Archaeology.

Dr. Wray has appeared on National Public Radio, several television documentaries on the History Channel, and various other television and radio programs across the country and abroad. An intrepid traveler, she has led tours to biblical lands, studied at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem and is currently conducting research on her new book, “In the Shadow of David: The Life and Times of Israel’s First King, Saul”. For more information, see, www.tjwray.com

Wednesday, June 23, 2021; 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM, CST "Bringing Faith & Science Together in Faith Formation: Catechetical Challenges and Opportunities"

Mr. Joe Paprocki, DMin, is the National Consultant for Faith Formation for Loyola Press, a Jesuit Ministry located in Chicago, IL. Joe has over 40 years experience in catechetical and pastoral ministry, has presented in over 150 dioceses in North America, and has authored over 20 books on catechetical and pastoral ministry, include the best-selling "The Catechist's Toolbox" and his most recent book, "Preparing Hearts and Minds: 9 Simple Ways for Catechists to Cultivate a Living Faith". Joe has a Masters Degree in Pastoral Studies from the Institute for Pastoral Studies at Loyola University of chicago and a Doctor of Ministry Degree from the University of St. Mary of the Lake at Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein, IL. Joe and his wife Joanne, who have 2 grown children and 4 grandchildren, live in the Chicago area.

• Wednesday, June 23, 2021 7:00 PM - 8:15 PM, CST "The Plausibility of Miracles"
• Thursday, June 24, 2021 9:00 AM- 10:15 AM, CST "New Testament-like Miracle Reports Today"
• Thursday, June 24, 2021 10:45 AM- 12:00 PM, CST "Reports of Raising and Nature Miracles"

Craig S. Keener (PhD, Duke University) is F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is author of thirty-two books, with more than one million copies in circulation. The books have won thirteen national or international awards, including six in Christianity Today. He especially has written New Testament commentaries, including a two-volume commentary on John and a four-volume commentary on Acts. He has also authored roughly one hundred academic articles; seven booklets; and more than one hundred fifty popular-level articles.

Craig is the New Testament editor for the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, which won the International Book Award for Christianity and Bible of the year in the Christian Book Awards. In 2020 Craig was president of the Evangelical Theological Society; he is former editor of the Bulletin for Biblical Research and the former program chair for the Institute for Biblical Research. Craig is married to Dr. Médine Moussounga Keener, who was a refugee in her home country of Congo for eighteen months; her experience and their romance appears in Impossible Love (Chosen, 2016). His blog site is http://www.craigkeener.com/.

Thursday, June 24, 2021, 7:00 PM - 8:15 PM, CST "The Lab of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: Perspectives on Engaging Mystery from Patriarch, Prophets, and Physicists".

Friday, June 25, 2021, 11:00 AM-12:15 PM, CST "A New Heaven, a New Earth, and a New Quantum Gravity: Lessons from Paul and John for all Curious Explorers".

Father John Kartje was appointed as rector and president of University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in 2015, where he has taught courses on Scripture and the relationship between theology and science since 2009. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics and a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics in 1987 from the University of Chicago. In 1995, The Unversity of Chicago's Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics conferred a Ph.D. degree on Father Kartje. After being ordained a priest of the Chicago Archdioceses of Chicago in 2002, he earned a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of America's Department of Biblical Studies in 2010.

Father Kartje was ordained in the Archdiocese of Chicago and received a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree from the University of St. Mary of the Lake in 2002. He has served in both parishes and campus ministry.

Online:

Friday, June 25, 2021, 9:30 AM-10:45 AM, CST. "Heaven & the Heavens: Astronomy, Scripture & the Popes"

Brother Guy Consolmagno SJ is the Director of the Vatican Observatory and the President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. He earned his undergraduate and masters' degrees from MIT and a Ph.D. in Planetary Science from the University of Arizona. He was a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard and MIT.

Brother Guy's research with the Observatory explores connections between meteorites, asteroids and the evolution of small solar system bodies. Along with more than 200 scientific publications, he is the author of a number of popular books including Turn Left at Orion (with Dan Davis) and Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial ? (with Paul Mueller).

His work has taken him to every continent on Earth. In 2014 he received the Carl Sagan Medal from the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences for excellent in public communication in planetary sciences.

In 2015, Pope Francis appointmented Dr. Consolmagno as director of the Specola Vaticana (Vatican Observatory). As such he serves as an ex-officio member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

State of Illinois mandates, along with the best practices recommended by national and local health authorities in conjunction with the directives of the Archdiocese of Chicago for gatherings, will apply at the time of the event.

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