IFC Events Calendar Fall 2008
Scripture as the Human Word of God:Why Faith Contradicts Inerrancy
Monday, September 29, 2008
Dr. Hutson
Science Auditorium
Dr. Christopher Hutson will discuss why acknowledging the human imperfections in the Bible may be the most faithful way to read it. Dr. Hutson comes to visit us from Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, North Carolina, where he is Associate Professor of the New Testament. He is a minister with the Churches of Christ and holds a Ph.D. from Yale University.
Sponsoring Academic Department: Religion & Philosophy.
Other Sponsors: The Chaplain's Office; the Interfaith Committee; and the Philosophy Club.
Cultural Events Credit
Does Christian Monogamy Work in Africa?
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Dr. Doug Falen
Interfaith Center
As European Christianity was introduced to African societies, it brought along a set of expectations about marriage, most importantly that a Christian marriage must be monogomous. Dr. Falen will explore how Christianity has developed in the context of a West African society where polygamy is commonly practiced.
Islam: Divine Law for Humanity
Thursday, October 16, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Dr. Abdul Hamid- President, Islamic Center of Hamden and Connecticut Council of Masajid, Inc.
(and father of Berry's Dr. Nadeem Hamid, Assistant Professor of Mathematical and Computer Science)
Science Auditorium
Presentation Overview
Cultural diversity is a blessing if humanity acknowledges and accepts the supremacy of Divine Law. This principle can be seen in ecosystems: diverse ecosystems are more stable in comparison to monocultural systems, reflecting the physical and biological laws ordained by our Lord.
Whereas various components of an ecosystem follow the Divine Decree (biological and physical laws) without any choice, humans have been granted a choice. This is the test. Those who follow the Divine Decree to the best of their ability are eventually successful. Just as biological and physical laws have not changed, the Divine laws for humans have also not changed. The name of that divine decree is "total submission to the will of our Lord," Islam.
Dr. Abdul Hamid, Ph.D. in Entomology, has taught various biological sciences at universities in Pakistan, Nigeria, and Connecticut. Upon retirement over a decade ago, he has volunteered full-time on various projects with the Muslim community in Connecticut, including: building mosques, promoting housing development, publishing a monthly Islamic newsletter, arranging for Islamic community services, providing children's Islamic education, and more.
Sponsored by the Chaplain's Office and the Interfaith Council
Cultural Events Credit pending...
Sound Body Wisdom: Practice of the Self
Saturday, October 25, 2008; 5:00-8:00 PM
Jacqueline Westhead
Interfaith Council
Sound Body Wisdom is a somatic* and experiential form that draws on the wisdom of the body in motion, awareness practices, somatic-based therapies and life.
Participants will be led with group, partnered and individual exercises in movement, breath, voice and rhythm to cultivate creative exchange, empowerment and a space for personal development.
This work will offer tools in connecting with others and ourselves through physical expression, musical exploration, communication and personal awareness practices.
We will discover our breath and bring breath into sound through toning exercises, vocal expression and phrasing.
Rhythm will be understood through physical exercises that source body centered learning and playfulness. Improvisation and witnessing tools will help guide the natural emergence of expression through the pathways of voice, body and intention.
Sound Body believes movement, voice/breath and personal expression are the very foundations and key ingredients for being fully alive. It emphasizes the art of awareness and the capacity to sense, feel and think in each situation so we can re-learn and integrate our physical, emotional and creative bodies while gaining insight into the nature of our own thoughts. It supports the wisdom of inner connectivity leading to outer expressivity and seeks to discover what prevents us from being fully embodied and enlivened.
Sound Body Wisdom creates a safe environment that supports us moving beyond conditioned patterns and into listening to our own wisdom, connected to others and the world. Each of us brings our own unique experiences and knowledge to this work. Truly listening to our personal wisdom and meeting it with curiosity can help facilitate deeper learning into one's own experience of body, mind and spirit and living a fully embodied life.
A Little Info On Jacqueline:
Jacqueline Westhead is an educator/ facilitator, musician, and dancer withover 17 years experience. She has trained in diverse styles such as African dance, yoga, martial arts, contact improvisation, Butoh, Commedia dell-arte and other highly expressive movement forms. She has studied in Somatics and developmental movement, and is a certified Somatic educator and CMT. She was a senior member of Jellyeye (Drum Theater) and created and performed
extensively with them for 7 years. She was a founding member of MASS (Music And Sonic Sculpture) Ensemble and has collaborated with a variety of independent artists and companies over the years creating movement and
music-based work for theaters and festivals as well as being an independent choreographer. She has traveled and studied in West Africa, southern India and studied percussion with internationally known artists Glen Velez and
Hamid Drake. Her music has led her to play for a variety of artists’ CDs, music projects and U.S. tours. Jacqueline has created workshops for youth and adults across the United States and abroad in such places as The University of Michigan, Cleveland Public Theater, The Cultural Center of Chicago, Berry College and Power of Hope. She has received several CAAP and NAP grants to study, create new work and design community projects. She has worked with schools, hospitals, community and private organizations in her blend of rhythm, expressive movement and voice integrating her diverse studies in music, dance and ancient traditions.
Images of the Body in Feminist Spirituality
Wednesday, November 19 at 7 pm
A Slide Show by Dr. Ellen Johnson
Evans Auditorium
The female body is central to any understanding of feminist spirituality. The cycles marked by menarche and menopause are at the root of the triple goddess image of the divine. The body is celebrated in ritual, song, dance, and art and used as a pathway to mystical experience. This role of the body is in direct opposition to historical attitudes about the body in the abrahamic religions. Representations of the body by feminist artists are part of this presentation.
Sponsored by the Interfaith Council, the Women’s Studies Program, and Interdisciplinary Studies.
The Politics of Enlightenment:Buddhism and the Doctrine of Gross National Happiness in Bhutan
Tuesday, November 24 at 7 pm
Dr. Jeffrey Lidke
Evans Auditorium
Located at the borders of China, India, and Nepal, Bhutan is the world's only Tantric Buddhist country. In 1974 Bhutan's King, Jigme Wangchuk, established the doctrine of Gross National Happiness as a primary national agenda. Rooted in fundamental Buddhist teachings and practices, GNH is understood as a measurement of the spiritual,
material, and economic quality of life of each citizen. In this multimedia presentation, Dr. Lidke analyses GNH as a central aspect of a Bhutanese political system whose aim is spritiual enlightenment for all Bhutanese citizens.
*Cultural Event Credit!
On-Going Classes
Buddhist Meditation
Thurdays, 7 p.m.
Interfaith Center
Come experience the ancient Japanese practice of sitting meditation, with alternating periods of walking meditation. For more information contact jdirnberger@berry.edu or nkimbro@berry.edu.
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