Dave DeHuff ,
Faculty Commons,
University of Pennsylvania
[February 11, 2014]
What is Veritas?
Veritas Forums are university events that engage students and faculty in discussing life’s hardest questions and the contemporary relevance of Jesus Christ.
Recently, when asked to speak on “The State of the University from a Kingdom Perspective,” I found myself focusing on the Veritas Forums.
Why?
Initiated by our faculty 13 years ago, the Penn Veritas Forums create a safe space for exploring difficult questions in pursuit of truth (veritas) wherever it leads. In many ways, it changes the way the university thinks.
At our 2012 forum, over 1100 faculty and students heard Oxford’s John Lennox answer the question, Is Anything Worth Believing? Penn Law professor, David Skeel, moderated the event.
What a great evening! Discussing the relevance of faith in Jesus Christ at the university. We still see responses to that event.
This Year’s Forums
Take a look at this year’s upcoming forums here. You’ll notice that the topics range from medical ethics to human rights, from “What does it Mean to Be Human?” to “Why is There Evil and Suffering?” Formats range from amicable debates to one-man dramas (e.g. C.S. Lewis Onstage, The Great Divorce), from faculty panels to musical performance-presentations, from one to three night forums.
Consider Hosting a Forum
Although faculty and students around the world are asking themselves and their friends the hardest questions, there often is no place to explore these questions alongside brilliant faculty and leading thinkers. Despite his undeniable prominence, Jesus is almost never brought into the picture.
At Penn, we’ve found that the Veritas Forum changed that landscape.
How To Go About It
Typically, Veritas Forums are initiated by students, faculty, and ministry staff on campus. Any member of the university community can be the catalyst for creating a planning team. The Veritas Forum national team is eager to support the formation of new teams on campuses nationwide and they offer guidance and resources.
To find out more about the Veritas Forum’s vision and how to create a forum, visit the veritas.org web site and then explore their online application process atgb.veritas.org.
To consult those who have hosted these events email Dave DeHuff (dave.dehuff@facultycommons.org) or Robb Gunn (robb.gunn@facultycommons.org).
If you wish to receive an email each week of the latest My Ministry Minute, follow the link to join our community.
http://www.myministryminute.com/subscribe-to-my-ministry-minute/