Home	News	Meetings	AJTP	Membership	History	Gallery	Links
		News   Highlands Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought Highlands, North Carolina USA

News and Announcements Click the following link to access the Hocking-Cabot Call for Papers.   In Memoriam: Delwin Brown October 5, 1935 - September 12, 2009 Long time HIARPT friend and colleague Del Brown died in San Rafael, California, on September 12 after a long struggle with cancer. Del was one of the founders of HIARPT and a guiding figure throughout our history. He received a Ph.D from Claremont Graduate School, working with John Cobb. He taught first in North Dakota and then in Indiana. He moved from the mid-west to Arizona where he chaired the Department of Religious Studies at Arizona State University. In 1983 Del moved to Denver and became the first Harvey H. Potthoff Professor of Christian Theology at Iliff School of Theology. While at Iliff he served not only as a Professor of Theology but, at various times throughout his tenure, as Interim Dean, Acting President and Dean of the school. In 2003 Del moved to Pacific School of Religion as Dean, the position from which he retired in 2003. He was the author of a number of books and numerous articles, including Boundaries of Our Habitations, Theological Crossfire, and, recently, What Does a Progressive Christian Believe? Del was also a major leader in the American Academy of Religion, serving as Secretary of the Academy for 6 years. Del Brown was one of those rare persons who combined gifts that do not always go together easily. He was a significant theologian and a critical thinker who brought to every intellectual issue a sharp and incisive mind. He loved arguing about theological issues and those of us who engaged with him always found our own work improved by the arduous task of responding to his input. He was also remarkably open to the criticism and the challenge of others. He loved the intellectual process. He also thought ideas mattered. He believed they improved action and that real life was not served well by lack of intellectual rigor. But intellectual pursuits were never quite enough for Del. Especially later in his life, he worked to more closely align his intellectual work with the progressive social action he believed was essential for our world. His recent work with the Beatitudes Society and on behalf of progressive Christianity was, in an important way, the culmination of his deep commitments to justice and to the integration of progressive theology and work for a better world. If Del brought together a passion for intellectual rigor and a commitment to social justice, he also recognized the importance of building institutions and embodied the rarest of skills—that of being a great administrator. Often intellectuals have neither the interest nor the ability to build institutions and to guide them. But Del brought to institution building the same passion he brought to theological reflection and to justice work. HIARPT, like ASU, Iliff and PSR, greatly benefitted from this ability to think institutionally and to his willingness to serve in these roles. While we appreciate and will remember Del for his intellectual achievements, his institutional leadership, and his work for justice, we will miss him for his great humanity that is more than these accomplishments. Del always made us laugh, at ourselves and, freely, at him. He loved beauty, finding it in nature, music, poetry and in a well-crafted theological argument. He loved his family, Nancy who is as much a part of HIARPT as was Del, his daughters, Terri Brown, Kimberli Keith-Brown and Kristen Brown, their spouses, as well as his most precious grandchildren, Stella, Sophie, Cody, Georgia and Emma. They were the center of his life, the source of his passions and his greatest comfort. Del Brown was our friend and HIARPT will miss him greatly. photo credit: PSR — Sheila Davaney To investigate current weather conditions in Highlands, click here. The material below is reproduced in web page formatting from the HIARPT Newsletter.   HIARPT NEWS Summer, 2009 Leslie A. Muray, Editor NEWS FROM MEMBERS Paul Croce Reports: My news includes one article, "Nature's Beloved Incarnations: Inquiry, Conviction, and William James" for the forthcoming American Journal of Theology and Philosophy; and two papers presented in July 2009: at Highlands, "Cultural Epistemology, A Proposition About How Ideas are Used in a Democratic Culture"; and at the Ramsey Centre on Science and Religion at Oxford for the conference on Religious Responses to Darwinism, "Law of Higgledy-Piggledy? Darwinian Probabilities and their Implications for Modern Religion." Also, as President of the William James Society, I am helping to organize a symposium to honor James's life and significance on the 100th anniversary of his death, August 13-16, 2010 in Chocorua, NH (where he died August 1910) and Cambridge (where he spent most of his life). For the Symposium, "In the Footsteps of William James," the Society has issued a call for papers with encouragement especially of presentations in a public intellectual spirit, on the on-going uses of James's ideas (in psychology, education, religion, politics, and more), due January 15, 2010. Please send 100-word abstracts to Lynn Bridgers, l.bridgers@worldnet.att.net; or myself, Paul Croce, at pcroce@stetson.edu; or John Kaag at John_Kaag@UML.edu. Don Crosby reported: Here's an item for the newsletter. HIARPT was invited by the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy to do a presentation at their annual meeting in March, hosted by Texas A and M. Here is the program session Jerry Stone, Robert Corrington, and I did. Our chair was John Shook. AMERICAN RELIGIOUS NATURALISM YESTERDAY AND TODAY Chair: John Shook “Issues within American Religious Naturalism: Santayana, Dewey, Roy Wood Sellars, and J. H. Randall,” by Jerome A. Stone “Evolution, Religion, and an Ecstatic Naturalism,” by Robert S. Corrington “Both Red and Green but Religiously Right: Coping with Evil in Religion of Nature,”by Donald A. Crosby Bill Dean writes: My article, "Niebuhr and Negative Theology," appears in a new anthology: Reinhold Niebuhr Revisited: Engagements with an American Original, ed. Daniel Rice. Except for myself, almost everyone is an established Niebuhr scholar. Some HIARPT members might want to take a look at the book. Mike Hogue Wrote: It's an honor to have been nominated to serve as the Secretary of HIARPT. I hope to be helpful to you all in this capacity. I'm also very pleased to continue working as the AJTP book review editor. Please let me know if there is a book you would like to review or have reviewed. The past months have been very busy and gratifying. I received the John Templeton Award for Theological Promise in May 2008, and my dissertation, The Tangled Bank: Towards an Ecotheological Ethics of Responsible Participation, was published at about that same time. I'm also very happy to report that I was given early promotion and am now Associate Professor of Theology at MLTS. My family is healthy and growing. My son Kincade turns double-digits this December, and has been growing an inch every couple months. And he's now also a very proud older brother! Sara, my wife, gave birth to our baby girl, Mikaela, this past April. She was born with serious heart defects and had major open-heart surgery, but is now home with us and doing exceptionally well. Thanks for the many kind thoughts and prayers sent our way. Best to all of you! Mike. Bob and Barbara Hiles Mesle: Bob's mother died in January, but our daughter, Sarah, successfully defended her dissertation in American Lit. at Northwestern University in August, and has a one year post doc teaching at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Some will remember Sarah from our gathering at St. Andrews in 1993. Bob Mesle's new book, Process Relational Philosophy: An Introduction to Alfred North Whitehead, appeared in Chinese translation in June, in time to use in his class in Shanghai. Bob and Barbara much regret missing HIARPT on the future of process thought, but did travel to China where that future seems very much alive. Bob gave the keynote address, and Barbara shared personal reflections, at the 3rd International Conference on Whitehead Wisdom Education held at Beijing Normal University. About 90 students, professors, and kindergarten directors attended. The presence of six Whitehead Wisdom Education Kindergartens in Beijing says much about the future of process thought there. Then Barbara and Bob took the night train to Shanghai (sounds like an Agatha Christie novel) where Bob, with Barbara's help, taught the 4th Summer Process Academy, held this year at the East China University of Science and Technology. The class was composed of graduate students and professors from diverse disciplines--philosophy, literature, education, psychology, economics, social development, and agriculture. There were also lectures by Chinese scholars in social development, education, and philosophy, as well as Wang Zhihe and Fan Meijun, the directors of the Center for Postmodern Development, housed at the Center for Process Studies. Bob and Barbara had a wonderful experience and report that a great process relational time was had by all. Last January, Bob also joined other HIARPT members and other folks from Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and the US, at the 7th International Whitehead Conference at Christ College in Bangalore, India. Bob and Jay McDaniel presented three introductory sessions on Whitehead's thought, had a panel discussion of Bob's new book on Whitehead, and Bob presented another paper as well. Les Muray: My book, Liberal Protestantism and Science was published in early 2008. I received Curry College’s Excellence in Scholarship Award in January, 2008 (the second time I have received it). However, there will have to be an asterisk by my name because I was on steroids (in one of my inhalers) when I wrote the book! Otherwise, I have had articles published in Encounter, AJTP, The International Journal of Communication, Handbook of Process Thought, and Applied Process Thought 2. Although I was not able to attend the Bangalore conference mentioned by Bob above, I submitted a paper/response that was read by Jay McDaniel at the panel on Bob’s new book. In February, I gave a paper at the 2nd Political Theory Colloquium at the Center for Process Studies, Claremont, CA. I submitted a paper for and participated in a religion and science conference in Venice, Italy in May and visited relatives in Hungary before this year’s HIARPT conference. The rest of the summer has gone fast in between teaching, writing, going to Red Sox games, and rock concerts (Crosby, Stills, and Nash; AC/DC). I have two important anniversaries that I am observing: August 13th marks the 50th anniversary of my family’s arrival in the United States and September 16th is the 11th anniversary of my quitting smoking (60 lbs. ago!). Leon Niemoczynski Writes: Rowman & Littlefield, Lexington Division will be publishing my Nature's Sacred Depths: The Importance of Possibility and Religious Feeling in C.S. Peirce's Metaphysics of Nature. The book is due out in 2010. About Creighton Peden: It was great to see Creighton in Assisi—the first time in a long time that he has been able to make to an international conference. He has certainly been prolific: An Intellectual Biography of David Atwood Wasson (1828-1887): An American Transcendental Thinker. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2008.; Evolutionary Theist - An Intellectual Biography of Minot Judson Savage, 1841-1918. Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2009. He writes: I have also written essays for the UU Historical Dictionary on D. A. Wasson, M. J. Savage, and F. E. Abbot. I also have a “Response to McBride and Silliman,” Race and Diversity in the Global Context (1908), pp. 177-180. John Roth writes: I have taken emeritus status from Claremont McKenna College. In 2007-2008 I served as the Robert and Carolyn Frederick Distinguished Visiting Professor of Ethics at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. My next to most recent book, coedited with Leonard Grob, is Anguished Hope: Holocaust Scholars Confront the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict. Eerdmans published the volume in September 2008. My latest book is as follows: Jennifer Geddes, John K. Roth, and Jules Simon, eds., The Double Binds of Ethics after the Holocaust: Salvaging the Fragments (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009). Jeanyne Slettom States: As of July 1, I succeeded Marjorie Suchocki as the director of Process & Faith. Wesley Wildman writes: The science and religion PhD program at Boston University is going very well, with all of our graduates getting the sorts of work they want and three students entering in the Fall. My book on a pragmatic theory of inquiry, which may be of interest to a number of HIARPT members, will appear with SUNY early in 2010; it is called Religious Philosophy as Multidisciplinary Comparative Inquiry: Envisioning a Future for the Philosophy of Religion. For the naturalists among you, my book Science and Religious Anthropology: A Spiritually Evocative Naturalist Interpretation of Human Life comes out with Ashgate in October, 2009. The biggest thrill for me in the past year has been seeing number one son get ready for college in the Fall and number two son start driving--all of which means I am not getting any younger. I look forward to seeing some of you in Montreal for November's AAR Annual Meeting. IN MEMORIAM: Kevin Sharpe by Les Muray I first met Kevin in the late 1980s at the AAR, at the Theology and Science sessions. He was also the editor of Science and Spirit at the time. Kevin was appreciative of my first book and gave it some very generous publicity. In the late 1990s, I also ran into Kevin at “The Ultimate Reality and Meaning Conferences” in Toronto. As always, Kevin’s papers were masterful and stimulating. We joked about being missionaries to the Thomists. I did not know until a few fears ago that Kevin was a fellow Episcopal priest. He was on the prayer list at the Episcopal Church (Trinity Episcopal Church, Canton, MA) at which I am an Associate Priest. Parishioners would from time to time ask with concern how Father Kevin was doing. I shared the periodic updates. They were saddened by his passing. I know that I can say on behalf of all of us that we miss you, Kevin. And condolences to Leslie and the rest of the family.   Les also reports: It was great to see Del Brown at the HIARPT conference and to see him doing so well. I recommend his new book (I understand he has another one on the way), What Does a Progressive Christian Believe? (Church Publishing Incorporated, 2008), in case you have not read it. I also recommend the website of an organization of which he is one of the founders, The Center for Progressive Christianity ((as well as another website, Progressive Christians United). It was also great to see Creighton Peden in Assisi, the first time in quite a while that he has been able to attend an international meeting. Thank you for everything you have for HIARPT over the years and for bringing us together! Congratulations to Bob Neville on being elected new President of HIARPT. We wish you the best. Bob gave an excellent, well attended lecture on sexuality at Curry College in March. He has also lectured at Catholic University of Leuven and Oxford since May. A big thank you is insufficient to express the gratitude we all feel for the work Jenny Jesse and Wes Robbins have done over the last ten years as editors of AJTP. Our gratitude also goes to Don and Pam Crosby for the endless hours they have put into copy editing. Our best wishes go to Michael Raposa, our new editor. Thank yous also go to Del and Nancy Brown and Bob Tapp and Ana Martinez-Tapp for the wonderful conference in Assisi. A warm thank you to Vaughan McTernan and Randy Auxier for this year’s conference. Nancy Howell submitted a paper and participated in the previously mentioned religion and science conference in Venice, Italy in May, 2009. Condolences to Nancy at the loss of both of her parents last spring. In other news, she writes, “the only other news is that I’m Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean from June 1, 2009-February 28, 2010.” Congratulations to our newest members, Rob Smid and Dan Dombrowski. Rob’s Methodologies of Comparative Philosophy (SUNY Press) is coming out in October. Dan’s Contemporary Athletics and the Ancient Greek Ideal was recently published by the University of Chicago Press.   Books by HIARPT members Randall E. Auxier, ed. (with Lewis Hahn), The Philosophy of Michael Dummett (Library of Living Philosophers) (Open Court, 2007). _____________, The Philosophy of Richard Rorty (Library of Living Philosophers) (Open Court, 2009). _____________(with Philip Seng), The Wizard of Oz and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy) (Open Court, 2008). _____________(with Doug Anderson), Bruce Springsteen and Philosophy (Popular Culture and Philosophy) (Open Court, 2008). Kathlyn Breazeale, Mutual Empowerment (Fortress Press, 2008). Delwin Brown, What Does a Progressive Christian Believe? (Church Publishing Incorporated, 2008). Anna Case-Winters, Reconstructing a Christian Theology of Nature (Ashgate, 2007). Monica Coleman, Making a Way Out of No Way (Fortress Press, 2008). Donald Crosby, Living with Ambiguity (SUNY Press, 2008). Daniel Dombrowski, Contemporary Athletics and the Ancient Greek Ideal (The University of Chicago, 2009). Nancy Frankenberry, The Faith of Scientists: In Their Own Words (Princeton University Press, 2008). Michael Hogue, The Tangled Bank: Towards an Ecotheological Ethics of Responsible Participation (Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008). C. Robert Mesle, Process Relational Philosophy: An Introduction to Alfred North Whitehead (Templeton Foundation Press, 2008). Leslie A. Muray, Liberal Protestantism and Science (Greenwood press, 2008) Robert C. Neville, On the Truth and Scope of Theology _____________, Ritual and Difference (SUNY Press, 2008). James O. Pawelski, The Dynamic Individualism of William James (SUNY press, 2007). Creighton Peden, An Intellectual Biography of David Atwood Wasson (1828-1887): An American Transcendental Thinker (Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2008). _____________, Evolutionary Theist - An Intellectual Biography of Minot Judson Savage, 1841-1918 (Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2009). Karl E. Peters, Spiritual Transformations (Fortress, 2008). John K. Roth, Anguished Hope: Holocaust Scholars Confront the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict (Wm. Eerdmans, 2008). Kevin Sharpe, The Science of God (Rowman and Littfield, 2006). _____________ and Rebecca Bryant, Has Science Replaced the Soul?: Debating Love and Happiness (Rowman and Littlefield, 2006). Jerome A. Stone, Religious Naturalism Today (SUNY Press, 2008). J. Wesley Wildman and Stephen Chapin Garner, Lost in the Middle!: Theology and Ethics for Christians Who are Both Liberal and Evangelical (The Alban Institute, 2008). ______________,Found in the Middle!: Theology and Ethics for Christians Who are Both Liberal and Evangelical (The Alban Institute, 2009). ______________, Science and Religious Anthropology (Ashgate, November 2009). Les adds: My apologies if I have left anybody out. Please bring news of publications to my attention and I shall rectify my oversight in the next issue. I should mention, it goes without saying, that many of our members have been publishing articles in a variety of journals and books. A prolific group! I might add that some time ago I sent out a request for news. I have been told by several people that thy never received the e-mail. My apologies again if you did not. Please do send me whatever personal and professional news you have—otherwise I shall start making things up! This book also may be of interest: Whitehead Word Book: A Glossary with Alphabetical Index to Technical Terms in Process and Reality by John B. Cobb, Jr., may be dowloaded from www.processandfaith.org. "What every reader of Whitehead has longed for, and students of Process and Reality have begged for: a glossary of all the most important process terms, written by the one of the greatest living authorities on Whitehead's thought. The definitions are simple enough for the first-time student, yet precise enough to satisfy even the most demanding scholars. The prose is lucid and insightful; it brings the original terms to life. Indeed, reading this text through from front to back now offers one of the quickest and most accurate introductions to Whitehead's thought available anywhere." - Philip Clayton. Available in two formats: hard copy purchase ($7.95) or free download. To buy a paper copy ($7.95), go to www.processandfaith.org/bookstore.   Highlands in autumn   Send items for the HIARPT newletter to Les Muray at lmuray@post03.curry.edu. Send material for this web page to Pamela Crosby at pcrosby@fsu.edu.

HIARPT 5 Cliff Road Milton, MA 02186 617-358-3384 rneville@bu.edu www.hiarpt.org Go to the top of this page.   This page is edited by Pamela Crosby, pcrosby@fsu.edu. The page is coded in html by David conner, connect_2@comcast.net.