The Environmental Crisis as Spiritual and Moral Crisis

The Environmental Crisis as Spiritual and Moral Crisis

In this lecture, Mary Evelyn Tucker highlights the spiritual and ethical dimensions of the environmental crisis, arguing that the religious and environmental communities should make common cause in protecting the ecology of planet earth. Tucker is a research scholar and senior lecturer at Yale University, with joint appointments at Yale Divinity School, the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and the Yale Department of Religious Studies. (April 20, 2006)

Civic Restlessness, Sustainable Communities, and the Land

Civic Restlessness, Sustainable Communities, and the Land

In this sermon delivered at Rhinebeck Reformed Church in Rhinebeck, NY, Willis Jenkins argues the case for a “civic restlessness” — characterized by humility, mercy and justice — that builds a culture of sustainability linking community and land. Jenkins is the Margaret Farley Assistant Professor of Social Ethics, Yale Divinity School. (April 29, 2007)

Faith and Citizenship

Faith and Citizenship

Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne delivers the keynote address at Yale Divinity School’s Faith and Citizenship conference on May 3, 2007. Dionne, a respected political observer and former reporter for The New York Times, spoke in favor of engaging the theologies of justice developed in the civil rights as well as the rich tradition of Catholic social though and aspects of the Protestant Social Gospel.

Faith and Citizenship in a Global Context

Faith and Citizenship in a Global Context

In this panel discussion led by Yale Law School Dean Harold Koh, activists, academicians and former diplomats covered subjects that included the international community’s inability to intervene in Darfur, citizenship in the face of globalization, and to what extent religion informs U.S. foreign policy. Panelists included Jennifer Butler, Executive Director, Faith in Public Life; Heidi Hadsell, President, Hartford Seminary; James Joseph, U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, 1996-99 and Professor of the Practice of Public Policy, Sanford Institute of Public Policy, Duke University ; Paul Lakeland, Professor of Religious Studies at Fairfield University; James Laney, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, 1993-97; and Emilie Townes, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of African American Religion and Theology at Yale Divinity School. (May 4, 2007)

Faith and Citizenship in America

Faith and Citizenship in America

In this panel discussion led by Yale Law School Professor Harlon Dalton, academicians, journalists and activists examined the intersection between faith and politics in American life. Panelists included Randall Balmer, Ann Whitney Olin Professor of American Religion, Barnard College; Serene Jones, Titus Street Professor of Theology, Yale Divinity School ; Michael Kieschnick, President and Co-founder, Working Assets; Peter Laarman, Executive Director, Progressive Christians Uniting; David Price, Democratic U.S. Representative, North Carolina; and Amy Sullivan, Contributing Editor, The Washington Monthly. (May 4, 2007)

Pastoral Care versus Inappropriate Religious Proselytizing

Pastoral Care versus Inappropriate Religious Proselytizing

Kristen Leslie, Associate Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Yale Divinity SchoolKristen Leslie, Associate Professor of Pastoral Care & Counseling at Yale Divinity School, discusses sexual assault in the United States Air Force Academy and the subsequent religious intolerance of chaplains at the Academy.

24 – The Multiverse and Theories of Everything

24 – The Multiverse and Theories of Everything

Professor Bailyn begins the class with a discussion of a recent New York Times article about the discovery of a new, earth-like planet. He then discusses concepts such as epicycles, dark energy and dark matter; imaginary ideas invented to explain 96% of the universe. The Anthropic Principle is introduced and the possibility of the multiverse is addressed. Finally, biological arguments are put forth for how complexity occurs on a cosmological scale. The lecture and course conclude with a discussion on the fine differences between science and philosophy.

26 – Suicide, Part III: The Morality of Suicide and Course Conclusion

26 – Suicide, Part III: The Morality of Suicide and Course Conclusion

The lecture begins by examining the consequences a suicide has on both the person committing it and those around this person. The question is raised, however, whether this factor is the only that counts morally, as utilitarians claim, or whether other factors matter morally as well, as deontologists claim. The moral relevance of a deontological prohibition against harming the innocent is considered. A concluding summary of the course is offered.

23 – Other Constraints: The Cosmic Microwave Background

23 – Other Constraints: The Cosmic Microwave Background

Reasons for the expansion of the universe are addressed at the start of this lecture, focusing especially on the acceleration of dark energy. Supernovae were the first evidence for the existence of dark energy. Two other proofs are presented. The first is the Cosmic Microwave Background, which is a form of electromagnetic radiation that is perfectly smooth and equal in all directions. It firmly supports the Big Bang theory. Projects attempting to measure it, such as COBE and WMAP, are discussed. Secondly, Large-Scale Clustering is introduced: by measuring the degree of clustering, astronomers hope to advance their understanding of dark energy and dark matter. Computer simulations of the evolution of the universe are shown.