Theologian, Anglican Bishop Wright to deliver Belden Noble Lectures

Anglican Bishop N.T. Wright, an internationally renowned writer and theologian, will deliver this year’s William Belden Noble Lectures – “The Gospel and Our Culture” – on three consecutive evenings, Oct. 23-25, at 8 p.m. in the Memorial Church.

Author of the new books “Evil and the Justice of God” and “Simply Christian,” Wright ?will address the complex relationship between the Christian Gospel and contemporary culture. His lectures will focus on three elements of the Christian faith as they are challenged by current cultural trends. During the opening lecture on Oct. 23, “God the Creator: The Gospel in a Gnostic World,” Wright will speak about the conflict between the Christian view of the goodness of God’s whole creation and a re-emergent dualistic conception of the spiritual realm as irrevocably separate from a base material plane. The lecture on Oct. 24, titled “Jesus the Lord: The Gospel and the New Imperialism,” will address the political implications of the Gospel in today’s world. And in his final lecture on Oct. 25 – “Spirit of Truth: The Gospel in a Postmodern World” – Wright will consider the promise of the Holy Spirit’s leading into all truth at a time when modern philosophy challenges the very notion of truth.

Each evening will begin with Wright’s lecture followed by a response from distinguished scholars from Harvard Divinity School including Sarah Coakley, Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Professor of Divinity (Oct. 23); François Bovon, Frothingham Professor of the History of Religion (Oct. 24); and David N. Hempton, Alonzo L. McDonald Professor of Evangelical Theological Studies (Oct. 25).

The William Belden Noble Lectures were established at Harvard in 1898 and claim an impressive roster of past lecturers including Theodore Roosevelt, Sen. Eugene McCarthy, and Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie. The lectures are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact the Memorial Church at (617) 495-5508.