Charging to Heaven serves as semester’s final Forester Lecture
Huntington, Ind. "Dr. Lendol Calder, Assistant Professor of History at Augustana College in Illinois, will present the final Forester Lecture of the semester at Huntington College on Tuesday, Nov. 13. Calder will address the subject, Charging to Heaven: Christian Faith and the Gospel of Consumerism. This free presentation will be held in the Merillat Centre for the Arts at 7 p.m., and is open to the public.
The public culture of the United States is defined by consumerism, of which Christians have had a large hand in making. While we lament certain cultural practices in the wider world, like wife-burning in South Asia, we are not very adept at seeing the beam in our own eye, which often warps our understanding of God. In the face of consumerism, Christians appear to be drawn toward the extremes of cultural conformism and radical separation. Instead, we should entertain the possibility of a third way, fashioning a second culture that lives the truth within the dominant culture.
Dr. Calder was, at one time, an Intervarsity Christian Fellowship staff member at the University of Texas (Austin), and has taught at the University of Chicago and the University of Washington before taking his current position at Augustana College. His first book, Financing the American Dream: A Cultural History of Consumer Credit (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999), has led to some rather high-profile presentations at places like the American Bankruptcy Institute and an interview on National Public Radio's Morning Edition. Calder received his PhD from the University of Chicago.
Huntington College presents the Forester Lecture Series each semester. The free, public lectures are designed to bring interesting persons and topics to the attention of students and the regional community. The Forester Lecture Series at Huntington College is coordinated by Dr. Tom Bergler of the Department of Educational Ministries. For further information, contact Dr. Bergler at (260) 359-4285.
