Anatomy of a Song: Music as Language of Hope and Sorrow

Musicians know, and the rest of us suspect, that music is its own language. Music is able to convey powerful emotion and meaning in a way that mere words fall short. In this talk and concert, Composer David Jonghak Kim will share the journey of composing his original work for the keyboard called, “And I … Read more

We Are All Patrons: Common Grace and The Public Art of Richmond

Richmond is home to an abundance of art, much of it in the form of building murals which are freely accessible to the general public going about their daily business. While often undervalued, the concept of common grace can provide a rich foundation both for viewing public art in a new way as well as guiding … Read more

Homo Sapiens vs. Homo Patiens or: How One Might Learn to Stop Worrying and Love AI

In this talk, I will discuss two philosophical anthropologies: one of agency (homo sapiens) and one of passivity (homo patiens). For biological and sociological reasons, the former has dominated human self-understanding. Recent technology, culminating in generative AI, threatens to make a passive anthropology plausible. If this happens, whole swaths of people may outsource the activities … Read more

Reflections on a Career Involving the Life of the Mind: A Case Study of a Christian Professor

Ev Worthington, PhD, VCU Psychology Professor EmeritusTuesday, February 4th, 7:00 BCM/Scholé House, 819 S. Cathedral Place, VCU At the end of 2024, Greater Good Magazine identified two studies—(1) testing the effectiveness of a DIY workbook to promote forgiveness in five high-conflict countries with about 4,600 people and (2) reporting on a campus-wide forgiveness campaign that transformed … Read more

The Economy of the Kingdom of God

The Economy of the Kingdom of God Stephen Day, PhD, VCUMonday October 28, 7:00 Scholé House, 819 S. Cathedral Place, VCU Jesus of Nazareth preached about the coming kingdom of God, and what it would be like. But would this kingdom have an economic system? In this talk, Dr. Day discusses Jesus’ economic assumptions, his economic … Read more

What Ails Us: A Global Critique of Western BioEthics

Current assumptions of Western bioethics pose significant challenges for US health care workers who hold to traditional understandings of what it means to be human — or even what is the purpose of medicine itself.