MENU
Fresno State hosts religious discussion that fills all seats
The Veritas Forum at Fresno State fits any university's ultimate mission, a professor from Yale Divinity School said Wednesday, and that mission includes seeking truth and exploring ideas.
David W. Miller, executive director of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture, was a featured speaker Wednesday, when he discussed "Faith and Work: Like Oil and Water?"
Miller said universities and other public spaces should not exclude religious conversation. Any public theology will generate disagreement, he said, "and that is healthy and exciting."
The forum concludes today.
During his remarks and in conversation later, Miller and Fresno State anthropology professor Hank Delcore shared views with others concerning discussion on any campus.
California State University, Fresno, is a state-supported campus, but that is no reason to rule out discussion of religious belief and disbelief, they said. The fact that Christian believers organize or originate a forum should not ban it from a campus, they said.
Speakers who explore non-Christian religions, atheism or humanism should have equal access, Miller said.
Delcore mentioned that Veritas' connection to Christian belief had generated questions about the forum's suitability for the campus. To discuss religion is not to "slam down a Bible and say, 'This is the way to believe,'" Delcore said.
Religion is a search for truth, Miller said, and "academics should be open to truth."
He finds the business world more open than the academic world to religious exploration.
Miller is not affiliated with Veritas, and he attended the forum to pursue truth, he said.
Speakers have said they find truth in Jesus, the Old Testament, the Koran and various philosophers.
The Veritas Forum began at Harvard University in 1992 and arrived at Fresno State after having engaged more than 200,000 students, faculty and the public at more than 50 universities.
The opening session Tuesday at Fresno State filled a University Center classroom with a capacity of 299.
People stood along the walls to hear discussion of religious belief. The topic: "What Do You Believe & Why?"
The first session's panelists were Imam Ali Al-Ghazvini of the Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno; Buddhist Mark Young of Soka Gakkai International; Christian James Westgate of the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary; Devin Carroll of Humanists of the San Joaquin Valley; and Lise Rosenthal of Jewish Temple Beth Israel.
Westgate said the Bible is spiritually powerful and accurate.Carroll said humanist beliefs are contained in most major religions. Al-Ghazvini said God will judge according to the way one lives.
Rosenthal said that Jews stress actions over beliefs. Young said Buddhism stresses each person's humanity rather than human beings' practical objectives.
The reporter can be reached at jsteinberg@fresnobee.com or at (559) 441-6311.