News
EPS update from President Paul Copan
Information on upcoming events and our Annual Meeting
September 2009
Greetings, EPS members!
A couple of weeks ago, I received an e-mail from Managing Editor Joe Gorra at Biola about our journal Philosophia Christi. He wrote: "With the mailing of 11:1 (Summer 2009), we broke a record of mailing to over 1800 contacts!" This is fantastic news, since three years ago we were at 1375 subscribers. Without question, a revamped, cutting-edge website (www.epsociety.org) has helped give much wider exposure to the EPS and its vision.
If your library does not have a subscription to Philosophia Christi, strongly urge your serials librarian to get one and to also take advantage of this extraordinary deal! But let's continue to pray that God will not merely increase subscriptions in the future, but that the EPS would have a growing impact on the church and in the academy here and around the world. Will you support our work toward that end?
Speaking of "around the world," EPS member Christopher Reese is spearheading our international outreach events. This week he confirmed that in September 2010, several EPS philosophers will be heading to Hokkaido, Japan to participate in a philosophy conference there. (We are grateful for a generous grant that has helped make this endeavor possible.) Chris has faithfully labored to bring this together, and he is also working on a similar EPS event in India.
On the home front, we'll be gathering in New Orleans for our annual November meeting (18th-20th). Professionally, this event is the highlight of my year–a time to get a fuller glimpse of the current philosophical discussion and of who's publishing what. Thanks to the work of Jeremy Evans, Bruce Little, and Craig Mitchell (who serve on the EPS Executive Committee), we have a fine lineup of presenters, undoubtedly with much stimulating discussion. Our plenary speaker will be Indiana University's philosophy chair, Timothy O'Connor. He is the author of Theism and Ultimate Explanation (Wiley-Blackwell) and Agents and Causes: The Metaphysics of Free Will (Oxford), and the editor of Agents, Causes, and Events (Oxford) and Philosophy of Mind: Contemporary Readings (Routledge). His paper will be "Explaining Contingent Existence." (You can check out the EPS schedule here):
Around the same time, the annual EPS apologetics conference will be held at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (19th-21st): www.epsapologetics.com. Check-out the extraordinarily-low prices to attend! Bill Craig, who spearheads this endeavor, continues to outdo himself! He has once again gathered a superb slate of speakers, including Timothy McGrew, Mike Rea, Mike Murray, Craig Keener, Gary Habermas, J.P. Moreland, Ben Witherington, Doug Geivett, and many more. We are also grateful to Bob Stewart and his team at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary for their organizational support and coordination for this year's apologetics conference.
The EPS meeting is a social highlight of my year. I have the privilege of connecting with a like-minded Christian philosophical community that shares a common vision for Christ in the world and in the church. Make sure you come to our reception on Wednesday at 8:30 PM (J.W. Marriott–Ile De France II-III/3rd Floor); we're privileged to have J.P. Moreland speaking. The business meeting will be Thursday at 5:00 pm. I look forward to seeing many of you and catching up with you during this time.
Don't forget to take the time to enjoy time with your EPS colleagues in New Orleans restaurants. They have the best eating outside of India and Thailand! And you might want to visit Café du Monde in the French Quarter with its coffee and beignets; I make pilgrimage there each time I visit the Big Easy. (For those of you who are enamored of New Orleans, you can come back in February (26-27) for the EPS supported Greer-Heard Forum. The topic is "The Message of Jesus," featuring John Dominic Crossan and Ben Witherington.
Lastly, the EPS will have a session at this year's SBL meeting (11/21) and it will be centered around the theme, "Who is 'God' in the New Testament?" The main presenter will be University of Edinburgh's L.W. Hurtado, along with responses by Clint Arnold (Talbot School of Theology), Cristian Mihut (University of Notre Dame and Bethel College), and Craig Evans (Acadia Divinity College).
I pray that our time together in New Orleans will be one of warm fellowship as well as ongoing learning and growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Warmly in Christ,
Paul Copan
EPS President
