The Seminary Explores

Dr. Christopher M. Bellitto, Professor of History at Kean University and author of Ageless Wisdom: Lifetime Lessons from the Bible asks what lessons we can learn about wisdom and growing older from the Bible. He draws lessons from famous, and not so famous, Biblical stories to learn how we can gather wisdom and appreciate its gifts: blessings and burdens, patience and laughter, and reaping and sowing.

Johnstown, Pennsylvania based artist Sally Stewart talks about her sculpture created in response to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center “Out of the Depths I Cry Unto Thee, O Lord.” The wood and mixed-media piece was on display at a special September 14, 2016 Eucharist service honoring first responders during the attacks. Stewart is a longtime friend of Gettysburg Seminary who has had a solo exhibit here through the Fine Arts Council and work featured on the Fall 2012 cover of Seminary Ridge Review. 

Award-winning, classically-trained sculptor Sarah Hempel Irani opens her studio for a conversation with Katy Giebenhain from Seminary Ridge Review. She specializes in sacred art and portraiture and works in clay, plaster, bronze, and marble. She has stood at the chalk “x” marking the spot where Michelangelo stood when selecting Carrara marble. Hempel Irani works from live models with oil-based clay and armatures. She studied Fine Art and Classical Studies at Hillsdale College with sculptor Anthony Frudakis and was apprenticed to Jay Hall Carpenter, former Artist-in-Residence at the Washington National Cathedral. Her M.A. in Humanities is from Hood College Graduate School, with a concentration in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. 

Think you know everything there is to know about the founding of this country?  Think again!  This year, to celebrate July 4th, listen to this fascinating conversation with Gettysburg College history professor Tim Shannon as he talks about the role of Native Americans during the Revolutionary War, and their varied relationships with the British, the French and the Colonists.  Don’t miss the discussion of Jefferson and his views of Native Americans.

In this episode, Pastor Karoliina Nikula discusses the larger field of Bio-Ethics, using the specific example of cochlear implants in Finland.

Astrophysicist Dr. Craig Foltz makes physics come alive in this engaging discussion of the origins of time, how telescopes work, and what it all means for our knowledge of the world and ourselves. 

Dr. Vincent Evener, Visiting Instructor in Reformation and Lutheran Studies at the Gettysburg Seminary discusses his choice of the ten top stories/events in religion for 2015. These include: The visit of Pope Francis, the Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage, issues of violence in particular the A.M.E. church killings in Charleston, South Carolina and terrorism, and immigration. He highlighted his concern for cooperation, openness, constructive endeavors to counter the rhetoric of suspicion and hate.