Logos 2016
Sin
May 5-7, 2016 at the University of Notre Dame
The concept of sin plays an important role in many religious traditions, but it also harbors great complexity. Sometimes we speak as if the concept applies mainly to morally blameworthy actions; but we also speak as if it applies to dispositions or character traits (e.g., ‘the sin of pride’). It is sometimes spoken of as a kind of impurity—something that can be washed away, or from which we can be cleansed. Sometimes it is treated as a kind of weight that can be lifted or carried away. Sometimes it is treated as an agency that resides within us—“no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me” (Rom. 7:17). In the Christian tradition, original sin is a condition that we inherit and (for many theologians) something for which we are guilty from birth. What is sin that it can be spoken of in so many ways? Alternatively, how should we disambiguate ‘sin’ so as to avoid talking past one another with this multiply ambiguous word? Are some “images” of sin to be prioritized over others? Does our ontology of sin have any bearing on our understanding of forgiveness, or atonement? The 2016 Logos Workshop will be devoted to addressing these and related philosophical and theological questions about sin and sinfulness.
Artwork by Raluca Nedelcu
Thursday, May 5
11:10am - 12:30pm Neil Arner – University of Notre Dame
"Sin's Divine Discriminant and Empirical Effects"
- Commentator: Cristian Mihut – Bethel College
- Chair: Oliver Crisp – Fuller Theological Seminary
2:30pm - 3:50pm Elizabeth Barnes – University of Virginia (speaker via videoconference)
“Hermeneutical Injustice and Disability Pride”
- Commentator: Kevin Timpe – Northwest Nazarene University
- Chair: Kevin Diller – Taylor University
4:00pm - 5:20pm Cynthia Rigby – Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
“Confessing Sin, Undoing Hypocrisy”
- Commentator: Angela Carpenter – University of Notre Dame
- Chair: Andrew Torrance – University of St Andrews
Friday, May 6
11:10am - 12:30pm Jennifer Frey – University of South Carolina
"Aquinas on Sin and Self-Love"
- Commentator: Anne Jeffrey – University of South Alabama
- Chair: Brandon Warmke – Bowling Green State University
2:30pm - 3:50pm Tatha Wiley – Geneva, Switzerland
"Beyond Adam and Eve: Rethinking Original Sin"
- Commentator: Hans Madueme – Covenant College
- Chair: Christina Van Dyke – Calvin College
4:00pm - 5:20pm Calum Miller – University of Manchester
& Megan Fritts – University of Wisconsin-Madison
“Sin and Supererogation”
- Commentator: Rebecca Stangl - University of Virginia
- Chair: Michelle Panchuk – University of South Carolina
7:15pm Marilyn McCord Adams – Australian Catholic University & Rutgers University
"Sin: How Original?"
- Chair: Hud Hudson – Western Washington University
Saturday, May 7
10:40am - 12:00pm Timothy Pawl – University of St. Thomas
“Sin, Impeccability, and Temptation"
- Commentator: Robin Dembroff – Princeton University
- Chair: Alicia Finch – Northern Illinois University
2:00pm - 3:20pm Andrea C. White – Union Theological Seminary
“Sin and Nothingness: Divine Decision and Living Death”
- Commentator: Thomas McCall – Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
- Chair: Zita Tóth – Fordham University
3:30pm - 4:50pm Jesse Couenhoven – Villanova University
“Can Animals Sin?”
- Commentator: Meghan Griffith – Davidson College
- Chair: Alan Torrance - University of St Andrews