Dr. Del Ratzsch

Science and Religion Subject of Staley Lectures at Erskine College Feb. 27- March 1

Dr. Del Ratzsch, Professor of Philosophy at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., will deliver this year's Staley Lectures at Erskine College Feb. 27-March 1 in Lesesne Auditorium on the Erskine campus. He will speak at 11 a.m. Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. Feb. 28, and at 11 a.m. March 1, exploring the origins and connections of science with religion. Admission is free and the public is welcome to attend.

Ratzsch's opening lecture is entitled "Birth: Does Science Owe Its Existence to Religion?" He will continue with "Marriage: Can Intelligent Design Put Science and Religion Together?" and conclude with "Death: Has Science Really Destroyed Religion?"

An internationally recognized authority on the relationship between religious faith and the sciences, Ratzsch holds degrees from Western Washington State University (B.A.) and the University of Massachusetts (M.A., Ph.D.). He has lectured at colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, Yugoslavia, France and China.

In addition to his many articles and book reviews, Ratzsch is the author of Science and Its Limits (2000); The Battle of Beginnings: Why Neither Side is Winning the Creation/Evolution Debate (1996); and Philosophy of Science: The Natural Sciences in Christian Perspective (1986). Battle of Beginnings was named one of the ten best books of 1996 by Christianity Today.

The Staley Distinguished Christian Scholar Series is a project of the Thomas F. Staley Foundation of New York, a private, non-profit organization that was established to administer funds to further the evangelical witness of the Christian church, and with a particular concern for college students. The lectureship was established in 1969 by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Staley of Rye, New York, in memory of their parents, Dr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Staley and Judge and Mrs. H.H. Haynes of Bristol, Tenn.