Who is God? What is truth? Is there more to life, as we know it? We live in a world of religious differences. Are they significant? Are they irreconcilable?
How much would you be willing to pay to find the answers to questions like these? How about nothing? SMU will host its first annual Veritas Forum Tuesday, Feb. 17, and Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009.
The Veritas Forum originated with the idea of addressing the life of the mind and what faith has to say about it, particularly the Christian faith, explained Dallas Christian Leadership Chairman Steve Sternberg.
A Hindu pandit, a Muslim Imam, a Nichiren Buddhist and a Christian pastor will discuss the possibility of truth in the person and story of Jesus Christ at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday in the Hughes-Trigg Theater.
The forum is not without its skeptics. Some students and professors say they are a little concerned about the Christian undertones to the conference.
If Jews, Muslims, Hindus and others are right that Jesus is not God but rather a religious teacher or prophet, then Christians fail in a serious way to worship God as God really is. If Christians are right about Jesus being God, then Jews, Muslims, Hindus and others fail in a serious way to worship God as God really is.
This bold argument is the starting point of Tuesday’s conversation.
Skeptics argue that the discussion’s thesis is too narrow, allowing only this or that.
The Forum is not intended to take a “let me tell you how it is” approach, but rather a “this is how the Christian faith addresses this topic, let’s talk about it” approach, said Sternberg.
Although the panel is “inter-religious,” the question has been raised of whether or not the Truth is inter-religious too. And then there is the issue of differentiating truth from Truth.
What exactly does Veritas mean? Veritas is Latin for truth, and SMU ‘s motto, like Yale, Michigan and Harvard, includes the word, veritas, signifying a pursuit of truth.
The Veritas Forum began in 1992 at Harvard University with a student’s attempt to find the meaning of truth. When Harvard was founded 1636, its motto involved a pursuit of veritas, not as an abstraction, but in the person of Jesus Christ. An early Harvard motto, In Christi gloriam (For the glory of Christ), evolved later to Veritas Christo et ecclesiae (Truth for Christ and the Church), and then became merely Veritas (Truth), seemingly unattached, to anything in particular.
“Is there veritas in the Veritas?” asked one professor.
“This event is sponsored by Christian campus ministries. And we cannot negate the fact that some bias comes with the territory,” one of the Veritas student spearheads and SMU graduate student, Daniel Liu, said.
However, he reiterated that the purpose of the Forum is to be inviting so that students feel comfortable asking the panel questions.
“I took an intro to western religions class last semester, and I am really intrigued by academic comparisons and how each faith is so truly convinced in what they believe,” SMU sophomore studio art and French major Lauren Walker said.
She is looking forward to hearing more about each of the religions presented Tuesday night.
According to the Higher Education Research Institute of UCLA’s 2003 survey, 75 percent of 3,680 college juniors from campuses across the country claim they have searched for the meaning and purpose of life, and only 55 percent were satisfied with how their college experience provided opportunities for religious or spiritual reflection.
Students oftentimes don’t realize they have more freedom and opportunity now than any other time in their life to think about these things, said Sternberg.
According to veritas.org, the Forum’s mission is to inspire the shapers of tomorrow’s culture and to connect their hardest questions with the person and story of Jesus Christ.
“The forum isn’t meant to give Christians a comfort zone,” Sternberg said, “hopefully, it will provide an opportunity for Christians to realize they aren’t the only game in town.”
A member of the Guinness beer-making family and Christian writer, Dr. Os Guinness, will discuss The Journey: A Thinking Person’s Quest for Meaning in a Pluralistic World Wednesday 7:00p.m. in the Hughes-Trigg Ballroom.
Today, over 90 campuses have hosted their own Veritas Forum, reaching out to over a quarter-million students and faculty members.
Overall, the Veritas Forum is designed to spur intellectual conversation and add spiritual depth on campus.
