SCHWENKFELDER LIBRARY & HERITAGE CENTER
105 Seminary Street, Pennsburg, PA 18073
Phone 215-679-3103; Fax 215-679-8175
info@schwenkfelder.com
www.schwenkfelder.com
April 9, 2009
Contact: David W. Luz
215-679-3103, phone
215-679-8175, fax
The New Atheism and the Old Church - A Heritage Center Lecture
PENNSBURG, Pa. - The Board of Directors of the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage
Center, 105 Seminary Street, Pennsburg, PA, invites the public to a free lecture
by Dr. Peter C. Erb on Friday, April 24, 2009, at 7:30 pm entitled "The New
Atheism and the Old Church".
The past several years have seen an aggressive campaign on the part of Atheists
in America and Europe, marked most recently by an appeal to a Federal Court to
remove "so help me God" from the Presidential inaugural oath, but perhaps more
significantly by the publication of popular books such as Christopher Hitchens'
God is not Good (2007), Richard Dawkins, The God Illusion (2006) and Sam Harris'
Letter to a Christian Nation (2005) and The End of Faith (2004).
At the same time there has been a growth in what might be called "practical
atheism," the pattern of an ever-increasing number of individuals to accept a
rationalistic, materialistic, and pragmatic world-view, while giving lip-service
to generalized Christian cultural values. Dr. Erb will offer an overview of the
arguments often presented by atheists and review the Christian defense, focusing
particularly on what is really "rational" and how faith and reason are
interconnected not only in Christian life, but in human life generally.
Dr. Peter C. Erb is recently retired as Professor of Religion and Culture,
Wilfred University, Waterloo, Canada, where he taught since 1971. He has written
extensively on Christian theological topics. He remains the Associate Director
of Theology of the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center with which he has
been affiliated since 1973.
The Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center was founded in 1884 as an informal
collection in a private home to assure the preservation of the Schwenkfelders'
cultural identity. Today the Heritage Center, a not-for-profit organization, is
still preserving, interpreting, and documenting the history of this German
Protestant group, along with the history of the Upper Perkiomen Valley. The
Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and
Fridays from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm; Thursdays 9:00 am to 8:00 pm; Saturdays 10:00
am to 3:00 pm; and Sundays 1:00 to 4:00 pm. The Heritage Center is closed to the
public on Mondays. For additional information call 215-679-3103 or visit our
website www.schwenkfelder.com. ######
David W. Luz
Executive Director
Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center
105 Seminary Street
Pennsburg, PA 18073
Tel. 215-679-3103
Fax 215-679-8175
email: info@schwenkfelder.com
www.schwenkfelder.com