Tanner-McMurrin Lecture on the History and Philosophy of Religion

The lecture brings notable scholars in history and philosophy of religion to the college.The lecturers are appointed based on the national and international recognition of their scholarly achievements without regard to ethnic, religious, or ideological considerations.The lectures and seminars cover basic issues in religious thought and practice.

The lectureship is funded in perpetuity by an endowment gift from Grace Adams Tanner and the late Dr. Obert Clark Tanner, professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Utah.

The lectureship is also named in honor of the late Dr. Sterling McMurrin, who was the E. E. Eriksen distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Utah and a former United States Commissioner of Education. Dr. McMurrin was a trustee of Westminster College and a former colleague of Dr. Tanner. 

Thursday, April 2, 2009, 7:30 PM
Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business Auditorium

Michael Walzer

Renowned American Political Theorist

Biblical Politics: The Role of the Prophets

Professor Walzer’s lecture is devoted to the political role of the prophets—what it meant to talk in God’s name, in public, in the gates of the city, the streets, and the temple courtyards, to a popular audience. And how is this different from (or similar to) other forms of political speech?

A graduate of Brandeis, Cambridge, and Harvard, Dr. Walzer has written about a wide variety of topics in political theory and moral philosophy: political obligation, just and unjust war, nationalism and ethnicity, economic justice, and the welfare state. He has played a part in the revival of practical, issue-focused ethics and in the development of a pluralist approach to political and moral life.

He is currently working on the toleration and accommodation of “difference” in all its forms and also on a (collaborative) project focused on the history of Jewish political thought. 
 

 Archived Lectures and Further Information

• For more information regarding the Tanner-McMurrin Lecture Series or its archives, please call Dr. Michael Popich at (801) 832-2411.