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Founded in 1982 by physicist-theologian Dr. William Monsma (PhD, University of Colorado), the Institute offered a learning context where Christian faith and academic concerns were integrated. In its first decade, the Institute sponsored lectures by Christian academics, while also helping Christian graduate students and faculty at the University of Minnesota to thoughtfully engage academia from a distinctly Christian vantagepoint.
Since the mid 1990s, the Institute's horizons have also included international students and scholars, efforts which culminated in the Institute's first major conference, the World View for World Healing Conference, in May 1998, with some 300 participants from across North America, as well as 40 speakers and facilitators from around the world. Around the same time, the Institute named its first annual lectureship in honor of Dr. Paul Holmer, well-known Christian philosopher whose book Making Sense of Our Lives is available from the Institute ($10, including shipping and handling).
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In 1999, the Institute not only expanded its campus lectures, but it also introduced a series of very successful lectures at Border Bookshops in the Twin Cities area. At the same time, the Institute began offering accredited Christian studies courses, taught by Northwestern College faculty at the Institute's offices. Credit from these courses was fully transferable, enabling University of Minnesota students to earn some of their elective credit in courses taught from a distinctly Christian perspective. The Institute now offers no-credit courses in the evenings for students and non-students alike. Visit Courses on Campus for a current list of available classes.
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In 2001, the Institute re-affirmed its call to offer a distinct alternative to the scientific naturalist and postmodern assumptions that shape much of academic life. In the face of academic fragmentation, the Institute proposes to make a plausible case for Christian theism within the intellectual life of the University of Minnesota. The Institute brings 10 to 15 Christian scholars annually to the University of Minnesota, along with one or more conferences that present a distinctly Christian alternative. Since 2004, the Institute has also begun sponsoring a registered University student group, Mars Hill Students, preparing students to engage culture from the perspective of Jesus Christ.
The Institute is part of a growing number of Christian study centers across the country. For a list of these study centers and their website links, please click here.
Born in 1698, our namesake was the finest mathematicians of 18th century Great Britain. Famous among mathematicians and scientists for his series and ellipsoids, he was also a devout follower of Jesus Christ who saw no conflict between the demands of faith and of good science. While his efforts to reconcile both worlds were not without controversy, he nevertheless reminds us today that neither intellect nor faith need be sacrificed to each other in pursuit of truth.
Barb Anderson, BA, Wessner Foundation
Todd Andrews, JD, Andrews Law OfficeJohn Deen, PhD, Clinical and Population Sciences, U of Minnesota
Bryan Dowd, PhD, Health Services Research and Policy, U of Minnesota
Robert Georges, ThM, Wilkerson Associates
Randy Kroll, BA, Wilkerson Associates
Robert Osburn, PhD, MacLaurin Institute
Sharon Pugh, ASA, Community Volunteer
Don Wilson, BA, Fidelity Investments
V. Elving Anderson, PhD
Peter Burton, MDiv
Alonzo Fairbanks, PhD
Steven Keillor, PhD
Vishal Mangalwadi, LLD
Varghese Mathai, PhD
Udo Middelmann, JD, MDiv Francis A Schaeffer Fellow
Alan Crippen II, MA
Calvin DeWitt, PhD
George Marsden, PhD
Tom Prichard, MA, JD
Edith Schaeffer
Herbert Schlossberg, PhD
Pete Lackey, MDiv, Campus Minister
Josh Maloney, MFA, Writer-in-Residence
Harold Miller, PhD, Chair, Academy of Christian Scholars
Robert Osburn, PhD, Executive Director
Sara Joy Proppe, BA, Program Coordinator
Rick Cornish, DMin
Phil Lueck, DMin
Michael O'Connor, MA
Bruce Olson, MDiv
Nancy Fowler, MA, Librarian
Office: 612-378-1935
Fax: 612-378-0244
E-mail: Click here
Located at 1501 University Avenue SE, #300, Minneapolis, MN 55414. Click here for a Google map of our location.
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