2020 Biblical Worldview Conference

The Christian Church amid Seismic Shifts

Below are the videos from the 2020 Biblical Worldview Conference held at St. Timothy.  Each presenter subscribes to the inerrancy and inspiration of Scripture as correctly understood by the conservative Reformation (specifically, the Book of Concord). It is this inerrant Word of God they will apply to the current events and topics on which they will present.

Missionary Karim Yaghleji – All Christians are one body in Christ

Karim will tell his story about living in Syria, the persecution of Christians in the Middle East (particularly in Syria) and how we can be encouraged by our Christian family across the world. His story will be an eye-opening presentation by which we will be encouraged, helping us to realize that we are part of a greater purpose in Christ.

Karim Yaghleji was born in Hassaka, Syria. He moved to Aleppo, Syria when he was 12 years old. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in English literature and a Master’s degree in Linguistics from Aleppo University, Syria. Karim taught English as a second language and English for specific purposes at Aleppo University for over 4 years. He was the head of the English department in a United Nations location in Syria before he moved to the United States at the end of 2012. His parents and only sister, Antoinette, are still in Aleppo, Syria. After arriving here, Karim taught English for immigrants at Neighborhood Adult Literacy Action in Joplin, Missouri. He graduated from Martin Luther College with a seminary certificate, enrolled in Bethany Lutheran Seminary, and recently graduated. He completed a year of vicarage at Bethany Lutheran Church in Port Orchard, WA. Karim travels all over the country presenting about the persecution of Christians in Syria. He also currently helps translate books from English to Arabic. He came to St. Timothy in July 2020 to reach out to the nearby Arabic speaking community.

Dr. Gene Edward Veith – COVID-19 and Disembodied Humanity

For the last few centuries, despite our apparent materialism, we have been detaching ourselves from nature, the creation, and our own bodies. This is evident in our attitudes towards sex, our “virtual reality” technology, and our acceptance of transgenderism, the notion that gender is a matter of “self-identification” rather than the body. COVID-19 has accelerated this mind-set, making us draw away from the physical presence of bodies altogether, though perhaps the reality of disease and death can remind us that we are physical creatures after all.

Dr. Veith is a retired English professor and college administrator, most recently at Patrick Henry College and Concordia University Wisconsin. He is the author of 27 books, including Spirituality of the Cross, Authentic Christianity, and Post-Christian. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas and currently lives in Oklahoma.

Dr. Gene Edward Veith – COVID-19, Power Politics, & the Death of Education

Postmodern politics reduces all ideas and policies to particular groups exercising power over other groups, and thus to the conflict between the “privileged” and the “oppressed.” This dynamic can only be defeated, it is thought, when the oppressed groups come together in an “intersectional” alliance to turn the tables by exercising oppressive power over those who used to be privileged. But this ideology is caustic to societies, history, and education. The COVID-19 pandemic has raised these issues in new ways, with the potential to awaken Americans to something better.

Dr. Ryan C. MacPherson – The Biblical Distinction between Rendering to Caesar and Resisting Tyranny: A Restoration of Martin Luther’s Genuine Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms

Martin Luther often is associated with a sharp separation between church and state, plus a strong duty of citizens to obey the state. In the worst of times, this meant that some Lutherans justified Hitler’s abuse of power. A closer look at the history of Lutheran theology reveals, however, that Lutherans pioneered a theology of political resistance against tyrants. Both in the era of the Reformation and during the Nazi occupation, a genuinely Lutheran theology provided the foundation for God-pleasing resistance to tyranny. The same time-tested theology prepares us still today to exercise good citizenship in both the church and the state.

Click here for handout 1 and handout 2 for this session.

Dr. MacPherson serves as director of the Center for Apologetics and Worldview Studies and Professor of History at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minn. He formerly served as senior editor for The Family in America: A Journal of Public Policy and as a board member for the Evangelical Lutheran Synod Historical Society. His books include: Rediscovering the American Republic: The Quest for Ordered Liberty, Telling the Next Generation: The Evangelical Lutheran Synod’s Vision for Christian Education, and Studying Luther’s Large Catechism: A Workbook for Christian Discipleship. Learn more at www.ryancmacpherson.com.

Dr. Paul Wendland – The Transgenderism Incursion: What to Think, How to Love

Transgenderism is an alien ideology that strikes at the root of what it means to be human. How do we confront this destructive worldview while showing compassion for those victimized by it? Click here for the handout for this session.

Dr. Wendland is professor of New Testament and Preaching at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, where pastors of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod receive their seminary training. As professor of New Testament, his specialties are biblical interpretation and the books of 1 Peter, Galatians and Romans. He grew up in Zambia where he also served as a missionary. Later, he was called to be a parish pastor in Michigan and then to be a home missionary in Utah. From 1993 to 2001 he taught Latin and English literature at Martin Luther College, New Ulm MN. Since 2001 he has been serving at the seminary. He is the author of two volumes of the People’s Bible: 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles (Northwestern Publishing House, 1994 and 1998).

Rev. Dr. A. Andrew Das – Preparing Our Young People for the University

This is not something we can wait on until the last minute. Children are on loan to our care from the Lord. None of us will ever be perfect parents, and much is beyond our control. Nevertheless, from the time they are entrusted to us, we are to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. So, how can we “inoculate” them with spiritual “antibodies” before they go off to college? When and how can we introduce them to the hard issues they will face in college (and before)? What is the relationship and balance between parents and the congregation in this preparation? The Word of God is powerful and active and cuts like a sword. We need to unleash the power of God in His Word effectively in their lives so that they will be able to confront and remain steadfast in the growing darkness of our world.

Click here to download the handout for this session.

Rev. Dr. Das is professor of Religious Studies and Assistant Dean of the Faculty for Assessment and Accreditation at Elmhurst University in Illinois. Dr. Das has been listed among twenty-five leading Pauline theorists of the last century (Perspectives Old and New on Paul). An internationally recognized New Testament scholar, he is the author of numerous books, including Galatians (Concordia Commentary Series, CPH) and Baptized into God’s Family (NPH). His expertise in the New Testament is reflected in his many articles, presentations, and work, including his contribution to the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), a translation released in 2017, for which he continues to serve on its Translation Oversight Committee. Dr. Das received graduate degrees from Yale University, Union Theological Seminary, Concordia Theological Seminary, and has done doctoral work at Duke University. He and his wife have three children (all currently in college).

Q&A Session