D. Stephen Long, Cary M. Maguire University Professor of Ethics at Southern Methodist University, will present the Parkhurst Lecture at Southwestern College on Thursday, Feb. 2, at 4 p.m., in Messenger Recital Hall in the Darbeth Fine Arts Building.  There is no admission charge and the public is invited to attend.

The topic of his lecture is “The Epistles of John and a Perfectionist Ethics: F. D. Maurice’s Christian Socialist Legacy.”

“Dr. D. Stephen Long is one of the leading experts on the relationship between Christianity and economic theory,” says Jacob Goodson, associate professor of philosophy at Southwestern.  “He is coming to SC to talk about surprising connections between Christian theology, ethical reasoning, the modern economy, and the New Testament. This is his second time lecturing at SC, and we invited him back because he has served as a mentor to three current SC instructors: Dr. Jackson Lashier, Dr. Abigail Cutter, and myself. Current students, faculty, and community members will all benefit from attending his lecture.” 

Long previously worked at Marquette University, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, St. Joseph’s University and Duke Divinity School. He received his Ph. D. from Duke University, and is an ordained United Methodist Minister who served churches in Honduras and North Carolina. He works in the intersection between theology and ethics and has published over 50 essays and 14 books on theology and ethics including “Divine Economy: Theology and the Market” (Routledge, 2000), “The Goodness of God: Theology, Church and Social Order” (Brazos Press, 2001), “John Wesley’s Moral Theology: The Quest for God and Goodness” (Kingswood, 2005), “Calculated Futures” (Baylor, 2007), “Christian Ethics: A Very Short Introduction” (Oxford, 2010), “Saving Karl Barth: Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Preoccupation” (Fortress Press, 2014), and The Perfectly Simple Triune God: Aquinas and His Legacy (Fortress Press, 2016).

The Parkhurst Lecture is one of three annual endowed lectures hosted by the philosophy and religion department of the social sciences division at Southwestern College. This lecture focuses on Biblical studies.

For more information, contact Goodson by email at Jacob.Goodson@sckans.edu.