What can we hope for in the 21st century

A lecture series looking at some of the biggest issues facing society will be officially launched next week (Monday 21 February 2000) when one of the most influential Christian voices of his time will ask what grounds there are for hope in the new millennium.

Professor Jurgen Moltmann is one of Germany’s foremost Protestant theologians and taught at the University of Tubingen from 1967 until 1994. His works have been translated and widely read in English and have had a shaping impact on an entire generation of British theologians.

Professor Paul Gifford, series organiser said, “Moltmann must be the living theologian most widely known and read today. What gives him his prominence? It’s the sense of theological excitement and the contemporary relevance which his work evokes, as well as his personal contacts with many parts of the worldwide church. He’s aware that humankind has made spectacular progress but he also thinks the record shows us close to some powerful perils – the “abyss” as he calls it. The theme of hope pervades his writings though, from first to last. It’s certainly appropriate that he should launch our series by inviting us to consider what, at the dawn of the third millennium, we may legitimately hope for”.

Since the publication of his “Theology of Hope” in 1967, Moltmann has published a string of seminal studies exploring major themes in Christian doctrine.

Open to the general public, the lecture is part of the year-long programme “2000 Years: Faith, Culture and Identity in the Common Era”. Co-sponsored by the University’s Institute of European Cultural Identity Studies, Centre for Philosophy and Public Affairs, Department of Social Anthropology and the School of Divinity, the series is funded with the help of the Gifford Lectureship Fund.

Professor Moltmann’s talk will take place in the University’s Lower College Hall at 5.15pm on Monday 21 February.

NOTE TO EDITORS:- You are invited to send a reporter/photographer to the event. Further details can be obtained from Professor Paul Gifford on telephone 01334 477243.

Issued by Beattie Media on behalf of the University of St Andrews For more information please contact Claire Grainger on 01334 462530, 07887 650072 or email [email protected] Ref: gifford.1/standrews/chg/16feb2000/ PR1891