Blog 12 - Paul Nesselroade

Resurrecting Eugenics: Should Only Healthy Children be Born?

Paul Nesselroade February 24, 2022

A talk given by bioethicist Dr. Calum MacKellar, director of research for the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics in Edinburgh. On Thursday afternoon, Feb 10th, 2022, Dr. Calum MacKellar delivered a presentation for the Asbury University Human Dignity Lecture series entitled, Resurrecting Eugenics: Should Only Healthy Children be Born? (Please see the full video of Dr. MacKellar’s talk to the right. The password “4kh3k4m3a3MC” is required to access the video.) Dr. MacKellar’s presentation, which is easily accessible to the non-scientist, started with some basic definitions and a brief historical review of eugenics, including a recounting of significant events which occurred

Dr. Calum MacKellar speaks at the Human Dignity Lecture Series

Paul Nesselroade February 20, 2022

Here’s a brief write-up from Asbury University’s SEARCH website (reproduced by permission) on the talk given by Dr. Calum MacKellar, professional bioethicist, entitled, “Resurrecting Eugenics: Should Only Healthy Children be Born?” (A brief interview and video of his talk will be coming soon.) On February 10, the Asbury University Honors Program (AUHP) welcomed Dr. Calum MacKellar bioethicist from St. Mary’s University, London, UK to deliver a lecture titled “Resurrecting Eugenics: Should only Healthy Children Be Born?” to a packed room of students in the Kinlaw Library. The SEARCH-sponsored event was the second of a three-part lecture series on human dignity and

Book Review: The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self

Paul Nesselroade January 31, 2022

by Carl R. Trueman; Crossway Books, 2020 (425 pages) Accessibility rating 3 (out of 5) Recommendation rating 5 (out of 5) (Note: This first book review is about two-parts description [to inform a potential reader] and one-part analysis and critique. This ratio may change with subsequent reviews.) Description Carl Trueman, professor of biblical and religious studies at Grove City College, offers a rather extensive analysis of the historical roots that have yielded the contemporary understanding of the western self. Trueman argues modern selfhood is understood as a predominately-psychological structure, and fully detached from any sense of the sacred. It is

Pride Before a Brawl

Paul Nesselroade January 4, 2022

In the heart of Berlin sit three landmarks that reflect the multifaceted power of historic Germany, each one being just a short walk from the other two. The Brandenburg Gate is, perhaps, the most well-known symbol of the city. This iconic 18th century neoclassical monument featuring Quadriga, an ancient symbol of victory, represents well the prodigious military power that Germany and her Prussian fore-bearers exercised over the past quarter of a millennium. One city block to the north of the gate is the Reichstag, a legislative building that served as the center of German political life from 1871 to the

A Memorial and the Measure of Humanity

Paul Nesselroade December 13, 2021

In Berlin, just one block south of the Brandenburg gate, sits a relatively new holocaust-related exhibit, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This installation, which opened in 2005, is massive, taking up an entire city block. Yet curiously, as one looks at it from the street, at no point does any part of the display rise above eye level. The exhibit consists of an assembly of over 2,700 rectangular concrete blocks, or stelae, ordered in grid-like rows and columns, spread across an area of 19,000 square meters. The blocks all measure the same in width and length with

Some Thoughts on Diversion and Hurried Living

Paul Nesselroade November 30, 2021

Recently, on numerous occasions and across a variety of contexts, I’ve had my attention drawn to the topic of time; specifically, how I treat (and mistreat) it; that is, my time, my slowly but quite certainly expiring life. These referents have served to remind me of how easily I give up my time to practices that, while they may be healthy if well-regulated, far too often eat up significant chunks of my day. For me, the temptation typically takes the form of watching sports, playing games, and just thumbing through social media. To be clear, I do not believe there

An Evening with Dr. James Tour

Paul Nesselroade November 22, 2021

Recently, several Asbury University Honors Program students were privileged to spend an evening with world-renowned scientist, Dr. James Tour. Dr. Tour, named in “The 50 Most Influential Scientists in the World Today” by TheBestSchools.org in 2019, is the T. T. and W. F. Chao Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Materials Science & NanoEngineering at Rice University. Having spoken earlier in the day to the entire campus in chapel, Dr. Tour spent his evening mealtime with a selection of our AUHP students where he reviewed some of his work on the synthesis, unique properties, and unbelievably exciting applications of graphene.

Interview with Dr. Devin Brown

Paul Nesselroade November 10, 2021

Author of A Life Observed: A Spiritual Biography of C. S. Lewis, as well as the official Discussion Guide for The Most Reluctant Convert, the movie about C.S. Lewis currently playing in theaters Recently Dr. Devin Brown, a Professor of English at Asbury University and author of a number of books related to C. S. Lewis, accompanied a group of Asbury University Honors Program students to a showing of The Most Reluctant Convert: The Untold Story of C S. Lewis, a film about the early life and conversion of one of Christianity’s most famous writers and apologists. Afterwards, Dr. Brown

Interview with Dr. Christopher Bounds

Paul Nesselroade November 7, 2021

A Few Reflections from Our Speaker After Dr. Bounds presentation to our campus and fireside chat with the Asbury University Honors Program students (see: The Image of God, Incarnation, and Human Dignity), he provided some further thoughts via an interview. Here is the transcript of that exchange. Q: What gives people value? I like the word “give” in the question. The intrinsic value of people has its ultimate source in God. It is God, and God alone, that is the source of human worth and dignity. As such, this value is given to us by God. All other human value

The Imago Dei, Incarnation, and Human Dignity

Paul Nesselroade November 2, 2021

The Inaugural Human Dignity Lecture, by Dr. Chris Bounds On Thursday evening, October 7th, Dr. Chris Bounds, Professor of Christian Doctrine at Indiana Wesleyan University and Wesley Seminary, delivered the inaugural AUHP “Human Dignity Lecture” on the campus of Asbury University. His talk was entitled, “The Imago Dei, Incarnation, and Human Dignity.” The impassioned sermon-style presentation concerned the inherent dignity of humanity. (Please see the full video of Dr. Bounds talk to the right.) The 40-minute challenge started by recalling David’s cry to God in the 8th chapter of the Psalms: “what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

Category: Blog