Trinity Forum Update

“As a culture shifts from being focused on tradition or society or God to being focused on money, then the kinds of problems we have had over the past few years are only to be expected.” —Prabhu Guptara

In this Trinity Forum Update we highlight several new Provocations articles from Al Sikes, John Seel, and others, report on the recent Conversations event with Prabhu Guptara, and announce the upcoming year-end Reading title from Simone Weil.

Guptara-Wilson Conversation Addresses Root Causes of Economic Crisis

On Thursday, October 16, the Trinity Forum hosted a Conversation with Senior Fellows Prabhu Guptara and P. Douglas Wilson. Professor Guptara, drawing on his experience in international finance, gave the main presentation on “The Institutionalization of Greed,” addressing the role that greed has played in bringing about the current crisis in the wider economic system. Mr. Wilson responded from the perspective of his work in the corporate sector.

A portion of Guptara’s remarks have been adapted for a Provocations short article. We will also be releasing a podcast in the near future with audio highlights from the evening’s conversation, as well as a longer article from Guptara on the culture of debt.

During their prepared remarks and in the question and answer period, Guptara and Wilson mentioned several Trinity Forum resources that are relevant to the current institutional and financial crises, including the Readings booklets “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” by Leo Tolstoy (now also available on CD audio), “Politics, Morality, and Civility” by Václav Havel, and “William Wilberforce: A Man Who Changed His Times” (as well as Wilberforce’s own “A Practical View of Real Christianity”). They also referred to a Provocations article by Dallas Willard, “Beyond Moral Bewilderment.”

Several event attendees will be hosting dinner parties in the Washington DC area over the next few weeks for smaller groups to dig into the ideas presented during the Conversation. We see this as a more informal way to build relationships and further explore important ideas. If you would be interested in learning more about attending a dinner party or helping host one, please e-mail Beth Chapman, Director of Outreach and Advancement, at .

Recently on our Provocations Journal

We welcome your responses on these and other Provocations pieces.

Overwhelmed by Culture: It’s not a money crisis. It’s a character crisis. Trinity Forum Chairman Al Sikes looks at the economic crisis as a teachable moment. It’s time again to address our higher responsibility. (840 words)
Saying ‘I Don’t Know’: In stressful times, we tend to forget the virtue of humility. Ted McAllister and Pete Peterson look at the problems of contemporary public discourse. (1035 words)
Strategic Cultural Thinking: On Culture Making, Artifacts, Discernment—and Elites. John Seel takes a critical look at Andy Crouch’s important new book, Culture Making, affirming his call for getting busy making more culture, but suggesting that his view of culture is too narrow—and oddly materialist. (3888 words)
Christianity, Democracy, and the European Constitution: Geneva-based organizational consultant Paul Vanderbroeck offers a review and discussion of Le Christ Philosophe and its implications for the European Constitution. (2981 words)
The Institutionalization of Greed: Senior Fellow Prabhu Guptara's concluding remarks at a Trinity Forum Conversation about the current economic crisis. (812 words)

And from David Aikman’s column [all]:

A New Bretton Woods for the New Millennium? (1095 words)
Obama’s Cult of Personality (590 words)
The Financial Tsunami (1906 words)

Winter Reading—Simone Weil

The Winter 2008 edition of The Trinity Forum Reading—our fiftieth title—will be “Wrestling with God,” a brief introduction to Simone Weil, with a Foreword by Senior Fellow and Founding Chairman Alonzo L. McDonald. The booklet will have a red cover with gold embossed lettering. It will ship at the end of November, but you may pre-order now at our online store.

Christmas Greetings: Many people like to send copies of the year-end Reading as their Christmas greeting. If you would like to see the text of this selection to help in your planning, please contact our U.S. office at . It would also help us to know if you are considering purchasing this title in quantities of more than 150.

Mailing List: If you are not yet receiving the Readings booklets, please sign up for our complimentary mailing list by sending your postal address to or by using our contact form.

Senior Fellows Dinner with Mark Noll, November 6

The Trinity Forum invites you to join us for a special reception and dinner with our Senior Fellows. Our featured speaker is Senior Fellow Mark Noll, on “How Fares the Christian Mind?” including current prospects for a Christian intellectual life and a reassessment of his award-winning book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (1994). Wake Forest University President Nathan Hatch will provide a response, with audience questions to follow. The event will be held on the evening of November 6 at Evermay. More details here.

Trinity Forum Academy Hosts ‘The Integrity Weekend’ with Dr. Francis Collins & Kelly Monroe Kullberg (Feb 6–8, 2009)

Join the Academy Fellows for an intimate conference with Senior Fellow Dr. Francis Collins of the Human Genome Project and Kelly Monroe Kullberg, founder of The Veritas Forum, who will be discussing from personal and professional experience how to live a life of integrity in light of modern scientific and academic culture. Scholarships are available to students and young professionals. The conference will take place at Osprey Point in Royal Oak, Maryland. Contact the Academy at for registration information for yourself or a young leader you know who may be interested in applying for an Academy fellowship. More details here.

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