Sponberg Lecture Series
Sponberg Lecture Series
Ron Sponberg was a loyal member of the Church and the Men of St. Martin’s. His life was dedicated to God, his family and his country. Before his passing, Ron and his family endowed a lecture series aimed at re-educating us about our country’s core principles and exploring their genesis.
American democracy, as it should, has always allowed for a healthy debate about the direction of the country. When its core principles are at risk of being eliminated — whether by those at the right or left of the political spectrum — they need to be defended. This series reminds us of what they are and where they came from.
Ronald Terry Sponberg
July 13, 1950-May 23, 2021
Nature's God and the American Founding
with Dr. Justin Dyer, Dean of the School of Civic Leadership, University of Texas, Austin
Wednesday, May 6
7 p.m.
Bagby Parish Hall
Book signing following
In the Declaration of Independence, the American founders famously said that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,” “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” from “the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God.” But who is the God of the American founding? Is it the God of the Bible, or the Enlightenment? Dr. Justin Dyer, the founding dean of the School of Civic Leadership at the University of Texas in Austin, is a leading expert in his field who argues that the biblical understanding of God was crucially important to the American founding. Come join us for an educational evening as we seek to be both good citizens and faithful followers of Jesus!
There is no charge for this evening; donations are welcome to support this ongoing lecture series. Books will be available for purchase. Limited seating available; registration in advance is encouraged.
Learn more about Dr. Dyer here.
Why Do We Separate Church from State?
with Dr. Vincent Phillip Muñoz, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Vincent Phillip Muñoz, Tocqueville Professor of Political Science and Law at the University of Notre Dame and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, divided his lecture into three parts. The first two parts focused on two leading and competing visions of the separation of Church and State and religious freedom in America today. The final part presented his insights on Christianity and religious freedom.
The lecture concluded with a response by the Hon. Edith Jones, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and a question-and-answer period with Dr. Muñoz, the Hon. Edith Jones and the Rev. Jordan Hylden.
Pictured are Dr. Vincent Phillip Muñoz, the Rev. Jordan Hylden and the Hon. Edith Jones.
How the Christian Revolution
Remade the World
with Tom Holland
Tom Holland, author and historian, spoke about his book, “Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World.” The book looks at how Christ’s teachings liberated the Western mind and has been described as the most important theological writing of the last 50 years.