Veritas Forum Changes Focus

The first Veritas Forum started at Harvard nine years ago as a conference devoted to discussing Christianity in an academic way.

This weekend's Veritas Forum-the first at Harvard in two years-maintained some of its academic roots, but also tackled such hot-button issues as abortion, sex, homosexuality and euthanasia.

While some of the forum's panels were scholarly discussions about Christianity, many others took on a casual, more spiritual atmosphere.

Events ranged from a symposium at Harvard Law School (HLS) talking about the legal history of abortion and euthanasia, to a performance by Caedmon's Call, a Christian rock band.

The biggest draw of the five-day conference was a lecture series on Friday night by Peter Kreeft, professor of philosophy at Boston College, and Fritz Schaeffer, professor of chemistry at the University of Georgia, filling Science Center B lecture hall, with an overflow crowd in lecture hall C.

One of the most popular workshops, drawing a crowd of 50, was entitled, "The Radical Call to Love: Homosexuality and the Church," with Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and head minister at Memorial Church Peter J. Gomes.

Panelists discussed what Benjamin D. Grizzle '03, a key organizer of the forum, called one of the "thornier" issues in the Christian community: homosexuality.

All of the panelists said they considered being homosexual compatible with being Christian.

"Sexuality is not a sin, but sexuality is a problem for everybody," Gomes said. "Anything as powerful as a sexual identity has the potential to come between us and God."

Gomes publicly revealed that he was gay in 1991, after the conservative student journal The Peninsula published an issue denouncing homosexuality.

Though Gomes said he has spoken often to people who think the Christian community should accept homosexuals, he said he regrets not speaking to more people who think homosexuality and Christianity are not compatible.

"You are here today knowing more or less what I will say, but this is the first time I've sat with evangelical Christians to talk about this topic at Harvard," Gomes said. "The fact that this Veritas Forum can risk having me here is a signal step in the right direction. All I know is this ought to be the start of something too long delayed."

Two of the more strictly academic events included a debate between students on the existence of God and the HLS symposium on the legal basis of the pro-life argument.

The debate was moderated by Professor Jay M. Harris, who teaches Moral Reasoning 54: "'If There is No God, All is Permitted:' Theism and Moral Reasoning," and drew about 150 people.

At HLS on Saturday, a physician from Rhode Island used flow charts to prove what he thinks is the destructiveness of euthanasia in a panel called "New Realities and the Future of the Pro-Life Movement."

Another speaker at the same panel questioned the legality of the Food and Drug Administration's approval of RU-486, a drug that induces abortion.

The Saturday workshops were much smaller events, which focused on how a Christian can deal with everyday problems.

In "Finding and Keeping the Right Person," two couples tried to answer questions like, "How do you know when you're on a date?"

Even physical demonstrations were involved: one couple held hands as an example of how to indicate you are dating.

A more overtly religious event, the "Christian Festival: Making All Things New," organized by the Asian Baptist Student Koinonia, featured skits and songs like "The Questions of My Heart," about God giving meaning to life.

After most of the events, response cards were distributed to audience members asking what the organizers could do better and whether they would like to participate regularly in Christian groups and discussions on campus.

--Staff writer Anne K. Kofol can be reached at kofol@fas.harvard.edu.