CANCELLED: Due to family illness, the Willis Lecture has been cancelled. The Lecture will be rescheduled in the Spring, and information about the new date and time will be posted here.

LAKELAND, Fla. (Sept. 8, 2011) – Jürgen Moltmann, considered by many to be the greatest living Protestant theologian in the world, and his wife, the distinguished scholar Elisabeth Moltmann-Wendel, will visit Florida Southern College to deliver jointly the Warren W. Willis Lecture in Religion on Oct. 31.

Dr. Moltmann will speak at 10 a.m. on the topic, “Sun of Righteousness, Arise: Justification of Sinners and Victims.” Dr. Moltmann-Wendel will speak at 1:30 p.m. on the topic, “The Return of Wisdom to Theology.” Registration begins at 9:30 a.m., and the lectures will be held in the historic Annie Pfeiffer Chapel on the Florida Southern campus. The lectures are free and open to the public. Lunch will be served for participants at noon in the Hollis Room at a cost of $7.

Dr. Moltmann is best known for his work articulating the Theology of Hope, in which he focuses on the implications of the resurrection of Jesus Christ for Christian faith. Among his many important books are Theology of Hope and The Crucified God. Dr. Moltmann’s theology was formed in part through his personal experience. Conscripted as a teenager into the German army during World War II, he was captured and spent three years as a prisoner of war, which led to a religious awakening and the pursuit of theological studies. Prior to his academic career, he was a pastor in the German Reformed Church. Dr. Moltmann was Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Tübingen from 1967 until his retirement in 1994.

Dr. Moltmann-Wendel is considered the founder of feminist theology in Germany. She is the author of several books, including Liberty, Equality, Sisterhood: The Women Around Jesus and Rediscovering Friendship. She and her husband are the joint authors of Passion for God: Theology in Two Voices.

This will be the second time Dr. Moltmann has delivered the Willis Lecture. He was the lecturer in 1989.

A long list of distinguished scholars has visited Florida Southern to deliver the Willis Lecture, including historian Martin Marty, theologian Stanley Hauerwas, and biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan. The lecture is made possible by a generous endowment in honor of the late Dr. Warren W. Willis, a longtime leader in youth work in the United Methodist Church.