Renowned ethicist C. Ben Mitchell to address ‘What does it mean to be human?’ in Land Center lecture series

Renowned ethicist C. Ben Mitchell will address the question, “What does it mean to be human?” during the Land Center for Cultural Engagement series of lectures on “The Human Person” to be held Oct. 25-26 at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary campus in Fort Worth, Texas. 

Daniel M. Darling, director of the Land Center and assistant professor of faith and culture at Texas Baptist College, said “the question of what it means to be human” is “one of the most pertinent questions in the culture” noting “Dr. Mitchell’s deep insight and careful biblical scholarship are exactly fit for the moment.”

“His insights on theology, anthropology, and human dignity have shaped several generations of pastors, scholars, and Christian leaders,” Darling said. “It’s especially meaningful to have Dr. Mitchell, as an alumnus of Southwestern Seminary, to be teaching as we revive the Land Center Lectures.”

Mitchell, a 1983 Master of Divinity graduate of Southwestern Seminary and senior fellow of the Land Center, will present a series of four lectures that expands upon the “Image of God” colloquium held at the seminary in May in which Mitchell participated, Darling said, adding, “These are the kinds of conversations that are at the heart of the mission of the Land Center. This lecture series will help equip our students, our faculty, and other pastors and lay people who attend.”

Darling noted the answer to the question, “What does it mean to be human?” will open itself to addressing several challenges facing Christians today.

“Christians are poised to answer with clarity, conviction, and compassion,” Darling said. “The digital age, with its promise and peril, challenges our understanding of the human person. The sexual revolution, with its march toward moral anarchy, challenges our understanding of the human person. Questions of work, rest, poverty, aging, and medicine challenge our understanding of the human person.”

Mitchell, who earned a Doctor of Philosophy with a concentration in medical ethics degree from the University of Tennessee, held the Graves Chair of Moral Philosophy at Union University for more than a decade before his retirement in 2020. Before teaching at the Tennessee-based university, Mitchell taught bioethics and contemporary culture at Trinity Graduate School and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. 

In addition to serving as a fellow for both the Council for Biotechnology Policy and Center for Policy on Emerging Technologies, Mitchell was also a senior fellow in the Academy of Fellows of The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity from 2011-2021.

While the Land Center fall lecture series is free and open to the public, including anyone in ministry, and students, faculty, and staff of Southwestern Seminary and Texas Baptist College, registration is required.

More information, including the schedule and registration information, can be found here.