"Imagining Ourselves in Heaven" is topic of Center for Catholic Studies lecture at Fairfield University | Press Releases

Image: John Thiel Throughout their tradition, Christians have believed in resurrected heavenly life and imagined it in various ways.

Fairfield University Professor John Thiel, Ph.D., will discuss this most intriguing subject when he delivers the University's 18th annual Christopher F. Mooney, S.J. Lecture in Theology, Religion and Society, on Tuesday, October 11 at 8 p.m. "This talk begins by considering the interesting proposals of two great Christian thinkers - Thomas Aquinas and Jonathan Edwards - and concludes by offering a way of imagining the afterlife that has never been proposed before," said Dr. Thiel, president of the Catholic Theological Society of America.

Free and open to the public, the lecture, entitled "Imagining Ourselves in Heaven," is co-sponsored by Fairfield University's Center for Catholic Studies and the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Dr. Thiel, professor of Religious Studies, has served as chair of the Department of Religious Studies and currently is director of the University Honors Program at Fairfield. He is the author of five books, including " Senses of Tradition: Continuity and Development in Catholic Faith" (Oxford University Press, 2000), and "God, Evil, and Innocent Suffering: A Theological Reflection" (Crossroad, 2002). Twice a recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Dr. Thiel was elected to membership in the American Theological Society in 2006. Currently, he sits on the board of editorial consultants of the Jesuit-sponsored journal Theological Studies.

The lecture honors the late Fr. Mooney, a former Fairfield University academic vice president. It will take place in the Dolan School of Business.

The Center for Catholic Studies is directed by the Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J. Chair in Catholic Studies, Dr. Paul Lakeland, professor of Religious Studies. For more information about this lecture and other events, visit http://www.fairfield.edu/cs/index.html or contact Elyse Raby, administrative coordinator, (203) 254-4000 ext. 3415 or eraby@fairfield.edu .