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Printer-Friendly ModeSVSU history prof concludes religion-themed lecture series
November 13, 2006 —
Professor of history Thomas Renna concluded the "Challenge of Religion" Fall Focus lecture series Wednesday night in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall with his lecture entitled "Fundamentalisms in Conflict on the Temple Mount: A Historian's Perspective."
Renna started his lecture on a humorous note, walking on stage with a sign that had a frowning face on one side and "The End is Near" written on the other.
Throughout the evening, Renna took the audience on a journey through history, talking about the different religious powers that controlled the Temple Mount, which is located in Jerusalem and is a constant point of conflict.
According to Renna, the conflict stems from a battle to control the Temple Mount, a battle he said occurs because fundamentalists, Jews, Christians, and Muslims all have similar beliefs. He said they believe in the same God, same sacred space, and other shared values.
Renna argues that fundamentalists are those who would like to bring principles of the past into the present. He said all three of the major religions have fundamentalists, which is a term that was invented by Christians who did not like a lot of the "modern changes" regarding the interpretation of the Bible.
In addition to serving as the final lecture of the Fall Focus series, the lecture was also the fourth annual Hoffmann/Willertz Lecture.
Bill Hoffman and John Willertz were founding members of the SVSU history department and the lecture in their honor switches every year between history faculty members.
Renna said it was an honor to be part of the series and that he felt it was good to end the series on a relevant note, referring to the current conflict in the Middle East.
Renna also mentioned that he takes a yearly trip to Rome to study in the Vatican's archives.
"I have relatives in Rome and I have been going there all my life," he said. "It's very convenient, and it's about a mile away."
Renna said he uses the Vatican's archives and secret archives to work on a variety of projects, and that he usually makes the trip every May.