The Saint Benedict Institute will host Dr. Jack Mulder of the Hope College philosophy faculty for a talk titled “Was Jesus an Only Child? A Biblical and Philosophical Exploration” on Wednesday, April 17, at 7 p.m. at Hope College in Winants Auditorium of Graves Hall.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
A video recording of the event will be made available online afterward on the Saint Benedict Institute website.
In the talk, Mulder will discuss biblical, traditional and philosophical ways to think of Jesus' nuclear family. The lecture will address a number of questions on this subject, including: “Did Jesus have siblings?” “Was Mary a virgin throughout her life?” and “Why do those questions matter for us?”
The event is co-sponsored by Hope College’s Center for Ministry Studies, Department of Philosophy and Department of Religion.
Mulder is a professor of philosophy and department chair at Hope, as well as the assistant director and co-founder of the Saint Benedict Institute. A member of the Hope faculty since 2004, he is a native of Grand Rapids and a 2000 Hope graduate. Mulder studied philosophy and religion at Hope before pursuing a master’s degree and doctorate in philosophy at Purdue University, where he wrote his dissertation on Kierkegaard. He was received into the Catholic Church while at graduate school. Mulder is the author of several books, including “Kierkegaard and the Catholic Tradition” (Indiana University Press, 2010), “What Does it Mean to Be Catholic?” (Eerdmans, 2015) and “Civil Dialogue on Abortion” (Routledge, 2018).
The Saint Benedict Institute is a ministry of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Holland. It seeks to promote and nurture intellectual work done from the heart of the Catholic Church, to foster an ecumenical community of Catholic Christians and friends committed to the renewal of culture, and to aid in the formation of intellectually and spiritually mature Christians by making available the riches of the Catholic tradition to Hope College and the wider community. More information can be found at saintbenedictinstitute.org.
To inquire about accessibility or if you need accommodations to fully participate in the event, please email accommodations@hope.edu. Updates related to events are posted when available at hope.edu/calendar in the individual listings.
Graves Hall is located at 263 College Ave., between 10th and 12th streets.