Dr. Charles Dorsey Horton and Maxine Horton Lecture in Biblical Studies
Dr. Horton, a native of Georgia, graduated from Brewton-Parker College (1939), Furman University (1941), and Southern Baptist theological Seminary where he earned a Ph.D. in 1953. During Horton’s five-decade career he pastored 16 churches, taught public school, and served as professor at both Mercer University and Brewton-Parker College. He and his wife, the late Maxine Horton, had three children. While Dr. Horton was interested in many religious and theological topics, he loved the Bible and challenged the speakers for this lecture series to do as it is written in the New Testament book of II Timothy (2:15) to “rightly divide the word of truth.”
This lecture is held every other year.
- 2016 Dr. Gary Anderson
- 2015 Dr. John Kutsko
- 2013 Dr. Melissa Snarr, Dr. Warren Kinghorn
- 2011 Dr. Melanie Johnson-Debaufre
- 2010 Dr. Carol Newsom
- 2008 Dr. Barbara Rossing
- 2007 Dr. Douglas Knight
- 2006 Dr. Sandra Hack Polaski
- 2005 Dr. Emily Arndt
The Kendrick-Poerschke Lecture for Interfaith Understanding
The Kendrick-Poerschke Memorial Fund was established by Robert E. Poerschke, Furman class of 1941, in memory of his wife, Katherine Kendrick Poerschke, class of 1945. Mrs. Poerschke was a lover of the arts, especially drama and music, but questions about religion engaged her her whole life. An active church member in an era of sharp denominational, religious and ethnic boundaries, Katherine—like her husband Bob and her brother Schaefer Kendrick, longtime adjunct professor of business and commercial law at Furman, was open to and appreciative of religious, ethnic and cultural diversity. After graduating from Furman, Robert Poerscke earned a Th.M. at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and was a navy chaplain during the last year of World War II. He served in several ministry jobs, including the Director of Religious Activities at Furman, before he went to Columbia University in NY to earn an Ed.D. degree. Dr. Poerscke then became Professor of Christian Education at Southeastern Seminary.
This lecture is held every other year.
- The 2013-2014 Lecturer was given by Dr. John J. Thatamanal on Rethinking Religious Diversity: Comparison after “Religion”
The Ayers Lecture in Philosophy and Theology
When Robert Ayers graduated from Furman in 1939, he was already demonstrating a passionate interest in the intersection between philosophy and religion that would guide his career. After earning a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University, Dr. Ayers became Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Georgia, where he would teach until his retirement. The lectures, established in 2011, also honor his wife, the late Mrs. Mary Ayers.
Held annually. In odd years it is sponsored by the Philosophy Department and in even years by the Department of Religion.
- 2016 Dr. Victor Anderson
- 2015 Norman Wirzba
