Gregory S. Cootsona 280 Chico Canyon Road Chico, CA 95928 Phone: 530.592.5062 greg@cootsona.net Professional Experience Lecturer. Religious Studies and Humanities. California State University at Chico, 2014 Associate Pastor for Adult Discipleship. Bidwell Presbyterian Church, Chico, CA, 2002-2014 Director. Chico Triad on Philosophy, Theology, and Science. Chico, CA 2006 to present Adjunct Professor of Philosophy. Butte College. Oroville, CA, 2005-07 Associate Pastor of Program Development. Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. New York, NY, 1996-2002 Adjunct Assistant Professor. Brooklyn College, City University of New York, 2000 Lecturer. Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary. Berkeley, CA, 1995 Interim Co- director. College and University Ministries. First Presbyterian Church. Berkeley, CA, 1994-95 Education Ph. D., 1996, Graduate Theological Union Systematic and Philosophical Theology and the Philosophy of Religion Advisor: Dr. Ted Peters Post- graduate study, 1991-92, Universities of Tübingen and Heidelberg Supervisor: Dr. Michael Welker M. Div., 1991, Princeton Theological Seminary Specialization: New Testament Advisor: Dr. J. Christiaan Beker B. A., 1984, University of California, Berkeley Comparative Literature: French, Attic Greek Instruction (at Calfornia State University, Chico unless otherwise noted) Humanities 300Z: Great Books and Ideas. Spring 2015 RELS 241/PHIL 204: Science and Religion. Fall 2014 PHIL 16: Western Religions. Butte College. Spring 2005-7. Books C. S. Lewis and the Crisis of a Christian. Louisville: WestminsterJohnKnox, 2014. Say Yes to No: Using the Power of No to Create the Best in Life, Work, and Love. Doubleday, 2009. Creation and Last Things: At the Intersection of Theology and Science. Foundations of Christian Faith. Charles Wiley, general editor. Louisville: Geneva, 2002
Cootsona, page 2 God and the World: A Study in the Thought of Alfred North Whitehead and Karl Barth. International Theology, number 6. Jürgen Moltmann, Michael Welker, William Schweiker, editors. Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2001 Articles and Shorter Pieces Guest blogger. The Huffington Post. 2015 C.S. Lewis and the Crises of Belief. Article in Houses of Worship. Wall Street Journal. 28 November 2014. When Science Comes to Church. Christianity Today online. March 2014 How Nature and Beauty Can Bring Scientists and Theologians Together. Theology and Science 9, number 4 (2011): 379-93. Peer- reviewed journal. The Urgency of Strategic Breaks. Cnbc.com blog. 27 April 2009 The Church of the Last Stop: The Story of Bidwell Presbyterian Church. Price H. Gwynn III Leadership Series. Louisville, Kentucky: Geneva, 2007 California. The Brill Dictionary of Religion. Leiden: Brill. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2007 The Music and Message of U2. Co- written with Jim Coons. TheThoughtfulChristian.com, 2006 So Many People, So Little Time: The Challenge for Large Churches. Congregations 2005: 18-21 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. TheThoughtfulChristian.com, 2005 Theology Matters. Congregations Winter 2003: 19-21 Do Creatures Make Themselves? A Presbyterian Pastor Responds to Polkinghorne s Comments on Evolution. Presbyterians Today 93, number 8 (October 2003): 13 The Sabbath Pastor. Perspectives: A Journal of Reformed Thought 17, number 2 (February 2002): 2-3 On Seeing Howard Finster in Manhattan. re:generation 7, number 1 (March 2001): 43 Sanctifying Ministers in Prayer. dialog 38, number 4 (Fall 1999): 260-3 Kalifornien (California). Metzler Lexikon Religion. 3 vols. Christoph Auffarth, Jutta Bernard, Silvia Kurre and Hubert Mohr, editors. Stuttgart: J. B. Metzler, 1999 The Deep Fault Line in Religion about Science: Whitehead and Barth in the 21 st Century? Science and Spirit 9, number 2 (May 1998): 20-23 Trinitarian Creation of a Complex World. dialog 36, number 3 (Summer 1997): 175-9 Essays for The Everyday Study Bible. Dallas: Word, 1996 Theological Profile of Ted Peters. Catalyst 21, number 2 (February 1995): 4-5 Jesus the God of Justice and Compassion in Pasolini s The Gospel According to Matthew. Radix Magazine 23, number 1 (1994): 8-9, 21 Reviews Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable; Books and Culture, volume 13, number 5 (September/October 2007): 23 Ted Peters, Playing God? Second edition; Science and Theology, volume 1; number 2 (2003). Peer- reviewed journal. John Polkinghorne and Michael Welker, The Ends of God and the End of the World: Science and Theology on Eschatology; The Christian Century 2001, 4 April 2001: 25-27
Cootsona, page 3 William C. Placher, The Domestication of Transcendence: How Modern Thinking About God Went Wrong; The Princeton Seminary Bulletin, volume 29; number 2 (1998): 220-2 Margaret Wertheim, Pythagoras Trousers: God, Physics, and the Gender Wars; CTNS Bulletin 16, Number 2 (Spring 1996): 28-30 Wolfhart Pannenberg, Toward a Theology of Nature, edited by Ted Peters; CTNS Bulletin 14, Number 3 (Summer 1994): 19-21 Clark Pinnock and Delwin Brown, Theological Crossfire; Catalyst 18, Number 3 (March 1992): 2-3 Papers Presented at Professional Meetings A Christian Spirituality of Beautiful, Sustainable Simplicity, CSU Chico Sustainability Conference, November 2009 Say No to Ecological Abuse and Yes to Stewarding God s Creation, CSU Chico Sustainability Conference, November 2008 The Telos of Beauty: A Common Quest for Theologians and Scientists, Transdisciplinarity and the Unity of Knowledge," Metanexus Institute Conference on science and religion, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, June 2007 Constructing a Doctrine of Creation in a Scientific Age: Learning from Karl Barth and Alfred North Whitehead, theology section, AAR Mid- Atlantic regional meeting, Glen Mills, PA, March 2000 Making Sense of a Changing World: The Development of a Theological Conception of the World Based on a Critical Reading of Karl Barth s Early Theology. Philosophy of Religion section, AAR Western regional meeting, San Diego, CA, March 1996 Interviews and Television Appearances Interview on Nancy s Bookshelf NSPR Radio. Chico, CA, 21 November 2014 The Power of No, NBC News, Today show, July 2009 Sermon on Work/Life Balance, Business News Nightly, July 2009 Interviews on Daxle.com, McLoughlin at Work, KCHO, USA Weekend, March- July 2009 Today Wedding, NBC News, Today show, 6 October 2006 Hometown Wedding, NBC News, Today show, 16 September 2005 Young Dot- Commers Hit Really Early Midlife Crisis, Wall Street Journal, 15 November 2000 Higher Learning, New York Magazine, 2 August 1999 The New Church Social, The New York Times, 1 November 1998 End of the World, CNN Network News, 9 August 1994 Lectures and Workshops C. S. Lewis and Science. Thurber Thursday. American Church in Paris. 25 September 2014 Participant. The Venice Summer School on Science and Religion. Venice, Italy. 25-28 May 2010 Invited participant. Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series (STARS). Funded by the John Templeton Foundation. Cancun, Mexico. 18-22 January 2007 Invited speaker. 2006 JK Rusell Fellows Research Conference, Assessing the Cases for Theistic Evolution. 15 September 2006
Cootsona, page 4 Calculating God. Workshop for We Believe in God: A Theology Convocation for the Whole Church. Theology, Worship, and Discipleship Unit of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Pittsburgh, PA, 23-26 April 2003 Theological Issues in a Scientific Age. Weekend Seminar for the Presbyterian Association on Science, Technology and the Christian Faith Rocky Mountain Chapter. Wheat Ridge, Colorado, 1-2 November 2002 Transforming Education and Keeping the Change. Theological Students Forum. Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ, 28 November 2001 Barth and Whitehead: Must a Scientific Theology Choose Between Them? The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences Fifteenth Anniversary Forum Series, The Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA, 2 October 1996 Invited.articipant, the John Templeton Foundation s Science and Religion Course Program, Berkeley, CA, 7-11 June 1996 Panels and Special Events Founder and Director, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church s Distinguished Speaker Series, 1997-2002 (speakers: Wayne Muller, Thomas Cahill, Stephen Carter, Peter Gomes, George Gallup, Jr., Tommy Hilfiger) Panelist and Respondent to Sin: Radical Evil in Soul and Society by Ted Peters, Founders Day, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, September 1995 Organizer (in cooperation with New College Berkeley and Radix Magazine), Jesus Film Festival, Berkeley, CA, October 1994 Fellowships, Grants, Awards, and Other Recognition Project Leader. Science for Emerging Young Adults, a $170,000 planning grant project funded by the John Templeton Foundation, 2014-15 Onsite Co- Project Leader. Scientists in Congregations, a $2 million grant project funded by the John Templeton Foundation, 2010-14 Outstanding in the Field Alumus/a. Princeton Theological Seminary s Alumi/ae magazine, InSpire. Winter 2008: 42-43 Local Societies Initiative Grant for the Chico Triad on Philosophy, Theology, and Science. Metanexus Institute, 2005-8 Toward the Public Advancement of Scholarly Research into the Interaction of Theology and Science. American Academy of Religion/Western Region Mini- Grant 2004 Becoming Sabbath: A Study of Spiritual Retreat Centers in our Western Technological Society. Grant from Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Program, 2001 Creating a Training Model for Adult Christian Education based on the Center for Christian Studies. The Louisville Institute General Grant Program, 1999 Chan Essay Award. Graduate Theological Union, 1992 Leadership Development Scholarship. World Council of Churches, 1992 Tübingen Exchange Fellowship. Princeton Theological Seminary, 1991 Languages (in descending order of competence) Primary: French, German, Koine Greek
Cootsona, page 5 Secondary: Biblical Hebrew, Attic Greek, Latin, Italian Memberships American Academy of Religion Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA) Contributions to University and Community Founding Board Member for The Thoughtful Christian. Presbyterian Publishing Company, 2005-08 Search Committee Member for Dean/Vice President for Academic Affairs. Graduate Theological Union, 1995-6