Os Guinness

Os Guinness

Tribespeople, Idiots, or Citizens – Christians and the Challenge of American Public Life

Friday, January 5

Os Guinness is an author and social critic. A witness to the climax of the Chinese revolution in 1949, he was expelled with many other foreigners in 1951 and returned to Europe where he was educated in England. Since moving to the United States in 1984, Os has been a Guest Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies, a Guest Scholar and Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Senior Fellow at the Trinity Forum and the EastWest Institute in New York. Os has spoken at many of the world’s major universities, and spoken widely to political and business conferences across the world. 

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Carl Kaiser

Carl Kaiser

Die Winterreise by Frank Schubert

Monday, January 8

Carl Kaiser, tenor, is a professor of Music at Calvin College where he teaches voice and music appreciation. From 1962 to 1977, he sang professional opera. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Indiana University Bloomington and his Master's degree in Music from the Catholic University of America. 

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Robert Gale

Robert P. Gale

Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Accidents, Nuclear War. Final Warning: The Legacy of Chernobyl

Monday, January 8

Robert P Gale is on the faculty of the UCLA School of Medicine where he focuses on molecular biology, immunology and treatment of leukemia. He has published over 800 scientific articles and more than 20 books. He received his A.B. degree in biology and chemistry from Hobart College and his M.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo. 

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Yong Hi Moon and Dai Uk Lee

Yong Hi Moon and Dai Uk Lee

Duo Pianists

Wednesday, January 10

Pianists Dai Uk Lee and Yong Hi Moon are both in demand educators and performers in the United States and Korea. The husband and wife duo still often performs and records four-hand piano repertoire, as they did at Korean Concert Society’s second annual recital in 1981. Dai Uk Lee is currently a professor at Hanyang University in Seoul, and Yong Hi Moon is on the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory of Music.

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Brian Wren

Brian Wren

How Shall I Sing to God? Poems of Faith for the 1990s

Thursday, January 11

Wren is an internationally published hymn writer. He was ordained in Britain’s United Reformed Church and holds BA and PhD degrees from Oxford University. In 2000 he was appointed the first John and Miriam Conant Professor of Worship at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta.

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Friends of the Groom

Friends of the Groom

From the Ridiculous to the Divine

Friday, January 12

Thought-provoking, original Christian drama comes to The January Series with the appearance of Friends of the Groom, a nationally-known theatre group founded 16 years ago by Tom Long, the group's director, playwright, and chief storyteller. Committed to proclaiming the Christian message with a unique blend of humor, story, and challenging content, this award-winning, inter-denominational group of adult performers travels to congregations around the country using drama to build Christian community and to inspire individual faith. The group's name refers to the image of Christ as the bridegroom in the New Testament. For The January Series they will perform A Second Book of Acts, a blend of humor, confession, scripture, and three people's true stories of their encounters with God, written by Long, complete with a surprise ending.

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Jorge Fernandez

Jorge Fernandez

Revelations in Miami: Riots, Refugees, and Rebels

Monday, January 15

Jorge Fernandez was born in Cuba and came to the US in the 1960's as a refugee. He attended Holland Christian High School for 2 years after his family moved to Michigan when Montello Park CRC agreed to sponsor him and his family until they could get on their feet. He graduated from Calvin College from the education department with majors in political science and Spanish. After teaching for a few years, he attended Wayne State School of Law because he was excited to help solve some of the problems in Miami and redeem his culture as the Miami city attorney. 

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Cal Thomas

Cal Thomas

The Death of Ethics in America: Overcoming Evil in a Fallen World

Tuesday, January 16

Cal Thomas is one of the most popular syndicated columnists in the country, appearing in hundreds of newspapers and regularly appears on Fox News and other media outlets. He began his career in radio, TV, and print at the age of sixteen. 2014 marks the thirtieth anniversary of his syndicated column.

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John Allen Paulos

John Allen Paulos

Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences

Wednesday, January 17

Bestselling author, mathematician, public speaker, and formerly a monthly columnist for ABCNews.com and occasionally for the Guardian and Scientific American, John Allen Paulos grew up in Chicago and Milwaukee and received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin. He is a professor of mathematics at Temple University in Philadelphia. 

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David Clark

David Clark

The 1990s--A Spiritual Crisis: Mind Control, Brainwashing, Cults, and Seduction

Thursday, January 18

David Clark is a professional Thought Reform Consultant, a court certified cult expert, and a Christian counter-cult apologist. In 1981, he became a court certified cult expert in 2 separate cult related litigation cases. In 1985 he recevied the first national "Hall of Fame" award from the original Cult Awareness Network. 

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Juan Williams

Juan Williams

Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years

Friday, January 19

Juan Williams is an author and journalist for The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal and has published widely in magazines such as The Atlantic Monthly and Time. He has received an Emmy Award and critical praise for his television documentary work and he has won several awards for investigative journalism and his opinion columns. He graduated from Haverford College with a degree in Philosophy in 1976. 

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Tom Willett

Tom Willett

The Spirit and the Flesh in Hollywood: Inside Christian Contemporary Music

Monday, January 22

Tom Willett is a musician, author and entertainment industry executive. He graduated from Wake Forest University with a B.A. in Psychology and toured with several musical groups after graduating. He became the executive director of artists and repertoire for Word Records, the world's largest distributor of inspirational music and books. 

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Dith Pran

Dith Pran

Cambodia: Living in The Killing Fields

Tuesday, January 23

Dith Pran is a Cambodian photojournalist who suffered four years of abusive treatment after the Communist Khmer Rouge forces took over his country in 1975. Pran eventually escaped and became a crusader for justice in Cambodia. His story was portrayed in the 1984 movie The Killing Fields.

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Philip Hoekstra

Philip Hoekstra

Beethoven Revisited in the Era of AIDS

Wednesday, January 24

Philip Hoekstra graduated Grand Rapids Christian High School in 1946, and served the US Military as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army during 1947-1948. He then attended medical school at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan, and was a distinguished neurosurgeon serving Grand Rapids area hospitals from 1961 until his retirement in 1991.

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Xiaopo Huang

Xiaopo Huang

China in Crisis: The Chinese Press and Political Turmoil

Thursday, January 25

Ziaopo Huang is the deputy director of the Beijing National Press Club. She graduated from the foreign language department at Woo Han University in 1974 and began working at the Beijing National Press Club, the only national journalist organization in China, in 1983. Her duties were to organize national newsbreaking stories, a job that was very frustrating for her because she had to do and say many things which she did not want to because the Press Club was open to government and party control. This led to many Chinese people not believing the Press Club. 

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