“Spirit and Scripture,” an invitation to theological reflection on the person and work of the Holy Spirit, the nature and interpretation of Scripture, and the relationship between the two.
The Canadian-American Theological Association (CATA) Theology Conference will be held at Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester, NY on October 3rd, 2026.
This year's theme offers an invitation to theological reflection on the person and work of the Holy Spirit, the nature and interpretation of Scripture, and the relationship between the two.
CATA encourages submission of high-quality scholarly presentations of about 25 minutes, aimed at an audience of students, pastors, and faculty from across the spectrum of theological disciplines.
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Ephraim Radner is Professor Emeritus of Historical Theology at Wycliffe College, Toronto School of Theology, where he taught for nearly two decades after many years of parish ministry in the United States and Africa. He holds a PhD from Yale University and specializes in ecclesiology, scriptural hermeneutics, Anglican theology, and the theological significance of time and history. He is the author of numerous books, including A Time to Keep: Theology, Mortality, and the Shape of a Human Life (2016) and Time and the Word: The Figural Reading of Scripture (2016), and his work brings together rigorous scholarly inquiry with deep pastoral experience in service of the church.
CATA at NES Fall Theology Conference: "Spirit and Scripture"
CATA at NES Fall Theology Conference: "Spirit and Scripture"
Registration
Welcome
"Getting Beyond History: An Evangelical Imperative"
Prophetic and Cultic Critique: Trauma and Justice in the Old Testament
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"A Priest for a Price: A Socio-Theological Examination of Micah's Cultic Critiques"Chris Landon (NES)
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"An Intertextual Reading of the Shofetim in Judges through the Mosaic Judicial Framework of Exodus 18:20-21: Ehud's Story"Raquel Diaz (NES)
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"Transhumanism in Conversation with Gen 6:1-4"Kristin Helms (Roberts Wesleyan University)
Historical Theology and the Spirit
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"Communion with God: Trinitarian Spirituality in Owen and Bavinck"Aaron Kelley (Haddon Institute)
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"The Concept of Divine Illumination in Roman Catholic Biblical Interpretation from the Perspective of Henry de Lubac, Dei Verbum and Verbum Domini"Harold Shepherd (Anglican Diocese of Toronto)
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"Spirit and Scripture: Jonathan Edwards and the Theology of Genuine Revival in the First Great Awakening"Kamil M. Halambiec (Regent University School of Divinity)
Formation through Struggle, Embodiment, and Limitation
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"Wrestling with the Spirit: Scripture, the Conquest of Passion, and Virtue Formation"Austin Spiller (Southeastern University)
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"Beyond Hyper-Cognitive Discipleship: Rethinking Spiritual Formation for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities"Andrew Barron (Tyndale University)
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"The Spirit as Agent of Dignification: Toward a Pneumatological Foundation for Dalit Hermeneutics"Sunny Rao Gandem (NES)
Lunch
"The Supratemporal Jesus and the Spiritual Reading of Scripture"
Pentateuchal Texts and the Identity and Action of the Ruach
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"The Exodus Defines the Shema's Meaning"Kristian Klepes (NES)
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"From Geography to Genealogy: The Deliberately Disrupted Structure of the Book of Numbers"Ambrose Thomson (McMaster Divinity College)
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"The Spirit Kills? Pneumatology and Death in the Pentateuch"Nate Wall-Bowering (Providence Theological Seminary)
Revival, Discernment, and Contextual Hermeneutics
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"The Spirit and the Swindler: James and Ellen Hebden's Mission in Jamaica"James E. Pedlar (Tyndale Seminary)
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"Does the Spirit Only Speak through Good Exegesis?: Examining the 'Plain Sense' and a Believer's Interaction with the Holy Spirit in Scripture"Stephen Bailey (Northern Seminary)
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"The Living Word in a Changing Intellectual Landscape: The Holy Spirit, Scripture, and Christian Discernment in Contemporary Africa"Simon Karani Kariuki (McMaster Divinity College)
The Spirit's Presence and Sacred Space
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"When the Scroll Becomes a Sanctuary: Spirit, Scripture, and Temple Space in Luke-Acts"Michael Blythe (Africa Nazarene University)
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"Sacred Interruption: Liturgical Narrative and the Phenomenology of Depression in Modernity"Bradley Strelau (Wesley House, Cambridge)
Spirit-Formed Public and Social Ethics
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"Spiritual Formation as the Pursuit of Humble Fellowship with God and Others"Lauren Center Willis (NES)
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"Poverty Alleviation is Not Optional for Spiritual Formation"Kevin McGinn (NES)
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"The Public Fruit of the Spirit: Exploring Galatians 5, Moral Formation, and Applied Ethics"Heather McDivitt (St. Bonaventure University)
New Testament Pneumatology: Salvation, Unity, and Charism
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"Saved by the Holy Spirit: A Neglected Passage on the Holy Spirit's Role in Salvation"Brian D. Johnson (Northern Seminary)
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"Enlightenment Humanism and the 'Sin against the Holy Spirit': A Philosophical Reading of Pope John Paul II's Encyclical 'The Lord the Giver of Life'"Herbert Niba (Pontifical John Paul II Institute)
Spirit, Scripture, and the Pressures of Modern Culture
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"Resisting the Digital Principality: A Pneumatological Subversion of Technology as a Fallen Power"Jeffrey McPherson (Roberts Wesleyan University)
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"The Social Spirit"E. Janet Warren (Tyndale Seminary)
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"Wesleyan Quadrilateral without Prima Scriptura"Fidel A. Arnecillo, Jr (California State University)
Closing
Location
The Theology Conference will be held in the Golisano Community Engagement Center at 2280 Westside Drive, Rochester, NY 14624. Signage for event parking will be visible from Westside Drive. Parking will be available in Lot H behind the Community Engagement Center, Lot I in front of Beeson Apartments, and Lot J outside of Davison Hall.