“你永远也学不会读书.” Those words from an elementary school teacher stung Brandon Rickabaugh with crushing power that he can still feel today. Laboring with learning disabilities, the young Rickabaugh figured he was just stupid. “If I couldn’t get something right off the bat, then I gave up,” 他说. 所以他在16岁时辍学了.
今天你给他打电话 医生 Rickabaugh. He’s a decorated scholar, PBA professor and keynote speaker for the university’s 跨学科研究会议 3月14日至15日. So what happened to the kid who thought he was stupid?
首先，耶稣降临在他身上. Rickabaugh came to faith a few years after dropping out of school, and began attending a church where philosopher Dr. J.P. Moreland was teaching a class over several weeks. Moreland’s teaching “just opened up this world to me,” 他说.
Rickabaugh began to believe that questions he long had wrestled with could be answered. “I’ve always been very, very perplexed, curious and frustrated with figuring out who I am.来自“一个非常破碎的家庭”,” he suffered from a horrible self-image, longing for someone to believe in him and support him. He came to understand that “the Lord believed in me, and was calling me to study.”
He found people “who believed in me, and who saw things in me that I couldn’t see.” And he began the process of learning how to learn “and learning that I could learn.“这是一场深刻的精神斗争, 他说, but he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of California, 欧文. Next came a master’s in philosophy from Biola University, 最后, in 2020, a 医生 of Philosophy degree from Baylor University, where he received the Outstanding Dissertation of the Year award.
多项荣誉接踵而至. Named 2022 Early-Career Philosopher of Religion by Tyndale House, 剑桥大学, 里卡博赢得了200美元奖金,000 research grant to further his work in public-facing philosophy and finish three academic books on the philosophy of mind and human consciousness. He joined Palm Beach Atlantic’s faculty as assistant professor of philosophy and research scholar in public philosophy. “布兰登是拼搏体育中的拼搏体育, but he also cares deeply about public-facing philosophy and speaking to the culture, 去教堂, 用他们能理解的语言,”医生说。. 保罗·古尔德，PBA的主管 Master of Arts in Philosophy of Religion.
But what Rickabaugh loves about his own story, 他说, “is that it cannot be explained on my own effort. There were just too many doors that opened, 我有太多的成就, that are so far beyond my natural abilities. 这, 我认为, 是一个巨大的, 巨大的礼物, 对耶稣的信心, 他关心我在做什么, 关心我将成为什么样的人,” and provides the people along the way to help.
Philosopher Moreland has continued to be major help to Rickabaugh, and the two have recently finished writing a major academic book, The Substance of Consciousness: A Comprehensive Defense of Substance Dualism.
In all of his accomplishments, Rickabaugh sees “God just showering me with encouragement. 我也希望别人也能这样。. “这就是我希望我的学生做到的.”
Rickabaugh’s keynote address at PBA’s research conference is 11 a.m. 3月15日. 他的题目是“有眼睛却看不见”? Knowing Jesus in a Culture of Disillusionment.” Look for it to be “a charge to regain the vision that flipped the world upside down and started universities in the first place.” And as you listen to Rickabaugh’s charge and philosophy, you might laugh as well as ponder. 喜剧, 他说, “can reveal the absurdity of life apart from Christ in a way that gets past our defenses,” and humor “signals that joy and rest are very good for our souls.”
The research conference takes place in the university’s Weyenberg Center, on the second floor of the Lassiter Student Center. The conference schedule includes a variety of research presentations by PBA faculty and students, 如下图所示:
- “经常错了, Never in Doubt: Mitigating Overconfidence in 领导 Decision-making,” by Rinker School of Business faculty members Dr. 加勒特·莱恩·科伊博士. 董事长科拉Barnhart. “Leaders are often celebrated for quick and decisive actions,” say the professors. But “while decisiveness is admirable, poor decision-making is not.”
- “Targeting the TRPM8 Receptor: The Gateway for Anti-Cancer Properties Associated with Carvacrol – A Plant-Derived Bioactive Molecule,学生Allison Cool说, Dr. Cidya Grant和Dr. Christopher J. 希基. The researchers found evidence for a possible therapeutic alternative to treat skin cancer.
- “Drunk on Christianity: How Christian 家庭 and Churches Unwittingly Play the Same Games as Alcoholic 家庭,2014年PBA毕业生彼得·科潘如是说. He cites research saying that adult children of missionaries have “almost identical problems” to adult children of alcoholics. He suggests paths toward post-traumatic growth for those looking for healing.
Presentations will be video recorded and made available for viewing on the web.
除了口头报告, the conference features a variety of poster presentations by faculty and students. These will be on display at the Warren Library March 13-17.