Welcome to this edition of Southern Illinois Wonders. The Southern Baptist Convention is a widely represented church body in southern Illinois. In 1993 a theological controversy occurred at its flag ship seminary.
Ryan Burge is a political scientist and a Baptist pastor. He examines the intellectual and social contexts of that event for this edition of Southern Illinois Wonders.
Ryan Burge is an instructor of political science at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston and the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon. Ryan is a graduate of Greenville College and holds a PhD in political science from SIU Carbondale where he was a post-doctoral fellow with the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. He often writes and speaks about intersections of religious life and political activity in the United States.
Southern Illinois Wonders is produced in collaboration with the Illinois humanities council, a nonprofit organization that fosters cultural vitality in communities throughout the state. More information on line at www. prairie.org.
Production assistance for this week show provided by WEIU. Theme music for Southern Illinois Wonders is provided by Robert Bowlin.
