Dr. Mercer's Speaking Engagements

Many of these lectures to lay audiences are based on Dr. Mercer’s published research. For more details and scheduling arrangements, contact Dr. Mercer (mercerc@ecu.edu)

Workshops: Day-Long or Weekend

Monastic & Holistic Practices

This workshop, offered with Dr. Susan Vickery-Mercer, has been provided, with continuing education credits, to an organization of substance abuse and other clinical counselors and in smaller retreat settings. The techniques presented address burnout issues and expand options for health care and other service providers and their clients/customers. The various practices are provided in the context of environmental sensitivity and self-inquiry. Dr. Vickery-Mercer has background and training in exercise physiology, child development and family relations, and ecological land use and is a licensed massage therapist.

Forgiveness for the Body & Mind

Drawing upon scientific research on forgiveness, this workshop, offered with Dr. Susan Vickery-Mercer, addresses the value and usefulness of appropriately expressed anger, the physical and psychological aspects of forgiveness, how forgiveness strategies can impact organizations for greater efficiency and effectiveness, and creative rituals for implementing forgiveness.

Grief—Not Just for Loved Ones

Drawing upon the latest research on grief, this lecture or workshop, emphasizing audience participation, is offered with Dr. Susan Vickery-Mercer and addresses the range of issues around grief.

Religious Diversity Training

This program can be tailored to the particular needs of specific groups. For example, when to hospital staff, for continuing education credit, focus is given to how health care delivery can be appropriately informed by the religious diversity among patient and staff populations. The program has been offered in both day-long workshop settings and a series of lectures over several days.

Most Popular Lectures

God, Souls, Spiritual Machines, & Living Forever in the 21st Century

What if you could live healthy for 1,000 years—or longer? In this increasingly popular lecture, Mercer summarizes, and considers the religious implications of, the technologies that are fast opening up breakthrough possibilities for engineering the body and mind and for extreme (perhaps indefinite) longevity of healthy human life. The lecture is based, in part, on Mercer’s four co-edited books and numerous journal articles on this topic. See Mercer’s home page for a more detailed description of the topic.

Artificial Intelligence on Steroids—Heaven or Hell

AI is increasingly part of our lives. Self-driving vehicles are just one example that’s present and quickly accelerating. AI is used in military simulations, athletic training, medical delivery and diagnostic programs, predictive clinical analytics (e.g. when might a patient relapse), drug manufacturing research, banking, stock investing, video games, sequencing genomes, diagnosing cardiac conditions, and gene editing, to name just some of the complex functions. China understands the importance of AI and has made a huge investment in becoming a world leader. Some of the biggest companies in the world, the so-called “FANG” stocks (Facebook, Apple, Netflix, Google)—are all about high tech, with AI central to their products. What if AI evolves into superintelligence? Are trying to build a new deity in the computer lab? Will we take our place with the dinosaurs? We’ll discuss these and other interesting social and religious implications of AI.

History and Psychology of Fundamentalism

Slaves of Faith: A Therapist Looks Inside the Fundamentalist Mind is the title of Mercer’s book. Although a religion professor, he is also trained as and practiced part-time for a decade as a therapist. This program is based on his book where he uses a cognitive therapy model to understand the fundamentalist mind. Although the book is focused on Christian fundamentalism, the insights are valuable for understanding extreme religion in all traditions and especially so in our post-9/11 climate. This program has been given in one lecture and in a series of lectures where the topic is covered in more detail.

Other Public Lectures

Captivating Old Testament Stories

Whether a person of faith or not, you’ll likely find these stories fascinating. Because of its genius in communicating abstract concepts via concrete languaging, the Old Testament—what Jews call TANAK—is filled with interesting, even irresistible, reading. The challenge is in choosing from the wealth of outstanding possibilities. Bring a Bible if you like, and get ready to be enchanted, intrigued, informed, amused, puzzled, and even shocked.

Captivating New Testament Stories

The New Testament has influenced literature, art, ethics, the church, and other aspects of Western culture. These 27 books also played a fascinating role in the emergence of early Christianity. Attention is given to some of the more interesting parts of the New Testament.  Various stories in the gospels, selections from Paul, and the final book of the Bible, Revelation, will be considered for their historical, literary, and theological value.  We’ll definitely take a look at parables, an intriguing teaching device used by Jesus. We’ll certainly expound upon Philemon, one of Mercer’s favorite New Testament books.  Make sure you bring a Bible.

The “Lost” Books of the Bible

Well, they’re not really lost.  Mercer has many of them on his bookshelf.  They are, however, not very well known.  There are some very interesting stories here in the Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, noncanonical gospels, and other collections.  Daniel outsmarting the corrupt priests of Bel, Jesus’ first day at school, and wise counsel from ancient proverbs.  You’ll enjoy looking at these texts and as many other stories as time permits, and a critical assessment of the historicity of some of these old texts will be given.

How We Got the Bible

(one session or several)

Perhaps tucked away in the back of our minds is a simplistic notion that a long time ago the heavens opened and the Bible—King James Version, black leather binding, your name printed in gold, and a red locater ribbon—slipped out of the hands of an angel to God’s people.  Of course, when we really think about it, we know it was not anything like that.  It’s a much more complex—and fascinating—story.

Pen & Paper

Here we look at the actual mechanical process by which the various books of the Bible came into existence.  You’ll get to hold papyri from Cairo, manufactured in the ancient way, to illustrate book-making in biblical times.  And, what about the notion that the scribes made errors in copying the manuscripts?  This will be explained fully.  If time allows, we’ll learn about some of the more interesting manuscript finds.

Canon is Not a Big Gun

Pious Jews and Christians wrote many books in the ancient world.  Why are some in the Bible and others are not?  This is the fascinating story of the selection process.  And when the tabloids have a slow news day, they talk about the “lost books of the Bible.”  Well, they’re not “lost.”  Mercer has many of them on his library shelf.  We’ll take a look at some of the interesting stories that didn’t make it into the Bible.

Translation

Translation is tricky business.  We’ll discuss the ins and outs of this very important and complicated step in getting the Bible to our reading desk.  Did Paul smoke marijuana?  No, he did not.  But, you might think so if you read one English translation.  Should translations refer to God with masculine terminology?  We’ll explore this and other controversial translation issues.

Religions of the World—And Our City

(one session or several)

Regardless of one’s view of the validity of any religion or religion in general, in an era of increasing globalization, it is imperative—for reasons of cultural understanding, business and economic success, conflict resolution, and others—to have an accurate understanding of the major faiths that impact people and societies around the world and, indeed, in our city. We’ll look at some of the basic teachings of several major world religions and give some attention to comparing and contrasting their religious ideas. As we have time, Mercer will share some of his personal experiences and observations while studying different religions in various parts of the world in, e.g., Japanese Zen Buddhist monastery, Thai Buddhist monastery, Indian Hindu ashram, Israeli Jewish retreat center, Roman Catholic Trappist monasteries around the world, and Native American Sweat Lodge . Are all religions essentially the same, just “different paths to the divine”?  Or, are the religions essentially different with some being right and some wrong?  We’ll explore that question.

Why Bad Things Happen to Good People—The Problem of Evil and Suffering

“Why bad things happen to good people,” sometimes referred to as the “problem of evil and suffering,” can be an intriguing intellectual/theological question.  It becomes compellingly, forcefully, and uncomfortably intimate and immediate when you’re standing over the hospital bed of an innocent friend who is suffering greatly.  It’s a perennial question within religious traditions and even has its own name—“theodicy” (literally, the justice of God).  Books have been written about it.  We’ll examine various texts in the Bible that speak to this question.  Most people immediately think of Job, and we’ll certainly take a good look at that incredible book.  However, there are other texts and streams of the biblical tradition that are very relevant.  Please bring Bibles.

Meditation for Health, Happiness, & Holiness

Meditation is often associated only with Asian religious traditions and thought of as relevant only for a small, contemplatively inclined population.  Not so.  Various forms of meditation are found in all religions and, increasingly, the physical and health benefits of meditation for the general population are being recognized.  If you are in a faith tradition, the program can be of value in enhancing your spiritual life. You’ll get a brief introduction to the growing body of neurological research showing how meditation impacts body and brain.  Drawing upon experiences in monastic settings in Japan, Israel, Thailand, India, and the USA, Mercer presents fun, easy-to-understand training in several types of meditation. You’ll see   how meditation can be incorporated into your day, regardless of the amount of time you have to devote to it—even if it is as little as one minute.  We’ll also experiment with various forms of walking meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, and other interesting techniques and processes. Just for fun, at the end, if time, you’ll get some good stories from the monasteries.

Monks & Monasteries

Mercer has a long academic interest in monasticism and has done retreats in monasteries located in many countries and associated with various religions (e.g., Theravada in Thailand, Zen in Japan, Hindu in India, and especially Trappist in Israel and the US). In this lecture he sketches the origins, development, and contemporary expression of Christian monasticism.

Trying Not to Get Beaten: A Wild Experience in a Japanese Zen Monastery

Here Mercer mines insights and wisdom from his experience in a Japanese Zen Buddhist Monastery in Kyoto, Japan.

What Thomas Merton Has to Offer Our World

In this lecture Mercer takes a look at this fascinating Trappist monk, still relevant for our time.

Headaches, Happiness, & the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali

This lecture is a study of an old Hindu text and its relevance for our culture and personal well-being.

Christian Chanting

Chanting is often associated with India and religions other than Christianity. However, there is a long tradition of chanting in Christianity. Mercer examines this often-overlooked technique for spiritual growth and mental calmness. Mercer has attended workshops with recognized chant masters and for years has led group chanting using Christian chants that he crafted from Hebrew and Greek.

Fasting for Health & Holiness

Fasting is about more than just “not eating.” Here Mercer provides a practical and theological study of this old spiritual technique.

Battle on the Field of Dharma

Stories and teaching from the Bhagavad-Gita are well worth consideration.  Although much of Mercer’s scholarly work has been on the Bible, his second love is the Gita. Here he gives a sampling of stories and teachings from what is arguably the most loved text in Hinduism.

Humor in the Bible, or Why Jesus Didn’t Have Ulcers

Many books of the Bible wonderfully emerge from the experience of ancient Israelites and early Christians with each other and their God. “Holy” Bible doesn’t mean these writings are divorced from real world, thoroughly human experience. One dimension of that experience often overlooked is humor. We’ll take a journey through both testaments to highlight how humor is utilized to communicate the teachings and experiences of these ancient peoples. Part of the presentation is based on Mercer’s published research, providing a literary/psychological study of the parables and proverbs of Jesus. This approach yields some interesting results. There are some very good stories here! You will enjoy.

From Eve to Jerry Falwell: The Image, Role, & Status of Women

In this lecture Mercer examines the history, role, and status of women in the Jewish and Christian traditions. The lecture is based, in part, on his article, “Sexual Violence and the Warrior God.”

Jesus’ First Day at School

Here Mercer looks at one of the Christian gospels that did not make it into the New Testament.

What’s an Academic Doing in Politics Anyway?

Here Mercer reflects on his experience serving on the city council in a mid-sized city. What can we learn from local politics that can be helpful in reflecting on our institutions and politics at all levels of government.

Religion & the Environment

For better or worse, religious images, symbols, and ideology impact many people’s conceptualization of the environment and their action (or inaction) on environmental issues. Whether one is a person of faith or not, it can be useful to understand how religious symbols and thought can relate to environmental issues.

For a list of other lectures or for scheduling information, please contact Dr. Mercer (mercerc@ecu.edu)