American visionary to visit USQ

World renowned Christian visionary, Dr Ravi Zacharias, will give his unique perspective on the role of spirituality and religion when he visits the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) this month.

The well known author will deliver a lecture and lead an open forum during his visit to the University.

Senior lecturer in psychology at USQ, Dr Nola Passmore, said Dr Zacharias has an excellent reputation and had spoken at some of the world's leading universities.

'He has spoken at universities all over the world including Harvard, Princeton and Oxford, so he has a very impressive resume,' Dr Passmore said.

'We found out that he turns down 95 per cent of the invitations that he gets to host lectures, so for him to come to USQ is a great opportunity for the University.'

Dr Zacharias's lecture will discuss the search for absolutes in contemporary society.

'The issue of absolutes, particularly in terms of faith has sparked much debate, especially in a relativistic world,' Dr Passmore said.

'Why we wanted to have this lecture at the University is that we hope to get some intellectual debate amongst staff, students and those who come along.'

Meanwhile Dr Zacharias will also head a panel with other distinguished speakers to examine the concept of meaning in evil and suffering.

'Dr Rashid Raashed from the Islamic Information Society and Zelda Bailey from the Queensland Humanist Society will join with Dr Zacharias to give their perspectives on the topic,' Dr Passmore said.

'With the different religions represented at the Open Forum we are once again looking for some interesting debate to take place.'

Dr Zacharias's lecture we take place in the Allison Dickson Lecture Theatre at USQ on Tuesday September 7 from 12pm to 2pm. The Open Forum will be held at the USQ Clive Berghofer Recreation Centre on Saturday September 9 between 7pm and 9pm.

Media Contact: Josh Ada, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 1628 or 0403 643 192