Nationally acclaimed TV personality to speak at local church
Nationally acclaimed television personality, Catholic theologian, Bible scholar and author, Dr. Scott Hahn will appear at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Uniontown on Wednesday, May 9 at 7 p.m. He will speak on “Reasons to Believe,’ the name of his most recent book. A reception will follow in the school gymnasium.
Dr. Charles Yezbak is facilitator of the Bible study group that is bringing Hahn to the area. He explained they began working two years ago to bring Hahn to St. John Church.
The group decided to invite Hahn because, Yezbak explained, most of the material they use is based on his teachings.
“He has a knack of connecting the Old Testament to the New Testament and he brings in the church fathers – their teachings on a lot of subjects,’ said Yezbak. “It’s not private interpretation. It’s based on theological doctrines that have been handed down and taught for 2,000 years from the apostles and fathers of the church.’
According to his biography, Hahn is a professor of theology and Scripture at Franciscan University of Steubenville where he has taught since 1990 and is the founder and director of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. In 2005, he was appointed as the inaugural Chair of Biblical Theology and Liturgical Proclamation at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe.
Born in 1957, Hahn received a bachelor’s degree with a trip major in theology, philosophy and economics from Grove City College in 1979, a master’s in divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 1982 and his doctorate in biblical theology from Marquette University in 1995.
He has written numerous books including “Letter and Spirit,’ “Understanding the Scriptures,’ “Swear to God,’ “Scripture Matters,’ “Lord Have Mercy,’ “Understanding Our Father,’ “First Comes Love: Finding Your Family in the Church and the Trinity.’ He has also written numerous articles in lay and academic publications.
He appears on EWTN every Monday at 9 p.m., speaking to a national audience on “Letter and Spirit.’
A popular speaker and teacher, Hahn has delivered talks nationally and internationally on a variety of topics related to Scripture and the Catholic faith that have been produced on audio and video tapes.
Hahn has 10 years of youth and pastoral ministry experience in Protestant congregations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Kansas and Virginia and is a former professor of theology at Chesapeake Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1982 at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Fairfax, Va., and entered the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in 1986. He has been married to his wife, Kimberly, since 1979 and the couple has six children.
Yezbak said, “People are excited because he’s difficult to get as a speaker. He’s usually in big cities.’
He noted, “We want to get people interested in biblical studies because they point to our relationship with Christ and the word of God is in fact Christ himself.’
St. John is located at 50 Jefferson St. in Uniontown. Hahn’s books will be available for sale.