in the priestley story he said we are predicted primarily as sinners who have good reason to be ashamed of our lives and religious life becomes a story of guilt, sacrifice and god's forgiveness. why don't we also, he says, speak of liberation and freedom or why not remind us of the exile story and ask if there are any of us who don't feel sadness and loneliness and lostness from being separated from where we know in our hearts we truly belong, even if we're not sure where it is to be found or how to get there, end quote. what he misses is these are the same story. the exile was not due to lost directions but due to god's purposes of judgment and the restoration as the prophets continually reminded the people. and in the cross we see both of those things, sheer grace and the judgment of god. now, an american evangelicalism that is engaged and also claims an exilic identity rooted in the cross can be delivered to sort of a naive reservation of culture forms and movements that are out of step with the gospel while at the same time pulling us back from frantic perpetual outrage or resigned

research at a stanford, professor speaks about high-performing looking can get to what can do and what priestley has too often than not when you go to college because they think they can't afford to pay for horse not within the realm of experience of the fence to think about it. we made a major thrust of their also let's face it, college is not for everybody. but there's something amazing opportunities particularly in this world where if you develop the right skills at a young age there are a lot of good opportunities for you to put a major focus there as well. >> thank you. anybody have a comment or question? [inaudible] >> user mic. >> of what you think everyone for your works. i am the founder and ceo of allies for education equity which is a grassroots funded political action committee of people that work in education reform around the country. about 80 different congressional districts across 29 states plus d.c. so thank you for your leadership and for your remarks, and mayor james, as a former kansas city resident thank you for your leadership and also for support. there was some other pro

in 1801, thomas jefferson wrote to joseph priestley, an english threologian who came to this country in 1874 and said, quote, this is thomas jefferson, we can no longer say there is nothing new under the sun, for this whole chapter in the history of man kooikind is new. once again, it's an enormous privilege for me to introduce our speakers, the two great historians who indeed are mindful of the future, have contributed greatly by their prodigious research to the past, and their exquisite writing and scholarship. ladies and gentlemen, joseph ellis and gordon wood. thank you. [ applause ] >> so we'll start with professor wood. there were two foundings, of course, the declaration declaring our independence and then the constitutional convention. so let's start with the first, with the declaration. what were some of the great challenges that led to the declaration and some of the great challenges during that summer in philadelphia? >> well, obviously, the declaration was an act ratifying the decision to break from great britain. john adams didn't think it was all that important. the imp