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CORVALLIS - A national leader in an effort to bridge science and religion will visit the Oregon State University campus on Oct. 21-22, where he will deliver a pair of lectures on theology and genetics.

Ted Peters, a Lutheran theologian and a bioethicist, is a professor and interim president of the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Calif. He is affiliated with the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, and also is program director for the science and religion course program at the Center for Theology and Natural Sciences.

Peters will speak on "Genetic Determinism and Human Freedom" during a lecture on Tuesday, Oct. 21, in the Engineering and Construction Auditorium of LaSells Stewart Center. The talk begins at 7:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, Oct. 22, he will lecture on "The Cloning and Stem Cell Controversies." That talk begins at noon in the Memorial Union Leadership Center. Both talks are free and open to the public.

Peters was principal investigator for a research project funded by the National Institutes of Health on theological and ethical questions raised by the Human Genome Initiative.

He has written several books, including "Playing God? Genetic Determinism and Human Freedom," and "Science, Theology and Ethics," which was published earlier this year. Peters is co-editor of the journal "Theology and Science," and editor of "Dialog: A Journal of Theology."

Peters' OSU appearances are sponsored by the Department of History, the University Honors College, the Lutheran Campus Ministry at OSU, Grace Lutheran Foundation, and St. Anselm of Canterbury Episcopal Campus Ministry.