This marks the 18th Annual Conference on Religion and Science. I recall attending the inaugural conference back in 2004—the photos should still exist—with Li Feng, Liu Xian, and Liu Yi in attendance. Time seems to have flown by like a white horse passing through a crack; nearly two decades have passed in the blink of an eye.
At this conference, I reunited with old friends and met new ones. For instance, I saw Father Zhao Jianmin, whose Catholic Young Scholars Conferences I attended multiple times back then. I also encountered Xu Bingsan, Liu Xian, Li Feng, Zhang Xuesong, and others. Quite unexpectedly, I spotted Liu Wei in the office building—he is now the Vice President of Mingde Academy.
Yet times have changed dramatically. Today's external environment has undergone profound shifts, and religious studies now teeter on the brink of collapse—perhaps even facing total destruction. As for the future, only God knows.
