"It's a bit like a symphony with different voices from which the same theme emerges," Monroe said.

The evening also featured the first inaugural Foster Lecture, which was delivered by William Edgar '66.

"God will stop at nothing to draw us to Himself," Edgar said in the lecture, titled "The Great Reversal." "He wants your friendship with him."

Brian Foster read a selection written by his brother Brent J. Foster '97, a Leverett House resident who died of cancer last year. The speech detailed Brent Foster's turn to God during his illness.

In a striking change of mood, actor Tom Key presented selections from C.S. Lewis and the Revelation of John in a moving performance.

The evening had a communal ending as the crowd and panelists joined to sing Amazing Grace and students congregated on the stage to continue conversations with the authors.

Student response was positive.

Dan B. Jan '97, a member of Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Fellowship, said he attended in order to "explore some of these questions, find some answers, and come out with deeper questions pertaining to Christianity."

"I was moved by the conviction of the panel," he said. "They depict Christianity very accurately."

Kennedy School Student Sue Hahn, a member of the Kennedy School Christian Fellowship, said she was also moved by the different stories of the panelists.

"I'm here to explore the whole question of what truth is," she said. "[People] have the opportunity to ask their hearts questions...That doesn't happen much."

Abigail R. Montgomery came with a group of Wellesley College students.

"I didn't know what to expect from the Forum...but I really liked the question and answers. It pertained to things I was studying," she said