Richard Rohr on the Cosmic Christ

On December 20th, Rebecca Nunley will lead a presentation on Richard Rohr and the Cosmic Christ. Please join us.

James Tabor on Religion for Life: Jesus and Paul

Sunday, December 13, we'll listen to Professor James Tabor speak about his book, "Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity." This comes from Tabor's interview with John Shuck on "Religion for Life," way back in 2013. Tabor's points are still fresh as he comments on the differences between the message of Jesus and the message of Paul. It's worth a listen. You can preview it here: click me.
Please join us. This is a good one.

The Very Reverend Alan Jones: Tha Amazing Journey

For December 7 we'll watch a video of Alan Jones speaking on science, religion and the quest for meaning. Preview here: click me. Shortly after the internet became available I discovered the online site for Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. The Very Reverend Alan Jones was the Dean and his sermons were online, along with their version of our Adult Forum. This revolutionary advance in technology served as my introduction to progressive Christianity, and I was hooked. Hearing this current talk by Alan reminded me of the importance and the benefits of being a thinking church. Please join us.

Decadence and meaningfulness

This Sunday, November 29th, we'll consider two videos. The first is on decadence and consumerism in modern western life. It's mostly set in Australia, but it is entirely applicable to the US, especially on the first Sunday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Here's a link: Click me. Be advised that it does contain some brief scenes of nudity to make it's points. The other film is something of a short antidote in that shows the Dali Lama speaking to a meaningful life. Preview here. Please join us.

Opposition and Consilience.

This Sunday, November 22, we'll view and discuss two short TEDtalks -- Julia Sweeney: Letting go of God and
Chelsea Shields: How I'm working for Change Inside My Church.
These talks share a common theme, not initially obvious, but buried in their deeper messages of trying merge opposition and consilience.
Join us. We'll be delighted to see you.

The Dignity of Difference -- Jonathan Sacks and Krista Tippit

This Sunday, Nov. 8 we'll hear On Being's Krista Tippett interview Jonathan Sacks. From the website, "Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks is the former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and one of the world’s deep thinkers on religion in our age. He’s just released a new book, Not in God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence. In this intimate conversation with Krista, he speaks about how Jewish and other religious ideas can inform modern challenges. Rabbi Sacks says that the faithful can and must cultivate their own deepest truths — while finding God in the face of the stranger and the religious other."

Hear's the link if you want a preview: Click Me.

Please join us at 9:45. We're a fun and interesting group.

Wendell Berry on Our Future

Last week we heard Bill Moyers interview Karen Armstrong, and this coming Sunday, Nov 1, we'll hear him interview Wendell Berry.

Berry is known to some of us through his poetry used in several of out worship service. In addition to his poetry, Berry is a strong social commentator and advocate for our environment, our food, bees and social justice.

Moyers website says, "Wendell Berry, one of America’s most influential writers who has written more than 40 novels, books of poetry, short stories and essays, has become an outspoken advocate for revolution. He’s calling for immediate action to end industrial farming and return to the sustainable farming methods of years past. In his interview with Bill, Berry says: “People who own the world outright for profit will have to be stopped; by influence, by power, by us.”

Here's a link to a preview: Click me!

Please join us. Be warmly welcome.

Karen Armstrong on Compassion

This coming Sunday we'll watch Bill Moyers interview author Karen Armstrong on the topic of compassion. Armstrong, a nun for 20 years, is best known for her books, including "The History of God," "The Battle for God" and "The Bible: a Biography"
Preview here: click me.
Please join us.

More Light Sunday

 So You're Not Going to Hell After All. Now What?

Members of the LGBT community, like many other members of the FPCe congregation, face the task of maintaining or re-creating a spiritual life after less than positive experiences with organized religion in the past. In particular, LGBT individuals have to recover from those who use Leviticus, the story of Sodom & Gomorrah and other Biblical passages to justify their conviction that homosexuals are an "abomination."  The Adult Forum for October 18th, organized by the More Light Subcommittee, will use a clip from For the Bible Tells Me So and the experiences of Cindy Godwin and Tony Hedrick to generate a conversation on the process of becoming a full-fledged member of a faith community after alienation, disapproval or rejection by other religious groups.

Please join us at 9:45. All are very welcome. 

Walter Bruggeman

This coming Sunday, October 11, we'll watch and discuss a video by religious scholar, Walter Bruggeman. I don't have a preview link for the session we'll view, but here's a link to a sample of Professor Bruggemann. Please join us

One more Spong,,,

He's just too watchable. This coming Sunday, October 4th we will view and discuss Bishop Spong's sermon: "From a Tribal God to a Universal Presence." Here's the preview: click me. Please join us. You'll be warmly welcome.

Spong on a New Christianity

This Sunday, September 27th, we will watch and discuss the second half of Bishop John Shelby Spong's talk on "What a new Christianity for a new world will contain." You can preview the video: Click here. Spong gives a compelling presentation, consistent with his on-going message of the necessary humanity of Christianity and our role in living it out. Please join us in Martin Hall at 9:45. We'll be delighted to see you.

Spong on "Why Christianity as we know it is dying"

This coming Sunday, September 20th we will view and discuss the first part of a two session series by Bishop John Shelby Spong. In the first video Spong addresses some of the non-sustainable aspects of traditional Christianity. In the second part (next week) he speaks to what Christianity needs to focus on in order to thrive in the future. Here's a link to the first video: click here.
Please join us at 9:45. We'll be delighted to see you.

Still more "Religion in America"

This coming Sunday, September 13th, we will finish up the series on "Religion in America." This has been an excellent review of our nation's historical past, comparing, for example, the personal salvation Christianity of Billy Graham with the social justice Christianity of Martin Luther King. Lots of food for thought. Please be warmly welcome to join us. Come as you are.

More Religion in America

This Sunday, August 30th, we will continue with the study of Religion in America. This PBS program is proving to be very popular. Please join us. No preparation is required.

Religion in America Continues

On August 23rd, we will continue with the video series "Religion in America." Please join us. This is a good series and relevant to where we are today.

Religion in America

This Sunday, August 16th, we will continue with the series "Religion in America." This is a good one. Please join us.

Radiolab - Gray's Donation

On July 26th we hear and discuss a recent edition of Radiolab. The story recounts Sarah and Ross Gray's donation, and how that led them to unusual places with unusual questions, perhaps a conversation with the universe. Is life fair? If not, how do we respond. It's a moving, powerful and at times, a disturbing and compelling story. Please join us.

The generosity of curiosity

For July 19th: In a recent interview with neurologist Oliver Sacks, author of "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" the narrator noted how Sacks personifies the generosity of curiosity. I had never heard that combination of words, but listening to Sacks, it's true. A certain type of natural, honest, deeply felt curiosity comes across as being a beautifully shared event. Join us, and see if you agree as we listen to the interview. Preview here (from 32:45, forward)

PROOF OF HEAVEN---REALLY?

For May 24th -- A best-selling book entitled “Proof of Heaven” was published in 2012 by neurosurgeon  Dr. Eben Alexander.  In it he recounted his near-death experience in which he was in a coma for a week.  Prior to his experience when he was still an agnostic,  he believed that NDE’s were simply sensations produced by brains under extreme stress.  After his experience he now believes that God and the soul are real and that death is not the end of personal existence but only a transition.   

We studied this book in Science and Spirit discussions last year but now there is a DVD called “Conversations Beyond Proof of Heaven” in which Alexander talks with Dr. Raymond Moody about his experiences.  In these conversations, we shall hear some of the following:

--consciousness:  is it dependent on the brain or a richer, freer state beyond the physical mind?

--time:  how it flows, how we perceive it linearly, and how all things are happening at once.

--science and spirituality:  the possibility of merging the two as partners rather than adversaries and the consideration of science in the question of soul.

Come and join us for what promises to be some thought provoking topics for the next few weeks.

The Invisible Illness

On May 17th we're going to watch and discuss a regional Tedx talk by Bates College student Max Silverman. As a junior, Max started the Bates chapter of Active Minds, a national organization dedicated to raising campus awareness of mental health and stigmatization. Silverman devotes his talk to this topic, underscoring the importances of understanding mental illness as a biological disorder, deserving support and compassion.
Please join us.
Preview the video by clicking here.

An Inside Story of Mental Illness -- Elyn Saks

This Sunday, May 10th, we'll follow up with another first person story of combating mental illness. The TED presenter is Elyn Saks, the Orrin B. Evans Professor of Law, Psychology and Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at the University of Southern California's Gould School of Law.

The blurb reads: ""Is it okay if I totally trash your office?" It's a question Elyn Saks once asked her doctor, and it wasn't a joke. A legal scholar, in 2007 Saks came forward with her own story of schizophrenia, controlled by drugs and therapy but ever-present. In this powerful talk, she asks us to see people with mental illness clearly, honestly and compassionately."

Preview here : https://www.ted.com/talks/elyn_saks_seeing_mental_illness

Please join us. We'll be delighted to see you.

The Voices in my Head

On May 3rd, We're going to listen to a TedTalk by Eleanor Longden. 

Here's the abstract from the website: 

"To all appearances, Eleanor Longden was just like every other student, heading to college full of promise and without a care in the world. That was until the voices in her head started talking. Initially innocuous, these internal narrators became increasingly antagonistic and dictatorial, turning her life into a living nightmare. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, hospitalized, drugged, Longden was discarded by a system that didn't know how to help her. Longden tells the moving tale of her years-long journey back to mental health, and makes the case that it was through learning to listen to her voices that she was able to survive."

And then we'll talk about the strategies she used to win herself back, and the external forces working for and against her.

Please join us.

Bonus video: https://www.ted.com/talks/elyn_saks_seeing_mental_illness 

"On Being with Krista Tippett" -- Julia Rogers

This Sunday, faithful member Julia Rogers will lead the discussion with a recent episode of Krista Tippett's "On Being". Always thoughtful, this session addresses conflict and resolution around "The Future of Marriage" in seeking a redemptive solution to the tension emanating from same sex marriage. Please join us. You can preview the dialog, Here.

The Divide: American Justice in the Age of the Wealth Gap

This Sunday, April 19th, we'll hear Jennie Young and the Thursday's with Jesus group discuss Matt Taibi's book on the impact of wealth inequality. It's a big topic close to the heart of social justice. Please join us.

"What Happens to the Brain During Alzheimer's Disease?"

This coming Aunday, April 12th, Vanessa Fitsanakis returns with a talk on Alzheimer's Disease. She writes:

"Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease inthe US. It is primarily associated with aging, which is problematic since people routinely live into their 80's. AD is also difficult on family members because they must watch their loved one slowly lose their memory, and their ability to make appropriate decisions. All of these functional losses can be linked to specific brain regions that deteriorate during disease progression. The goal of this presentation is to familiarize the audience with the neuroanatomy associated with AD, and to provide a better understanding of what happens during this devastating disease."

Please feel free to bring anyone you know who could benefit from this presentation.

Vanessa is the "Dr Edward W Burke, Jr, Professor in Natural Sciences," Associate Professor and Chair Department of Biology at King University, Bristol, TN. She is a "local" who earned her BS at Milligan, MSc at Edinburgh, and Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Vanderbilt. Vanessa's current research in neurotoxicology is funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Easter Break

We will not be hold the Adult Forum on Easter Sunday. But stay tuned for up-coming events!

Kip Elolia and the Boroko Water Project

This Sunday, March 29, Kip Elolia will speak on the work we support to bring water to the Boroko School in his home country of Kenya. The transformation of the performance of the school following the introduction of potable water has been remarkable. We can proud that our church has supported this worthy project. Read more about it here: http://www.fpcelizabethton.org/FPC_Elizabethton/Boroko_Village_Project.html
Please join us at 9:45

The Origins of Life, Order and the Second Law

This coming Sunday, March 15th, Professor Jeff G Wardeska will present “The Origins of Life, Order, and the Second Law."
Julie Wade, in her recent series on Darwinian Medicine, highlighted the amazing diversity of biological cells, such as our microbiome, as well as biological cells in more complex organisms.  These cells have an amazingly complex organization of the molecules that provide the necessary basis for functioning.  These molecules currently are made within the cells or are obtained from their food.  But, chemists ask; when the very first cells formed several billion years ago, where did they find these molecules, and is there a physical explanation for evolution’s apparent drive towards increasingly complex species?   We often hear that “nature loves order”, (flowers, six sided snowflakes, etc.) but the Second Law of Thermodynamics states that for any process which occurs spontaneously, there is an increase in the disorder of the universe.   In this two-part series, we will attempt to relate these concepts to the evolutionary process.

Editors comment: This talk promises to be profound and entertaining as it is based on a truly amazing hypothesis put forth by a young scientist at MIT. Please join us.

Evolution Sunday 2015! 4th Week! Darwinian Medicine with Dr. Julie Wade

This year the theme for Evolution Sunday is Darwinian Medicine which applies modern evolutionary theory to health and disease.  If we are perfectly and wondrously made, then why do we get sick and why do certain diseases persist in our species?  Why doesn’t natural selection eliminate them over time?

By looking at OUR evolutionary history, we can gain an understanding of why we have such modern maladies as diabetes, plantar fasciitis, obesity, wisdom teeth trouble, and other conditions that plague our species.  Come and learn about the history of YOUR body and how you can perhaps improve your health for a better future.

Join us!

Our Moral Roots -- Jonathan Haidt

Several times in recent weeks, the topic of the origin of morality has arisen. In a 2008 TEDTalk, Jonathan Haidt addressed the issue in an enlightening and entertain manner. I thought it would be worthwhile to hear from Dr. Haidt again. Here's the link if you'd like a preview: Click me.
Please join us for a stimulating discussion.

Dr. Vanessa Fitsanakis and “Whoa! These can’t be my bath salts.”

Dr. Vanessa Fitsanakis will speak to our Forum group this coming Sunday, February 1st. Her topic will address the recent up-welling of a new type of street drug, often sold legally under the misleading label of "Bath-Salts". The results are fascinating.
Vanessa is a brilliant speaker.  A native of our region, she received her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt, a MS from University of Edinburgh, and a BA from Milligan. She currently holds the Dr. Edward W. Burke, Jr. professorship in Natural Sciences and is Associate Professor and Chair of Biology at King University. Her research interests are in the field of neurotoxicology, especially the relationship between pesticides and diseases of the nervous system. Her works is supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Science. She teaches courses in neuroscience, mammalian toxicology, biochemistry, and research methods for biologists.
Please join us.

Reason is the key to moral progress

H/T to Julia Rogers for this suggestion. We'll view and discuss this TEDTalk on Sunday morning.

Here's the blurb and the link:

"Here's a TED first: an animated Socratic dialog! In a time when irrationality seems to rule both politics and culture, has reasoned thinking finally lost its power? Watch as psychologist Steven Pinker is gradually, brilliantly persuaded by philosopher Rebecca Newberger Goldstein that reason is actually the key driver of human moral progress, even if its effect sometimes takes generations to unfold. The dialog was recorded live at TED, and animated, in incredible, often hilarious, detail by Cognitive."

Join us at 9:45 on January 25th.

John Bradshaw on Moral Intelligence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd2yT7bHdbQ

The Power of Vulnerabilty, Brene Brown

Every time I hear Brene Brown speak, I'm reminded of what I so easily seems to forget: The power of vulnerability and the key to authenticity. And it's always refreshing. Join us on Sunday morning, January 11 at 9:45 for Brene's renewing message.
Preview here: Click me