Lost in Translation

The History Channel is running a series on religion. Episode one is entitled "Lost in Translation" and it addresses textual criticism of the Bible as seen through the lens of various scholars, including Elaine Pagels, Bart Erhmann and Reza Aslan. Here's the blurb for the program's website:

"The Bible is one of the most influential and important books ever written and is considered by millions around the world to be the actual word of God. But has the Bible been translated, edited and even censored so many times throughout history that its original stories have been compromised? This episode explores many eye-opening contradictions and questions from a variety of historical and theological perspectives that have been debated for centuries. Is it possible that Moses did not actually write the first five books of the Old Testament? Could it be that David may not have been the real killer of Goliath? Were the four gospels of the New Testament attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John actually written by completely different authors? With the discovery of the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls, and with recent archaeological findings about the New Testament, religious scholars have found evidence of many truly compelling Bible secrets."

Please join us as we view and discuss parts of this interesting documentary. Preview available here: CLICK ME.

No Adult Forum on November 24

No meeting on November 24. We're making way for the "10,000 Villages" sale, which we hope you'll enjoy.

Painting the Stars: Mysticism

This Sunday, November 17th we will view and discuss the section of "Painting the Stars" titled "and Evolving Spirituality: Mysticism." The promotional material says:
"The essential spiritual practice of evolutionary spirituality is to be able to tell the story of the universe as one’s own story: a primordial explosion of light and radiation; the emergence of time and space; galaxies form and supernova explosions in which all the heavy elements necessary for life on Earth are
forged; our solar system; from matter life emerges on a tiny, blue planet, and evolves in staggering diversity and increasingly complexity; out of life conscious self-awareness arises in the human ones; existence is transformed into experience, as these upright creatures ponder beauty, death, meaning and
purpose, possibility, and the mystery of life itself; worldviews complexify in an attempt to solve problems and in the process create new ones to solve; we begin to ask ourselves what is this Life that is living us, this yearning for transcendence seeking deeper, more beautiful and more elegant expressions of itself?"
Please join us as we boldly go into the stars, and into our hearts.

No Adult Forum on November 10

We won't be meeting on November 10th as we'll be making way for the Gratitude Dinner following service. Please be warmly invited to attend the Gratitude Dinner.

Intersections of Science and Reliion

This coming Sunday, November 3, Jeff Wardeska will complete his series entitled “Intersections in Science and Religion, III. Thinking about God in an Age of Science.”  Please come and join us to hear the conclusion of his fascinating series.

Julie Wade on Bonobos, Faith and Genetics

This coming Sunday our own Dr. Julie Wade will lead the discussion on the origins of our faith and seen through the lens of comparative behavior. Julie will share some thoughts regarding a new book called “The Atheist and the Bonobo”.   Chimpanzees share 98% of their DNA with humans but they show some disturbing behaviors that are not typically human.  The bonobo, on the other hand, shows many more characteristics that humans share such as a love for peace, compassion, and making love, not war.  Is our behavior influenced by genetics or our faith? 
Please be warmly encouraged to join us for a delightful, interesting discussion

Lexy Close and Power Shift 2013

This Sunday, October 6 we're happy to host Lexy Close, regional coordinator for Power Shift 2013. Lexy writes, 

"I'm looking forward to speaking with folks on Oct. 6th.  Here's a brief bio about myself and the work I do.

Lexy is a native of Johnson City, TN.  After attending college in Massachusetts and doing extensive world wide traveling, she decided to return home to East Tennessee.  For the past three years, she has been involved in various jobs and volunteer projects focused on clean energy and sustainable agriculture.  Currently, she is a Program Leader for Build It Up East TN, a non-profit organization that promotes local food and sustainability in our region.  

Lexy will be speaking about Build It Up East TN and Power Shift 2013.  On top of her usual local food projects, she is recruiting young community members to attend an incredible 10,000-person youth conference on climate justice, the green economy, and sustainability. Her talk will cover local projects as well as how you can support young community members to attend Power Shift 2013.

Here's the website for more information about Power Shift 2013:

www.wearepowershift.org"

Please join us for a fresh view of the younger generation's stance on responsible energy.