John Dominic Crossan -- The Last Week

This Sunday, April 2, we'll hear and talk about a sermon by John Dominic Crossan as he takes a close look at Jesus during his last week. A well-known progressive scholar and author, Crossan has an engaging talent of putting the life and actions of Jesus in the first century into practical, accessible language. Please join us in Martin Hall at 9:45. If you'd like to preview the video, click here.

Our Opioid Problem

Our US prescription narcotic problem, by a wide margin, is greatest in Republican states that have the lowest levels of state spending, and surprisingly, where citizens claim the highest rates of church attendance. These are demonstrable, objective facts. Tennessee and Alabama appear to be ground zero. Several states, including Tennessee have enacted laws to reduce prescriptions for narcotics, but the demand for and use of heroin is on the rise, especially among white, middle-class women.
This coming Sunday, we'll look at the scope of the problem, some of its associated social, political and economic factors, and we'll entertain your thoughts and recommendations about where to go from here.
Please join us for a lively discussion at 9:45 this coming Sunday, March 12, in Martin Hall. All are welcome.

Celebrating Evolution with Dr. Julie Wade

This Sunday, February 12, we begin our annual celebration of Evolution with a multi-session discussion led by our own Dr. Julie Wade. Julie is a retired professor of biology at Milligan College. She earned her master's degree at Cornell University and her doctorate at the University of Tennessee in mammalian biology.
Please join us for a fascinating look into the workings of evolution, and what evolution means to us in our lives.

from the FPCe newsletter:

Evolution Sunday  

 

Celebrations for Darwin Day begin in Adult Forum on 

Feb. 12 at 9:45 am. For the 13th year, Julie Wade will present a series of talks on evolution designed to enlighten folks who do not understand what an amazing process evolution is and how it is still occurring.  This year we shall be looking at how evolution is impacting our daily lives and changing us in ways Darwin could not have imagined.  We shall look at our genome, our epigenome, our microbiome, and our virome, all of which as they work together have changed the speed at which evolution is occurring. 

In today's world we have gone from natural selection to unnatural selection by modifying our internal and external environments.  We shall also look at CRISPR used in bioengineering which is allowing us to change our genomes in ways that may be wondrous but that may also be frightening.  Come and join us.

Coming back from Hiatus with Alain de Botton

The Adult forum blog as taken a break and beginning in February, it'll resume. We'll try to give you a preview of the upcoming topics along with serving as a history of where the Adult Forum has been over the past few years.

One thing to be aware of is that we'll be doing our annual series around Evolution Sunday, with Professor Julie Wade leading the discussion. Typically, Julie takes 3 or 4 weeks to go through the topic.

This coming Sunday, we'll hear Alain de Botton's TEDTalk on Atheism 2.0. This is an important talk, not because it advocates atheism, but because it focuses on what's good about religion. Ironic, yes, but worthwhile.

Please be warmly invited to join us at 9:45 in Martin Hall. Childcare is provided.

Rohr's What did Jesus really teach, and non-dualism

This coming Sunday we'll have a look at Richard Rohr's view on what Jesus really taught (which we often conveniently ignore) and his interpretation of one of my favorite scriptures, John 10:31-39. It's radical stuff. Plus, a bonus video of Carie Newcomer. Join us. We're fun.

Revisionist History -- Generous Orthodoxy

This Sunday we'll hear and discuss Malcolm Gladwell's podcast episode "Generous Orthodoxy," part ofe Revisionist History series. This is an empassioned tale of the Mennonite struggle with accepting LGBT members -- the story of father and son. There's something of a broader view of struggles with power structures. It's a powerful story. Please join us. We're warm and friendly.

What you thnk about addiction is wrong

After not posting for several weeks while we watched the very excellent Michael Moore film, "Where to Invade Next", we're carrying on with a couple of short videos on addiction and the weight of connectedness. Here's a link to a TED talk, and here's one that'll serve as a short introduction.
Join us. We're fun.