Australia vs USA: Gun control and effective politicians..

In the face of congress' failure to enact even the most tepid forms of gun control, John Oliver (of the Daily Show) went to Australia to interview politicians who passed effective laws in 1996 that have resulted in an apparent end to mass homicides, and a substantial reduction in homicides and youth suicides. Oliver, in essence, asks "Why can't this happen in the US?" You can draw your own conclusions from the videos, here.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-april-18-2013/gun-control-whoop-de-doo
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-april-23-2013/gun-control---political-suicide
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-april-25-2013/australia---gun-control-s-aftermath
Please join us for an interesting session as we continue our exploration into Gun Violence and Gospel Values.

PCUSA on Gun Violence

A couple of months ago, our church sent a request to the Holston Presbytery requesting action on gun violence. The Presbytery responded by forming a subcommittee. This coming Sunday will have a look at the action of the subcommittee, its guiding document, and we'll discuss your ideas about where this initiative might go. For the very ambitious, here's a link to the PCUSA report. Please join us. We'll be delighted to have you.

Science and religion, with Jeff Wardeska, Ph.D.

This coming Sunday, our own Jeff Wardeska, Professor of Chemistry at ETSU will take a look at the relationship between science and religion.
Jeff  writes, "Alfred North Whitehead (1925) said “Science and religion are the two strongest general forces which influence men.” How should we view them? Are science and religion in conflict? Are they independent lines of inquiry? Should science and religion be in dialogue? What are the prospects for integrating the two?

We'll venture into:

• A brief history of the intersections between Science and Religion. What is science?  How do scientists view religion and God? 

• How we view the relationship between science and religion: 1. In conflict?  2. Parallel lines of thinking? 3. Complementary?  4. Can be fully integrated?

• Can we find meaning in/from science?  What does it mean to be a Christian in a scientific world?"

Please be warmly welcome.

Whence cometh our hope?

This question came up last week and in the little time remaining, we decided to pursue the question next week. Greek mythology tells us the Hope was the last creature remaining in Pandora's box, after all the evils had been released. Nietzsche wrote that hope is the cruelest of the evils as it keeps us renewed to continued torment. And Hebrew's (6:19) tells us that "We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain. Please join us. You'll be welcome.

The social cost of income inequality

This Sunday we'll view a brief TED Talk by the British Economic professor, Richard Wilkinson titled: How economic inequality harms societies. We've seen this talk previously, and the facts persist: Countries with the greatest division between wealthy and poor are more burdened with social ills. Even the richest individuals are negatively affected. Sheesh! What would Jesus do?
Please be warmly invited to join us in Martin Hall at 9:45.

Jesus as moral philosopher: Don Cupitt

In the 1999 debates preceding the Republican primary, when asked who was their favorite philosopher, candidate George Bush replied, "Jesus Christ." Bush did have much to add, other than his hubris. However, Jesus seminarian Don Cupitt used Bush's response as the starting point of thoughtful thread on Jesus the divine versus Jesus, the moral teacher.
Please join us this coming Sunday as we explore Cupitt's interpretations. We'll be delighted to see you.

"LIFE, LIFE" with Don Cupitt

This Sunday we'll have a look at a reading from Don Cupitt's book Life, Life.
Paraphrased from the book...."In modern thinking people have increasingly come to see the world as primarily one of ordinary life. Don Cupitt argues that we speak of life very much as people used to speak of God: faith in live, what life has in store for us, wrestling with life, etc. In Life, Life he has assembled some 250 life-idoms. Cupitt mines these to develop a modern religious philosophy of human life. In it, ethics and stories take the place of traditional supernatural dogma."
Please joins us for an interesting look at religion from life's perspective.