Living the Questions2 -- An Invitation

This summer we'll re-visit the Living the Questions2 video series, shown in the Adult Forum in 2009. The series is an excellent introduction to progressive Christianity. Exemplifying the spirit of the series, Jack Spong wrote:

"....I think certainty is a vice in religion. I really think that we ought to rid ourselves of it. So, I would constantly want to hold this wrestling, this uncomfortableness, I do not have it together, we are struggling in this together, as the proper image of the Christian faith. We walk into the mystery of God. We never arrive. And if we think we arrive we become an idolater.”

and from the series literature:

"Relying solely on doctrines and dogma passed on from others has seldom been a satisfying exercise for those longing for something deeper spiritually or thought-provoking theologically. To not ask questions is tantamount to forfeiting one’s own spiritual birthright and allowing other people’s experience of the divine to define your experience."

Please join us. You'll be warmly welcome.

Your Inner Fish, part 2 with Julie Wade

This Sunday, Dr.Julie Wade will show part 2 of the outstanding series, "Your Inner Fish". Last week's part 1 was a hit with the Adult Forum. The series features Dr. Neil Shubin, a paleontologist at the University of Chicago. Several years ago Shubin rocked the science world by having predicted the existence of, and then finding a transitional fossil of fish with the ability to swim and walk on land. He named the fossil Tilaalik. It provides the basis of the human body plan.

From the series PB website:

"Have you ever wondered why the human body looks the way it does? Why our hands have five fingers instead of six? Why we walk on two legs instead of four?

It took more than 350 million years for the human body to take shape. How did it become the complicated, quirky, amazing machine it is today?

Your Inner Fish delves deep into the past to answer these questions. The three-part series, which premiered April 9. 2014, reveals a startling truth: Hidden within the human body is a story of life on Earth."

Please us at 9:45. Loving childcare is provided. 

Disease Mongering, Dr. Zach Walls

This Sunday, May 11th, we'll hear from Dr. Zach Walls on the topic of "Disease Mongering." Dr. Walls writes: "Disease mongering is the term given to the often intentional practice of widening the boundaries and/or definition of illness while simultaneously narrowing the causes of disease. The process has numerous manifestations, but pharmaceutical manufacturers and medical professionals are widely seen as culpable for its perpetration on a populace ill-prepared to counter their statistical and scientific claims. Disease mongering continues to shape our society's concept of health and change the ways in which medicine is practiced."

Zach is a native of Austin, Tx. He earned his BS in Mathematics at Tulane, and his Ph.D. in Pharmacology at UCLA and Stanford. He worked as a post-doctoral fellow in Biopharmaceutics at the University of Michigan prior to joining the faculty in the Gatton College of Pharmacy at ETSU.

Please join us for a fascinating presentation. Loving childcare is provided.

Dr. Audrey Depelteau on Climate Change

Please join us this coming Sunday, May 4th at 9:45 as we host Dr. Audrey Depelteau who will speak on the evidence and potential consequences of climate change. Audrey participated a leadership training workshop on Climate Change Reality led by former VP Al Gore for the express purpose of providing community-based education and leadership on the topic.

From an earlier press release:

"Depelteau’s talk will discuss climate change as a global phenomenon and how it threatens the environment and ecosystems of the world. 'Climate Change challenges the health and well-being of today’s population and of future generations,' said Depelteau. 'The intent of this talk is to initiate an ongoing dialogue by examining the definition of climate change and what we already do know. We will also explore factors contributing to the acceleration of climate change, the key environmental and societal impacts, and steps we can take to reduce climate change. Yes, we can make a difference!'

          Once the biology education coordinator and manager of a Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant at ETSU and a former teacher of Biology, Forensics and Anatomy and Physiology, she is adept at designing, delivering and assessing interdisciplinary student-centered curriculum. Before coming to ETSU, Depelteau was a business owner, health care provider and consultant in Massachusetts and California for over 26 years.

Depelteau’s passion for the environment was ignited when she read Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring for an ecology course in 1971. She did her graduate work in Environmental Toxicology at the Center for Environmental Toxicology and Pathology at Albany Medical College and at Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute."

This is going to be good. Know that you'll be warmly welcomed. Loving childcare is provided.

John Shelby Spong: From a Tribal God to a Universal Presence

This coming Sunday, April 27th, we'll view and discuss a sermon by Bishop John Shelby Spong on moving from a God of the Chosen People to a universal loving presence. You can preview the sermon, here.

Note that this is a late change from our originally schedule speaker, Dr. Audrey Delpeteau. Audrey will give her excellent presentation on Climate Change on May 4th.

Please join us. We'll be delighted to see you, and loving childcare is provided.

No forum on Easter Sunday

We're taking a break.
Happy Easter!

The Evolution of Creationism, with Dr. Joseph Baker

This coming Sunday, April 13th, Joseph Baker will share his presentation on the Evolution of Creationism. His talk will center on the notion of creationism, as a way of viewing the world, became much more clearly defined in the presence of opposing perspectives. Joseph presented this creative, insightful topic at Darwin-Day, at the Gray Fossil Site. He has agreed to share an interactive version with the Adult Forum. Please join us. Childcare is provided.

Dr. Baker is on the faculty in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at ETSU. He earned his doctorate at Baylor University in 2010. His area of study in on Science and Religion in 21st Century America. He published his first book on Paranormal America in 2010. His second book, American Secularism is scheduled for release in 2015. In addition to his scholarly work, Joseph has appear in/on Chicago Public Radio, CNN, Deseret News, Huffington Post, National Geographic
Channel, Pacific Standard, Sacred Tribes