Fr. Richard Rohr

Richard Rohr's style is light and deep at the same time. He's not shy about taking on contemporary issues, and casting them in a light of familiarity. From the website: "Spirituality writer and commentator, Brandan Robertson sits down with Fr. Richard Rohr, one of the leading contemplative teachers in our modern world to discuss how to respond to Donald Trump and unjust leaders while maintaining a non-dualistic mindset."
Please be warmly welcome. Join us at 9:45 in Martin Hall.
Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnTC4NNIACk 

Carl Jung in Don Cupitt's "Sea of Faith" Redux

This coming Sunday, April 30 we'll have a second look at part of Don Cupitt's excellent series, "Sea of Faith" In this series Cupitt compares psychiatrists Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung to show their striking similarities and profound dissimilarities with respect to religion and spirituality. It's a good show. Join us 9:45.
Preview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcthKnvY2hE

Frank Schaeffer, an atheist who believes in God

Frank Schaeffer, Jr., son of one of the worlds most influential evangelicals, abandoned conservative Christianity to take up a life of painting and writing. His recent book, "Why I'm an Atheist Who Believes in God" reveals his conviction that if your faith is not informed by doubt, it doesn't qualify as faith, but rather is an addiction to a doctrine of certainty. This Sunday, April 23rd we'll hear excerpts of his talk at Google, which you can preview, here. Please join us in Martin Hall at 9:45

Bishop Spong -- "He did not die for your sins"

This Sunday, April 9th we'll view and discuss a sermon by Bishop John Shelby Spong entitled, "The Cross as the Moment of Glory -- He Did Not Die for Your Sins." The sermon is taken from the Gospel of John, and in part from Isaiah 40. It's a powerful message. Please join us.

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.