2009 : Garden of Eden 2

We watched about the first half of a video by Kent Hovind on this topic in Dec 2008. Due to Christmas, we have not yet watched the 2nd half.

As we would like to read a couple journal articles in January, this video is on the roll for “when life gets busy,” probably in February 2009. Date to be announced….

Aug 20 : Issues and Methods in Apologetics

We’ll be reading “Issues and Methods in Apologetics” http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=3576 , which is chapter 4 from the “Faith Has It’s Reasons” series on bible.org.

This article is only about 7 pages, but quite dense with ideas on apologetics. We may want to read other chapters of the online book from time to time (Click on the book title at the top of the article to see the list of chapters). As you read, consider which of the four APPROACHES most appeals to your personal style of evidence, and also which of the ISSUES matter the most in the world-view decisions you make.

If you are going to print out a copy, there is a separate “printer friendly” button which opens a page without all the web elements.

July 23 : CS Lewis reading on Justice

Jeff is going to select for us a short CS Lewis essay. Just because we all like Lewis’ writing style SO much.

Stay tuned to find out what we will be reading!

Edit:

We read Lewis’ essay on the Humanitarian Theory of Punishment (1949), in which he explores the long-term and human implications of removing punishment or “desert” from the justice system, and replacing it with concepts of cure or deterrence. We discussed some of the results of this shift in our own day, decades after Lewis wrote about it.

Feb 27 : Debate video : Craig vs. Zindler part 2

With a little overlap, we will finish watching this YouTube published video of W.L.Craig versus Zindler on the topic of Christianity versus Athiesm. We may also have some open discussion of questions, as the group has a couple of new members joining us, and we’d like to take time to find out their interests.

Feb 13 : Debate video : Craig vs. Zindler part 1

Okay, I did find a debate on YouTube but we’d like to be able to watch it as a group. What we’re after is a substantial debate, on video, between an athiest and a Christian. We can watch it and then discuss. Once I’ve got something that will play on our system for us to watch together as a group, I’ll post all the details in this space….

edit:

Kudos to Darcy W. for downloading & reformatting the entire Craig – Zindler debate so that the group could watch it! We covered the first 20 min. speeches plus 12 minute second sections this week. At the next meeting (Feb 27) we’ll watch the remainder and continue discussing it.

Jan 30 : God & Dawkins (audio)

I know that R. Dawkins’ name comes up over and over in our discussions. He’s made himself a bit of a target.

Jeff pointed me towards this talk by Dr. John Lennox entitled ‘God and Richard Dawkins,’ available as a downloadable or streaming audio file. The lecture is about an hour and a half.

http://www.bethinking.org/resource.php?ID=290

Please listen to this talk and note down any observations you might have before our meeting on Wed Jan 30. Arrival anytime after 7:00, meeting to begin by 7:30pm.

Aug 15: The history of science and Christianity

On August 15th, we will be discussing the article,

“Science – friend or foe?” by D. Alexander

If you think of questions to consider regarding this topic, please comment them here. For example, does the author refer to scripture? In what context should we use the bible, and are there contexts when we should refrain?

I also posed a question at the end of the Jul 25 meeting: What would we consider to be a “high standard of evidence” for spiritual truth or for resolving science / faith issues? I think it is good to articulate or discuss what we find persuasive. If we have a somewhat objective perspective on evidence, then it will be possible to test that standard against some of our readings.

So, do come with your own personal thoughts about evidence and persuasive / valid argumentation.

http://www.bethinking.org/resource.php?ID=192&TopicID=2&CategoryID=1

July 25: Jesus Tomb.. ! or ?

Like the DaVinci code previously, and other controversies past, this year the “discovery” of an ancient Palestinian tomb has been promoted heavily in the popular media. Among many such tombs, this one has been the subject of a documentary and book which claim that the bodies in it “could be” the family of Jesus of the Bible.

Our discussion includes a variety of readings. Please feel free to do your own research and let the group know if you find something worth reading before the meeting. Keep in mind that anything longer than a couple pages should probably be shared in advance.

There is a great, informative lecture on the topic here:

http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=5067 (click on the small audio icon near the top to listen)

Bible.org also has written articles on the subject by D.B.Wallace, ‘The Lost Tomb of Jesus’

CARM has an article also, by M.Slick, ‘Has the tomb of Jesus been found?’

This article is linked all over the web, “Archeological Identity Theft”

If you like listening to audio files, I also found this one by Gary Habermas:

http://www.bethinking.org/resource.php?ID=345

Loen has suggested that we-the-group could listen to the Habermas lecture on Wed for about a half hour. Might be a thought.

You don’t have to read everything, this one is a “pick your favourite” rather than a set reading.