Sunday Forum: Science, Reason, and Religion

Sundays, 12:45–1:45 p.m., unless otherwise listed.

Meets in Chapel, Program Building, unless otherwise listed.

Contact Dave Parsons for more information or to get on the email list.

This is an ongoing discussion group open to all. No preregistration is required.

More Mindfulness and Less Mindlessness in Eating for More Healthful Living

Mar. 18
Benny Budiman and Bill Repsher

Weight management is beneficial not only to our health but also to the sustainability of our planet. In this presentation, we will look at a few techniques that can help us eat mindfully and healthfully, maintain more healthful weight levels, reduce our impact on planetary resources and increase enjoyment of our food.

This Will Change Everything

Mar. 25
Roger Helm

We will explore a book by the same name that provides lots of interesting ideas about the future. How will these visions of the future affect society and our relation with each other as the gap between the haves and the have-nots likely widens? How will this potentially widening gap be addressed by faith, spirituality and religion, especially for those communities that do not profess to have the one right answer?

Gospel Music for Atheists

Apr. 1
Albert Nekimkin

Familiar with the common lament that Unitarian Universalists lack their own unique holidays and that they would rather discuss Heaven than go there? Much more dire is the lack of good gospel music for atheists and the confused. Don’t worry -- this gap’s now filled by San Diego's Stephen Baird, with a little help from his band, The Galapagos Mountain Boys. Recognizing that we could all use a strong injection of humor and musical inspiration to counter-balance our sober deliberations, Albert Nekimken will share samples from the band's CDs and lead a sing-a-long of its greatest ecclesiastical, cosmological and medical hits. Stephen Baird, a retired pathologist who spent his career working at a Veterans Administration hospital and teaching at the University of San Diego Medical School,dedicates his spare time to writing, singing, performing and recording original songs with his son and friends in the band. He and Albert met at Burbank High School in California 50 years ago. Stephen's wife, Carol, produces and markets the band's CDs at www.scientificgospel.com, making his music a complete family affair.

Easter, Apr. 8, No Session

UUCF: A Sociological Perspective

Apr. 15
John Monroe

The theological diversity of UU congregations sets us apart from other mainline denominations. Or does it? Sociologists have developed a number of typologies and theories that provide some useful insight into what makes Unitarian Universalism tick -- and suggest that we are not as different as we might think. In this session, we also will review the results of a recent survey of the Science, Reason and Religion forum and other groups at UUCF and discuss how they fit the social and theological dynamics of UUCF.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Apr. 22
Pete Rafle

In a culture increasingly uncomfortable with the complexity and uncertainty inherent in scientific and technical topics, how can advocates for positive change get persuasive messages through to the people who matter? The debates over climate change and other environmental issues in the U.S. provide case studies and point to approaches that might change the way we communicate around the issues that matter most to our society and our future.

Our Constitution and How it Has Evolved Since Ratification in 1788

Apr. 29
Bernie Gild

Focus will be on the profound changes from the original provisions; and also the continual tension between the right and left affecting the "exercise" and "establishment" of religion as originally provided in the First Amendment.

The Use and Abuse of Sacred Narrative

May 6
Don Yacoe

Sacred texts such as the Bible or the Koran play a central role in the practice of religion. They provide a narrative of God’s role in the world and man’s place in it. Unfortunately sacred texts can also be used to justify a skewed and toxic view of life. This presentation will present examples of the use and abuse of sacred storytelling in written literature, in film and in song. It will also link the power of this storytelling to the latest findings in neuroscience and narratology, the evolving science of narrative.