Do Christian beliefs hurt the study of science? Discussion in Beaverton on 2-18-15.

I (Bernie Dehler) will be debating Christian Prof. Ted Davis on the topic "Is Christian Belief Conducive to Performing Quality Scientific Research?" at Oregon State University.  Prior to that I will be previewing some of my arguments at a discussion event in Beaverton on 2-18-15.  The event is free, and you are invited to attend and participate.  Event details for the Beaverton preview can be found here:  http://www.meetup.com/Philosophical-Naturalists/events/220023678/ .

On the surface, it is easy to think "Of course Christians can do great science; there are many great scientists that were Christians, and there are even some current great Christian scientists today (such as Francis Collins)."  And I agree with that.  Then what is my counter-point? Simply this: that supernatural beliefs are harmful to the scientific endeavor, in the big picture of things.  Of course one can be a Christian and do scientific experiments; for example, doing studies on fruit fly reproduction.  But the problem comes in when EVERY SINGLE CHRISTIAN SCIENTIST says there are certain questions that only have "God did it" as the answer.

For example, we might all agree that there was a "big bang."  But who caused it? If you seriously think it was God, then it would be foolish to look for an answer with scientific methodology, since science can't explain miracles.  But where did the laws of physics come from? If you don't know, then that is evidence for the existence of God, correct? Not at all.  And this is the kind of mentality that all Christians have.  At some point, they ALL say that there was a certain point where God just poofed things into existence with his holy magic.  For those Christians that accept most of science, they might think this god-magic created the big bang and the laws of physics.  For young and old Earth creationists, they would say God did his magic in creating people (they reject that humans descended from other animals as modern science claims).

I'm looking forward to meeting Prof. Ted Davis in debate.  I knew him back when I was a born-again evangelical Christian (prior to my de-conversion in 2009).  And for the record, Ted is a really nice guy!

Why is our relationship with science so complicated? Discuss it on 2-24-15.

The Oregon Humanities Conversation Project is sponsoring a talk called "In Science We Trust: The Role of Science in a Democracy."  The main event page can be found here:  http://tinyurl.com/mxexeaq .  It lists these details:

Date: February 24, 2015
Time: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Location: Beaverton City Library, Meeting Room B
Address: 12375 SW 5th Ave, Beaverton, OR 97005
Contact: 503-644-2197
Cost: Free

Abstract:
"Please join us for this Oregon Humanities Conversation Project program. Americans have more confidence in scientific and medical leaders than in leaders of any group except the military, according to National Science Foundation polls. However, the relationship between citizens and science is often fraught with misunderstanding and mistrust, especially on topics like climate change. Why is our relationship with science so complicated? Why do we mistrust a field for which we profess respect? Science writer Gail Wells asks participants to consider the role of science in guiding policy and how citizens can use science to make better decisions together. Free and open to the public. No registration required."

Photo of Gail Wells:

"Church without the god-bits" meeting again on Sun. 2-8-15

We are having "church without the god-bits" this Sunday morning 2-8-15 (Sunday Assembly Portland). We are for everyone of any belief system (Catholic, Mormon, Muslim, Hindu, atheist, agnostic, whatever). We just don't preach anything about the supernatural because we think it is irrelevant. Great singing to popular songs, and a talk to spark your brain and heart. And afterwards, a lunch social (burgers and beer)! Click here for all event details:  http://tinyurl.com/mnl86ly .

The main speaker is Dr. Jon Peters.  The title of his talk is “How Humans Successfully Colonized the Earth: the amazing story we all carry in our DNA."  Dr. Peters has been the recipient of several teaching awards; including a Master Teacher Award from The Oregon Health & Science University where he is an Affiliate Associate Professor, and the Resident Teacher Award from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. He is actively promoting secular humanism and reason by serving on the Advisory Board of CFI Portland, starting a Secular Humanist group in Portland that has grown to over 500 members, and giving lectures on the newer evidences for evolution.  Bring your kids; we'll also have some activities for them.

More info about the Sunday Assembly movement:
Sunday Assembly is a non-religious gathering co-founded by Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans in January 2013 in London, UK. The gathering is for non-religious people who want a similar communal experience to a religious church.

Stand-up comedians Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans started the first Sunday Assembly in North London in January 2013 as they "both wanted to do something like church but without God".  The first event, attended by over 300 people, was held in a deconsecrated church in Islington, but due to the limited size of the venue future meetings have been held in Conway Hall.  Since then events have continued to be held, twice a month, with one attracting as many as 600 people.  Sanderson Jones said "I don't [think] there's anything that's inherently elite about people getting together to sing songs and think about themselves and improve their community. But we can't wait to see people doing it in all manner of different places in all manner of different ways, that appeal to all manner of different people."

Other Portland-area community, secular, and philosophical groups can also be found at meetup.com, such as these:
-- The Center for Philosophical Naturalism: http://tinyurl.com/l6rd4sl
-- Sunday Assembly: http://tinyurl.com/kkc8nyw
-- Westside Science & Religion Disc.: http://tinyurl.com/bkmhdl5
-- Center for Inquiry: http://tinyurl.com/mps923r
-- Humanists of Greater Portland: http://tinyurl.com/kmbmt57
-- Atheists Etcetera: http://tinyurl.com/nhjr3ha
-- Philosophy Workshop: http://tinyurl.com/pzs4ajc