The Forum Adult Discussion Class engages in current and interesting topics, related to issues of faith in our modern world. We are open-minded and welcoming to all who might have serious questions about their beliefs. Each week our goal is to have a high-quality presentation and a high-quality interactive discussion where people discuss & listen to each other.

All Are Welcome!

Serious Answers to Hard Questions in our Increasingly Secular World

Sundays, 10:05 am, Room 307, in-person & online

Week Four: Why is there no convincing scientific evidence for or against God’s existence?

Join us as we read Adam Hamilton Lenten study, Luke: Jesus and the Outsiders, Outcasts, and Outlaws, which explores the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus as told in the Gospel of Luke. Through Luke’s stories, we find Jesus’ care and compassion for all as he welcomes sinners and outcasts.

1. What is the relationship between God and our 92-billion-light-year diameter universe? Consistent with the observations of the James Webb Space Telescope we understand that our accelerating universe is approximately 92 billion light years in diameter. How does God cover all this space?
2. If God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent; why is there evil? Where was God during the Holocaust? This question has no logical & rational answer, except a naturalistic, materialistic, & atheistic response, based on randomness. 
3. If there is one God, why are there so many world religions? Pre-modern religion required people to embrace spirituality & theism beyond materialism and naturalism. This embryonic development of religion proceeded in isolated cultural and geographical environments.
4. Why is there no convincing scientific evidence for or against God’s existence? This week we will deal with what has been called the most important-of-all question about our faith. We will take a look at some of the evidence for or against God’s existence from a modern viewpoint. We look at these kinds of hard questions realistically and in such a way that our faith is supported.
5. What is the relationship between God and humankind? World religions give a rich variety of understandings of God (or gods), the afterlife, and the ways materialism & spirituality are separated & overlap.
6. In the presence of so much obvious randomness, how can God be influential in our lives, in human history, and in the evolution of our biosphere? Would this lead to realities such as the Holocaust?
7. Is the Bible a trustworthy source of the ultimate authority for our faith? Consider that our Bible was written over 1,000 years by 50+ human authors and came to us by manual, human copying and recopying before the printing press.

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2022/2023 Schedule