…and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. - John 8:32
The truth will set you free, but not until it’s finished with you. – David Foster Wallace
You can’t handle the truth! – Jack Nicholson in the film A Few Good Men
Aletheia is Greek for Truth.
As Christians in the United Church of Christ we accept as one of our
greatest truths these words of Jesus:
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. - Mark 12:28-31
In the Aletheia Forum we will focus on how well we as a
society, as a church and as individuals are doing at keeping these two greatest
commandments. Each session will begin
with a thesis, an idea open to discussion and debate, hopefully ending with
something that we can all accept, but maybe not.
During the first three class sessions we will introduce concepts and ideas to challenge us to truly love our neighbor.
We will meet each Sunday at 9:30am beginning on September 8th. Every Wednesday the Spring Creek E-Newsletter is sent out via email and will include a link to preview the video for the upcoming Sunday as well as learn a bit about the presenter and some discussion questions. A schedule of upcoming classes and topics is below:
September 8
– What must I do to truly love my
neighbor?
Presenter
Lesley Hazleton calls for a new appreciation of doubt and questioning as the
foundation of faith -- and an end to fundamentalism of all kinds.
September 15
– Embracing Radical Empathy
By leading
the Americans in his audience step by step through the thought process,
sociologist Sam Richards sets an extraordinary challenge: can they understand
-- not approve of, but understand -- the motivations of an Iraqi insurgent?
September 22
– Open Thou Mine Eyes and I Shall See
Margaret
Heffernan demonstrates the danger of "willful blindness" and praises
ordinary people who are willing to speak up.
September 29
– War and Peace: How do I deal with a bully without becoming a
thug?
In this wise
and soulful talk, peace activist Scilla Elworthy maps out the skills we need --
as nations and individuals -- to fight extreme force without using force in
return.
October 6 - War
and Peace: Do we need armies if we want
peace?
Peter van
Uhm is the Netherlands’ chief of defense, but that does not mean he is pro-war.
In this talk, he explains how his career is one shaped by a love of peace, not
a desire for bloodshed -- and why we need armies if we want peace.
October 13 – War and Peace: Instead of building walls, we should be building bridges.
Imagine
global security driven by collaboration -- among agencies, government, the
private sector and the public. That's not just the distant hope of open-source
fans, it's the vision of James Stavridis, a highly accomplished Navy Admiral.
October 20 –
In Sickness and in Health: Let’s talk
about Crap.
It's 2013,
yet 2.5 billion people in the world have no access to a basic sanitary
toilet. Get ready for a blunt, funny, powerful talk from journalist
Rose George about a once-unmentionable problem.
October 27 –
In Sickness and in Health: Sex, Drugs
and HIV/AIDS – let’s get rational.
Armed with
bracing logic, wit and her "public-health nerd" glasses, Elizabeth
Pisani reveals the myriad of inconsistencies in today's political systems that
prevent our dollars from effectively fighting the spread of HIV.
November 3 –
In Sickness and in Health: Let’s Talk
About Dying.
We can’t
control if we’ll die, but we can “occupy death,” in the words of Dr. Peter
Saul. He calls on us to make clear our preferences for end of life care -- and
suggests two questions for starting the conversation.
