Merseyside day conference: Sat 16 May

A warm welcome awaits all at an open half-day conference organised by Sea of Faith Merseyside

Does Jesus matter any more?

Guest speaker: David Boulton

Quaker, writer and TV producer, Author of Who on Earth was Jesus? -- The Modern Quest for the Jesus of History

When? -- Saturday May 16

Time? -- 12.30 -- 4pm

Admission? -- £2.50 (includes refreshments)

Where? -- The new Quaker Meeting House, School Lane,
Liverpool City Centre L1 3BT

Scheduled Dates for Mersey SofN Meetings

NEW VENUE: The Merseyside branch of the Sea of Faith Network (UK) is experimenting with a new venue for its meetings. The next two meetings will be in the upstairs room of the Crown Hotel pub on Lime Street. From Lime St. Station main entrance/exit cross Skelhorne Street and at the bottom turn left, go in the first door and up the stairs.

Meetings start at 19.30 and finish promptly at 21.30. The next two meeting dates are:

Thursday 16th October:

Discussion: How compatible are science and religion?

Wednesday 25th November:

Discussion: Should moral education replace religious education in our schools?

DISCUSSION POINT: The Reformation: Blessing or Curse?

When Martin Luther started what we now refer to as the Reformation, he could not have conceived how his actions would change European society.

The Reformation taught people in those countries, where it prevailed, to critical theological thinking. This directly influenced scientific analysis and methodology in the Enlightenment, such that the north European countries started a revolution in science. That is not to say that the non-Reformation countries have necessarily been backward, in a scientific sense.

So, there is no doubt that the Reformation was the driving force of today's scientific knowledge. This leads to many questions - some of which follow.

Do we seek to advance scientific knowledge too quickly and in isolation from other issues?

Is there a conflict between religion and science, or are they comfortable bed-fellows?

Has science been incidental in religious decline in the West?

Would society be so much the poorer without today's technological/scientific know-how?

Merseyside group has been running three years

We are small but lively group which first came together in summer 2004. Members hail from Merseyside, the Wirral and Chester.

We meet on a Wednesday evening, 7.30 – 9.30 about every 6 weeks, setting our forward dates at six-monthly intervals.

The topics we discuss are rarely theological in themselves but comments made reflect a general understanding of religion as a human creation. Politics, local, national and international, exercise us as much as philosophical ideas and our members are individually committed to a wide variety of active causes. We enjoy discussing books, films, plays and art exhibitions and we try to support one another on a personal level.

There is no joining fee or maintenance cost, just a requirement to buy a drink when you come! We talk of arranging outings but haven’t got around to this yet!

For further details please contact:

Penny Mawdsley
tel: 01745 710464)
email: sofn.mersey@gmail.com