Friday Conversations

Christians are called to be faithful. But are we also called to be fruitful? Although some believe that faithfulness is all that matters, others disagree. 

Emerging technologies are an inescapable part of modern life, especially for students and young adults.  New technologies make many things possible. But we less often ask how those technologies are shaping and forming us, from our patterns of behavior to our civic involvement or even our brain chemistry.

We will be watching a presentation by Wheaton Professor Read Schuchardt. Discussion will be facilitated by Chesterton House Spiritual Director Gary Villa.

Occupy Wall Street: What is it and what should we make of it?

As requested by many students, we will have an opportunity to hear from and speak with two Cornell Professors, Chris Barrett and Bob Hockett, about this movement that has been so prominent in the news this year.

Forgiveness is central to Christian Faith.  Last year we watched a very compelling film entitled As We Forgive.  This year we will be watching selections from The Power of Forgiveness. 

From the website:

What does it look like to study religion "objectively" in the classroom while remaining faithful to Christ? The question arises in a number of ways.  Take, for example, the recent viral video Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus (with almost 20 million hits), and the thoughtful response Does Jesus Hate Religion?

Robert C. Fay has been a visiting professor at Harvard University and the University of Bologna, an NSF Science Faculty Fellow at the University of East Anglia and the University of Sussex, and a NATO/Heineman Senior Fellow at Oxford University. His interests include the history of Christianity and its connections to science. See his article, Science and Christian Faith: Conflict or Cooperation?

What is Natural Theology and Why Does it Matter?  Come let us reason together! 

Tim Keller says that "No writer or thinker has taught me as much as James Hunter has about this all-important and complex subject of how culture is changed." Who is James Hunter?

Hunter is a sociologist who argues in his recent book To Change the World that American Christians are ineffective at cultural change because the working theory that undergirds their strategies--changing "hearts and minds"--is grounded on the shifting sand of idealism, individualism, and pietism. Hunter emphasizes rather the role of elites, networks, technology, and institutions.

Please join us for a fascinating discussion with Jim Crawford '78, the founding director of Community Faith Partners. CFP is a local organization that mobilizes volunteers (including students) to bring Christian care to the least among us - including inmates of the Tompkins County jail.

What is college for, anyway? In the Spirit of Comment Magazine's Making the Most of College series, Chesterton House Director Karl Johnson will share his own Top Ten list of suggestions in about twenty minutes, with at least half an hour to spare for questions, discussion, and argumentation. Conveniently located for freshmen, but open to all.