Scene from previous Los Alamos Faith and Science Forum. Courtesy/LAF&SF

Scene from previous Los Alamos Faith and Science Forum. Courtesy/LAF&SF

LAF&SF News:

Gerry Wood spoke to a full house Wednesday at the Los Alamos Faith and Science Forum’s Summer Series.

The theme of the summer series is “Are You a Robot? Brain, Mind and Soul”. Wood spoke on the topic of “Evil: Is Anyone Responsible?” The ensuing table discussions were lively.

Dan Winske will speak Wednesday, July 31, on “Miracles — Divine Free Will: What, How, Why”. Winske’s talk is the final talk for this summer.

Winske’s abstract states:

Religious scriptures, human history, and our personal experiences also reveal that the human response to miracles is wonder, awe and fear, contrary to the expectations of natural determinism. A robot’s programmed response to the same phenomena would be something like “Data does not compute”. No surprise here – unlike robots, humans are made in the image and likeness of God and thus are inherently open to God’s actions, however subtle or direct they may be.

In this last session of the summer series we discuss the nature of miracles. They clearly demonstrate the conflict between science, as expressed through the natural laws of the universe, and religion, as manifested through God’s direct interaction in the world. We will define more accurately what miracles are, give a few examples from both the New and Old Testaments of the Bible as well as modern times and discuss them from both scientific and theological perspectives. We also briefly touch on the more difficult (from a human perspective) issues: how and why do miracles occur.

Finally, we tie the question of miracles back to where we started two months ago: to mind-brain-soul. This then leads to an open discussion of what we have learned during this summer and suggestions on what topics we might begin to consider this winter in developing next summer’s series.

Winske’s references include:

• Albright, Carol R., John R. Albright, and Mladen Turk. Interactive World, Interactive God. (Eugene OR: Cascade, 2017)
• Barbour, Ian G. When Science Meets Religion. (New York: HarperCollins, 2000)
• Barron, Robert. And Now I See. (New York: Crossroad, 1998)
• Brown, Warren S., and Brad D. Strawn. The Physical Nature of Christian Life. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012)
• Dennin, Michael. Divine Science–Finding Reason at the Heart of Faith. (Cincinnati OH: Franciscan Media, 2015)
• Jeeves, Malcolm, and Warren S. Brown. Neuroscience, Psychology and Religion. (West Conshohocken PA: Templeton, 2009)
• Koch, Christoph. Consciousness–Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist. (Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 2017)
• Lewis, C. S. Miracles. (New York: MacMillan, 1947)
• McLeish, Tom. Faith and Wisdom in Science. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014)
• Metaxas, Eric. Miracles–What They Are, Why They Happen and How They Can Change Your Life. (New York: Penguin Press, 2014)
• Moritz, Joshua M. Science and Religion–Beyond Warfare and Toward Understanding. (Winona MN: Anselm Academic, 2016)
• Murphy, Nancey. Bodies and Souls, or Spiritual Bodies. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006)
• Plantinga, Alvin. Where the Conflict Really Lies–Science, Religion and Naturalism. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011)
• Sacks, Jonathan. The Great Partnership—Science, Religion and the Search for Meaning. (New York: Schocken Books, 2011)
• The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989)

The meetings take place at the Unitarian Church of Los Alamos, 1738 N Sage Loop in Los Alamos. The evening begins with a light supper at 6 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall, with the presentation starting at 6:30 p.m., followed by questions and table discussions.

For more information, check out the Los Alamos Faith and Science Forum website at https:////www.lafsf.org.

Survey:

Survey: Attendees of the 2019 Summer Series of the Los Alamos Faith and Science Forum – “Are You a Robot? Brain, mind, soul”.

1. Were you satisfied with the summer program?

• Did we answer the summer’s question “Are you a Robot”? Or perhaps better, did YOU come to your own resolution of the question?
• Were the presentations at the right level? Was there enough introductory material presented in order to introduce the topic? Was there too much information presented?
• Was there a good enough balance between science and religion?
• What would have made the presentations better?
• Was there ample time for questions of the speakers?
• Were the table questions/discussions interesting/useful?  Should the discussions have been more formalized, i.e., did we need assigned table facilitators?

2. This summer we had two special speakers: Warren Brown (Fuller Theological Seminary) and Garrett Kenyon (LANL).

• Were the contents of these presentations at an information level consistent with the other summer talks?
• Prof. Brown’s lectures were presented in the sanctuary at the Unitarian Church, rather than at Fuller Lodge, due to a scheduling difficulty. If both facilities are available next summer, do you have a preference for one over the other?

3. Were you satisfied with the physical arrangements? e.g., the meeting/dining room? Project and sound system? Food and drinks?

4. We are always looking for ways to improve things for next year. Your suggestions are most welcome.

• broadening the audience, e.g., more students and young adults.
• broadening the religious and scientific background of the governing board/speakers.
• ideas for next summer’s topic.

Last year’s survey was very helpful to us, especially in coming up with this summer’s theme. The increased attendance at these sessions and the stimulating discussions that it produced indicate that this has been our most successful summer ever. Your input last year really helped. And we look forward to your comments about this season.

You can respond to this survey in several ways: (1) You can write your comments on the back of this handout and give it to any of the board members; (2) You can email your comments to any of the board members (mpongratz1942@gmail.com); (3) You can mail it to us [Dan Winske, 442 Ridgecrest Ave., White Rock, NM 87547-3548].