January 2008
Monthly Archive
Evolution versus Intelligent Design
Posted by admin on 28 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Sermons & Talks
by James J. Geary
January 27, 2008
Good morning.
The title of my talk is Evolution versus Intelligent Design. Maybe a better title would have been “Creationists Don’t Give Up.”
I’m sure you understand that I can only touch on a few of the recent highlights of this protracted debate between evolutionists and creationists. It’s been going on for nearly a century and a half. Intelligent design is just the latest effort of the creationists.
UU minister Forrest Church, in a splendid article in the current issue of UU World, writes about the battles in the early decades of the Republic between those who wanted more religion in government and those who were fearful of it. That was well before the Darwinian revolution.
Would you believe the late Jerry Falwell did not believe in evolution? Remarkable. Continue Reading »
Java Hut Jam V
Posted by admin on 25 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Announcements
Java Hut Jam V
HUU’s Coffee House and Talent Show
March 8, 7pm
Come to show off– read poetry, sing, dance, play an instrument, tell jokes — or just be entertained. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, desserts, snacks and a cozy fun atmosphere will be available.
View images from 2006 Java Hut Jam
A Creative Dedicated Minority
Posted by admin on 23 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Sermons & Talks
Rev. Emma Chattin
January 20, 2008
First Reading ~ From Isaiah 43:18, 19
[And God says…]
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
Second Reading From Zaid Hassan in The… Axioms of Social Change
Problems are tough because they are complex in three ways. They are dynamically complex, which means that the cause and effect are far apart in space and time, and so are much harder to grasp from firsthand experience. They are generatively complex, which means that they are unfolding in unfamiliar and unpredictable ways. And they are socially complex, which means that the people involved see things differently, and so the problems become polarized and stuck.”
When studying mass social change as a phenomenon there is always a temptation to order events as they happened, in a timeline. Then by implication we assume that one thing follows another and one thing neatly causes another. A very real danger for those wishing to learn from historical social change is the trap of seeing social change in a linear fashion. This is a trap is because we know (for example from research on complex systems) that social change… is less about planning and more about creating the conditions for change. To mangle an old adage, no plan survives contact with reality. Mass social change is messy, unpredictable and often ugly.
Modern institutions are not well suited to the work of catalyzing social change because they suffer from a need for linear and predictable processes. Such processes, in turn, demand that risk be minimized and a plan be proposed, a plan which is often used as a script rather than a point of departure. If we’re being honest with ourselves, then we would recognize the function of a plan is purely psychological comfort in the face of unpredictable and frightening change. Continue Reading »
THE NINE - Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court
Posted by Jim Geary on 12 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Book Reviews
THE NINE
Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court
By Jeffrey Toobin (Doubleday, 340 pp., $27.95)
Reviewed by Jim Geary
Jeffrey Toobin, in his prologue to The Nine, states that from 1992 to 2005 the Supreme Court decisions reflected public opinion with great precision. This was owing to the swing votes of first, Louis Powell, and then of Sandra Day O’Connor, both moderate conservatives.
“That, now,” he adds, ” may be about to change.”
He writes of “a powerful conservative rebellion against the court” that was building during those years. For those behind this offensive, “its agenda has remained largely the same over the decades:” Reverse Roe v. Wade and allow states to ban abortion. Expand executive power. End affirmative action. Speed executions. Welcome religion into the public sphere.
Moms’ Nights Out
Posted by admin on 12 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Announcements, Unofficial HUU Moms
The first unofficial meeting of the Unofficial HUU Moms was a grand success! If you’re an HUU Mom or Mom-to-be, please join us for a monthly Mom’s Night Out. Leave the kids with Dad or Grandma or a sitter, or ditch your teens, and come on down to the Artful Dodger on the fourth Friday of the month at 7:30 pm (or anytime thereafter) for a beverage, a snack, or just kid-free conversation with other adults! We’re hoping to make it a monthly thing, so put that fourth Friday on your calendar).
The venue may change, depending on feedback, so check your weekly e-news, or call or e-mail Jennifer Spiller: jennspiller@gmail.com.
Feel free to bring a friend if you think she’ll feel comfortable with the HUU crowd. (Note: The Artful Dodger serves specialty coffee, adult beverages, even dinner. The indoor section is smoke-free. If you’re looking for sitters, Jennifer Spiller has an extensive list of JMU students interested in babysitting. If you’d like to come but have some conflict, please speak to Jennifer and let her know. We want to hear from you.