Jan 3: The Catholic Church: A User's Manual
Our speaker was President of the Dominican School of Theology in Berkeley and is in his fourth year as Director of the Catholic Chaplaincy at Stanford. If Father Patrick La Belle, O.P. doesn't know the topic, who does!
Jan 10: Understanding the World Around Us
Understanding is a mental activity quite distinct from acquiring or recalling information or forming opinions. Trying to understand an opaque world is also frustrating because of the inherent lack of certainty. But without an attempt at understanding we condemn ourselves to a worldview that more often is misleading than revealing.Ely Brandes speaks.
Jan 17: How Can Anyone Deny the Holocaust?!
Joe Peel is up to his old tricks again: helping us figure out why otherwise sane people hang on to insane ideas. Among his resources is a book by his friend Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine. The book: Why People Believe Weird Things.
Jan 24: How Dawkins Unravels Delusions & Reweaves a World of Real Wonder
Bill Jacobsen's review of Dawkins' Unweaving the Rainbow explains why our Darwin Day speaker of 1996 is such a fine exponent of honest science.
Jan 31: Your Money or Your Life
Russell Brand shares his horror and shock as he does the simple math: subtract the real costs of work from your fabulous wage. How much will your cup of coffee cost? Russell draws on the work of Domingues.
Feb 7: Abraham on Trial
The readiness of a father to sacrifice his son to a voice is a disturbing scene in Genesis which provoked Carol Delaney, Cultural and Social Anthropology, Stanford, to write her recent Abraham on Trial. This definitive study is a fascinating response to a puzzling story.
Feb 14: Professionals vs Amateurs, Volunteers, Clients?
The myth is that the person with the expertise has a skill, or knowledge, or dedication which nonprofessionals lack. Tell that to the individuals who "love" (the root of amateur) their subject matter, to volunteers who selflessly give their time and genuine concern without pay, to the recipients of a service who have their own realm of expertise. Too much awe for professionals is bad for professionals; they're apt to believe their own public relations department. Not every union card guarantees integrity and excellence. Bill Jacobsen, professional minister and chaplain, spills the beans.
Feb 21: Family Matters in the Bible
Alice Bach, religion, Stanford, examines the images of the family in the Bible. Biblical zealots often wax eloquent about "family values" and "the Holy Bible". Have they taken the time to examine the ancient texts to see what values they actually reflect?
Feb 28: Social Scientists and Evolutionary Theory
Anthropologists, Economists, Sociologists, and those teaching in Law Schools make use of evolutionary concepts, but, in practical terms, historians haven't exploited this resource with vigor. Carl Degler, History, Stanford, explores why this is so. He is pretesting this paper so he looks forward to your feedback.
Mar 7: Unbelievers Fascinated by Religion
Religion departments in universities are often staffed by individuals who are unaffiliated with any religious groups. No one could object to a skeptical scholar investigating a dead religion, say, Greek mythology, but some true believers may take umbrage at an infidel questioning the tenets of their holy faith. Van Harvey, Religion, Stanford, and Bill Jacobsen share their thoughts and will name names!
Mar 14: Steve Martin on God
The film comic is a superb writer and philosopher. Through the medium of Toby, the talking horse, he cuts through arid intellectualism. Drawing on a little Zen Buddhism and a lot of horse sense, Martin shocks seekers of the spiritual. His "Does God Exist?" can be found in The New Yorker, Dec 7 & 14, 1998. Bill Jacobsen is the humorist of the day.
Mar 21: Understanding the Economy
While numbers and percentages have their uses, they don't reflect the real economy -- the well-being of individuals which cannot be generalized. As Ely Brandes assesses how the economy is doing, he demonstrates the "average person" fallacy.
Mar 28: Beyond Arguments
Bill Jacobsen notes that people yearn for something beyond intellectual controversy. How will Humanism fare in such an environment?
Apr 4: Love, Joy, Celebration in Bryan's Humanist Affirmations
The general public will respond to the inspiring message of humanism if it's presented with sufficient clarity and drama. As an experienced trial attorney Bryan Marmesh knows about making abstract ideas come alive to a jury of ordinary folks.
Apr 11: Culture Wars No More
Some arguments are tiresome and tedious as partisans hurl epithets at each other, intent on scoring points rather than enriching both sides through a fruitful dialogue. Without glossing over legitimate differences, it's possible to channel the energy of participants by teaching about the conflicts themselves, by demonstrating the art of learning without losing your integrity. Bill Jacobsen speaks.
Apr 18: Life Planning
Great care is taken when you buy a car or computer. But the momentous decisions tend to be haphazard. Marry whom? Have children? Where to work? Too often we don't define the issue or list the criteria, hesitate to weigh negatives, reach for the simplistic option. Unhappiness in relationships and employment could be reduced with a little foresight. Bruce Lerro lays out the issues.
Apr 25: Dark Thoughts on the Media
Are we served by talking heads that wallow in sexual matters instead of attending to serious issues that concern the citizenry? The cost of such diversions isn't simply being bored by the tasteless topics. The price we pay is a growing ignorance about vital issues for the nation and the globe. Bill Jacobsen speaks.
May 2: The United States: Leader or Hegemon?
Hegemony, defined as leadership achieved through a preponderance of power and force, is a dirty word around the globe. Do we really want our nation to become a world dictator? Ely Brandes speaks.
May 9: Moses, The Red Heifer, & Other Interesting Bible Stuff
Modern research and the daily newspaper report lots of craziness, ancient and modern. Joe Peel will explore such matters.
May 16: Step Out of Yourself Into "The Other"
It's one thing to pretend you are walking in The Other's moccasins for a short time. It's another dimension of reality to find that an Alien Way of Thinking and Feeling has set up shop within you like an Invasion of the Body Snatchers! Serious dialog requires that kind of risk according to Bill Jacobsen.
May 23: Humility Without Resignation
Hank Giarretto founded "The Community as Extended Family" -- bringing victims an perpetrators together to face up to and ultimately to heal sexual abuse. The Community's board has since renamed it The Giarretto Institute. He and Bill Jacobsen will explore the wider ramifications of this approach.
May 30: The Kosovo Situation
Would you like to be considered for participation on a panel about America's involvement in the former Yugoslavia? Selections will be made by Al Dow and Bill Jacobsen to assure a balanced discussion. Contact either one.
Jun 6: Science, Pseudoscience, and Fringe Science
More adult Americans have gone through college than ever before. But the expectation that well-educated people will have the critical abilities to reject nonsense is far from fulfilled. Lawrence S. Lerner, Physics professor and author, elementary education evaluator and consultant, will survey a spectrum of widely held fringe scientific, pseudoscientific, and antiscientific beliefs, and will speculate as to why they persist and even gain increasing acceptance.
Jun 13: What's the Future of Pro-Choice?
The panelists include Sena Havasy and Paula Rochelle. The moderator is Alex Havasy, who is on the board of the Pro-Choice Coalition. After assessing the immediate tactics and long-term strategy of those who would restrict a woman's ability to control her own body, the panel zeros in on practical ways to move out of mere reactivism. How do we assume a more proactive stance in safeguarding a woman's right to shape her own destiny?
Jun 20: A Deeper Look at Human Rights
Human rights belong to all peoples. To understand the vast scope of these rights we need to examine three underlying questions: 1. Are human rights legal rights or national goals? 2. Which rights are more or less important? 3. Are human rights individual or collective rights? Ely Brandes leads the discussion.
Jun 27: Positive Humanism
Among atheists, there is a tradition of negativity. Humanists distance themselves from negativity and display a positive, life-affirming outlook. Peter Bishop will tell us more about this aspect of Humanism, while showing us how to look at the problems of life with hope, not fear.
Jul 4: Humanity's Goal Now in Sight!
Arthur Jackson says that humanity has been making a major evolutionary transition from a species like all others on Earth to something unique. His book, A Religion for the New Millennium, lays the basis for an empirical, experiment-based Science of Religion. He plans to publish it in 2000.
Jul 11: Respect
Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot's Respect isn't a comedic takeoff on "I don't get no ..." but an earnest probing into an attitude that's mandatory in families and between nations. Bill Jacobsen speaks today and for the rest of the Forums in July.
Jul 18: Who is Geza Vermes?
Raised in a Hungarian Jewish family, he converted and became a Catholic priest. As he established himself as a world-renowned expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls, he stressed the Jewishness of Jesus. Though non-observant, he has reclaimed his Jewish roots.
Jul 25: The Evolution of the Anti-Evolutionists
Robert T. Pennock's Tower of Babel recounts the anti-Darwinist strategies that have infected the intellectual world. Discover the latest tactics of the Darwin-bashers.
Aug 1: Columbine and Other Extreme Behaviors
Violent acts often provoke "solutions" that are unwise. What's the case for not offering answers? Mike Korns, Vice President of Time Share Services and President of Korns Associates, speaks.
Aug 8: Stephen Jay Gould Draws a Line in the Sand
Gould is despised by many religionists because of his skill in outlining an evolutionary process that leaves no room for God to act. Here he holds out an olive branch to religion. "You focus on the meaning of life, the foundations of morality, and God; we scientists are content to focus on how nature operates." Bill Jacobsen speaks.
Aug 15: Gains and Losses in Kosovo
Like sporting events, wars have winners and losers. But wars produce consequences that affect the lives of many people for decades to come. Ironically, those consequences often run counter to what the winners had hoped for. Ely Brandes speaks.
Aug 22: Luxury Fever
Robert Frank, co-author of The Winner-Take-All Society, documents how the spending patterns of the super-rich don't enhance their happiness, but seriously distort national priorities -- we make $10,000 wristwatches and neglect essential public services. He comes up with some workable, non-judgmental solutions. Bill Jacobsen speaks.
Aug 29: Nature as Sacred
Ursula Goodenough is one of America's leading cell biologists. For her, nature is relentlessly mechanical. She's a reductionist . . . and she has a sensibility that some might call religious. Bill Jacobsen speaks.
Sep 5: The Subtle Art of Reframing in Life, Love, and Politics
Reframing is a combination of a mind-game for yourself and spin-control on behalf of others. We examine how it works in politics, in our relationships, and in our self-image.
Sep 12: Campaign Finance Reform: Or Selling Government to the Highest Bidder
The old saying was, "We have the best judges and politicians that money can buy." Is that boastful -- or was it ironic -- claim still true?
Sep 19: Be Your Own Analyst of the Next Recession
The big question is not whether or when it will happen, but how it will end, which will be determined by how well the nation can fight it. Ely Brandes speaks.
Sep 26: Unintended Consequences of Do-Gooder Legislation
The laws that are passed rarely address the actual consequences of proposals that mean well, yet do more harm on balance.
Oct 3: Reform Party? Is it Time?
Is it Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum once you're in the voting booth? Why can't citizens gain a better choice? There are reasons, some good and some bad.
Oct 10: Beyond Patriotism to Cosmopolitanism
During our long tribal history as a species the genes for "local loyalty" may have been selected and imbedded so deeply that universalist pretensions may have a hard time catching on.
Oct 17: Female Genital Mutilation: The Custom Must Cease!
We Westerners rightly try to atone for past cultural bigotries by bending over backwards to respect customs that perplex us or even offend us. But there are some customs that are beyond the pale.
Oct 24: When Contraception Fails, Abortion Offers Salvation
In an ideal world all babies are born into happy homes. But some pregnancies can be hell for both mother and child. Thank God for abortion!
Oct 31: Has the University Become the Multi-versity?
The ideal of a unified culture that presides over a host of disciplines which live in perfect harmony and mutual respect is a sweet idea. In the real world, however, mutual respect is more a goal than a given.
Nov 7: What is Suicide?
Over the years suicide has been described as a mortal sin, a crime, a constitutionally protected right, and most recently, a disease that should be treated. Join in a discussion about which, if any, of these appellations fits the case. Ely Brandes speaks.
Nov 14: What We Can Learn from the Traditionalists
Sisyphus was condemned to roll a stone up a hill, only to have it roll down again. Can anything be worse than this exercise in futility? Yes, continually reinventing the wheel. Any institution that persists over a long time picks up useful insights. That's the key to its survival; a key we can use for ourselves. Bill Jacobsen begins a three-part series in which we learn before we teach. A radical concept we must try more often!
Nov 21: What We Can Learn from the New Churches
In Reinventing American Protestantism Donald E. Miller, a Humanist-type, enters a world too easily dismissed. What's the secret of the spectacular growth of Pentecostal-type churches? The author offers intimate scenes from Calvary, Vineyard, and Hope Chapel. You'll be impressed. Bill Jacobsen speaks.
Nov 28: What We Can Teach the Educables
Humanists enjoy the open mind that's not afraid to listen and learn from those with valuable lessons to teach, but that doesn't prevent us from making a reasoned, passionate response to our colleagues in the religion or anti-religion business. We have earned the right to speak the truth in love. Bill Jacobsen concludes the trilogy.
Dec 5: Sustaining Our Planet
Preserving the environment and a civilized life requires us to reduce population growth and energy consumption. Abroad we can fund family planning services for what we spend on our gardens. At home we can change unsustainable patterns. If our 5% of the global population consumes 25% of the world's energy (90% from fossil fuels), we must set a better model for others. Martin Squibbs leads the discussion.
Dec 12: Handling Fame
Life is tough enough without having to cope with the feelings of unreasonable awe that others inflict on you. Erik Erikson's daughter Sue gives the inside dope on how to deal with a problem I'm sure you have. Bill Jacobsen draws on her article in The Atlantic Monthly, Nov 1999.
Dec 19: The Use and Misuse of Metaphor
Marsha Farmer speaks on what scientists, postmodernists, and literary figures have in common.
Dec 26: 'Twas the Night Before Y2K
Are we ready for this? What about next time? David Gillett offers some perspective, and a last laugh or two.