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EAST RECREATION CENTER 7902 Oakmont Drive Santa Rosa, CA
Sunday, 10:30AM – 12 NOON
Tom Mason - President Donna Hopley-Treasurer
Donation: $2.00 |
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Upcoming Programs |
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The Sunday Symposium at Oakmont Village |
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SEP 6 - LABOR DAY WEEKEND - NO PROGRAM
SEP 13 - "WHAT IS RELIGION AND WHERE DOES IT COME FROM" - Eric Thompson, Ph.D Putting together insights from evolutionary psychology, biology and the critical study of religion, Dr. Thompson will survey the landscape of this question and take sides on what he thinks the answer is. In the process he will give a review of the very recent book "The Evolution of God" by Robert Wright. Wright gives a very detailed exposition of the development of the god of the "Abrahamic " religions, gives an evolutionary explanation of religion in human culture and human nature, but comes out fairly decidedly against the new atheists (Harris, Dennett, Dawkins, Hitchens, etc); he will assess Wright's claims that the history of religion points to some reality or higher purpose "out there." Eric Thompson is the only full-time professor of Religious Studies at Santa Rosa Junior College, teaching courses in Hebrew Bible, New Testament and early Christianity, World Mythology and Western Religious Thought. He teaches classic Hebrew and in addition, coordinates the college's Religious Studies program which will soon be offered as a major. He holds a BA in Religion-Philosophy and classical Greek from Northwest College, Wyoming, an MA in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, and a Ph.D. in Hebrew/Bible from the Graduate Theological Union/U.C. Berkeley.
SEP 20 - "PSEUDO SCIENCE - WHAT'S THE HARM?" - Jud Goodrich, Ph. D. There is a lot of action by skeptic organizations these days, and Jud will summarize some of the talks presented at two conferences that he and his wife recently attended. One was a conference at Cal Tech in October 2008 on the origins of the universe sponsored by the Skeptic Society and the Templeton Foundation. The other was a Mexican Riviera Cruise sponsored by the James Randi Educational Foundation in March 2009. Of particular interest was a talk entitled "What's the Harm?", which described the terrible cost of believing in misinformation, pseudoscience or superstition. Jud will also review some of the latest books and publications dealing with the general subject of Critical Thinking. Jud trained as an organic chemist and worked for 34 years in an industrial research laboratory. After retirement in 1985 he forsook chemistry for other pursuits such as travel, photography, lawn bowling and music. He has spoken previously at the Sunday Symposium on the Sand Creek Massacre and the Skeptic Society. He and Leslie have been Oakmont residents since 1986 and he is a member of the Symposium Board.
SEP 27 - "MARITIME PIRACY TODAY" - Bob Kirk, Ph.D Dr. Bob Kirk will present an update on international maritime piracy. This talk will include a review of the historical background and pirate "hot spots" today including dangerous waters near Somalia and in the Straits of Malacca. Bob will explain how pirates operate, the number and frequency of attacks, what pirates hope to gain, and how the international community seeks to help ship masters thwart pirate attacks. He will explain why piracy thrives at the Horn of Africa. He will give examples of notable pirate attacks. Bob Kirk is semiretired from teaching college history. His doctorate is from UC Davis. He has taught part-time at Santa Rosa Junior College since 2001. Bob has lectured aboard 60 cruises in over 100 countries since 1986. He has lectured on piracy to various local organizations. He is past president of the World Affairs Council of Sonoma County. This lecture will be Bob's eighth at Sunday Symposium since 1998. Bob and his wife Barbara have lived in Oakmont eleven years.
WANT TO WATCH A SYMPOSIUM PROGRAM THAT YOU MISSED? Visit the Sunday Symposium's new website at www.oaksunsym.org There you will find information about upcoming programs, as well as a listing of past programs since the beginning of 2009. The Symposium programs are now being videotaped, and if you have a high speed internet connection, the programs can be viewed on your computer. There is also an audio-only version in mp3 format that can be downloaded and played on your Ipod or other mp3 player. Try it out!
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Contact the Symposium:
Tom Mason, President Tlmorusa@aol.com
Dutch Lichliter, Secretary and Webmaster DLichliter@aol.com
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