Sex, death, war and Artificial Intelligence are on the menu at Food for Thought talks by a leading theologian to be held in one of our Dales churches starting in September.
St Cuthbert’s, Pateley Bridge is the venue for the evening events led by Dr Peter Vardy, who has written extensively on religion and ethics and was vice-principal of Heythrop College, a Jesuit college in London, from 1999 to 2011. For more than 30 years he has run conferences for GCSE and A level students in this country and overseas.
Revd Darryl said all are welcome: “At St Cuthbert’s our mission action plan inspires us to grow confident Christians, devoted to growing deeply as disciples.
“We have a dedicated team looking after the Youth Ministry in the parish and also a team looking after adult discipleship – which is where Food for Thought first came from as a Confirmation Course during Lent. It proved to be so popular that we ran a second series before taking a break for the summer.
“We are very fortunate that Dr Peter Vardy kindly offered to run a monthly series on Christian Ethics from September to February 2024.
“Everyone is welcome from within the parish and beyond.”
Dr Vardy added: “The aim of this initiative is to engage those attending with contemporary issues, but also to explain different approaches particularly to Christian understandings of ethical dilemmas.”
The talks will be held at St Cuthbert's church, Pateley Bridge and will start at 6.30pm with drinks and nibbles, followed by the talk at around 7pm for 45 minutes, followed by 15 minutes for questions. To find out more and to help with managing attendance, please email darryl.hall@leeds.anglican.org
The dates and subjects are as follows:
Wednesday, September 6
HOW TO MAKE ETHICAL DECISIONS
This session will explain different approaches to ethics and will consider whether there are any ethical absolutes or whether all morality is simply relative to culture.
Wednesday, October 4
EUTHANASIA AND DEATH
A rising percentage of the population are over 70 and many are not working. This creates real economic problems for many societies. What is more, as life is lengthened the quality of life can sometimes be poor. Ethical questions about whether euthanasia and assisted suicide should be legal become increasingly relevant. There are also related questions as to whether there is a life after death and what form this may take. Alternative approaches to these issues will be explored.
Wednesday, November 8
SEX, FERTILITY, NEW METHODS OF REPRODUCTION AND MARRIAGE
A rapidly increasing number of males are infertile and new scientific advances to respond to these and other problems raise important ethical issues. The percentage of couples who divorce is already significant and this give rise to discussions about the nature of sexual relationships in an increasingly secular world.
Wednesday, December 6
CAN WARS BE JUST?
There is a long history of thinking about the justice of wars - both when it is morally right to fight and how wars should be fought. Traditional approaches will be explained together with the challenges provided by new technology including the use of drones, nuclear weapons and economic warfare. Questions will be posed as to whether any war today can be regarded as just. The conflict in Ukraine will be used to illustrate the issues.
Wednesday, January, 10
MONEY, POWER AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE.
The gap between the wealthy and poor has always been wide but in many countries the gap is widening rather than narrowing. Alternative ways of understanding different economic systems will be considered as well as the challenge provided by local, national and international poverty. Business ethics and the relevance of altruism as well as contrasting Christian teachings will be explained.
Wednesday, February 7
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The challenges provided by the increased sophistication of Artificial Intelligence will be analysed. The work of Oxford University's 'Future of Humanity Institute' and Elon Musk's Neuralink company will be considered. A.I. can provide real benefits for human beings but there are many voices today warning that advances in A.I. may threaten the survival of humanity. The issues raised by this technology on employment, medicine, the law and many others areas will be considered.