Greetings!

COHA’s Thursday, April 29 meeting is just two weeks away (in the Angus-Ross room, just inside Barrie Library’s main entrance on the left; open 6:30pm; start 7:00pm sharp).

This month we take a breather from religious issues in order to discuss two topics from the TED website that are kind of related, and that I think will be great discussion starters.

The first one is Daniel Dennett’s 15.5 minute video: Dangerous Ideas. Dan Dennett is a well known philosopher-scientist and author of several popular books, as well as a secular humanist who often debates religious issues. Combining the principle of free speech with the outrageous misinformation, such as what many US politicians have been spreading, make his topic especially relevant today.

The second is Jared Diamond’s 18 minute video: On Why Societies Collapse, based on his book “Collapse,” which I enjoyed reading. He has identified five patterns that lead societies to collapse, and I sense that several of them are at work in the USA and globally. He points out that collapses have occurred suddenly, right after a society has reached some sort of apex, a fact that I found particularly disturbing.

I encourage you to preview the videos before our meeting. That way you might get even more out of them at the meeting, and you can come with your comments and questions ready, thus assuring stimulating discussions. Here are the links:

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_dennett_on_dangerous_memes.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/jared_diamond_on_why_societies_collapse.html

Sneak Preview: For our May 26 meeting, we are very fortunate to have Reverend Don French come and speak to us. His topic will be:

How Science Affects Religion, One Priest’s Perspective

This marks the first time COHA has had a speaker from “the other side.” You may be surprised at how open he is to our ways of thinking. But more on that next month.

And as a great coincidence, I have accepted an invitation from my physicist friend Prof. Gordon Drake, who is also President of Canterbury (Anglican) College, to present the affirmative side of a formal debate to be held on May 8 at the University of Windsor on the question: Do Religion and Science Conflict? Gordon will argue the negative case.

I will be introduced as the president of COHA. Gordon says that the media might be there and I hope to have it recorded. If any of you are interested in vetting the arguments that I plan to make, email me and I will be pleased to send them to you. (Gordon, you and your confederates need not respond.) And this will nicely set the stage for Reverend French’s May 26 talk!

Last but not least, planning for our Summer Solstice Party has started. So please put Saturday, June 19 into your calendar right now!

Best regards,
Paul
President, COHA

PS: Because COHA meeting dates are no longer the last Wednesday of most months, below is a reminder to replace them with these dates:

Thursday April 29
Wednesday May 26
Saturday June 19 – Summer BBQ
Wednesday June 30 (available but not currently planned)
Wednesday July 28 (available but not currently planned)
Wednesday August 18 (available but not currently planned)
Wednesday September 29
Thursday October 28
Thursday November 25
Wednesday December 29 (available but not currently planned)