Assisted Suicide – do hard cases really make poor law?

John Wyatt Talk 3rd Nov 2015

John Wyatt Talk 3rd Nov 2015

The current season of Bible and Science talks continues on Tuesday 3rd November, when our speaker will be Professor John Wyatt, who until recently was Professor of Ethics and Perinatology at University College London, and is also the author of “Matters of Life and Death” (IVP).

His subject is “Assisted Suicide – do hard cases really make poor law?”

There have always been people who have had to struggle with chronic ill-health.  Nowadays, thanks to modern medical science, we live longer than previous generations and degenerative diseases are more prevalent.  It is thought that almost a million British people live with dementia or other debilitating diseases. Still more fear such things might happen to them and some wish to take control of the timing and manner of their death. The call to legalise assisted suicide is back on the political agenda.  Polls suggest that a majority of the public would be in favour of such a change to the law, and religious opposition is seen simply as another example of ingrained conservatism.  Doctors, however, do not want to terminate life and there is also strong opposition from disabled people who fear that a right to die would soon become a duty to die, as has happened in parts of Europe where euthanasia and assisted suicide have become legal. Professor Wyatt will discuss these issues.

For those of you who have attended talks regularly over the last few years, and know that we have frequently met on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, please not that there will NOT be a talk on Tuesday 20th October.  We hope to see you on 3rd November, 8pm at Lindisfarne House, 4 Barbourne Terrace, Worcester WR1 3JS.  Do feel free to forward this email to any friends you think would be interested in coming along too.

Please do down-load and display the following:

Short Poster from the following Poster John_Wyatt_03_Nov_2015 Short

Medium Poster from the following Poster John_Wyatt_03_Nov_2015 Medium
Flyer from following B & S flyer John Wyatt 2015

Science Fiction, The Mythology Of Our Scientific Age

From Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to Star Trek, science fiction has probed in books and on screen what it means to be human in an age of scientific knowledge and technological power: will we conquer the universe and translate ourselves to a higher realm of being, or download ourselves to computers, or alternatively be annihilated in nuclear holocaust, ecological disaster, alien invasion or revolt of the intelligent machines we ourselves have created?

Science fiction is the literature of our age, questioning human origins, destiny and our relationship to what is not us, be it the universe, aliens, animals or the mechanical. In a “world without God”, will humans themselves become gods?

Rev Dr Stephen May

Rev Dr Stephen May

Stephen May will present his talk at Lindisfarne House, 4 Barbourne Terrace, Worcester WR1 3JS, on 15th September 2015 starting at 8:00 pm. All welcome, parking, entry and refreshments are free, but we ask for a voluntary donation of £3:00 per person to cover meeting expenses.

Short Summary of Our Speaker:

Rev. Dr. Stephen May, science fiction fan and former Lecturer in Systematic Theology at

Stardust & Ashes Book Cover

Stardust & Ashes Book Cover

the University of Auckland, is author of Stardust and Ashes: Science Fiction in Christian Perspective (1998).

Please do download a pdf flyer for this talk from the following link: B & S flyer Stephen May September 2015

Please do download and print a poster for this talk from this link:Poster Stephen_May_15_Sep_2015 Medium

A Jubilee* World View – Climate and Environmental Choices

Rev Dr Paul Beetham Talk 17 March 2015

Rev Dr Paul Beetham Talk 17 March 2015

How do we keep the lights on without wrecking the planet? Can the world support everybody enjoying our current lifestyle? What effect is our lifestyle having on planet Earth and what are our responsibilities in caring for God’s creation? Continue reading

A heretic’s guide to modern cosmology

On a clear winter night it is not difficult to look up and get a sense of the vastness of the universe, and our own insignificance in the scheme of things. The first patent application for a telescope from Hans Lippershey was quickly improved on by Galileo Galilei in 1609, who used it to start the train of investigation that has led to humankind estimating the age of the universe, developing concepts of dark matter, dark energy, the big bang, oscilating universe,multi-universes etc. If you’ve ever wondered what are some of the current concepts of modern cosmology, are they real or just fantasy, does the core understanding of cosmology challenge a biblical view of the universe and our part in it, then come to listen to Rev Dr Richard Tweedy give his talk on 20th January 2015.

 

Richard Tweedy Talk 20 Jan 2015

Richard Tweedy Talk 20 Jan 2015

Continue reading

The Myth of Self-Esteem

How do people generally keep up their spirits and their self-esteem? Often by shopping, or “retail therapy”. By choosing the right car or clothes. Sometimes by trying to become rich, or famous. Prof Glynn Harrison of Bristol University, a Christian psychiatrist,  will tell us how psychiatrists have studied self-esteem as a determining factor in modern life, since the concept emerged in the 1960s.
Prof Glynn Harrison Poster, 18 November 2014

Prof Glynn Harrison Poster, 18 November 2014

Continue reading

The Penultimate Curiosity

Our speaker on Tuesday 16 September 2014 is Professor Andrew Briggs, Professor of Nanomaterials and Director of the Quantum Information Processing Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Oxford.

Prof Andrew Briggs on The Penultimate Curiosity

Prof Andrew Briggs on The Penultimate Curiosity

Don’t worry, he is not going to talk about quantum information! He plans to talk about curiosity, about whether there is anything different about the search for religious truth. If you are curious about big questions, bring a like-minded friend. On the other hand, if you aren’t curious about anything at all, ask yourself why not! The condition could be curable.  Continue reading

Did Evolution have to end with Human Beings?

Are we becoming more intelligent, bigger, stronger, more savage, or what – in short, are we still evolving? If so – should we regard ourselves as simply some accidental by-product of nature? At the final Bible and Science Worcester Talk in our current series, Simon Conway Morris, a Christian and Professor of Palaeobiology at Cambridge University argues not.

Are Humans Still Evolving

Prof Simon Conway Morris Talk 18 March 2014

Continue reading

“Is Fracking good for us? – energy security, energy prices and the environment.”

Is Fracking Good For Us?

Is Fracking Good For Us?

A Christian Perspective on the Energy Sustainability, Cost Effective Energy and Environmental Protection Trilemma

Energy bills and the security of energy supplies have recently featured in the news. Oil and gas extraction by “Fracking” (Hydraulic cracking of oil/ gas bearing shale) has been proposed as the short/medium term solution to Britain’s own requirements. Continue reading

Where is God when we are sick?

On Tuesday 21 January 2014 at 8.00 pm Dr David Webster will make a

Dr David Webster will talk on 21 January 2014

Dr David Webster will talk on 21 January 2014

presentation for Bible and Science Worcester on the topic of: ‘Where is God when we are sick?’ David will discuss how he has linked his experience of General Practice in the West Midlands since the mid 1970s treating ill and dying patients, and his perspective developed from his deeply held Christian faith.  

As usual, the venue will be Lindisfarne House, 4 Barbourne Terrace, Worcester, WR1 3JS

Please read on for more information.  Continue reading

Genes, Determinism and God 19 November 2013

Dr Denis Alexander, Emeritus Director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, Cambridge, will be presenting on ‘Genes, Determinism and God’, at the next Bible and Science Worcester talk on 19th November 2013. Dr Alexander will seek to cover the following issues. Please download and display the poster for this event, Denis Alexander – 19 Nov 13, or read on for more information. Continue reading