Calvary Evangelical Church, Brighton, UK

Sincere, Bible-believing Christians often have sharply different views on the issue of creation and evolution. Some hold that evolution was God's method of creation, and that Christians have nothing to fear from modern science. Others argue that the evolutionary narrative cannot be reconciled with the biblical narrative, and seek to build a scientific model of earth history based on a young-age reading of the Bible.

Join us to explore the issues as we welcome two speakers, one answering "yes" and the other answering "no" to the question posed in the title.

Saturday 15 May 2010, 7-9pm (coffee and doughnuts from 6.45pm)

Dr Steve Lloyd is pastor of Hope Baptist Church, Gravesend, and a part-time speaker and writer for Biblical Creation Ministries. He gained his doctorate in Materials Science from Cambridge University, where he was also involved in post-doctoral research, including four years as a Royal Society University Research Fellow. Steve is married to Hannah and they have four young children.

Dr Ard Louis is a Reader in Theoretical Physics and a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, where he leads an interdisciplinary research group studying problems on the border between chemistry, physics and biology. He is the International Secretary for Christians in Science and an associate of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion.

To chair the discussion we welcome Prof. Richard Vincent, who was Associate Dean of the Brighton and Sussex Medical School until his retirement in 2008.

Listen to the talk on MP3 here

Britain is a secular society with a Christian heritage. Might secularisation have consequences for a culture so indebted to Christianity? Perceptive commentators across the political spectrum are asking whether democratic citizenship, even democracy itself, might be in trouble once cut free of its Christian moorings.

Saturday 7 November, starting at 7pm with coffee and doughnuts

Dr. Philip Sampson is an author and lecturer. Tonight’s lecture draws upon a research paper prepared for the Jubilee Centre and available on their website.

Listen to the talk on MP3 here

What should Christians think about politics? How can Christians make their vote count? Be prepared for the next election!

Saturday 31 October, starting at 7pm with coffee and doughnuts

With an academic background in political philosophy, as the Senior Parliamentary Officer for the Bible Society, David Landrum is focused upon raising the profile of the Bible as a point of reference in politics. David is the Executive Administrator for Christians in Parliament, the official, All-Party Group for the Christian community in the Palace of Westminster. Central to this public theology development work is the cultivation of a biblical world-view in politics.

Listen to the talk on MP3 here

Most people are comfortable with the idea that "spiritual = supernatural".  The supernatural is invisible.  Does this mean that when we become more spiritual we become less visible?  What does "Spiritual" mean and what part of our lives does it involve?  How does the natural relate to the spiritual?  How does the created relate to the uncreated?  Come and interface about these questions.

Tuesday 20 October, starting at 7.30pm with coffee and doughnuts

Ellis Potter, a native Californian now residing in Switzerland, is a former Buddhist monk who became a Christian under the influence and ministry of the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer. He worked for many years with Francis Schaeffer at L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland and was the pastor of the Basel Christian Fellowship for ten years. With his wife, Mary, he founded Eastern Europe Renewal (EER), an evangelical mission to Central and Eastern European countries. He now works as a Christian minister, counsellor and teacher. Click for more details about Ellis Potter.

Listen to the talk on MP3 here

Leading the discussion will be Tony Watkins, who is an author, editor and speaker with vast experience in leading group discussion on issues ranging from popular culture (especially film & literature) to science or postmodern philosophy. He works mainly with Damaris, with his main responsibility being as Managing Editor of Culturewatch.org.

Friday 3 July, starting at 7.15pm with coffee and doughnuts

All too often contemporary art can seem like a closed club, with those who 'get it' waxing lyrical about unmade beds and animals in formaldehyde, while the rest of us look on bemused. This evening is intended to present some biblical building blocks that will help us develop a Christian understanding of contemporary art and culture. We will focus our discussion around the case studies of Damian Hirst, a secular artist whose work contains many religious themes, and Liviu Mocan, an internationally renowned Christian sculptor.

Chris Watkin did his PhD in contemporary French and post-modern philosophy. In October 2007 he took up a research fellowship at Magdalene College, Cambridge, studying the 'turn to religion' in Continental thought.

Listen to the talk on MP3 here

... we will still meet as planned, to watch and discuss the video of a talk by N. T. Wright, "Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense".

The planned talk was...

This talk will compare the biblical Trinitarian worldview with monism and dualism. It will take people out of their boxes and help them to understand how and why intelligent and lovely people have a very unbiblical worldview. Then it will help them see why only the biblical worldview supports and sustains our lives.

Ellis Potter, a native Californian now residing in Switzerland, is a former Buddhist monk who became a Christian under the influence and ministry of the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer. He worked for many years with Francis Schaeffer at L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland and was the pastor of the Basel Christian Fellowship for ten years. With his wife, Mary, he founded Eastern Europe Renewal (EER), an evangelical mission to Central and Eastern European countries. He now works as a Christian minister, counsellor and teacher. Click for more details about Ellis Potter.

Listen to the talk on MP3 here