These classes will be held on Sunday morning’s beginning at 9:00 am in the Board Room.

September 15: Naturalism Revisited

Naturalism maintains that the natural, material world is all that exists, that there is no supernatural realm and that the universe we inhabit is self-existing, not created.  This worldview seems to be bolstered by science which continues to make advances in providing naturalistic explanations of life and our universe.  Yet doesn’t consciousness and our inner subjective experience seem to suggest there’s something more going on than just the material?  Something more than just matter behaving in accordance with the laws of nature?  What other aspects of reality or of your experience seem at odds with a purely naturalistic or materialistic view of reality?  Discussion leader: Keith Bittinger.

September 29: How We Choose our Beliefs

The word “beliefs” and “our beliefs” get bandied about as being fundamental to the core of who we are. Yet almost no one can even give a credible definition (Webster doesn’t) of beliefs, let alone the process by which we allow ideas/emotions into our acceptance of “truth”. The process that is so integral to our well-being and determines how we feel and function in life is relegated to a hodgepodge of unconscious processes that have little basis in logic or rational thought. In this respect UU is no different than other religions or the secular community. This class will illuminate the process and provide tools that allow for a more rational means of choosing how we interpret our world.  Discussion leader: Brian Wilson.