SRR 2012

AUDIO versions and TEXT versions of the talks are now avaialble.

Wednesday 19 September 2012 - Professor Keith Ward's Keynote address may be listened to here (Flash required) or downloaded here (MP3). A verbatim transcrpt is available here

Sunday 23 September 2012 - Professor John Haldane's address may be listened to here (Flash required) or downloaded here (MP3).

Wednesday 26 September 2012 - Professor Douglas Blackwood's address may be listened to here (Flash required) or downloaded here (MP3).  The text of this talk is available here  

Wednesday 3 October 2012 - Professor Wilson Poon's address may be listened to here (Flash required) or downloaded here (MP3).  The text of this talk is available here.

Sunday 7 October 2012 - Dr Julian Baggini and Professor David Fergusson, chaired by Allan Little, BBC Correspondent. This may be listened to here (Flash required) or downloaded here (MP3). 

Facing the challenges of 21st century living

This autumn Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church hosted its third annual festival – Science Reason and Religion – from 19 September to 7 October 2012. The event brought together eminent scientists, theologians and authors to explore the relationships between these three elements and to tackle head-on some of the challenging issues that can fundamentally affect people’s views on life. We had an exciting programme of talks, dialogue and discussion and the programme indeed turned out to be just as lively, interesting and enjoyable as we had hoped.  

LEAFLET - Our leaflet contained all of the information. It can be download for viewing/printing HERE.   

Wednesday 19 September     Keynote address: Science, Reason and Religion   
Speaker: Professor Keith Ward

Keith Ward is a philosopher, theologian and author.  He is a former Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University, a Fellow of the British Academy and an ordained priest of the Church of England.
Two of his main interests are comparative theology and the interplay between science and faith. As an advocate of theistic evolution, he regards them as essentially compatible, a belief he has described in his book God, Chance and Necessity. He has criticized modern day Christian fundamentalism, most notably in his book What the Bible Really Teaches: A Challenge for Fundamentalists.  
For further information on the speaker, see www.keithward.org.uk

This talk may be listened to here (Flash required) or downloaded here (MP3). A verbatim transcrpt is available here

Sunday 23 September        Reason as a measure of Faith and of Science        
Speaker:  Professor John Haldane

John Haldane is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Centre for Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs at the University of St Andrews. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Chairman of the Royal Institute of Philosophy.  He is also an author, commentator and broadcaster and, by appointment of Pope Benedict XVI, is Consultor to the Pontifical Council for Culture.
For further information on the speaker, see www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~jjh1

This talk may be listened to here (Flash required) or downloaded here (MP3).

Wednesday 26 September    Born for Religion    
Speaker: Professor Douglas Blackwood

Douglas Blackwood is Emeritus Professor of Psychiatric Genetics and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the University of Edinburgh with long standing interest in how genes contribute to mental illnesses.  He believes new genetic discoveries and insights widen the context within which to consider the nature of spirituality, its relation to religion and its importance in psychiatry.  
For further information on the speaker, see www.dcn.ed.ac.uk/pages/profiles/profiles.asp?ProfileId=28 

This talk may be listened to here (Flash required) or downloaded here (MP3).   The text of this talk is available here  

Sunday 30 September        Open Space 

This was an open session in a relaxed café atmosphere, with the opportunity to discuss and share views, issues, and perspectives about what it means to be human in the 21st century.  This format provided stimulating debate and the chance to engage with other people from a faith – and a non-faith – perspective. 


Wednesday 3 October        The Journey of Faith: a scientist’s perspective            
Speaker: Professor Wilson Poon

Wilson Poon is Professor of Condensed Matter Physics at the University of Edinburgh.  He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a member of the Doctrine Committee of the Scottish Episcopal Church.  He is a regular book reviewer for the journal Theology.
For further information on the speaker, see www2.ph.ed.ac.uk/~wckp/ 

This talk may be listened to here (Flash required) or downloaded here (MP3).   The text of this talk is available here.

Sunday 7 October         The Philosopher and the Theologian in Dialogue
Speakers : Dr Julian Baggini and Professor David Fergusson, chaired by Allan Little, BBC Correspondent.

Julian Baggini is a philosopher and author.  He has written for numerous newspapers and magazines and is editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Philosopher’s Magazine.  He has written several books on philosophy written for the general reader including Atheism : A Very Short Introduction.
For further information on the speaker, see www.julianbaggini.com

David Fergusson is Professor of Divinity and Principal of New College, University pf Edinburgh and a former Professor of Systematic Theology in the University of Aberdeen. His research interests include issues in Christian doctrine and theological ethics. From 2010-2012 he is principal investigator for the AHRC/ESRC funded-project on Christianity, Psychotherapy and Spirituality in Scotland.  He is a minister in the Church of Scotland.
For further information on the speaker, see www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/divinity/staff-profiles/fergusson 

This may be listened to here (Flash required) or downloaded here (MP3). 

IN ADDITION
From the pulpit
While the Festival is taking place, the minister of Mayfiled Salisbury, Revd Scott McKenna, addressed relevant topics from the pulpit at Sunday services. September 23 had the title 'Reading the Bible literally is heresy', September 30 had the title 'Neo-Darwinism is false. October 7 had the title ''What kind of God do we believe in?' Sermons for September 23 and 30 are available in both audio and transcript form here and for October 7 here

Reading   
For those interested in further reading:
R J Berry (ed) Real Scientists, Real faith (Monarch Books 2009)
F Collins  The Language of God:  A scientist presents evidence for belief (Pocket Books 2007)
J Sacks  The Great Partnership:   God, Science and the Search for Meaning (Hodder & Stoughton 2011)
K Ward  Is religion irrational? (Lion Hudson 2012)
K Ward  Why there almost certainly is a God (Lion Hudson 2008)