Meet a Believer

Background info:

A few months ago, Kevin Conover, a local Christian teacher, contacted SDNA&A via email to hear about who we were. I then decided to take the risk of getting in touch with him in the interest of reducing the level of polarization and vitriol in the country on matters of religion, philosophy, and science. As it turns out, Mr. Conover, unlike most Christians I know, is very open-minded-- so much so, in fact, that he brings atheists like me into his classroom every year to bring different perspectives to the table. And, since he was open-minded enough to let me do a show-and-tell of sorts in his classroom for Michael Shermer-style skepticism, I feel obliged to return the favor by letting him give us a presentation of his own for young-Earth creationism and belief in a personal god.

The format:

Mr. Conover will present a slide show and perhaps talk beyond it for a while. This may take approximately 1 hr. The talk will then be followed by a Q&A session not to exceed 30 minutes. Afterward, we will head over to Boomerang's for a late lunch:

http://www.boomerangburgers.com/

The ground rules:

1. This is not a debate. It will be in the same format as when I presented during his classes (see above). However, the Q&A will be our time to shine as rationally minded secularists. Please come prepared to challenge any arguments Mr. Conover may make. I personally will be bringing some books along with me to aid in this regard.

2. Please do not bring any food or drink into the room. That would have required a $100 deposit, which we don't have, sorry.

3. Please try to be as patient as possible. This applies to me too: as many of you know, I often have trouble checking my own tongue when it comes to young-Earth creationism. I think the best way for us to do so is to remember Franklin D. Roosevelt's style of conversation, which has been likened to adults civilly acting as though everyone were an intelligent high school student.

Notes:

1. I probably hate young-Earth creationism more than anyone in the group because of my past and current experiences. However, I feel we must be careful to hate the belief and not the believer.

2. Perhaps I'm naively optimistic about this whole enterprise, but I believe that the solution to the country's problem of political breakdown on multiple fronts begins with both sides coming together to find common ground. Surprisingly, even to me, Kevin and I have already come together when it comes to the appreciation of rational discourse and the hatred of blind faith.