2019 Meetings...
ATL RTB 16th AnnualChristmas Social
Please join us for a Christmas dinner at STOCKYARD Burgers and Bones - East Cobb to honor our speakers for RTB Atlanta for the past year. We will review the programs of the year and dream a bit about programs for the new year. Thursday December 5th Arrival and Fellowship 6:30 pm Dinner 7 pm Location: The Avenue East Cobb 4475 Roswell Rd, Suite 1700 Marietta, GA 30062 (678) 310-1093 It is just under 2 miles north of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in "The Avenue East Cobb" retail center just off Roswell Road.
If you did not receive an announcement and would like to come, please send us an email to let us know you are coming.
>> REMINDER: There will not be a normal RTB Atlanta meeting for November. <<
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October Meeting
Presented by Duran Smith
Thursday October 31st- 7:00 PM JOHNSON FERRY BAPTIST CHURCH
955 Johnson Ferry Rd, Marietta
The Shroud of Turin is the most mysterious religious relic in history. For centuries, Christians all over the world have regarded it as the actual burial cloth of the crucified Jesus of Nazareth. Along with prominent blood stains, the shroud bears an enigmatic image of the Christ Himself. It wasn't until the 1970s that the Roman Catholic Church allowed a small group of scientists to conduct experiments on the shroud for a few days. The results shocked the world. The image on the shroud was not created with paint or any other artistic tools. The image is the product of advanced aging by radiation. What could this mean? How is it possible for an ancient burial shroud to carry a photographic image of Jesus?
Join us at Reasons to Believe as Duran Smith defends the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin as the actual burial clothes of Jesus Christ. If you've never heard of the Shroud until now, prepare to have your mind blown. This is one of history's best kept secrets.
Duran Smith is an actor and filmmaker with a degree in cinema and media arts. He studied film production at Biola University in Los Angeles, and completed his degree at Georgia State University in Atlanta after studying film theory and criticism. He is a former Ratio Christi chapter president with many years of apologetics study and training. His love of movies and apologetics led him to aesthetic philosophy. |
September Meeting
Presented by Eric Smith and Bruce Phillips
Thursday September 26th- 7:00 PM JOHNSON FERRY BAPTIST CHURCH
955 Johnson Ferry Rd, Marietta
Professor Michael Behe of Lehigh University has been at the forefront of the intelligent design movement from its very inception. His 1996 book Darwin's Black Box is seen by many as almost the founding document in which he introduced the challenge to Darwinism of irreducible complexity - biological systems that seems impossible for nature to create one small step at a time as Darwin had, literally, demanded. In 2007 Behe added The Edge of Evolution showing that science was increasingly pointing to the impossibility of a random natural process to orchestrate multiple, coordinated mutations to achieve significant complexity, again as Darwin would have appeared to require. Now in 2019, Behe has added Darwin Devolves to his list of extraordinary contributions.
In his new book, based on the latest findings in the exploding field of molecular genetics, Behe points out that while random mutation and natural selection, the two pillars of Darwin's theory, can certainly result in genetic changes, that they most often achieve what results they get by breaking things rather than building new ones! Think of a complex computer program and how very many random ways there are to degrade it but how few, complex and coordinated are the ways to improve it! Whether we're talking about Darwin's Galapagos Finches, or Richard Lenski's laboratory experiments that created some 50,000 bacterial generations looking for evolution, the best data we have is not giving dedicated Darwin proponents much support.
Join us on September 26th at Reason to Believe where Eric Smith and Bruce Phillips will share the podium to present Behe's latest work and then lead a discussion as we try to understand the extraordinary implications of what is being discovered. We'll provide whatever background you need to follow the arguments - this is not a presentation for biology Geeks! But it strikes a serious blow at something that has done significant damage to our culture - the unchallenged teaching of our children that they are the product of random natural processes and that there is therefore no purpose or meaning to life save what we are able to conjure up for ourselves. And we wonder at our contemporary social pathologies!
Eric A. Smith received his Master's Degree in Physics from Vanderbilt University where he was a member of the Supernova Cosmology Project, the co-discovers of dark energy. He has spoken on both scientific and apologetics topics at the Atlanta chapter of Reasons to Believe, the Areopagus Forum, and Ratio Christi. He currently resides in Milledgeville, GA, where he is an Associate Professor of Physics at Georgia Military College.
Bruce Phillips is a Certified Apologetics Instructor with certificates from the North American Mission Board of the SBC, from BIOLA (the Bible Institute of Los Angeles) in California, and from Cross-Examined, an apologetics ministry founded through Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, NC. He is currently a semi-retired Certified Financial Planner. |
August Meeting
Presented by Dr. Breshears
Thursday August 29th- 7:00 PM JOHNSON FERRY BAPTIST CHURCH
955 Johnson Ferry Rd, Marietta
What is your worldview? Although relatively few people have a well-developed theology or philosophy of life, everyone has a worldview -- a set of basic assumptions by which they process reality and attempt to make sense of life. Regardless of their religious orientation and affiliation, everyone has basic presuppositions and beliefs regarding such issues as...
Dr. Breshears will compare and contrast the basic beliefs and practices of a Christian theistic worldview with those of other worldviews, demonstrating that only a biblically-based worldview consistently corresponds to reality and provides satisfactory answers to the great issues of life. This session might encourage you to attend one of Dr. Breshears' semester-length seminars on the subject of worldviews.
Jefrey Breshears, Ph.D., is an historian, author, and the president of The Areopagus, a Christian education organization in the Atlanta area. As a university history professor Dr. Breshears taught ancient history, philosophy and religion and United States history, and The Areopagus offers substantive courses on a wide range of subjects in Christian history, apologetics, and contemporary cultural issues.
Click here for more information on The Areopagus. |
July Meeting
Presented by Mark Tabladillo, Ph.D
Thursday July 25th- 7:00 PM JOHNSON FERRY BAPTIST CHURCH
955 Johnson Ferry Rd, Marietta
Recently RTB scholars Faz Rana and Ken Samples released their book "Humans 2.0: Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Perspectives on Transhumanism". This book studies the intellectual and cultural movement that seeks to transform the present human condition through our use of science and technology. Based on especially advances in biotechnology, the book describes important issues for Christians to consider. In this book, artificial intelligence is given a brief treatment.
The purpose of this presentation is to present a richer model of artificial intelligence based on the author's work at Microsoft. Some of the demos of AI systems will be shown, and they will go beyond just the "robot" type examples often associated with AI. Though, the talk will also honor the philosophical and theological foundations from the Rana and Samples book. This discussion answers questions solicited from secular and theological forums about how the Christian worldview addresses use and purposes of advanced technologies as applied to practical ethics.
Mark Tabladillo Ph.D. works for Microsoft as a Cloud Solution Architect for Microsoft. He has a science doctorate from Georgia Tech. Based in Atlanta, GA, Mark provides cloud enterprise solutions for companies in the US for Microsoft's strategic clients. His professional focus includes developing artificial intelligence systems and has contributed to Microsoft's Ethics guidelines for AI. He is also volunteer Regional Director in Georgia for Ratio Christi, a campus apologetics alliance. |
June Meeting
Presented by Richard G. Howe, Ph.D
Thursday June 27th- 7:00 PM JOHNSON FERRY BAPTIST CHURCH
955 Johnson Ferry Rd, Marietta
The topic of morality resonates with almost everyone. For the Christian, it hits at the heart of our relationship with God. But what exactly is morality? How does God figure into the equation? Is there any common ground for moral discourse between the Christian and non-Christian?
The model of morality known as Natural Law Theory, which once flourished among Protestants, has now largely faded away among evangelicals. Because it is found mainly within Catholic Christianity, many evangelicals are all the more suspicious. This talk will explore some basic philosophical and biblical elements giving rise to Natural Law Theory, including what is human nature, what does the terms 'good' and 'evil' mean, what is the connection between good and God, and more.
Dr. Richard G. Howe is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Apologetics at Southern Evangelical Seminary and past President of the International Society of Christian Apologetics. He is a writer as well as a public speaker and debater in churches, conferences, and university campuses on issues concerning Christian apologetics and philosophy. Dr. Howe has a BA in Bible from Mississippi College, an MA in Philosophy from the University of Mississippi, and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Arkansas. |
May Meeting
Presented by David Richardson
Thursday May 30th- 7:00 PM JOHNSON FERRY BAPTIST CHURCH
955 Johnson Ferry Rd, Marietta
We all know that science works. Why does it work? There are certain assumptions behind science that makes science possible. These assumptions are not questioned, are not provable, and are accepted to be true on faith. These core assumptions behind science are not what most people think they are. Yet, they are absolutely essential to science or science does not work. And because they are assumptions, they are seldom discerned or discussed. Discover the extraordinary assumptions that make science possible.
David Richardson is the President of Assumptions Institute and author of the ground-breaking book, Transparent: How to See Through the Powerful Assumptions That Control You. Dave has been featured by Publisher's Weekly, CBN.com, Today's Christian Living Magazine, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, The Eric Metaxas Show, Point of View with Kerby Anderson, Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk, and Truth Matters on NRBTV. He holds three degrees including a Master of Theology in Applied Theology from the University of Oxford. Dave has been in vocational ministry for more than three decades. He served with Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) for 30 years, most of those years were devoted to working with university professors. Dave started Cru's faculty ministry in Atlanta serving professors at Georgia Tech and other universities in the city. He then founded Assumptions Institute in 2015. |
May 1st MeetingIn Conjunction with The Areopagus
Presented by Dr Thomas Woodward
Wednesday May 1st- 7:00 PM JOHNSON FERRY BAPTIST CHURCH Chapel
>> NOTE Date and Location Change <<
In lieu of our regular meeting date, Reasons to Believe, Atlanta will meet at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church on Wednesday, May 1, to co-sponsor the presentation by Dr. Thomas Woodward on "Darwin's Last Stand: The New Evidence That Shatters the Credibility of Evolutionary Theory". That meeting will be in the Chapel.
Note the Areopagus will also be hosting this presentation on Thursday, May 2nd at 7:30 PM at Perimeter Church Midtown Auditorium.
Visit The Areopagus website for more information.
There will be NO RTB meeting at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church at the regular time on April 25 in order to encourage the support of the Areopagus meeting featuring the presentation "Are Pre-born Human Beings 'Persons'?" by Dan Becker, Former President of Georgia Right to Life. That presentation will be at Perimeter Church, Uptown Auditorium. More information about this meeting can be found on The Areopagus website.
Dr. Woodward is the executive director of The C.S. Lewis Society and author of "Doubts About Darwin" and "The Mysterious Epigenome: What Lies Beyond DNA". |
March Meeting
Presented by Ben Smith
Thursday March 28th- 7:00 PM JOHNSON FERRY BAPTIST CHURCH >> NOTE ROOM CHANGE <<
How accurate can we be at identifying the Biblical dates when Abraham lived? When the Tower of Babel occurred? When the Flood happened? When Adam and Eve were created? When creation began? Genesis gives us a lot more information than many believe but does it give us enough to be specific? And is it accurate? That is the real question. If the story Genesis tells is true then it affects the lives of every human that has ever lived. To determine the accuracy of the Bible it would be good to know at what times the events are supposed to have occurred, otherwise people may be looking for evidence of an event in the wrong place and time.
Beginning at the Exodus and moving backward in time, Ben Smith will be presenting the textual evidence to help identify the right dates for all the major events in Genesis. Come join us for an interesting evening about when it all happened!
Ben is the author of Genesis, Science, and the Beginning which is newly published as a dual imprint with Wipf & Stock and Ratio Christi. He has been teaching and studying apologetics for over 30 years and has a BA in Christian Worldview and Apologetics from Luther Rice College and Seminary. He is also the Ratio Christi Publishing Project Manager and the RC Chapter Director at the University of West GA. |
February Meeting
Presented by Eric Smith
Thursday February 28th- 7:00 PM JOHNSON FERRY BAPTIST CHURCH
For a century, it has been accepted wisdom among historians and anthropologists that religion began as attempts to control nature through magic, which then evolved into animism, then into polytheism, and finally into monotheism.
This month, Eric Smith will be discussing the work of Drs. Wilhelm Schmidt and Winfried Corduan, providing evidence that the accepted story is wrong, that the first religion of mankind was monotheism, and all other forms degenerated from it. The relevance of this idea to Christian apologetics will also be discussed.
Eric A. Smith received his Master's degree in Physics from Vanderbilt University where he was a member of the Supernova Cosmology Project, the co-discoverers of dark energy. He has been an Instructor in Physics and Astronomy at Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, GA and is now teaching physics and astronomy at Harrison High School in Kennesaw GA. He is a regular attender at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church. |
January Meeting
Presented by Bruce Phillips
Thursday January 31st- 7:00 PM JOHNSON FERRY BAPTIST CHURCH
It's one thing to love science. It's another to love scientism - the philosophical (not scientific) view that the only way to discover truth is through science. Yet this is what is being promoted throughout academia, media and the culture by "science promoters" who seek an ever-larger influence on our cultural and political life. And it is having a devastating impact on both our culture and on religious belief, particularly among our youth.
Bruce Phillips will lead us in an examination of J. P. Moreland’s recent book "Scientism and Secularism." Dallas Willard, the "dean" of evangelical academic philosophy professors said about Scientism that "The idea that knowledge - and of course reality - is limited to the world of the natural sciences is the single most destructive idea on the stage of life today."
Bruce Phillips is a Certified Apologetics Instructor with certificates from the North American Mission Board of the SBC, from BIOLA (the Bible Institute of Los Angeles) in California, and from Cross-Examined, an apologetics ministry founded through Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, NC. |
