2024
September Meeting
A presentation by Duran Smith
Thursday September 26th - 7:00 PM
ZOOM Only
Does the book of Genesis allow for the idea that God might have used evolution to create humans and animals? The Bible clearly says that God created humans from dust, so is it unreasonable to interpret this as a biblical clue to evolutionary theory? Is it possible that even a literal interpretation of Genesis chapters 1 and 2 leave room for some version of theistic evolution?
So join us as Duran explores the textual evidence from the Bible that might allow Christians to see evolution as God's own work of creation. Don't miss this fascinating discussion! Duran Smith Duran Smith is the chapter director of Ratio Christi Atlanta and a lifelong student of apologetics. He is pursuing a master's degree in philosophy from Southern Evangelical Seminary, and he attended Biola University in Los Angeles. Duran has been giving apologetics lectures for ten years, and in 2020 he launched his own multimedia ministry VeriMyth: www.verimyth.com |
August Meeting
A presentation by Patrick Bohannon
Thursday August 22nd - 7:00 PM
In Person and ZOOM
(See Sidepanel for joining ZOOM)
Just as Luke felt it good to write an orderly account of events for Theophilus, Patrick Bohannon felt it good to write an orderly account of the apologetic strategies he uses to share his personal faith with unbelievers. From pagans, to polytheists, to staunch atheists, this talk will give you practical strategies to take on the challenges Christians face while sharing their faith. He does this with a wide array of unbelievers while keeping things in order and not missing the true purpose of apologetics - to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
So don’t miss this opportunity for Patrick to show us how we might better use our apologetic skills to share our faith with others. Patrick Bohannon Patrick is the Director of Student Ministries at Lakeside Baptist Church in Milledgeville, GA. After spending nearly a decade of his life as a militant atheist in response to a childhood filled with church trauma as a "Pastor's Kid" in the Methodist Church, he finally surrendered his life to God at 23 years old. Since then, he has been in a relentless pursuit of God and has grown a passion for apologetics and studying and teaching God's Word. |
June Meeting
A copresentation by Doug Hohulin & Jake Doberenz
Thursday June 27th - 7:00 PM ZOOM Only (See Sidepanel for joining ZOOM) Doug’s talk will discuss what is AI and the impact AI will have in the 2020s - How we will Live (healthcare), Work, Play, Learn and Worship and Play with AI. It will provide a short overview of what is AI, how society uses AI today and how it may be used in the future. It will discuss how to prepare for the changes in our world that are about to take place to make it Christ Centered. There will be a focus on how AI can improve healthcare and education.
AI is going to be as disruptive to our world in the 2020s as smartphones were in the 2010s and cell phones & PCs in the 2000s. How will Christians and the Church response to this new technology? How can the Church be Authentic in the Age of AI? "We [the Church] should be the Place for Authentic Relationship" - Nona Jones
Doug Hohulin Doug is the coauthor along with Dr. Harvey Castro of the book TECH POWERED HEALING - THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE IN THE AI AGE based on his article The 21st Century – The Century of the Billion & Billions | LinkedIn. He is an AI Technology Advisor for Organizations including Next CoLabs, AI & Partners and Kansas University School of Nursing (KUSON), and focuses on Responsible AI (Ethics, Governance, Policy, Regulation, Safety) and how AI can be used to help create a safer health system - reduce medical errors (3M deaths/year in the world - World Health Organization), using AI to help more patient adherence to the right treatment plan (“nonadherence is responsible for an estimated 125,000 deaths and between $100 to $300 billion in medical costs annually”). He works on projects “When the AI System Has to Be Right: AI in Healthcare, Automated/Connected Vehicle, Responsible.” He worked for 33 years at Nokia/Motorola in Strategy, Business Development, Account Management, and Engineering roles. He graduated from Purdue with a BSEE. Jake Doberenz Jake holds two degrees from Oklahoma Christian University: a Master of Theological Studies and a Bachelor’s in Bible with a minor in Communication Studies. He founded Theophany Media, a company focused on creatively communicating Christian content through education and entertainment. Jake is a multi-published author, with one of his latest works being AI in Church and Ministry: Applications of Artificial Intelligence for Faith Communities, which explores the practical applications of AI in enhancing ministry functions. His various research includes integrating theology and technology, exploring Christian identity in a secular culture, and embracing humorous storytelling as a key to faith transformation. You can find him online at www.jakedoberenz.com and follow his weekly newsletter Faithful & Funny at jakedoberenz.substack.com. |
May Meeting
A presentation by Eric Smith
Thursday May 23rd - 7:00 PM In Person & ZOOM Room 105 Directions to Johnson Ferry Baptist (See Sidepanel for joining ZOOM) In recent years, more and more evangelical scholars have abandoned an inerrantist, straightforward reading of the first eleven chapters of Genesis, convinced that modern-day science only allows for a metaphorical or accommodationist interpretation, putting at risk the doctrine of Biblical Inerrancy. In his book Rescuing Inerrancy, Hugh Ross looks at the history of the doctrine of inerrancy, its importance to the church and the historical creeds, and how recent scientific discoveries have strengthened -- not threatened -- the doctrine of the reliability and accuracy of the Scriptures.
Join us as Eric Smith takes us through a look at this book allowing us to explore inerrancy together. Eric Smith 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. |
April Meeting
A presentation by Kathy Clapper
Thursday April 4th - 7:00 PM ZOOM only... (See Sidepanel for joining ZOOM) There are lots of genealogies or family trees in the Old Testament. The Genesis 5 family tree lists descendants from Adam to Noah. The Genesis 11 family tree lists descendants from Shem to Abraham. Moses’ family tree is found in Exodus 6. The genealogies use the Hebrew word “yalad” which means “have a child.” It is translated “bore” or “begat.” Unless we discover how Moses used the word “yalad”, and how he understood his family history, and how he structured his family tree, the Old Testament genealogies will not make sense. They will be impossible. This will become obvious when the life events of Moses’ ancestor Jacob and Moses’ genealogy are placed on timelines.
Join us on Zoom as Kathy Clapper, an RTB apologist and founder of the Chicago RTB Chapter, shows us how to navigate through the old testament genealogies in Genesis. Kathy Clapper Kathy is a Christ follower, a retired nurse, and a songwriter. She has a certificate in science apologetics from Reasons Institute. She and her husband Bob started the Chicago chapter of Reasons To Believe. They recently moved from the Chicago suburbs to a small town in Minnesota. Kathy combines her love of apologetics with songwriting. For instance, believing that Ecclesiastes has apologetic value for today’s youth, she set the book to song. You can find “Ecclesiastes” on her YouTube channel and blog. (https://www.songsofmyheart.net/2019/11/ecclesiastes-music-story.html) |
March Meeting
A presentation by Alex Sich, Ph.D
Thursday March 7th - 7:00 PM In Person & ZOOM Room 108 Directions to Johnson Ferry Baptist (See Sidepanel for joining ZOOM) The modern empirical sciences (MESs) presuppose the world which scientists investigate is knowable, ordered, and predictable. However, scientists cannot explain what “order” is nor why the world is ordered in the first place. Indeed, “order” is not like a rock whose properties can be measured. So, what is “order”? An understanding of what “order” is—and whatever its source may be—must be arrived at by means other than the MESs.
Join us as Dr. Sich explores the topic of “order”: what it is and why all the sciences depend on it. The (a) truth of revealed knowledge grasped through faith and (b) the truth of humanly-obtained knowledge of the orderly created world grasped through reason, can never contradict each other if pursued honestly. Since God cannot contradict Himself, the inherent order of the created world (which precludes—by definition—disorder, chaos, causal randomness, etc.) must in some way be able to reveal its Creator. The interesting question is “how?”... so stay tuned! Alex Sich, Ph.D Dr. Alexander R. Sich is Assistant Professor of Physics at Kennesaw State University. He earned a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering and Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an M.A. in Soviet Studies from Harvard University, an M.A. in Aristotelian-Thomistic Philosophy from Holy Apostles College and Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Sich’s doctoral research was conducted in Ukraine at the site of the 1986 Chornobyl disaster, where he was the first westerner permitted to live and conduct research within the 30-km Exclusion Zone. His dissertation explored what actually transpired at Unit-4 following its initial destruction—exposing the false narrative presented by the Soviets to the IAEA. |
February Meeting
A presentation by Ken Wolgemuth, Ph.D
Thursday February 1st - 7:00 PM ZOOM Only (See Sidepanel for joining ZOOM) As a noted Christian and early founder of scientific methods, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) wrote: “The chief aim of all investigations of the external world should be to discover the rational order and harmony which has been imposed on it by God.” Geologists and geochemists investigate the history of the earth like forensic detectives, by gathering data and developing the best understanding of what happened and when to form the earth and its geography.
In this presentation, Dr. Wolgemuth will discuss geological evidence for an ancient earth from ice cores, tree rings, sedimentary varves, radiocarbon, and plate tectonics which are the driving mechanisms forming continents and mountain ranges throughout earth history. Radiometric dating has provided a tool that gives us absolute ages for the Geologic Time Scale. Ken is a co-author of the groundbreaking book, The Grand Canyon, Monument to an Ancient Earth, and will share why it was written expressly for the church. Ken Wolgemuth, Ph.D Ken Wolgemuth founded Solid Rock Lectures to communicate the wonder of God’s handiwork in geology. He has a BS in chemistry from Wheaton College, a PhD in geochemistry from Columbia University, and a 40-year career in the petroleum industry. He was drawn into Christian worldview apologetics two decades ago, becoming a Colson Fellow in 2017. He has given numerous lectures about creation, and co-authored a 2018 paper on radiocarbon dating, published in ASA’s Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith. He is a contributing author to the ground-breaking book written expressly for the church, The Grand Canyon, Monument to an Ancient Earth: Can Noah’s Flood Explain the Grand Canyon? |
