A course on Science and Religion by Dr Steven Phelps in Acuto, Italy
4 February 2015
17 Sulṭán 171 B.E.
To all believers in the United Kingdom
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
Please see below an invitation, open to all, to attend a course entitled “Science and Religion” facilitated by Dr. Steven Phelps in Acuto, Italy.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Department of the Secretariat
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United Kingdom
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Course on “Science and Religion”
Dearly Loved Friends,
It is with great joy that we would like to announce the launch of registrations for this year’s winter deepening programme in the Centre for Bahá’í Studies in Acuto, Italy. The course, spanning the week from December 20th to December 27th, entitled “Science and Religion”, will be facilitated by Dr Steven Phelps and will be run entirely in English. Please note that spaces are limited and early registration is advisable.
This course will offer an in-depth presentation of the subject of the unity of science and religion within a Bahá’í framework. It will include:
- A survey of recent key works by non-Bahá’í authors: Sagan, Dawkins, Harris, Nagel, Haught, Plantinga, and others.
- A summary and critique of the arguments of the so-called “new atheists”.
- An investigation of key Bahá’í texts related to the theme of science and religion: Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablet of Wisdom; ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablet of the Universe and Tablet to Dr. Forel, selected chapters from Some Answered Questions, and others.
- A thematic exploration of central topics and problems within the context of science-religion dialogue: cosmology and the theory of evolution; divine action; miracles; prayer; and the problem of evil.
- A text-based presentation of traditional concepts which are given new or revised definitions in the Bahá’í Writings: God, revelation, spirit, nature, religion.
Steven Phelps received bachelor’s degrees in physics and philosophy at Stanford University and a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University. He served at the Bahá’í World Center for 13 years in its Research Department, assisting in the cataloguing, collation, and translation of the Sacred Texts. During that time he concurrently held positions in the Physics Department at the Technion University in Haifa and pursued original research in the field of theoretical cosmology. He lives near Portland, Oregon with his wife Katharine and three daughters.
To register please fill in the registration form — https://docs.google.com/forms/d/13TGkQON_MNkSbQldaT3SvFClHke9GBMdYeLS0MCqIL8/viewform?edit_requested=true — where you will also find further information on prices and logistics.
If you hear of someone who has not been notified of the course and would like to add their contact details to our contact database, kindly ask them to fill in this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ksgvEsNd6f16MAVM6HMcDD4B4ZJteKI6YUYbKYL17AI/viewform?c=0&w=1&usp=send_form.
We look forward to welcoming you in December.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
The National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá’ís of Italy