Thanks to the 714 people who came out to see Hilary and Pastor Jay have a friendly dialog. Also, thanks for the 60 note cards and 75 text messages (many with multiple questions). I think we got to about half of the questions in the 1.5 hours of discussion. I'll be getting all of the questions together and posted soon (hopefully later tonight).
Finally, a huge thank you to both Hilary and Pastor Jay. They did a great job, and I know it wasn't easy for either, but I think it was worth while for both. Thanks!
Great job Hilary and Pastor Jay. You are both very well read and knowlagable about the othe side. Good for you. Hillary good job, I bet it was nerve racking, there were a lot of church members there last night. You were very open and honest and I hope some of the church body will take some of it to heart. I encourage everyone to investigate your religion, don't just settle because it what you've always done. Good job again both of you!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Hilary, Jay, and Josh for an thought-provoking evening. As a member of MEFC it was interesting to see Jay in a different environment.
ReplyDeleteI thought the best quote from Hilary was when she said you "can't choose what to believe." If you don't think something is true, there is no way to make yourself believe it. (That's how I feel when someone tries to convince me that the universe is only 6000 years old.)
It appeared that the reliability of the gospels was a key point. I would recommend a book I read a couple years ago (and has been mentioned by Jay in the past), "Jesus and the Eyewitnesses" by Richard Bauckham. A careful reading of that book would clear-up a lot of concerns over whether the information in the gospels could be just made up by the disciples.
Thanks to both Hilary and Pastor Jay for a respectful discussion. Hilary, I especially wanted to thank you for the way you phrased your answer to the question someone asked about the difference between humans (having morals) and animals (not having morals). I appreciated that you did not "cop out" with anthropomorphic phrasing and instead said that there are examples of animals that "appear to be altruistic" rather than simply saying that there are examples of animals being altruistic. That's a subtle, but very important distinction within ethology.
ReplyDeleteExcellent evening. I thought the dialog was very professional and respectful of each view. And I applaud Hilary for having the boldness to come into MEFC auditorium and take a stand. Still, I will continue with my Christian stand but I thought the evening was very good.
ReplyDeleteGrayDave,
ReplyDeleteIt makes me very happy to hear that you understand the universe is MUCH more than 6,000 years old. Sadly, a lot of people don't seem to understand that facts are not dependent on one's personal beliefs.
I give both Pastor Jay and Hillary credit for keeping the discussion so civil. I'm not sure I could have done such a good job of that.
ReplyDeleteI can't help but think of early in Jesus's ministry, he went off into the desert, and was tested. He passed the test. I think Hillary went off into the desert, (Peace Corps) and was ultimately deceived.