Dear WesleyNexus Colleague:
As many readers of the newsletter know, The United Methodist Church is going through an institutional crisis centered around the ordination of homosexual clergy and the conducting of homosexual marriages by supporting clergy. This has been a continual anchor around the denomination for decades and will be coming to a head this February when a special general conference will be convened to consider one of three options pitting traditionalist, moderate and progressive visions of United Methodism. While none of the plans provide a panacea to the festering discord found in the denomination, only the One Church Plan recommended by the Commission on the Way Forward provide the flexibility needed for possible unity with the church. It is also the option that provides sufficient freedom of thought so necessary to the science and religion dialogue that WesleyNexus has been promoting since its inception.
The foundation for successful science and religion discussions is tolerance of various points of view held by participants, many deeply felt and personally significant. But tolerance only gets you so far. There is a short distance between disengaged tolerance and indifference which is the antithesis of the engagement WesleyNexus has sought to achieve. To be truly engaged, there must be acceptance of the legitimacy of the issues and questions brought to the table by people with varying experiences, traditions and doctrines. While WesleyNexus focuses on the Wesleyan tradition it has, from the very beginning, invited and encouraged participates from different denominations and faiths. While it is expected that acceptance of the legitimacy of others is reciprocal, we do not expect participants to check their points of view at the door. Since our focus is on how science and faith can be understood as mutually enriching, our attention is primarily on 1) the promotion of sound information on science and Christianity through an ongoing, constructive dialogue on issues and ideas in this broad conversation; and 2) understanding how issues at the interface of science and Christianity impact the practices of faith, mission, and ministry. Within this space, however, much listening and reflection is needed for there is no single, right answer to most of the issues within this domain. We try to foster appreciation of differences in perspective and commitments while encouraging personal and institutional developments that help promote deeper, more intellectually and spiritually grounded faith. How this is appropriated varies from person to person but, as Christians, we affirm that the spirit found in the Christian faith can and does have profound, transforming effects (even if it does not lead to agreement or conversion).
The experience of discord within the denomination over LGBTQ inclusion is distressing but we at WesleyNexus remain hopeful and committed to a broad understanding of the The United Methodist Church and Wesleyan tradition in general. We hope you will continue to support us with your thoughts, your prayers, your actions and your contributions.
We appreciate the contributions we have received throughout the year. We are now rebuilding our small treasury to produce the sixth annual Evolution Weekend in Maryland, hoping that we will again have the funds to livestream the event for our colleagues around the country. Our theme for the 2019 event on February 10 will be “Human Origins,” so please make your plans accordingly. Looking forward, we will continue to develop programs throughout 2018 and 2019. We will need your support and hope you will consider helping us out. WesleyNexus is a 501(c)(3) charitable, educational organization, and we will acknowledge all gifts from individuals for tax reporting purposes. Thanks in advance for your support.
God Bless,
Rick, Maynard, and the rest of the
WesleyNexus Board of Directors
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#Giving Tuesday
This is the easiest way to make your annual gift to WesleyNexus, and we might receive a sufficient number of donations to qualify for a matching gift. Last year, more than 51,000 organizations in 86 countries came together to celebrate #GivingTuesday. Since its founding in 2012, #GivingTuesday has inspired giving around the world, resulting in greater donations, volunteer hours, and activities that bring about real change in communities. Here is how it works: Between 12:01 a.m. and 11:59 pm on November 27, 2018, you go to OUR website www.wesnex.org and click the donation button and follow the directions. It is that simple, but you must do it on calendar day November 27, not a minute before.
For a .pdf form, please click here: https://wesnex.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/GivingTuesday.pdf
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Reminder to SAVE THE DATE!
Evolution Weekend
February 10, 2019
Baltimore-Washington Conference Center
Our 6th annual Evolution Weekend event will feature Dr. Connie Bertka and Dr. Briana Pobiner in a discussion on human origins. Stay tuned for details.
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Report on The Inside Story: Consciousness, Nature, Transcendence – November 9-10
More than 150 persons convened on November 9-10 at Villanova University in Pennsylvania for the Conference entitled “The Inside Story: Consciousness, Nature, Transcendence, “organized and coordinated by Villanova University Department of Theology & Religious Studies, Dr Ilia Delio who occupies the Connelly Chair in Christian Theology, the Augustinian Institute, and Halloran Philanthropies. The Plenary address was given by Dr. Philip Clayton, Claremont School of Theology and 
Graduate University and WesleyNexus Advisory Board member, speaking on “The Four M’s: Mind, Matter, Mystery and Meaning.” Clayton pushed the scientific explanations of mental phenomena as far as they could go, arguing that one can understand mind without the necessity of positing anything close to transcendent reality. He asked, if mind emerges from matter, is this emergence mystical or does it fall squarely in the domain of science? In contrast to the reductionists such as Francis Crick, Clayton argued for a unity of all things from an anticipatory theological perspective, making a coherence claim for the inner experience common to all homo sapiens. Dr Steve Fuller opened the day on Saturday morning speaking from the perspective of Panpsychism, suggesting that we give this framework of thought “another shot.” He rehearsed the history of this position, back to its roots. He argued for what he called a ”neutral monism”suggesting that this is the foundation of Kant’s notion of the noumenon. He inroduced us to a concept he identified as ”hylozoism,”now commonly called materialism, in which matter is the basic stuff of existence, in contrast to panpsychism which is rooted in German idealism. Fuller argued that the guiding intuition is ultimately related to Augustine’s creatio ex nihilo vision of God as a regulative ideal for both natural and human activity. Dr. Timothy O’Connor of Baylor University argued for an emergent dualism, and Dr. Ilia Delio gave the final lecture on Mysticism and the Limits of Panpsychism. Dr. John D. Caputo gave a lighthearted summary of the entire conference and chaired the final panel discussion. It was a week-end crammed with provocative ideas, and a good number of persons in the audience, including more than a dozen graduate students, engaged the speakers’ ideas with critical insights. Most, I believe, would agree that plumbing the“inside story”is essential to the task of understanding “the natural order,” whether the approach follows the scientific method or a theological analysis of a deeper reality.
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The World’s Religion by Tom Oord
From November 1 – 7, the Parliament of World Religions met in Toronto. In the linked article, Tom Oord gives his impression of the conference which has a history that goes back to 1893 in Chicago. Though not widely known, this organization has been working for over a century to promote dialog and understanding between the world’s faith communities. Tom’s article can be found on his website here.
http://thomasjayoord.com/index.php/blog/archives/the-worlds-religions
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The Science of Human Origins and Religious Traditions: Challenges and Opportunities
November 30, 2018, 4:00-5:00 pm
Hall of Human Origins, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Connie Bertka & Maynard Moore, Panelists
The program webpage can be found here.
The program flyer can be found here.