“Evidential Inspiration and Realistic Hope” with Rev. Michael Dowd:

Second Unitarian Church, Sanctuary
Wednesday, July 23, 7 – 8:45 p.m.
Childcare will be provided.

This program, geared for adults and teens, expands on material Dowd’s bestselling, bridge-building book, Thank God for Evolution: How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World, which was endorsed by 6 Nobel laureates and other science luminaries, including noted skeptics and atheists, and by religious leaders across the spectrum: http://michaeldowd.org/endorsements/

We each have experienced times of trouble that threaten to overwhelm our individual lives. In such times, a vision of possibility is essential. The same holds for the punctuations in history when whole societies face troubles of an immense and uncharted variety. Truly, we here and now have arrived at such a time. Humans, unwittingly, have become a planetary force. We are changing, irreversibly, the very climate of our world. Henceforth, any actions we take as individuals and societies will be done in the new light of climate change. What vision will carry us forward through such times and inspire us to work together? How shall we frame the need to shed our business-as-usual outlook on life and take on a new vision of possibility that can unite us as a species in joyful self-sacrifice and service? What vision will charge us with a sense of heroic purpose that the future is, indeed, calling us to greatness?

Michael Dowd is a Big History evangelist, climate hawk, and one of the most inspiring science-based speakers in America today. Michael and his science-writer wife, Connie Barlow, have spoken to nearly two thousand groups across North America since 2002. Their joy is showing how a deeply meaningful and fully evidence-based view of reality can inspire people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs to work together in service of a just and thriving future for all.

Michael and Connie’s work has been featured favorably in The New York Times, LA Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Newsweek, Wired, Skeptic, Discover, and on CNN, ABC News, and Fox News. Their work has also been featured on the cover of the UU WORLD twice:

2006 “UU WORLD” cover article: http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/2679.shtml

1997 “UU WORLD” cover article: http://www.thegreatstory.org/science.pdf

Michael’s bio and publications: http://www.thegreatstory.org/MD-writings.html

Michael’s wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Dowd

Connie’s bio and publications: http://www.thegreatstory.org/CB-writings.html

Michael’s HuffPost blog: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-michael-dowd/

TEDx talk: “Why We Struggle and Suffer”: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-michael-dowd/tedx-talk-why-we-struggle_b_1605802.html

Distinguished Lecture at Caltech, sponsored by The Skeptic Society, “Evolution and the Global Integrity Crisis”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2ATHA8Cyp0