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Thursday, September 11th,
6:30-8:30 PM Pacific Time
The Knowledge of God
Michael Taylor
What can man know about God? What can we, as finite individuals, discern about the infinite? These questions have been asked in every society and every age. Man exhibits a religious impulse. At the very least, he must have some idea of divinity fixed in his mind. In this, even atheists can be categorized with the rest of humanity, since they define themselves as rejecting the concept of God. But because the search is common to all, myriads of different ideas have sprung up. This presents a problem. On the one hand, we have diverse concepts of what we can know about God. On the other hand, only one concept can be true. But this issue is multifaceted, and can be approached from many different angles. As we see in the Bible, how we stand before God greatly influences what we can know about Him. And God is present to all areas of our humanity, from faith through to experience and reason.
Thursday, October 9th,
6:30-8:30 PM Pacific Time
An Examination of the Rationality of Theistic Proofs
Evelyn Blacklock
Philosophers have long aspired to prove the existence of God by means of rational argument. Aristotle and Aquinas used the principles of cause and effect to demonstrate the existence of an “Unmoved Mover” or First Cause. Anselm formulated the renowned “ontological argument,” claiming that the very idea of God necessarily implied His being. Other philosophers, however, notably David Hume, refuted the theistic proofs, maintaining that God’s existence could never be demonstrated by means of pure logic. Who was correct? Is it possible to prove the existence of God on entirely rational grounds? More importantly, is it reasonable even to attempt to formulate an “absolute proof” of God’s existence?
Thursday, November 13th,
6:30-8:30 PM Pacific TimeThomas Aquinas understanding of the applicability of Biblical principle to civil law with applications made to divorce legislation.
Christians often struggle to understand the relationship between the city of God and the city of Man. Should civil society be brought under the sway of Biblical principle or should unbelievers be allowed to choose for themselves whether to follow the rules given in the Bible? Aquinas answer to this question is clear and yet flexible. After giving a basic presentation of his position, this lecture will attempt to develop a prudent understanding of how to deal with a portion of civil law that has both secular and spiritual repercussions- divorce.
Thursday, December 11th,
6:30-8:30 PM Pacific TimeGood Children's Literature
C.S. Lewis wrote, "I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children's story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children's story. The good ones last." (from "On Three Ways of Writing for Children") Lewis was right; great children's literature can and should be enjoyed by all ages. By introducing our children to quality literature from a young age, we can help them develop a life-long appreciation for literature that matters. This doesn't happen by letting them loose in the public library to pick whatever they want. The books our children read should exemplify Truth (a Biblically sound view of the world and human nature), Beauty (well-written and engaging, giving us a taste for quality literature), and Goodness (inspiring our children towards character development). In this lecture we'll discuss how to select good reading material from toddlerhood on so that our children will be equipped to read and appreciate the Great Books in high school and college!
Thursday, January 8th,
6:30-8:30 PM Pacific TimeWhat Makes a Christian Education Christian?
“What makes a Christian education Christian?” Is it education taught by Christian teachers? Education learned by Christian children and youth? Education concerned with Christian subjects? Education with devotions “on the side”?
Why do parents choose to pay the price, financially and otherwise, to send their children to a Christian academy or home school when there is a public school nearby that our tax dollars are going to support, whether or not our children benefit from it?
Thursday, February 12th, 2009
6:30-8:30 PM Pacific TimeThe significance of Plato and Aristotle and their insights regarding homosexuality for our thinking about “natural law” and “gay marriage.”
Dr. Norm Lund
Christians are routinely vilified as “homophobic” for opposing “gay marriage.” Yet even Thomas Jefferson viewed homosexuality as “the infamous crime against nature” (citing Sir William Blackstone: Commentaries, 1765-69), based not only on the Bible, but also the conclusions of ancient pagan philosophers. What did Plato and Aristotle think about homosexuality, and what can that teach us about “natural law” (as referred to in the Declaration of Independence: “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God”) and a proper civil response to “gay marriage.”
Thursday, March 12th, 2009
6:30-8:30 PM Pacific TimeA Brief Survey of the Heavens: Knowing What's Overhead
Since the advent of electric lights, western cultures know the regular and lovely patterns of the night sky less and less. Not only do we not know what's above us when we step outdoors but we miss a great deal of the imagery in ancient, medieval, and early modern literature since it was written by men for whom the night sky was as familiar as their own backyard. In this presentation we will take a look at some of the most important patterns in the sky and some good ways to find them, and we will note briefly how the stars show up in some famous literature, especially Dante's Divine Comedy and Spenser's Faerie Queene.
Thursday, April 9th, 2009
6:30-8:30 PM Pacific TimeTutorials Information Night
Come and meet the tutors who are bringing classical Christian education to the Internet. Each of the tutors will spend 15 minutes presenting information on their tutorials offered this Fall and will be available afterwards for further questions.Fritz Hinrichs - Escondido Tutorial Service
Dr. Norm Lund - Oxford Tutorials
Matthew Turnbull - Alexandria Tutorials
Aaron Wells - Atresian Wells Classical Tutorials
Kathy Weitz - Classical Writing Tutorials
Emily Muller - Pemberley Tutorials
Melodee Mattson - Captive Thoughts Tutorials
Chelsea Nygaard - Themelios Tutorials
Kristofor Zehm - Creation Tutorials
For information on all the tutors, please see http://www.gbt.org/tut.html
Thursday, May 14th, 2009
6:30-8:30 PM Pacific TimeCollege information Night
* Postponed *Former GBT students will be presenting their experiences from a number of institutions:
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
6:30-8:30 PM Pacific TimeCollege information Night
Former GBT students will be presenting their experiences from a number of institutions:
Torrey Honors / Oxford Abroad Autumn Hinrichs Humanities / History University of Austin / Yale Law Becky Perry Law Patrick Henry Jensen Near Public Policy Hillsdale College Adrielle Heath Classical Studies