Scholé House

"I'm Listening", Taylor Barnett & The Taylor Barnett Quartet by Scholé House

In Christian thought, God is the creator and sovereign owner of all things. At the same time, humans are sub-creators and stewards within God's creation. These statements create tensions and opportunities for the method of thinking that we call economics, which is the study of how people make choices (for good or ill) about scarce resources. This talk will introduce the logic of economic thinking, while discussing ways that Christian faith can lend meaning and direction to some of the puzzles that confront the economic thinker.

Some religious traditions, such as Christianity, teach that some people will experience everlasting suffering in Hell in the afterlife. How can an all-loving and all-just God be reconciled with such a teaching? In this session, we will explore some reasons God might have for sending people to everlasting suffering in Hell. Then we will explore whether such a teaching provides people with a strong reason to believe that Christianity is false.

We experience and observe suffering and evil in this life. If there is an all-loving and all-powerful God, why would God allow it? In this session, we will explore some reasons God might have for allowing suffering and evil. Then we will explore whether such suffering and evil provides people with a strong reason to think that God does not exist.

Presented by Dr. Everett Worthington (Emeritus Commonwealth Professor at VCU) at Scholé House on September 9th, 2019. A survey showed that fully one-sixth of the people in the USA reported losing a relationship with a close friend or family member as a result of political conversations after the 2016 election. My theme of this talk is that we can have a discussion, fully committed to our political values and opinions, without losing friends. Various sciences have things to say about how to have such conversations.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the traditional Christian theological narrative? Is there a way we might story the Scriptures from a messianic Jewish perspective? How can we understand the significance of Yeshua’s Jewish identity? David Wein, leader of Tikvat Israel Messianic Synagogue in Richmond, VA, helped us sift through different frameworks for reading the Bible as a story. Presented at Scholé House on February 4, 2019

Will you be a disembodied soul in the afterlife? Or will your body be resurrected? Dr. Cathy Sutton, Associate Professor of Philosophy at VCU, helped us examine the scripture and the philosophical assumptions behind competing Christian views of the afterlife. Presented on January 28, 2018 at Scholé House

How should Christians think about contemporary art? Often Christianity and contemporary art are pitted against one another in tension, when in reality, there is much to glean by putting the two in conversation. Amanda Dalla Villa Adams is a Richmond-based, independent art-writer, curator, and educator. Through her experience as a regular-contributing art critic to Style Weekly and contributor for Artforum, Burnaway, and Sculpture, Amanda will help us explore how Christians have much to learn from contemporary art, and vice versa. We will consider the relationship of contemporary art to the Gospel while asking relevant questions about how this might practically work in the life of the individual and the Church. "Who’s Afraid of Contemporary Art? The Relationship Between Contemporary Art and the Gospel" was presented on November 5, 2018 at Scholé House.

Can design be objectively good? How does society describe and define "goodness" when talking about the world of design? We explored goodness in design with Garreth Blackwell, Professor of Design Thinking, Innovation, and Creativity at the VCUarts Center for the Creative Economy.

We hear a lot these days about how religion has done a tremendous amount of damage to society. And whatever good it has fostered can be achieved by secular ways of thinking. Therefore, in order to make people better off, we should get rid of religion and religious belief in all its various forms. In this talk, Dr. Christian Miller, A.C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University, discusses this line of thinking and raise some problems with it; in addition, he argues that even atheists should give serious consideration to letting religious belief flourish.

Dr. Everett Worthington, a professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University and a clinical psychologist, focuses His research and writing on forgiveness and other virtues, religion and spirituality, and issues related to marriage and family.

Scorsese's Silence and the Revelation of God // Dr. Drew Trotter by Scholé House

The Passion Of Bach: Theology In Music -- Dr. Taylor Barnett by Scholé House