Video of Programs (search and sort)

Is Christianity Coherent?
05/21/2017
Stephen B. Gray

Presentation by Stephen B. Gray. His answer to “Is Christianity Coherent?” is NO. His reasons include various rejections and criticisms of  God, Jesus, faith, sin, punishment, guilt, and evil. For example, Mr. Gray says that “the God idea explains nothing,” “faith is defective thinking,” “original sin is an idiotic idea,” and that Jesus’s sacrifice for us makes no sense. Mr. Gray studied STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and has worked as a computer hardware and software designer. He is now a writer.

Death With Dignity
05/07/2017
Sarah Blanchette

Sarah Blanchette presents an overview of what the Death with Dignity National Center does. She provides a brief outline of the Death with Dignity laws in Oregon, Washington, and other states, and then leaves time for questions and discussion. Ms. Blanchette is a social worker. In Oregon she has connected with a new organization: End of Life Choices Oregon. She believes that having true choice and autonomy at the end of one’s life is a human right.

Crossing Party Lines
04/30/2017
Joyce Lackie

Presentation by Joyce Lackie. One expects disagreement in a democracy. Many feel, however, that the 2016 election has polarized the nation to an alarming degree. We see fledgling movements, some here in Portland, to counteract this polarization. Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind, explains how people make political and religious decisions based on widely varying moral values. Searching for common ground, we look at the moral bases for how Republicans, Democrats, and Libertarians form many of their policies. Joyce has been a member of HGP since 2004 and serves on the program and scholarship committees. A Ph.D. from the University of Alabama, she has taught at three universities. She has been retired for twenty years and is now traveling and volunteering.

Drug Dependence Research
04/23/2017
Barbara A. Sorg

Presentation by Barbara Sorg. Starting from a very young age, humans are driven to seek out novel sensations and rewarding experiences. During adolescence, some seek out drugs because they create novel sensations. Repeated exposure creates new experiences and powerful persistent memories. Professor Sorg discusses what happens in the brain with rewarding experiences and how drugs can alter the brain’s structure and function to make addiction a chronic disease. Sorg is a professor in the Department of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience and co-director of the Washington State University Translational Addiction Research Center.

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