Adult Education Recordings
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November Recordings

Education for November 29: 
In recognition that November 29 is the first Sunday of the Advent season, the adult education class will be the first of two sessions featuring portions of a set of fascinating recorded lectures by John Dominic Crossan, one of the prominent scholars of the life of the historical Jesus and a key leader of the Jesus Seminar. He is also a delightful teacher. The title of the lectures is “The Challenge of Jesus,” referring to the threat Jesus posed to the Roman Empire and by extension to local rulers of the empire such as Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate. In these first selections, Crossan provides the historical background and delineates the theological beliefs about Caesar Augustus that legitimized Caesar and the Empire and that were challenged by the advent, life, and ministry of Jesus and John the Baptist. Led by Bill Martin.
Education for November 22: 
Laura Mitchell talked about ways that we are taking care of ourselves and learn new ways to care through breathing and mindfulness movements. We are a community that takes care of each other and our world around us. In order to continue doing that in these difficult times, we must learn how to take care of ourselves. We need to look inward to ourselves in order to look outward to our community. Be ready to do some simple movements either standing or sitting in a chair. Also, I encourage you to have a journal/paper, pens/markers with you to express your creativity as we move through the process of taking care of ourselves and others.
Education for November 15: The adult education will be a portion of a Baker Institute Religion and Public Policy Program webinar, "The Fight to Make American Christian Again: Christian Nationalism in National and Texas Politics." Christian nationalism — the belief that the U.S. should be an expressly Christian nation governed by biblically-based laws — has become a significant overt force in U.S. politics and religious life. In this webinar, four leading scholars and researchers discussed their recent research on Christian nationalism. Bill Martin, director of the Baker Institute program, moderated the discussion. This portion, best seen after the previous segments, can be accessed on the Baker Institute website.
Education for November 1: Ben Ball and Jackie Rundstein led us in an investigation of four questions that John Dominic Crossan addresses to 21st century Christians. We will hear from Crossan via a clip from “Living the Questions” and then discuss various responses to these questions.

October Recordings

Education for October 25: 
Mark P. Jones, Ph.D., fellow in political science at the Baker Institute and the Joseph D. Jamail Professor in the Department of Political Science at Rice University is a frequent commentator in local, state, national and international media on government, politics and public policy.
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The presentation covered the race for the White House and battle for control of the U.S. Senate at the federal level. At the state level, the focus was on the Democratic effort to flip the Texas House as well as what to watch at the congressional level, from the U.S. Senate contest to the most competitive U.S. House races.
Education for October 11: 
Sunday's class featured a Baker Institute webinar on The Age of Addiction: How Bad Habits Became Big Business, featuring Professor David Courtwright.  The addictions to be discussed include, in addition to alcohol and other drugs, food, gambling, video games, and social media. Courtwright describes the myriad ways what he calls "limbic capitalism," referring to the ways "big business" can manipulate the pleasure centers in our brains for financial gain.  The webinar was moderated by Bill Martin.
Education for October 4: Rice Sociology Professor Stephen Klineberg spoke about his book, Prophetic City: Houston on the Cusp of a Changing America as reflected in 35 years of the Houston Area Surveys.

September Recordings

Education for September 27:
Bob Tucker: Sibling Rivalry, on science and religion. 
Education for September 20:
Bob Tucker: Saved. Again. And Again. Sexual abuse and the unwillingness to talk about it.
Education for September 13:
Ben Ball and Jackie Rundstein will discuss the topic Thinking Theologically.
Education for September 6:
Ben Ball will discuss the topic Taking the Bible Seriously.

August Recordings

Education for August 30:
Zoroastrian theology and principles. 
Education for August 23:
Laura Mitchell, Part 2 on race, culture and identity.
Education for August 16:
Laura Mitchell, Part 1 on race, culture and identity.
Education for August 9:
Bob Tucker, Part 2 on The Invention of Christianity.
Education for August 2:
Sarah Winter on Therapeutic Horseback Riding
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July Recordings

Education for July 26:
David Ramsey's spiritual journey.
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Education for July 12 & 19:
Rent the film for $2.99 here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/strangedemiseofjimcrow
Not all the civil rights victories of the '60s were won at the cost of vicious beatings and mass arrests played-out in front of television cameras. The Strange Demise of Jim Crow reveals for the first time on film how many Southern cities were desegregated in a quieter, almost stealthy fashion with behind-the-scenes negotiations, secret deals and controversial news black-outs. It makes visible a fascinating case-study in Houston of how urban power is really wielded.
Credits:
Creator/Executive Producer: Thomas R. Cole, 
Director: David Berman
Co-producer/Editor: William Howze

June Recordings

Education From June 28, 2020
Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow
One of the most important and influential books written in the 21st century about the injustices of racism, particularly as manifest in the criminal justice system and the War on Drugs, is legal scholar and civil rights activist Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Given the current intense discussion and worldwide protests of racial injustice, we invite you to listen to this powerful presentation and the Q&A that followed by clicking Progressive Forum presents Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow.
Education for June 21: Bob Tucker, member of Covenant, retired Congregational/United Church of Christ minister, and former executive director of the Foundation for Contemporary Theology, has a presentation on “The invention of Christianity.”
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May Recordings

Education from May 31, 2020: Dr. Sravana Varma, who spoke to the class about basics of Hinduism, has given another lecture about the Hindu caste system.
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Education from May 24, 2020:
Letting Go as a Part of Moving On from John Shuster:
There are practical and spiritual elements to the Letting Go Process, some of which comes naturally to us and some of which is counter-intuitive and quite difficult for many if not most of us. This session will look at how the Covid factor in our lives has raised many an opportunity on both the practical and the spiritual level to let go, in order to expand or strengthen our soul-life for whatever we face and are managing and praying our ways through.