Dennis Potter (left) and Blake Ostler debate baptisms for the dead at UVU.

On Tuesday, Utah Valley University hosted a lively debate on the resolution: “Resolved that the practice of proxy baptisms for the dead is neither a rational nor an ethical response to the problem of the unevangelized.”

Affirming the resolution—that is, arguing that baptisms for the dead are ineffectual and offensive—was Dennis Potter, associate philosophy professor at UVU. In opposition was Blake Ostler, a lawyer who has been widely published on Mormon theology.

With Mitt Romney’s presidential bid, Mormonism and some of its more controversial tenets (like baptisms for the dead) have come under increased scrutiny. So this debate couldn’t have been any more timely or relevant. Unfortunately, the turnout was rather poor. But if you were unaware of the event or unable to attend, you’re in luck—I recorded it in full. Click the links below for audio to the debate and the Q&A session.

Baptism debate

Baptism debate Q&A

The debate coach in me is tempted to disclose whose case I felt was more compelling, but I’ll hold off. I don’t want to bias your opinion going into the debate. Please listen to it first. Suffice it say for now, though, that Potter and Ostler are both capable thinkers and each made good arguments.

I may post my analysis later, but until then I look forward to reading your thoughts in the comments!

Stenger, a philosopher and physicist, is a among the foremost “new atheist” thinkers. He has written several books about atheism and science, including the bestseller God: The Failed Hypothesis and the critically-acclaimed The New Atheism.

The event, which is being organized by our sister group SHIFT, will be free and open to the public, with free parking available in the visitor parking lot just east of the Union building (just north of OSH). Seating will be first-come-first-served. The doors to the auditorium will be opened 30 minutes before the event.

Here is a campus map to help you find the event.

It promises to be fun and intellectually stimulating, so I hope to see you there!

Then, this Saturday (November 6), our sister group SHIFT at the University of Utah has invited Dan Barker to speak. This is a big get, and it will be worth the drive down to Salt Lake to attend. Barker is the president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and author of Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America’s Leading Atheists. The event starts at 7:30 PM at the Orson Spencer Hall auditorium.

This screening happens to be during a regular meeting week and several people will be going to the screening after the meeting if you’d like to join us. We’ll be leading a discussion on how we each deal with our atheism and the weird reactions we sometimes get from others. We’re planning on talking about different coping strategies you can use when talking to family members, etc. We’ll talk about work, family, and friends. You can come and not say a thing, or you can yak it up, but this is not a philosophical discussion so please do not treat it as such. This meeting is an attempt to make SHAFT more personal for those who feel that that touch is lacking. (We’re not the Religious Studies club.)

Hope to see you at one or both of those events!

For those unfamiliar with the Exmormon Foundation, it is a “diverse community of former Mormons or questioning Mormons.” The organization offers emotional support to those who have left or are leaving the LDS Church, and it also sponsors an annual conference about Mormonism. I have never attended one of their conferences, but I’ve been meaning to. I’m advertising this weekend’s conference here because I think it may be of interest to some SHAFTers.

This year’s conference will hear from a range of interesting speakers. The keynote speaker is Jeff Sharlet, author of the nationally acclaimed book, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power. The book is an exposé of The Family, an evangelical Christian group that wields enormous influence in Congress and Washington at large.

Musician and ex-Mormon Tal Bachman will also speak at the conference. You’ll likely remember his song “She’s So High”, which was a chart-topper in the ’90s. Bachman has been blogging about Mormonism for years, and he was featured in the PBS documentary “The Mormons” and Bill Maher’s “Religulous”.

For more information about the conference, click here.

It will be an interesting lecture, and I’m thrilled that BYU is hosting it. Here is the event info:

When: September 23rd @ 7:00 PM

Where: Thomas S. Martin building (MARB), rm. 445

(Search “MARB” in the BYU campus map and you’ll find it.)

Dr. Bradshaw gave a similar lecture back in 2004. Read this Daily Universe article (originally entitled “Professor gives scientific evidence of homosexuality”, but changed to “Professor claims scientific evidence of homosexuality”) about his 2004 lecture if you want a preview of Thursday’s presentation.

For those in Logan: SHAFT will have a presentation of its own this Thursday. At 6:00 PM in Old Main 201, SHAFT officer Chris Gardner will discuss ancient creation myths and how they evolved into modern day religions.

If you’re in Logan, SHAFT is organizing a carpool down to Salt Lake. Meet at 2:30 PM at Aggie Ice Cream (750 N 1200 E).

The documentary is about the LDS Church’s involvement in California’s Proposition 8, an anti-gay marriage ballot measure and constitutional amendment. If you’re not familiar with the movie, watch the trailer:

I was worried that 8: The Mormon Proposition would be unabashedly one-sided and angry. I saw the movie last week, and frankly it was those things. But, to my surprise, that didn’t detract from the movie—not seriously, at least.

I overlooked its bias, because it’s nearly impossible to get Mormon representation in a film. Church leaders and members alike are reticent to defend their beliefs on camera. Bill Maher encountered this problem in his comedy/documentary Religulous. Unfortunately, because of its bias, those who most need to see the movie (Mormons) won’t. The anger in the movie was also forgivable; Proposition 8 profoundly hurt California’s LGBT couples and families. Why shouldn’t they be upset?

Don’t expect that the documentary will be revelatory. If you followed the Proposition 8 controversy, you may not learn anything. Don’t expect the movie to be particularly insightful, either. It trades in stereotypes and simplistic arguments. My hope is that, at dinner, we’ll have the kind of intelligent discussion that the movie lacked.

8: The Mormon Proposition isn’t as polished as, say, Michael Moore’s political documentaries. It’s a low-budget labor of love, and it shows. But it’s an entertaining and deeply affecting film. I promise you won’t regret seeing it.

I look forward to seeing you there!

I am excited for this event. You may remember Dr. Diamond from his Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel.

It is unclear to me whether Diamond himself will make an appearance or if we’ll just watch a documentary of his. Either way, this promises to be a great event. I’ll keep you posted about the details as they become available. In the meantime, please visit the Facebook event page for more info.

All proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders. So please stop by, enjoy a treat, and contribute to a good cause!

And if you would like to make some stuff for the table (cookies, brownies, etc.), it would be greatly appreciated. Just remember that all goods must be individually wrapped.

This Friday, the College of Science is hosting Dr. Robert Lang, who
will be visiting USU to talk about the connections between
mathematics, science and art through origami folding.  Robert is a graduate of Caltech in engineering and applied physics, and  the recipient of their Distinguished Alumni Award.

While he is here on campus, we’ve arranged for some informal time for students and faculty to visit with Robert and talk about his career and current activities.  It  should be of interest to students and faculty alike.  Please join us:

—> Dr. Robert J. Lang
—> FRIDAY, 2 April 2010
—> 3:00 – 4:30pm
—> College of Science Conference Room, ESLC 245D

Additionally, Robert will be giving the Science Unwrapped Lecture that evening:

—> “Math’s Paper Trail: The Origins of Mathematics and Origami”
—> Dr. Robert J. Lang
—> FRIDAY, 2 April 2010
—> 7:00pm
—> ESLC 130
—> www.usu.edu/science/unwrapped/

You can see some of Robert’s origami creations (some of the most complex ever folded) on his website:  langorigami.com

You can also see a short 20 minute presentation on Math and Origami Robert gave at TED in 2008: www.ted.com/talks/robert_lang_folds_way_new_origami.html

Totally go to this, everybody. Make sure to check his site here, it’s amazing. Look out, an Allosaurus!

♦ UofU’s SHIFT is bringing Austin Dacey, a former UN representative for the Center for Inquiry,  to their campus to give a talk! So we thought we’d organize a carpool to go down there and support our fellows while enjoying a good speaker. The event starts promptly at 4pm on February 27, a Saturday. If you can provide rides or just want to tag along (and split gas :D ) please comment here or on Facebook with your status as a driver/rider.

♦ Would you like to be a guest blogger for USU SHAFT? Just contact us through Facebook or at info@usu-shaft.com it may take us a while to get back to you, but we’ll get there.

♦ Would you like to be our new webmaster? Please contact us through Facebook or at  info@usu-shaft.com. You must be a member of the club at USU (enrolled student, staff, etc).

♦ There will be a bake sale at the first week of April, so start thinking of delicious recipes. The proceeds will either go toward funding club activities or a charity; we haven’t decided yet.

Thanks for your time!

The event is Wednesday @ 5:00 PM in Old Main 117. Again, it’s our last event, so let’s make it count.

SHAFT is proud to premiere the documentary Collision next Wednesday (Oct. 28th) in Engineering 302 (the new room) at 5:00 PM.

To learn more about this movie, refer to the previous post. In short, it’s a docudrama following the debates between atheist author Christopher Hitchens and pastor Douglas Wilson.

Be sure to bring along your theist friends—it will be fun for people to cheer on their respective camps (atheism, Christianity) in this debate/docudrama.

Snacks will also be provided (but if you can contribute some, please do!).

I’ve ordered a copy of the documentary. If it gets here in time, we may watch it for next week’s social. I think it would make for a great joint event, as well—we could invite FOCUS, the Religious Studies Club, and the Philosophy Club. Yet another reason why this would make a great event is that I’m working on getting Hitchens to speak at USU next semester. This film may gin up some interest in and support for that effort.

Below is the trailer. Let me know what you think.

I (and several other SHAFTers) have attended FOCUS meetings throughout the semester. I think it’s important that we foster a friendship with them, as it furthers a healthy religious dialogue. So try to make it to this event if you can—it should be a really interesting talk.

Thursday, October 1st will be the best of times, because that evening there will be two highly-anticipated lectures. It will also be the worst of times, however—you can only attend one as they each start at 7:00 PM. I’ll advertise them both; go to whichever one most piques your interest.

This year’s Leonard Arrington Mormon History Lecture will be given by Kathleen Flake, professor of American religious history in the Divinity School and Graduate Department at Vanderbilt University. She will be speaking about “The Emotional and Priestly Logic of Plural Marriage.” Having read Flake’s work on polygamy, I expect her presentation to be fascinating. This lecture will take place Thursday, October 1st at the Logan Tabernacle at 7:00 PM.

Another lecture will be held at the same time in the Emert Auditorium (room 130) of the Eccles Science and Learning Center. Dr. Francisco Ayala will be giving a lecture entitled “Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion.” He teaches evolutionary biology at UC Irvine and served as the chief witness in McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education against teaching creationism in public schools.

Our theist friends can attend both—one in body, the other in spirit. But alas, we nonbelievers enjoy no such luxury.

The presentation is on Wednesday, September 16th, at 4:00 PM in Old Main 115.

We hope to see all of you tonight at SHAFT’s Opening Social!