Pub Theology starts tonight at 7pm
We hope to virtually see you tonight at 7pm for Pub Theology. Please invite others!
Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81979620716
THIS WEEK: Space travel, social media and prayer, churches and vaccinations
- What is your favorite TV show or movie about space travel? Do you prefer ones that are ‘more realistic’ and work within current technology, or ones that extrapolate into the future or are purely science fiction?
- If you had the chance to experience space travel via a private company like SpaceX, would you? Why or why not?
- Facebook is testing out a new “Prayer posts” option for a subset of Facebook groups in the US. In introducing it, Facebook writes: “You may enable group members to ask for and respond to prayers in a post. You can manage Prayer Request posts and who can create them in group settings.”
What are your thoughts about a social media company creating an explicitly religious aspect to their platform?
- American Magazine, a Catholic publication, noted in a recent article that churches should require vaccinations in order to attend mass. “Churches have an ethical obligation to protect the health of clergy, staff and worshipers. One of the highest-risk settings for contracting Covid-19 is a large, closed space containing many people. In addition, many religious rites include actions that increase the risk of infection. It is morally irresponsible for churches to invite people to worship and receive the sacraments without taking all effective steps to minimize this risk.”
Should faith communities mandate vaccines in order for people to join in worship? If not, how should they talk about it to their communities?
- A recent person who attended worship in person for the first time in over a year relayed this about his experience: “It’s like a small glimpse of heaven,” he said of the in-person worship experience, something that’s been elusive for millions of Americans since March 2020, the Washington Post writes. “We can’t hug, but seeing people in person, worshiping in person, it’s so different from singing at a television in the living room. You can feel the music, feel God’s presence, be in sanctity with other believers, have some sense of normalcy.”
Discuss how this extended break will impact the resumption of in person worship service. Will such services be more appreciated? Will more people seek them out? Or do you think this will further the exodus of people from worship services who found other ways to spend their Sunday mornings?