Cafe Theology

Theological discussionCafe Theology is a discussion group meeting open to all. It meets on Monday evenings, gathering over a glass of wine from 8:00 - 9:30 pm at Putney Pantry, St Mary’s Church. You can also join by Zoom, if you contact the organiser, Jenny. Everyone from any background is welcome to attend. 

They have a packed programme in the coming weeks:

  • 13 May - Extinction Rebellion is my Religion. Kate Pellegrini, an active member of XR, will explain why XR provides such a powerful sense of meaning and purpose for its followers. Whether you think XR is a cult, or, like many church leaders, you support them, this will be an interesting discussion.  
  • 20 May - No meeting (WI)
  • 27 May - No meeting (Whitsun Bank Holiday)
  • 3 June - The Cruelty of the Father to the Son. If God is love, why did Christ have to die a cruel death as an atonement for our sins? Paul Donnelly will ask what sort of a God demands such a sacrifice, the Aztec gods perhaps but not the God who is love. 
  • 10 June - Pride. For Christians, pride is a deadly sin, the ‘complete anti-God state of mind’ according to CS Lewis. Yet contemporary culture sees pride as a virtue and key to emotional maturity and self-actualisation. Which is it? 
  • 24 June - The History of the term ‘Palestine’, led by Paul Donnelly. What constitutes Palestine is massively contested. But what is the origin of this term? It is clearly Biblical, but how has it been used in recent centuries?  
  • 1 July - New Atheism is Dead, what is the new new Atheism? Richard Dawkins once said ‘faith is one of the world’s great evils, like smallpox but harder to eradicate’. Now he says he is a cultural Christian. The hardline militant, vitriolic new atheist movement is on the wane, and has given way to more polite, more subtle forms of atheism, which we will examine.

  • 8 July - Blasphemy Law. The last prosecution under this law was in 1977 for a gay poem which mocked Christ. It is now off the statute book, but is blasphemy once again a crime under the guise of ‘hate speech’ ?
  • 22 July - Christ Atoned for Sin. What can that mean in our lives? James Roche will introduce.  
  • date to be announced - The History of the term ‘Palestine’, led by Paul Donnelly. What constitutes Palestine is massively contested. But what is the origin of this term? It is clearly Biblical, but how has it been used in recent centuries?