10/30/03 - Suggested topics:

1. In the wake of the recent attacks in Baghdad, is security even possible in Iraq? U.S. postwar Iraq combat deaths have even surpassed the wartime toll. Are things going to continue to get worse? Should the U.S. withdrawal troops?
2. Discuss the results from this latest national poll by the Barna Research Group. (The poll interviewed 1,000 adults during September in every state except Hawaii and Alaska) Some of the results:
   • 76% of Americans believe in heaven and 71% in hell
   • 64% believe they're heaven-bound
   • 43% believe they will go to Heaven because they have “confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior."
   • 15% felt they will get to Heaven because “they have tried to obey the 10 Commandments” or because “they are basically a good person”
   • 6% believed their entrance to Heaven would be based upon the fact that “God loves all people and will not let them perish.”
   • 39% believe hell is "a state of eternal separation from God's presence"
   • 32% believe hell is "an actual place of torment and suffering where people's souls go after death."
   • 13% believe hell is just a symbol of an "unknown bad outcome after death"
   • One out of 10 born-again Christians also believe in reincarnation.
   • Half the atheists and agnostics surveyed believed that everyone had a soul, that heaven and hell existed and that there was life after death. One in eight atheists and agonistics believe that accepting Jesus Christ as savior probably makes life after death possible.
3. Should the economic embargo on Cuba be terminated? Shouldn't all American have the opportunity to travel to Cuba? Does the travel ban violate the rights of U.S. citizens by limiting their ability to share information and ideas with Cubans? Would ending the Cuba embargo only help Castro?
4. A Fort Lauderdale church is challenging Broward County's refusal to allow a cross and sign reading ''Jesus is the reason for the season'' in a two-mile holiday lights attraction at a county park. Should the cross and sign be allowed? A Broward County policy issued in October 2002 on holiday displays discourages the use of religious symbols, including Nativity scenes and crucifixes, on county property but allows menorahs. Should menorahs be allowed? Where should the line be drawn on what is a "religious symbol"?
5. Is string theory more of a philosophy than an actual scientific theory? What would it take to prove or confirm that string theory is right?
6. What is the basis of radical feminism? What is the basis of their extremism? Why should a radical feminist feel justified in proclaiming that all men are potential rapists?
7. What looked like a typical Halloween haunted house in Pembroke Pines, FL ended up to be a 20-minute proselytizing presentation including such things as videos of teens overdosing on drugs and a woman shooting herself in the head after her husband tells her she is worthless. Parents have complained that the "Scream House" leaves traumatized instead of scared. Should these "evangelizing hell houses" be required to display a warning about their content?

Quote of the week: "Americans don't mind embracing contradictions. It's hyper individualism. They're cutting and pasting religious views from a variety of different sources — television, movies, conversations with their friends. Rather than simply embrace one particular viewpoint, and then trying to follow all the specific precepts or teachings of that particular viewpoint, what Americans are saying is, 'Listen, I can probably put together a philosophy of life for myself that is just as accurate, just as helpful as any particular faith might provide.' " [David Kinnaman, vice president of Barna Research Group. (source)]

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