History
The Humanitas Forum on Christianity and Culture is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit incorporated in the state of Tennessee in 2004 as the Humanitas Project, Inc.
In the first several years, the emphasis was almost exclusively bioethics. However, the focus has broadened over time in an effort to address a broader array of challenges faced by Christians our post-Christian society.
As executive director of The Humanitas Forum, I’ve initiated several projects aimed at helping Christians understand and wrestle with many of the perplexing issues at the intersection of faith and culture.
Lecture Series ~ Cookeville, Tennessee
I currently run a lecture series here in Cookeville, also called The Humanitas Forum on Christianity and Culture. Here’s a sampling of the talks given in this series over the past two years:
- “Will There Be iPods in Heaven? Christian Discipleship in the Digital Age” – Dr. Justin Barnard, Associate Professor of Philosophy & Director of the Carl F. H. Henry Institute, Union University
- “When Young People Leave the Church: Following Jesus in a Culture of Hipness, Happiness & Uncertainty” – Michael Poore, Executive Director, The Humanitas Forum on Christianity and Culture
- “Christian Posture in a Secular Age: Fitting In? Pulling Out? Hunkering Down? Standing Up?” – Michael Poore, Executive Director, The Humanitas Forum on Christianity and Culture
- “For Those with Ears to Hear: Music and Metaphor” – John Mason Hodges is a conductor, composer, lecturer, and writer, living in Memphis, Tennessee. He directs the Center for Western Studies and also serves as the Scholar in Residence for the Fellows Program at Second Presbyterian Church.
Lecture Series ~ Nashville, Tennessee
From 2006 until 2010, The Humanitas Forum was a lecture series located in Nashville—a lecture series that included one play. Audio for most of these talks is coming soon. A sampler:
- “Keeping Faith in the Dark Night of the Culture” – Dr. J. Budziszewski, Professor of Government and Philosophy, University of Texas, Austin
- “C. S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce” – A one-man stage adaptation of Lewis’s allegory, adapted and performed by Anthony Lawton.
- “More than a Personal Savior: Following the Great Commissioner Monday through Saturday” – Mr. Ken Myers, Host and Producer of the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal and Dr. Jeremy Beer, Publications Director and Editor in Chief, ISI Books
Writing
My writing has included columns for our local newspaper, online articles, and a few columns for BreakPoint, a publication of Chuck Colson’s Wilberforce Forum. Most of my writing has been on bioethical issues. For example, “Selling Her Body, A Few Eggs at a Time” dealt with the ethics and risks of women selling their eggs, and “Should the Baby Live?” discussed Peter Singer’s approval of infanticide.
Although I’m not happy with the editor’s title, I’ve written a chapter for an anthology on ethics and critical thinking, which will be published this fall by a secular press.
- “Designer Baby Technology Violates Christian Principles” in At Issue: Designer Babies (vol. 1), edited by Clay Farris Naff (Gale/Cengage Learning)
Speaking
Most of my speaking has been in local churches, in Sunday school classes, and at The Humanitas Forum here in Cookeville. None of my talks have been keynotes, but a few have been in venues outside middle Tennessee. I’ll mention three of my talks in order to give you an idea of the topics I address.
- Union University Town & Gown Lectures – Union University, Jackson, Tennessee – “Biotechnology and the Rise of Anti-Culture: Beyond Good, God, and Man”
- Notre Dame Center for Ethics & Culture – Notre Dame University, Notre Dame – “From the Culture of Death to the Death of Culture: When Nihilism Rocks the Biotech Cradle”
- Atlanta Apologetics Project – Atlanta, Georgia – “Living in Truth: Doing Apologetics in an Unsympathetic Church in an Unsympathetic Culture”
To get in touch with me, please visit my Contact page.
Michael Poore
Executive Director
The Humanitas Forum on Christianity and Culture
