Young Adults Group Meeting - Thu 1st July 2021 (Topic: Faith and Reason)

Having not met for over a year, we are delighted to be re-commencing events for the Oratory's Group for Young Adults (aged 18-35). We will meet on Thursday 1st July 2021 in St Wilfrid's Hall, the entrance to which is in the forecourt of Oratory House. St Wilfrid's Hall is upstairs on the first floor. Doors will open at 7.45pm, with a talk at 8pm given by Prof. Thomas Pink (King's College London), on the topic of 'Faith and Reason' - please see the talk abstract below. 

After the talk, there will be some time for questions and discussion, concluding at around 9pm. Thereafter, for those who wish to stay, we plan to have refreshments available (wine, soft drinks and snacks) in St Joseph's Hall, which is downstairs from St Wilfrid's Hall, on the ground floor. This will conclude by 10pm. 

Please note that, owing to current government guidelines, capacity is restricted, and so we ask you to register via this page so that we can plan accordingly. Seating will be spaced to enable adequate distancing. The law currently requires face coverings to be worn indoors, unless exempt. 

Our meetings normally end with drinks and time for socialising. Unfortunately, current guidelines prohibit standing and mingling, so the usual format will not be possible. However, to enable us to retain some social element, which is an important aspect of these meetings, we intend to offer 'table service' for the refreshments. If you are staying after the talk, please enter St Joseph's Hall and sit at a table (wherever you wish), and you will be served drinks at your table. Tables can accommodate a maximum of 6 people, and masks do not need to be worn when seated. Please remain seated, and do not rearrange the chairs or tables. 

When registering, please indicate whether you intend to stay for a drink afterwards so that we can set the room up and order supplies accordingly.
We apologise for all this inconvenience, but were eager to retain some possibility for social interaction on our own premises, rather than having to disperse immediately after the talk.

We ask you please to respect these arrangements, and to pray for a swift return to normality. 

If you are able to assist with serving drinks on the night, please email youngadultsgroup@bromptonoratory.co.uk.
All help is much appreciated. 

God bless you and we look forward to seeing you!

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Talk abstract - "Faith and Reason".
Prof. Thomas Pink (King's College London)

Faith involves belief in the truth of what is divinely revealed. It is the gift of divine grace. But faith is also a free action. It is a matter of obligation, for the baptised, and governed by canon law. Heresy, as obstinate denial or doubt by the baptised of what is to be believed by Catholic faith, is a canonical crime.

This Catholic view of faith is nowadays often seen as incoherent.

For belief (supposedly) is not a free action at all. It has to follow reason. So it is imposed on us by the evidence or by experience; if these are lacking, we are forced to doubt. And if we do somehow believe without good evidence, this is again not an exercise of freedom on our part, but an effect of folly or irrationality. And belief certainly cannot be made obligatory by any law – it is reason and evidence that gets us to believe things, not some legal command.

I shall examine how belief might, under certain conditions, be a free action after all, precisely because of the way that belief follows reason. And I shall suggest that the Church’s canon law may not be some strange exception. Belief is a central concern, not just of the canon law of the Church, but of the civil law of the State. Modern states use law to direct the beliefs of their citizens, because what people believe matters deeply to the good of a political community, especially because it is centrally through belief that citizens give each other respect and recognition.