Resourcing Progressive Christians

ProFuture Faith: The Prodigal Species Comes Home – Home Streaming Edition

$49.95

This product is a stand-alone Home Streaming Edition. Upon purchase, you will be sent an order notification email with a link to the streaming files. If you do not receive the email, please check your spam folder. If the email is not in your spam folder, please contact us at info@livingthequestions.com and we will resend the link to you. Please note: the Home Streaming Edition is a stand-alone streaming program licensed for private home viewing, all other rights reserved. If you are looking to offer ProFuture Faith for group study, please CLICK HERE to be directed to the Digital Group-Use Curriculum Edition which includes downloadable participant and leader resources for small group study.

Featuring eco-theologian, author, and TEDx speaker, Rev. Michael Dowd, ProFuture Faith is a dynamic eight-session digital media course that bridges the gap between head and heart, science and faith.

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Description

“Rev. Michael Dowd, a regular guest in my pulpit, has created an eight-session video discussion course, “ProFuture Faith: The Prodigal Species Comes Home,” that weaves together science, inspiration, and sustainability in a visually stunning and conversation-generating way. His prophetic call for intergenerational justice will appeal to humanists and spiritual members alike. I recommend it to all UU ministers and RE directors.”
— Rev. Marlin Lavanhar, Senior Minister of All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, OK

“Just when we are tempted to get lost in the haze of consumerism until the whole planet gets used up, Michael Dowd comes along to shake us awake, and to ask us to not only face reality, but to let it be our guide into the future. We can still come home to this world. And we can still create a religion that helps align our hearts and minds, and our actions, with the astonishing beauty that has brought us here.”
— Peter Mayer, singer and songwriter

ProFuture Faith: The Prodigal Species Comes Home — 8 sessions

Having “squandered our inheritance on profligate living,” we are a prodigal species. Industrial civilization and our insatiable appetites have us hurtling toward irreversible consequences – not in some distant future, but right now. The good news is it’s not too late. At the intersection of science, spirituality, and sustainability is a deep love of life and a passion for our posterity – a ProFuture Faith. Join eco-theologian, author, and TEDx speaker, Rev. Michael Dowd in a dynamic DVD and internet-based discussion course that bridges the gap between head and heart, science and faith. Participants will be guided on a journey that accepts what is inevitable, avoids what is futile, and be inspired to attend to what is urgent. Come home to reality. Embrace a ProFuture Faith!

Contributor

Michael Dowd (1958 – 2023)

was a bestselling eco-theologian and pro-science, pro-future ‘evangelist’ whose work was featured in The New York Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Newsweek, Discover, and on television nationally. His book, Thank God for Evolution, was endorsed by 6 Nobel Prize-winning scientists, noted skeptics, and by religious leaders across the spectrum. Michael delivered two TEDx talks and a program at the United Nations. He and his wife, science writer and climate activist, Connie Barlow, spoke to some 2,500 groups across North America since 2002, including nearly 500 UU churches. Rev. Dowd also conducted two acclaimed online conversation series: “Evolutionary Christianity” and “The Future Is Calling Us to Greatness.”

Themes

Part 1 — Coming Home to Reality (4 episode)

  1. Un-Trivializing God — Reality as Thou — (20 min)
  2. The Purpose of Religion and Necessity of Science — (20 min)
  3. The Epic of Evolution — A Cosmic Timeline — (20 min)
  4. Thus Sayeth Reality — What is Inevitable; What is Needed — (20 min)

 

Part 2 — Practical Wisdom (4 episodes)

  1. Thus Sayeth Reality — What is Futile; What is Urgent — (19 min)
  2. Why We Struggle — Un-Trivializing Mythic Wisdom — (20 min)
  3. Impermanence & Death as Sacred — Embracing Limits — (17 min)
  4. Staying Sane, Sober and Inspired in Contracting Times — (21 min)

Primary and Secondary Resources for Further Exploration

Part One — Coming Home to Reality

  1. Un-Trivializing God — Reality as Thou

Primary resources…

ESSAY: “What Are We Pointing to with the Word ‘God’?” – Gene Marshall

ARTISTIC VIDEO: “God Is Reality Personified, Not a Person” (20 min)

Additional resources…

BLOG POST: “God: Personification ≠ Person” – Rev. Dowd

VIDEOS: Nate Hagens: “Reality 101: What every student (and citizen) needs to know”

Also: https://un-denial.com/2019/02/02/by-nate-hagens-reality-101-what-every-student-and-citizen-should-know-about-energy

  1. The Purpose of Religion and the Necessity of Science

Primary resource…

SERMON VIDEO: “Reality 101: Expanding Our Circle of Compassion” – Dowd (30 min)

Additional resources…

AUDIOS: Edward “Teddy” Goldsmith: https://soundcloud.com/michael-dowd-grace-limits/sets/edward-teddy-goldsmith (audios narrated by Dowd)

INTRO to Goldsmith: http://thegreatstory.org/sustainability-audios.html#goldsmith

  1. The Epic of Evolution — A Cosmic Timeline

Primary resource…

SLIDE NARRATION: “Sane vs. Insane Progress” – Dowd (24 min)

Additional resources…

MINI ESSAY: “Ecology is the New Theology” – Dowd and Barlow

SERMON VIDEO: “Intergenerational Justice: Could Any Vision Matter More?” – Dowd (23 min)

  1. Thus Sayeth Reality — What is Inevitable; What is Needed

Primary resource…

OVERVIEW: Techno-Fix: Why Technology Won’t Save Us or the Environment (review, quotes)

Additional resources…

SLIDE NARRATION: “Reality’s Rules: Ten Commandments to Avoid Extinction and Redeem Humanity” – Dowd (17 min)

TEXT: Jem Bendell’s 2018 paper: “Deep Adaptation: A Map for Navigating Climate Tragedy”

AUDIO: https://soundcloud.com/michael-dowd-grace-limits/sets/jem-bendell-deep-adaptation

SERMON VIDEO: “Confessions of a Recovering Progressive” – Dowd (28 min)

Part Two — Practical Wisdom

  1. Thus Sayeth Reality — What is Futile; What is Urgent

Primary resource…

SERMON VIDEO: “EcoTheism: Ecology as the Heart of Theology” – Dowd (31 min)

Additional resources…

SCHUMACHER LECTURE (text): “The Ecozoic Era” – Thomas Berry

AUDIO of above Thomas Berry lecture, “The Ecozoic Era” (narrated by Dowd; 42 min)

  1. Why We Struggle — Un-Trivializing Mythic Wisdom

Primary resources (web portals link to text, audio, video) …

Quadrune (4-Part) Brain resources: http://thegreatstory.org/evolutionize.html

Our physical instincts: http://thegreatstory.org/evolved-brain.html

Our social instincts: http://thegreatstory.org/evolved-brain-mammal.html

Our interpretative instincts: http://thegreatstory.org/evolved-brain-monkey.html

Our spiritual instincts: http://thegreatstory.org/evolved-brain-porpoise.html

Additional resources…

VIDEOS: Nate Hagens — Reality 101: What Every Student (Citizen) Should Know

CHAPTERS 8-12 in Rev. Dowd’s book, Thank God for Evolution, pp. 139-239 (especially Section III: “The Gospel According to Evolution”)

  1. Impermanence and Death as Sacred — Embracing Limits

Primary resources…

SERMON VIDEO: “Not the Future We Ordered: Honoring Our Grief” – Dowd (30 min)

WEB PORTAL (text, audio, video): “Death as Natural, Generative, and No Less Sacred than Life”: http://thegreatstory.org/death-programs.html

BLOG POSTS: (1) “Death: Sacred, Necessary, Real”: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-michael-dowd/death-is-sacred-necessary-real_b_1541102.html

(2) “A Scientific Honoring of Death”: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-michael-dowd/a-scientific-honoring-of-death_b_1556839.html

BBC NEWS SPECIAL REPORT (2019): “Are We on the Road to Civilization Collapse?” and “The Lifespan of Ancient Civilizations”

Additional resources…

BOOK (75 pages): William Ophuls: Immoderate Greatness: Why Civilizations Fail

ESSAY: “The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival” – Sir John Glubb

  1. Staying Sane, Sober, and Inspired in Contracting Times

Primary resources…

SERMON: “Not the Future We Ordered: Staying Sane in Crazy Times” – Dowd (37 min)

SOUL NOURISHMENT: Dahr Jamail and Barbara Cecil’s 2019 series: “How then Shall We Live? Finding Our Way and Peace of Heart Amidst Global Collapse”: Essays / Audios

Additional resources…

ESSAY: The Prodigal Species – Bruce Sanguin

INSPIRATION (text): Positive Visions, Practical Tools, and Inspiring Examples of Eco-Wise Thinking and Living

ON HOPE, DESPAIR, GRIEF, and ACTION

AUDIO PLAYLIST: https://soundcloud.com/michael-dowd-grace-limits/sets/rip-homo-colossus

Dahr Jamail and Barbara Cecil’s series: “How then Shall We Live? Finding Our Way and Peace of Heart Amidst Global Collapse”: Essays / Audios

Emily Johnston: “How to Keep Going”:  https://medium.com/@enjohnston/how-to-keep-going-c634a8322f28

Derrick Jensen: “Beyond Hope”: https://orionmagazine.org/article/beyond-hope/

Jem Bendell: “Hope and Vision in the Face of Collapse: The 4th R of Deep Adaptation”  https://jembendell.wordpress.com/2019/01/09/hope-and-vision-in-the-face-of-collapse-the-4th-r-of-deep-adaptation/

Catherine Ingram: “Facing Extinction”: http://www.catherineingram.com/facingextinction/

AUDIO: https://soundcloud.com/michael-dowd-grace-limits/catherine-ingram-facing-extinction

Dahr Jamail: “In Facing Mass Extinction, We Don’t Need Hope, We Need Courage”:  https://truthout.org/articles/in-facing-mass-extinction-we-dont-need-hope-we-need-to-grieve/

Rebecca Solnit: “Hope is an embrace of the unknown”: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jul/15/rebecca-solnit-hope-in-the-dark-new-essay-embrace-unknown

Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone (BOOK) — Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in Without Going Crazy

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: All audios in the following two SoundCloud playlists:

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Rev. Dowd’s TEDx Talks – VIDEO

(2014) “Reality Reconciles Science and Religion”

Blog: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tedx-talk-reality-reconci_b_5513264

YouTube: https://youtu.be/1QeTWVw9Fm4

(2012) “Why We Struggle and Suffer”

Blog: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tedx-talk-why-we-struggle_b_1605802

YouTube: https://youtu.be/DDMOF7qtlh8

Interviews with Top Climate Scientists, Activists, Sustainability Experts:

(2015) “The Future Is Calling Us to Greatness” (55 interviews, Dowd as host)

Videos: http://www.tree-of-life.works/greatness

Audios: https://soundcloud.com/michael-dowd-grace-limits/sets/the-future-is-calling-us-to-greatness-55-interviews

__________________________________________________________________

Resources Mentioned During Rev. Dowd’s Presentations

  1. Un-trivializing God — Reality as Thou

Loyal Rue — Religion Is Not About God

William R. Catton, Jr. — Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change

Thomas Berry — The Dream of the Earth, and The Great Work: Our Way Into the Future

Conservation International & Hollywood stars — Nature Is Speaking videos

Marc Perkel video: Why Reality Needs a Religion (and Atheism Isn’t Good Enough)

  1. The Purpose of Religion and the Necessity Science

David Sloan Wilson — Darwin’s Cathedral: Evolution, Religion, and the Nature of Society, and Evolution for Everyone

Edward O. Wilson — On Human Nature, and The Social Conquest of Earth

Larry Rasmussen — Earth Honoring Faith: Religious Ethics in a New Key

Bron Taylor — Dark Green Religion: Nature Spirituality and the Planetary Future

Edward (Teddy) Goldsmith — A Blueprint for Survival, The Stable Society, and The Way: An Ecological Worldview

Stuart Guthrie — Faces in the Clouds: A New Theory of Religion

  1. The Epic of Evolution — A Cosmic Timeline

Clive Ponting — A New Green History of the World

William R. Catton, Jr. — Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change

Anand Veeraraj — Green History of Religion

  1. Thus Sayeth Reality… What is Inevitable; What is Necessary

Nate Hagens — Reality 101: UMN Nexus One videos (also here)

John Michael Greer: “The Next Ten Billion Years” (audio of Bardi-Greer-Bardi: here)

  1. Thus Sayeth Reality… What is Futile; What is Urgent

William R. Catton, Jr. — Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change

Michael & Jean Huesemann — Techno-Fix: Why Technology Won’t Save Us or the Environment (also here and here)

John Michael Greer — Dark Age America: Climate Change, Cultural Collapse, and the Hard Future Ahead (audiobook here, narrated by Dowd)

John Michael Greer — The Long Descent: A Users Guide to the End of the Industrial Age

Joseph A. Tainter — The Collapse of Complex Societies

  1. Why We Struggle — Un-trivializing Mythic Wisdom

Ajit Varki and Danny Brower — Denial: Self-Deception, False Beliefs, and the Origins of the Human Mind

Deirdre Barrett — Supernormal Stimuli: How Primal Urges Overran Their Evolutionary Purpose

Stephen Jenkinson — Griefwalker (VIDEO, 80 min) and Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul (BOOK)

Paul Chefurka — “Approaching the Limits to Growth” website

AUDIO RECORDING of Paul Chefurka: “Best Hits” from his website (narrated by Dowd)

  1. Impermanence and Death as Sacred — Embracing Limits

Wikipedia page: Societal Collapse

BBC Future — “Are we on the road to civilization collapse?”

William R. Catton, Jr. — Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change

Jared Diamond — Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

Ronald Wright — Book A Short History of Progress / Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Short_History_of_Progress

Joseph A. Tainter — The Collapse of Complex Societies

Sir John Glubb — The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival

William Ophuls — Immoderate Greatness: Why Civilizations Fail

Michael & Jean Huesemann — Techno-Fix: Why Technology Won’t Save Us or the Environment (Also here and here)

Death portal on TheGreatStory.org website: http://thegreatstory.org/death-programs.html

  1. Staying Sane, Sober, and Inspired in Contracting Times

Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone — Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in Without Going Crazy

VIDEO (fictional documentary): Bill Nye’s Global Meltdown  (44 min)

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