Is Free Speech at risk? – Find out here
This year’s Retford Religious Tolerance Forum is on Saturday 9th March 2019, 10am-1pm at The Well, Hospital Road, Retford, DN22 7BD.
George Washington, First President of the United States, said:
“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led like sheep to the slaughter”
The first Retford Religious Tolerance Forum was held in 2016 to commemorate the death of Thomas Helwys in 1616, the first Baptist martyr and original advocate of religious tolerance between Christians, Jews, Muslims, and those with no faith.
This year’s speakers include:
- Dr Larry Kreitzer – “Pioneer of Freedom: New Light on Thomas Helwys of Nottinghamshire”
Dr Kreitzer is from Regent’s Park College at the University of Oxford and holds a Research Lectureship in the Faculty of Theology. He is a member of the Society of New Testament Studies and has served on the Editorial Board for several academic journals. He will provide new insights into the life of Thomas Helwys.
- Dr Martin Parsons – “Religious Freedom in Britain since 1700 – and what it tells us about the World today”
Dr Parsons comes from the Barnabas Fund, the main ministry of which is to send financial support to projects which help Christians where they suffer discrimination, oppression and persecution as a consequence of their faith.
- Dr Calum Miller – “Is Free Speech really under threat?”
Dr Miller is a medical doctor, philosopher, and ethicist who graduated from the University of Oxford in 2015 with degrees in Medical Sciences (Neuroscience) and Medicine & Surgery. Calum currently teaches Ethics and Philosophy of Religion at the University of Oxford.
- Ben Huxtable of Release International
This event originated in 2016, commemorating the death of Nottinghamshire tolerance campaigner, Thomas Helwys, who was part of the English Puritan and Separatist movement that produced the Mayflower Pilgrims and led to the creation of the Congregational and Baptist Churches.
This will be the fourth annual Religious Tolerance Forum to be held in Retford. It provides a unique opportunity for the subject to be discussed in an open forum.
Previous speakers have included Baroness Elizabeth Berridge (member of the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief), John Mann MP, Professor John Coffey (University of Leicester), Rev Tony Peck (General Secretary of the European Baptist Federation), Imam Bakhtyar Pirzada (Eaton Hall), Dr David Appleby (University of Nottingham), and Mr Phil Lyons (CEO National Holocaust Centre).
The event is free and open to all, and everyone is welcome.
Bassetlaw Christian Heritage 