We were so privileged to be a part of the Martin Luther King Jr event with Sustaining Way, South Carolina Interfaith Power and Light, The Poor People's Campaign and My Neighbors Voice. 

Holocaust Cattle Car Experience

Our special Thank You to Arielle Nakdimon with NCSY for helping to coordinate this wonderful presentation that has traveled around Greenville this month. This experience, hands down, was a very poignant way to see and experience what it was like during the Holocaust. As we stood inside and watched the presentation flash on the walls, I was thinking about the building process of this entire project and how it came about. It is a phenomenal experience. If you see this coming back to your area or any other areas, go and experience it. It's worth it.

MLK Interfaith Harmony Dialogue

The Atlantic Institute has thoroughly enjoyed working with all of the partners that were involved in this project to honor and share in the dialogue and legacy of Dr Martin Luther King Jr's dream.
Thank you to Journalist Carolyn Murray for moderating a wonderful discussion between Rev John Reynolds, Dr Barbara Williams Emerson and Dr Akif Aydin. We learned and gained such insightful knowledge on living a legacy each day. Thank you to My Neighbors Voice for helping to facilitate breakout rooms for us to have a moment to discuss our thoughts with those in our small group.

You will need to watch this video in our YouTube library when you have the time. The words from Desimber Rose were so incredibly powerful and moving. Atlantic Institute SC YouTube Channel.

Panel discussion on the nature of ISIS

The panel event at Furman University brought various community leaders together. Mr. Akif Aydin, Atlantic Institute president, Dr. Ahmed Abdeladl from Islamic Society of Greenville, and Dr. Vaughn CroweTipton, the Chaplain and vice president for Spiritual Life at Furman University, were the panelists in the event. Dr. Kadir Yildirim, assistant professor of political science at Furman University, moderated the event with an introduction to the ideology of ISIS. The event aimed at informing the general public about the extremist ideology of ISIS, how it uses religion and terrorism to further its own political agenda. All three panelists agreed on the necessity to condemn atrocities perpetrated in the name of religion. The panel drew its audience of 250 from the student body at Furman University and the broader Greenville community.

Third Discussion on Book: A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam

May 24th at 7pm.

We would like to thank all that tuned into the three different dialogue discussions we hosted on the book: Journey into the Heart of Islam. Dr Aydin thoroughly enjoyed talking and hosting all of the discussions. We enjoyed having a global audience and input from around the world on this book. You can see the discussions on our YouTube Channel found here

In honor of Valentine's Day...

Thank you to all that joined us for our Book Club Meeting discussion on the book, Secrets of Divine Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam. We thank you for taking the time to read and share your insights with us on this wonderful book. Thank you to Dr Aydin for leading a wonderful discussion for all to attend. A recording of our discussion can be found on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/40LwJkY2L7E

Science and Religion: Quantum Physics and Free Will

Atlantic Institute (formerly South Carolina Dialogue Foundation) organized a fascinating and engaging event:

"Science and Religion: Quantum Physics and Free Will"

A video interview with the Nobel and Templeton prize winning Greenville native Charles Townes was featured which was followed by a panel discussion of Furman University faculty experts on Thursday, September 6,2012 at the Westminster Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall .

The video interview was done by Dr.Mustafa Tabanli, a programmer at Ebru TV.

The panelists:

Dr. David Rutledge, Furman University Department of Religion.

Dr. Mustafa Tabanli, Producer, Ebru TV.

Dr.Susan D'Amoto, Physics, Furman University

Moderator: Dr. Akan Malici, Department of Politics, Furman University.

Τhe 5th Annual
James Sawers, Jr. Interfaith Speaker Series
PANEL DISCUSSION ON INTERFAITH, ECOJUSTICE AND LOCAL COMMUNITY ACTIVISM

Friday, March 4, 2022 - 2:00 PM

FREE TO THE PUBLIC ALL ARE WELCOME

Zoom Link: bit.ly/climateandfaith

To learn more about the Interfaith Speaker Series and about The
Charleston Interreligious Council, visit www.CICouncil.org.

 Understanding Secularity

May 25th at 7:15pm

The Atlantic Institute is dedicated to promoting understanding between different cultures and faiths. To that end, we seek out people of all ways of life, philosophies and belief structures to learn from as many different perspectives as possible. We are excited to announce a panel that will see secular groups coming together to discuss their differences and similarities in an open forum. Join us as we explore the meaning of secularism, what types of groups that encompasses and how secularists view certain traditions and cultures.

Moderator

Aaron Simmons, Professor of Philosophy

I was born in Cleveland, TN in 1977 and grew up in Tampa, FL. I went to college to study Physics, but ended up falling in love with the humanities after spending a semester studying in Cambridge. I still approach philosophy from an interdisciplinary perspective and care deeply about the ideas that lie behind and motivate cultural expression in art, music, and literature. I received my Ph.D. in philosophy at Vanderbilt where I worked closely with David Wood. Now specializing in Postmodern Philosophy of Religion and Political Philosophy, I primarily engage in debates about the possibilities of determinate religious belief and practice in a deconstructive context.​

Panelists

 Mandisa Thomas, a native of New York City, is the founder and President of Black Nonbelievers, Inc. Although never formally indoctrinated into belief, Mandisa was heavily exposed to Christianity, Black Nationalism, and Islam. As a child she loved reading, and enjoyed various tales of Gods from different cultures, including Greek and Ghanaian. “Through reading these stories and being taught about other cultures at an early age, I quickly noticed that there were similarities and differences between those deities and the God of the Christian Bible. I couldn’t help but wonder what made this God so special that he warrants such prevalence today.” she recalls.

Herb Silverman, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at the College of Charleston

Herb Silverman is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at the College of Charleston, founder of the Secular Coalition for America, founder of the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry in Charleston, SC, and a recipient of the American Humanist Association Lifetime Achievement Award. Herb has appeared in a number of debates, including one at the Oxford University in England on the topic: Does American Religion Undermine American Values? His books include Candidate Without a Prayer: An Autobiography of a Jewish Atheist in the Bible Belt and An Atheist Stranger in a Strange Religious Land. His website is https://www.herbsilverman.com

Angel Freire

Born to Cuban parents and raised in the overwhelmingly Latin millieu of South Florida, I was exposed to the nominal Catholicism common in Hispanic culture. Once enrolled in a religious private school, a more evangelical Christianity entered the regular diet. This influence persisted until Philosophy 101 in college where a native propensity for scientific thinking dovetailed with the philosophical enterprise. Since then, a steady consumption of historical, psychological and philosophical material have provided the edifice for constructing meaning as a secular humanist

Culture vs Faith: Jewish Facts

Thank you so much to Arielle Nakdimon from the Greenville Jewish Federation and to Noah from Furman and Emme from Clemson for sharing yourselves with all of us and teaching us some of the specifics about Judaism. The video of this can be found here on our youtube channel: https://youtu.be/ckSSbPIZK60