Dispraxis

Contest: free signed John Loftus anthology The End of Christianity

2011-08-02T17:59:00.000-05:00

CONTEST!: Win a signed copy of the John Loftus anthology The End of Christianity!

Here are the contest details:
1) The contest is open to members of Think Atheist with a Twitter account. Create one now so that you're prepared ahead of time for the contest.

2) The contest will be held 9AM Friday August 5th to 12PM Sunday August 7th. (All times are Eastern US. Here's a timezone converter for those in other timezones around the world.)

3) You will be considered to have entered the contest when, as a Think Atheist member, you take to Twitter between the hours of 9AM Friday August 5th and 12PM Sunday August 7th to follow Think Atheist on Twitter and tweet a specific phrase. This page will be updated Friday morning with the specific phrase that will need to be tweeted. (It does no good to attempt, on the basis of our previous contests, to try to guess the phrase as tweets sent before the contest won't be counted. Having said that, if you'd like to follow Think Atheist on Twitter ahead of time there's no problem whatsoever in your doing so. And certainly it's a good idea to join Think Atheist ahead of time.)

4) One entry per person. Multiple entries will not count and may result in your being excluded from the contest entirely!

5) At the conclusion of the contest we will randomly draw 3 numbers corresponding to 3 entries. Winners will be announced on the Think Atheist Radio Show on August 7th beginning at 5PM Pacific/8PM Eastern*. Make sure you tune in to the show to see if you've won! (Remember, if you can't listen live you can listen to the show from the archive at any time immediately following its having aired live!) *Should any of the chosen entrants not be verified as Think Atheist members and as followers of Think Atheist on Twitter we will then randomly select another entrant. This will continue until such time as we have 3 verified Think Atheist members/Think Atheist Twitter followers as winners.

6) Winners MUST contact Nelson by emailing Nelson at iThinkAtheist.com with their address, a link to their Think Atheist profile page, and a link to their Twitter within 48 hours of the announcement of the winners to be eligible to receive their prize.** Upon verification of their eligibility as Think Atheist members and Twitter followers of Think Atheist we will take the shipping addresses of the winners and forward them to the publisher. All costs of shipping the book will be handled at no cost to the winners, whether a winner is within or without the US.
**IF YOU DO NOT CONTACT NELSON AT NELSON AT ITHINKATHEIST.COM WITHIN 48 HOURS TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE YOU WILL FORFEIT THE PRIZE AND ANOTHER WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN. THIS WILL GO ON UNTIL WE HAVE 3 CONFIRMED WINNERS THAT HAVE CLAIMED THEIR PRIZE

Audio book free previews - Robert M. Price - Night of the Living Savior - read by the Bible Geek himself!

2011-08-01T01:20:00.000-05:00

Please, click the Donate button to assist Robert M. Price and his family!

They can really use your help.

1966: the good ol' days.

2011-04-19T10:37:00.000-05:00

"Personally, I've never been confronted with the question of God," says one such politely indifferent atheist, Dr. Claude Lévi-Strauss, professor of social anthropology at the Collège de France. "I find it's perfectly possible to spend my life knowing that we will never explain the universe."

Some Jordanian Lead Plates 'made of people,' Miskatonic scientists reveal.

2011-04-01T18:56:00.000-05:00

April Fools!

Dispraxis was edited

2011-02-16T13:16:00.001-06:00

Recent changes on Dispraxis

Page My questions to Dr Robert M Price in mp3 format

Page My questions to Dr Robert M Price in mp3 format

edited by John F. Felix (diagroup)

Added links to my last two questions to Dr. Robert M. Price, the Bible Geek, in .mp3 format.

Dispraxis was edited

2010-11-18T10:43:00.001-06:00

Recent changes on Dispraxis

Page My questions to Dr Robert M Price in mp3 format

Page My questions to Dr Robert M Price in mp3 format

edited by John F. Felix

Question # 7: Jesus curses the fig tree. (2010/08/24) I have yet to rediscover the web page that mentions other tree-cursing stories from antiquity. Any help?
Note: I have had some email correspondence with the author of: 'Mythology, Menstruation and the "Woman with the Issue of Blood,"' Andre Zsigmond, on the site http://www.goddess-pages.co.uk, concerning alternate interpretations of the tree-cursing motif. He sent along some interesting links:
http://www.asphodel-long.com/html/asherah.html
http://www.matrifocus.com/LAM05/spotlight.htm
# 8: Does the Torah prohibit blood transfusions? (2010/11/17)
Copyright (c) 2010 by John F. Felix. All rights reserved.

One Week to Carl Sagan Day! How are you celebrating?

2010-11-03T08:26:00.000-05:00

Carl Sagan Day: November 9
Celebrate with us!

Carl Sagan was a Professor of Astronomy and Space Science and Director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University, but most of us know him as a Pulitzer Prize winning author and the creator of COSMOS. That Emmy and Peabody award-winning PBS television series transformed educational television when it first aired in 1980, but now, thirty years later, it's gone on to affect the hearts and minds of over a billion people in sixty countries.
No other scientist has been able to reach and teach so many nonscientists in such a meaningful way, and that is why we honor Dr. Sagan, remember his work, and revel in the cosmos he helped us understand.
Last year’s inaugural Carl Sagan Day event in Ft. Lauderdale was a fantastic success. They're back again this year and now other groups around the world are planning their own tributes with science fairs, planetarium shows, teacher workshops, star parties, COSMOS marathons, and more – all to say “Thanks!” to Sagan and to bring his gifts to another generation of “star stuff.”

Look for events already planned near you and
check back with us for updates at
carlsaganday.org!

Whether you're an independent skeptics group, an astronomy club or a science department, a researcher, a teacher, or a student, let us know how you're planning to commemorate Carl Sagan Day 2010 and we'll add your event to our Carl Sagan Day event calendar to help spread the word.

Please email your event information to centerforinquiry.net.

LIMITED TIME ONLY! Don't forget to check out our CFI Store where you can find
special edition COSMOS-themed necklace pendants made by hand by Surly-Ramics!

COSMOS imagery and logo copyright © 1980 Druyan-Sagan Associates, Inc. formerly known as Carl Sagan Productions, Inc. For more information about CFI or Carl Sagan Day, please visit carlsaganday.org or email centerforinquiry.net.

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Dispraxis was edited

2010-10-25T17:14:00.000-05:00

Recent changes on Dispraxis

Page My questions to Dr Robert M Price in mp3 format

Page My questions to Dr Robert M Price in mp3 format

edited by John F. Felix (diagroup)

Question # 5 & # 6: How reliable are Dr. Price's Pre-Nicene New Testament translations? and Evidence in the Septuagint Greek for reverse engineering by the MT.
Question # 7: Jesus curses the fig tree. I have yet to rediscover the web page that mentions other tree-cursing stories from antiquity. Any help?
Note: I have had some email correspondence with the author of: 'Mythology, Menstruation and the "Woman with the Issue of Blood,"' Andre Zsigmond, on the site http://www.goddess-pages.co.uk, concerning alternate interpretations of the tree-cursing motif. He sent along some interesting links:
http://www.asphodel-long.com/html/asherah.html
http://www.matrifocus.com/LAM05/spotlight.htm
Copyright (c) 2010 by John F. Felix. All rights reserved.

Help support Double Feature Press.

2010-10-06T10:52:00.004-05:00

From the Double Feature Press kickstart page:

Welcome to the Kickstarter page for Double Feature Press. We are a small press formed by Sarah L. Covert in October of 2010. Sarah grew up on drive-in movies. That is where her love for Science Fiction, Strange Tales, and Horror was born. Double Feature Press has an interesting concept, based around the old double feature drive-in flicks. Each book has two authors. Each author contributes either short stories, poems, or novellas to make up their half of the book. The books will all be in the genres Sarah loved as a child and loves even more now. They will be limited edition runs.Our first book is due out in 2011.

Project By

Sarah L. Covert
Charlotte, NC

Sarah L. Covert is a fiction writer and editor living in Charlotte, North Carolina with her adorable cat Misha and her wonderful husband, Henry. She grew up in a small town outside of Pittsburgh, where her love for reading and writing science-fiction, strange tales and horror began. She was only 10 years old when she wrote her first scary story. She lived in Portland, Oregon for a decade, where her love for the strange and unusual was fostered.

“Someone once asked what it was that first drew me to horror, science-fiction and strange tales. That's easy - Drive-In Theater Double Features. As a child my family and I would regularly go to the drive-in (back when they were far more prevalent). Usually they would play a "kid friendly" movie as the opener and a more adult movie later in the evening when the kids should have been sleeping. I never slept.” – Sarah L. Covert

sheneverslept.com
doublefeaturepress.com

Dispraxis was edited

2010-10-01T16:43:00.002-05:00

Recent changes on Dispraxis

Page FrontPage

edited by John F. Felix (diagroup)

Welcome to DIAGroup - Digital Interlinear Analysts Group wiki!
Just added:

Mythicism→Mythicism in 12 Easy Pieces→Earl Doherty 10 Years After

Forge a New Symbol for Tolerance

2010-09-14T23:23:00.000-05:00

The one of most essential aspects of me as a person is that I don’t live religiously, in that considering Ground Zero as a “sacred site” is not within my ken. I do see it as a powerful symbol -- a statement about secular-based American democracy against sectarian fanaticism. Because I am a non-theist, I oppose in principle any religious shrine, icon or building there because, in my opinion, it was religion that was at the heart of the problem and ultimately the cause of the attacks in the first place.

However, my concern for preserving the site from intrusion by religious centers, whether Muslim or not, became modified by the fact that there was a “sacred space” within the south tower for Muslim workers to perform their daily obligations. Thus the symbol changed in its significance for me, becoming representative of America -- just one country among many-- rather than as an idealized sysmbol of a principled system of freedom of, and from, religion, now under attack for its capacity for tolerance by enemies who themselves suffer no tolerance.

To me, it is an obvious no-brainer that burning Qurans would lead to anti-American violence. However the Iman Rauf has maintained that if the center is forced to move, Muslims world-wide would still commit violent acts, because it would be perceived as persecution of Islam in the U.S. This dubious reasoning is an attempt to corner us into giving in and allowing the center to remain close to Ground Zero, and is at best a probable exaggeration. The American extremists on the other hand maintain that giving in would make America look weak and encourage anti-American violence. This position is also based on the assumption that inevitable effects will follow from the cause, and is also logically fallacious. It could be just as likely that it will make America appear strong, not fearing that such a clear gesture of tolerance would be exploited, but rather praised and revered, perhaps leading to a lowering of the threat level.

I hope for a new symbol of everything that I personally love about America to be forged., though in practice it is far from becoming a reality.

Reflections on the origins of Judaism

2010-08-22T17:10:00.004-05:00

The Assyrians were the probably the first major power in the Levant that practiced pacification through hegonomy, i.e., the imposition of standards of government, taxation, political affiliation and, most importantly, religion. The indigenous peoples were required to reform their worship along the lines of the Assyrian chief deities, although the locals were allowed to call them by whatever name they wished.

The Assyrian vassal treaty that forms the core of Deuteronomy was indeed a reform imposed from without. The cherubim iconography of the writings and of Northern Israel temples stems from this period, but Hezekiah and others were not cleansing the religious system of idolatry, but instituting the “correct” form, under the directives from their Assyrian overlords. The Assyrian highest god, Asshur, became the first model of what was later to morph into YHWH.

Other native city states, such as Judah, were also introduced to the new concept of Henotheism, the belief that although there were many gods, there was only one chief God. The northern kingdom of Israel was eventually overrun by the Assyrians, who imported in non-native peoples who quickly mixed with the Canaanites, the records of the statelet being transfered to the notoriously literature-hungry Assyrians. Later the city-state of Judah, centered in a newly prosperous Jerusalem, was also absorbed into the Babylonian empire, heir to the Assyrian records, among other things.

The Henotheistic exiles were purposefully isolating themselves into a distinct group while in captivity, who found that it was theologically impossible to worship their chief god, a form of Baal-Asshur, called YHWH, in a land that was under control of another god, Marduk. Zoroastrian religion was filtering into the Babylonian empire and the exiles converted to a form of it, a system near enough to be considered Zoroastrian, but having the monotheistic-trending god, YHWH, as the name of the God of Heaven, thus necessitating to account for “Mazda,” as explained below. As Zarathustranism turned to polytheism under the influence of Babylon, the exiles became ultra-monotheistic, rejecting all other gods, which represented everything bad that hitherto had happened to them.

The book of Daniel is actually a tale of the subversion of Babylon by a disloyal internal force, the ancestors of the people resettled into Judah. Daniel interprets the writing on the wall, declaring that the "Most High God" has decreed an end to the empire of the Chaldeans, and "In that night was Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom...." [KJV, Dn 5:30, 31]. By this time, the now ancient Daniel is decked out as "third ruler in the kingdom," a convenient position from which to influence subsequent events.

Cyrus, king of Persia, favored the Juddin of Babylon, as they were called, at first, but eventually found it expedient to encourage them to govern hostile territory in Judah, establishing a temple and tax-collection statelet for "all Jewry." Here I interpret Jewry, another variant of Juddin, as a non-ethnic, religious distinction. When they arrived, their religion and holy writings fasioned in the libraries of a Mesopotamian land, encountered native Canaanites heavily influenced by Egyptian culture, as the Levant had been mostly under their control before the Assyrians. The tensions between Persia and Egypt were mythologized into Egypt vs. the Israelites, or vs. God himself.

These Canaanites that lived in the land of re-settlement were still worshippers of YHWH and El, but were now seen as unclean and outcast pagans, as devotees of demons, and as forgetters and perverters of the “true worship,” a mythical system synthesized during the Babylonian captivity and fasioned after worship of YHWH (Ahuramazda) as the God of Heaven. The reluctance of the Juddin to voluntarily settle in a “land of promise” and the resistance of local worshipers of El, various Baals, including YHWH, led a forced settlement under Darius II, later mythologized as the forced migration of slaves in Egypt to the land of Canaan. Persian loyalties made it literarily inevitable that the main antagonist of the Hebrew writings be burdened upon the Egyptians. Nevertheless, the indigenous population of Judah contributed much to the ever-evolving collection of writings that provided the statelet with its national mythology. The pre-exilic kingdoms of Israel and Judah were myths, likewise based on the surviving records of the various conquerors, a Jewish southern kingdom having been woven out of parallel events recorded of the actual historical northern kingdom.

As Mazda mutated into Moses at the hands of Alexandrian Juddin, spurred by antagonism between the Egyptians and Persian-loyal Juddin, or Jews, living there, a Hebrew work was created to weld together the exilic and post-exilic story of the Jews, presenting the Egyptians as the main enemy. Just as Persia had detested all things Egyptian, their Juddin descendants, once Persia was neutralized by the Greeks, continued to see the Egyptians as their chief antagonists. As knowledge of Hebrew died out (Aramaic had already displaced it by this time) Greek translations became necessary. Since Hebrew was probably a dead language by this time, to write extended literary works in this language should be interpreted as an effort at deliberate archaizing.These Alexandrian romances were, over an extended period, translated into Greek and redacted, becoming the Septuagint, an ongoing work probably until the time of Herod the Great.

The myth of the Septuagint, as recorded by some ancient writers, can be seen in many ways as a deliberate inversion of the actual circumstances. The Hebrew texts were not imported into Egypt, but were in actuality created there, and allowed to become moth-eaten and corrupted by copyists. Later the Palestinian Jews imported what remained of the older texts, supplementing the many corruptions by “reverse-engineering” the Septuagint into Hebrew where necessary, making editorial changes, etc., a process that possibly continued at Qumram.

Sacrifice on the Serengeti - A Guest Post by Eric M Johnson | Dr. Carin Bondar

2010-08-20T15:20:00.002-05:00

“However, on average, the general trend for Homo sapiens is to follow the same evolutionary forces that exist for any other species. Those traits that allowed more of an individuals genes to be passed on to the next generation were selected for and those that didn’t were ultimately discarded. The evidence has been steadily advancing that menopause is not simply the result of women living longer than their chimpanzee counterparts but that it was an evolutionarily successful strategy that allowed more members of our species to survive and reproduce.”
Technorati Tags: Dr. Carin Bondar,sacrifice,serengeti,genes,evolution,menopause

Refuting Quackery with Science-Based Medicine

2010-08-20T15:17:00.001-05:00

The Center For Inquiry/Chicago is pleased to co-sponsor, with Chicago Skeptics and the Women Thinking Free Foundation:

Refuting Quackery with Science-Based Medicine

with David Gorski, MD

Saturday, August 21st, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Black Rock Pub/Kitchen, 3614 N. Damen Ave., Chicago

Free to attend.

David H. Gorski, MD, PhD, FACS is a surgical oncologist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, specializing in breast cancer surgery. He will be discussing science and evidence-based medicine (SEBM).

Dr. Gorski first became interested in pseudoscience and "alternative" medicine around 2000, when quite by accident he wandered into the Usenet newsgroup "misc.health.alternative" and began critically examining the claims there. Since then, he has accumulated considerable experience refuting quackery and pseudoscience online. For the last five years, he has blogged under a pseudonym, producing what is consistently ranked as one of the top ten medical blogs. (Finding Dr. Gorski’s other, far more (in)famous blog persona is left as an exercise for the interested reader.)

Black Rock Pub & Kitchen has a good menu and was voted as CitySearch's "best neighborhood bar" of 2008.

We are co-sponsoring this event, so you are sure to meet at least a few new skeptical and secular friends from the other groups. Remember, this is a SATURDAY AFTERNOON meeting!
No cover charge. Of course, you purchase your own food and beverage.

If you are thinking of coming to this event, please RSVP to the CFI office with your name so we can estimate the number of people who will be attending. CFI office: 312-226-xxxx or email us at chicago@.

Support CFI/Chicago

The CFI/Chicago is uniquely positioned to help you live a secular, inquiring, joyful life in Chicago. Join us, won't you? It's only $60 per year, and joining helps demonstrate your commitment to our shared values!

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Dispraxis was edited

2010-07-27T09:32:00.000-05:00

Recent changes on Dispraxis

Page Young's Analytical Lexicon

Page Young's Analytical Lexicon

added by John F. Felix (diagroup)

The work has already begun.

The Agnostic's Manifesto

2010-06-30T20:54:00.000-05:00

Keyword News: [atheism]
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 11:54 PM PDT

The Agnostic's Manifesto

Arts Journal Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:58 PM PDT

Ron Rosenbaum: "Let's get one thing straight: Agnosticism is not some kind of weak-tea atheism. Agnosticism is not atheism or theism. It is radical skepticism, doubt in the possibility of certainty, opposition to the unwarranted certainties that atheism and theism offer.

AANEWS for Wednesday, June 23, 2010

2010-06-25T07:49:00.000-05:00

A M E R I C A N A T H E I S T S
A A N E W S
#1329 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 06/23/2010
http://www.atheists.org/
http://www.americanatheist.org/
http://www.atheistviewpoint.tv/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Service of AMERICAN ATHEISTS, a nationwide movement that defends
civil rights for non-believers; works for the total separation of
Church and State; and addresses issues of First Amendment public
policy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"ATHEIST is really a thoroughly honest, unambiguous term, it admits
of no paltering and no evasion, and the need of the world, now as
ever, is for clear-cut issues and unambiguous speech."
-- Chapman Cohen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"All religions are equally sublime to the ignorant, useful to the
politician, and ridiculous to the philosopher."
- Lucretius, On the Nature of Things
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In This Issue...
* Breaking, AP: Philly Jury OKs BSA discrimination on municipal property
* Background: Philadelphia trial examines discrimination in Scouting ranks
* Worth Noting: Bachman's "Christian Counseling" took public money
* AA Letter to the Editor competition now open
* Voice of Reason Pod cast -- this week, "Touchdown Jesus"
* Check out Dave's NoGodBlog
* Follow AANEWS on Twitter
* Resources
* About this list...

Breaking
JURY: CITY CANNOT EVICT BOY SCOUTS OVER DISCRIMINATION
PHILADELPHIA - A jury says the city of Philadelphia cannot evict
a local Boy Scouts chapter from a city-owned building for refusing
to admit gays.
The city insisted that nonprofits given free use of its property
must abide by local anti-discrimination laws.
The scouts said they can legally limit their membership because of
a 2000 Supreme Court decision. They had sued in federal court to
stop the eviction.
Cradle of Liberty Council leaders have tried to walk a fine line
to retain city support without losing their national Boy Scouts
charter. The national organization bans gays.
Scouts lawyer Jason Gosselin says he hopes the two sides can work
out their differences in negotiations.
*
June 18, 2010 -- CNN coverage
Trial could settle dispute between Boy Scouts, Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- A federal trial is underway that
could settle a dispute between Philadelphia Boy Scouts and the city.
The national Scout policy that prohibits the hiring of homosexuals
puts the Philadelphia Scout chapter, the Cradle of Liberty Council,
in violation of the city charter and an ordinance outlawing
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and other grounds.
The Scouts were told by the city to pay $200,000 a year to lease
the building or vacate their headquarters that have been located
on city land, rent-free since 1928.
In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts could
exclude gay youth and troop leaders because the group is categorized
as a "membership organization." The city contends Cradle of Liberty
Council's refusal to openly reject the national scout policy violates
the City Charter.
The lawsuit filed by the Cradle of Liberty Council contends the
city's ultimatum violates their First Amendment rights and that the
city's position is unconstitutional and violates the organization's
right to free speech and equal protection. The trial began Monday
with jury selection.
The Scouts also argue that city leases property to other
organizations that have membership rules, including a Catholic
church and the Colonial Dames of America, and those tenants do not
face eviction, said attorneys for the Scouts. The city said the
comparison is inaccurate.
In 2007, City Council passed an ordinance to evict the Scouts and
later went to court in June 2008 to do so, but Cradle filed the
federal civil-rights lawsuit in May 2008.
In 2009, U.S. District Judge Ronald Buckwalter issued an injunction
stopping the city from evicting the Scouts until the federal lawsuit
is resolved.
**
WORTH NOTING...
Hitchens As Atheism's Drag Queen In reading the recent comments on
this subject I've noticed that we, as atheists, are often using the
language of the gay rights movement to describe what it's like to be
an atheist in a largely theistic society--particularly the desire
to 'come out' as atheists. While sexual orientation and religious
belief are by no means equivalent, and I think it remains harder
to come out as a homosexual than as an atheist, the metaphor is
interesting and helps us understand the appeal of the 'New Atheists.'
<http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/06/a-louder-athiesm.html>
The Right's Favorite Atheist S.E. Cupp is the right wing's
current media darling who doesn't believe in God but just
penned a book attacking the liberal media and defending
Christianity. Benyamin Cohen unravels the Cupp enigma.
<http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-13/se-cupp-attacks-newsweek-defends-christianity-and-atheism/?cid=hp:topnav:book>
Bachmann's Christian Counseling Business Gets Public Funds Andy
Birkey at the Minnesota Independent reports that a Christian
counseling center owned by Michele Bachmann and her husband has
received more than $30,000 in public funds since 2007. It even
comes from one of those "socialized medicine" systems the state of
Minnesota runs for poor people.
<http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2010/06/bachmanns_christian_counseling.php>
Touchdown Jesus On Fire, Ohio Statue Destroyed By Lightning (VIDEO)
A six-story-tall statue of Jesus Christ with his arms raised along
a highway was struck by lightning in a thunderstorm Monday night
and burned to the ground, police said. The "King of Kings" statue,
one of southwest Ohio's most familiar landmarks, had stood since
2004 at the evangelical Solid Rock Church along Interstate 75 in
Monroe, just north of Cincinnati.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/15/king-of-kings-ohio-jesus_n_612360.html>
OPINION: Not knocking on heaven's door: Black atheists, urban
America Late Saturday afternoon, like clockwork, the street corner
preachers on Crenshaw and King Boulevard in South Los Angeles
take to the "stage." Decked out in flowing robes and dreadlocks,
they fulminate into their mikes about the universe, God's will
and "unnatural" homosexuals to a motley audience waiting for the
next express bus. Members of the Black Israelites, they are part
of a long tradition of performative religiosity in urban African
American communities.
<http://www.intersectionssouthla.org/index.php/story/not_knocking_on_heavens_door_black_atheists_urban_america/>
Stephen Colbert Author Interview: Stephen Prothero On The 8 Religions That
Rule The World And Why Their Differences Matter (VIDEO) Stephen
Prothero, Boston University professor and author of the new book
"God Is Not One," spoke to Stephen Colbert last night about his
book and why the eight religions that run the world have a lot of
important differences that we shouldn't overlook as much as we do. "I
wrote the book because religions are horribly misunderstood," he
said. "We have these atheists that are saying that all the religions
are the same and bad, and we have these multiculturalists that are
saying that all the religions are the same and good." Prothero sets
out to illuminate the differences in his book, because, he said,
"religions are not different paths going up the same mountain"
--they have different goals and different concerns.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/15/stephen-colbert-author-in_n_612739.html>
Haley's path to Christianity leaves some evangelicals uneasy Whispers
about Nikki Haley's Sikh heritage burst into public view in the final
days of South Carolina's Republican gubernatorial primary when state
Sen. Jake Knotts called the Indian-American legislator a "raghead."
<http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/15/haleys-path-to-christianity-leaves-some-evangelicals-uneasy/>
Russian Creationism Sounds Frighteningly Familiar Religious
fundamentalists have begun promoting creationism in Russia --
and they are doing so using many of the same strategies and
buzzwords adopted by fellow extremists in the United States
.<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-zimmerman/russian-creationism-sound_b_610266.html>
Godless billionaires ask super-rich to 'give it up' Who
says atheists, agnostics and freethinkers don't give a lot to
charity? Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, two of America's wealthiest
men and greatest philanthropists, issued a call Wednesday for the
nation's billionaires to make a moral commitment to donate at least
50% of their money to charity or other philanthropic causes. They've
even launched a website, The Giving Pledge, where the super-rich can
"take the pledge":
<http://www.examiner.com/x-8947-LA-Atheism-Examiner~y2010m6d17-Godless-billionaires-ask-superrich-to-give-it-up>
God and the Political Romantic Like most English-speaking scribes,
I've spent the last few weeks dipping in and out of Christopher
Hitchens' memoir, "Hitch-22." Of all the reviews to date, David
Runciman's essay in the London Review of Books seems to me to cut
closest to the heart of Hitch
http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/
Murfreesboro mosque opponents pack commission meeting MURFREESBORO
- Hundreds of residents packed Thursday's Rutherford County
Commission meeting where dozens voiced opposition to a
planned Islamic center off Bradyville Pike in southeast
Murfreesboro.<http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100618/NEWS01/6180332/Murfreesboro>+mosque+opponents+pack+commission+meeting
Ethics Office Clears C Street House In Rent Probe The Office of
Congressional Ethics has sent letters to several residents of the
C Street Christian fellowship house informing them that there is no
"probable cause" to believe legislators are getting improper gifts
in the form of below-market rent, Roll Call reports. The house has
been the target of more than one allegation that the reported rent
of $950 for a furnished room amounts to an unreported gift or income.
Ohio's Jesus statue is latest religious statue to be struck
by lightning It appears God has sacrificed his only son. Again.
A bolt struck a 62-foot-tall statue of Jesus Christ on Monday
outside a church in Monroe, Ohio, and the statue erupted in
flames. All that remains is a charred steel skeleton, its spindly
arms stretched toward heaven, a gesture that once earned it the
nickname "Touchdown Jesus."
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/15/AR2010061505135.html?hpid=topnews>
Richard Dawkins among academics calling for compulsory evolution
teaching at primary school Evolution should be taught to all primary
school pupils, according to leading scientists and academics.
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7838020/Richard-Dawkins-among-academics-calling-for-compulsory-evolution-teaching-at-primary-school.html>
**
American Atheists Letter to the Editor Competition 2011
The Letter to the Editor Competition 2011 is open only to members
of American Atheists. To enter, send the uncut and complete
newspaper page containing your published letter. Letters must
be published between January 1 and December 31, 2010. Entries
need to be received on or before January 30, 2011. Include your
address, telephone number, and your e-mail address (should you
have one). Letters can cover any issue of importance which advances
the Atheist cause. Letters will be judged by educational content,
persuasiveness, and how well they portray Atheism in a positive
light. Members of the board, officers, and State and Regional
Directors are ineligible to enter.
The winner will be announced at the national Convention 2011, and
will receive an American Atheist award plaque and on free year
of membership in American Atheists. All entered letters will be
displayed at Convention 2011.
Send your entries to: Neal Cary (email) P. O. Box 828 Glen Allen, VA
23060-0828
VOICE OF REASON" PODCAST LAUNCHED
"The Voice of Reason" is a new Podcast service sponsored by
American Atheists featuring news and commentary of interest to the
non-believer community. Visit http://www.atheists.org/reason to
download episodes. You can also follow "The Voice of Reason" on
Twitter and receive updates when new broadcasts are available. Sign
up at http://www.twitter.com/aavoiceofreason .
**
CHECK OUT THE NOGODBLOG!
It is one of the fastest growing blogs in the
Atheist/Freethought/Secular Humanist community, and you can get in
on the discussion!
Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists is in
the Blogosphere at http://nogodblog.com/. It's filled with insight,
wit, hot news, controversial opinion -- and polite, thoughtful
commentary. So join the conversation! Sign up (it's free) by
visiting http://www.atheists.org/ and click on the blog navigation
button, or go directly to http://nogodblog.com/ .
**
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**
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* For membership information about American Atheists, send
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* Current members in good standing of American Atheists may sign up
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**
ABOUT THIS LIST...
AANEWS is a free service from American Atheists, a nationwide
movement founded by Madalyn Murray O'Hair that defends the civil
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You may forward, post or quote from this dispatch provided
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Dispraxis was edited

2010-06-21T14:14:00.000-05:00

Recent changes on Dispraxis

Page My questions to Dr Robert M Price in mp3 format

Page My questions to Dr Robert M Price in mp3 format

edited by John F. Felix

My questions to Dr. Robert M. Price (mp3 format)
Here are links tosome .mp3 files, each containing one or more questions submitted by me to Dr. Robert M. Price, the "Biblegeek," who currently accepts Bible-related questions at: criticus@aol.com.
The official Website of Dr. Price has a page dedicated to the Biblegeek show:http://www.robertmprice.mindvendor.com/biblegeek.htm. Also, check out his latest endeavor on the Center For Inquiry's podcastPoint of Inquiry,and his CFI blog: http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blogs/robertmprice.
The Biblegeek audio show ishosted by uStream.tv at:http://ustream.tv/channel/thebiblegeek.
Question # 1: A "Q" community?
Question # 5 & # 6: How reliable are Dr. Price's Pre-Nicene New Testament translations? and Evidence in the Septuagint Greek for reverse engineering by the MT.
Copyright (c) 2010 by John F. Felix. All rights reserved.

Keyword News: [atheism]

2010-06-18T11:04:00.001-05:00

Modern libertarianism is usurpation of an earlier movement, with a firm foundation in freethought, atheism and progressivist feminism.

Yahoo! Alerts

Yahoo! News - My Alerts - Edit Alert

Thursday, June 17, 2010 7:54 AM PDT

Voltairine de Cleyre: Penitent Priestess of Anarchism
Ludwig von Mises Institute Thu, 17 Jun 2010 05:21 AM PDT
In the late 1880s, Voltairine de Cleyre, a mere girl of 19 or 20, was traipsing around Western Michigan lecturing on Thomas Paine and atheism. She soon became one of anarchism's most prominent advocates.

See more news stories that match my keyword

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Dispraxis was edited

2010-06-16T18:07:00.001-05:00

Recent changes on Dispraxis

Page Damascus Document Sneak Peek

Page Damascus Document Sneak Peek

edited by John F. Felix (diagroup@)

Only formatting differences

Making Humanism Relevant to African Americans

2010-06-16T16:33:00.001-05:00

"Making Humanism Relevant to African Americans"

Saturday, July 10, 6:00-11:00 pm

Center for Inquiry Indiana
350 Canal Walk, Suite A
Indianapolis, IN 46202

Featuring Special Guest Speakers:

Jamila Bey, Journalist and Comedian — "African American Humanists Coming Out"

Gilbert Holmes, Executive Director, ACLU of Indiana — "Vignettes from My Life—A Journey of Faith, Doubt, and Questioning"

Desmond Wood, CFI Indiana Friend of the Center — "Transformations"

Rod Ross — Remarks by CFI Indiana Friends of the Center

Plus, a performance by well known Indianapolis musicians, The Steve Weakley Group

Join us for a Meet & Greet Pre-Event Lunch/Dinner: 3:00 pm

The Kountry Kitchen Soul Food Place
1831 North College Avenue, Indianapolis

Reservations required by July 1.
Email indy@centerforinquiry.net for reservations.

(Everyone orders from the menu and pays for their own meal)

Everyone is invited to attend!

Register online or mail in registration.

$25 suggested donation or whatever you can afford.
Admission at the door will be on space-available basis.

The date of this event coincides with the 40th Annual Indiana Black Expo in Indianapolis.

Speaker Bios:

Jamila Bey is a journalist and comedian living in Washington, DC. Born to a Southern Baptist convert to Catholicism and a non-practicing Black Muslim, Jamila has formally renounced her "confused" belief in the supernatural and is now an out and proud Atheist. Jamila began her career covering government in her hometown of Pittsburgh and moved to DC where she was an editor for four years at National Public Radio. She's been a writer for hire for the better part of the last decade and is devoted to spreading the gospel of Logic, Reason, and Science to all those who may hear. Check out her article, "Black Women Who Use the "A" Word."

Gilbert Holmes is a long time board member and now Executive Director of ACLU of Indiana. He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University, University of Southern California, and the Indiana University School of Law. He has had a distinguished career in both government and the private sector including Commissioner, Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) and President/CEO of Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation (IndyGo).

Desmond Wood was baptized as a Lutheran but drifted away from the church as he matured. He converted to Islam in 2000. During this time, he traveled to the Middle East and studied Arabic. In 2005, he began to hang out and study with an esoteric group in Indianapolois. After a year with them, he began to study diverse subjects on his own and discovered Center for Inquiry Indiana. He is a serious student of philosophy and religion as well as studying the art of classical music and jazz on the classical guitar.

Rod Ross is an accomplished painter and sculptor. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Visual Communication from Indiana University/Herron School of Art & Design. He has been a graphic design instructor, art teacher at a private school, faculty member of Clark College and Ivy Tech State College, and co-owner of a graphic design studio. Presently he is a teacher in Indianapolis Public Schools. He has been a member of CFI Indiana for several years. His website is www.rodross.com.

Brought to you by CFI Indiana and African Americans for Humanism

nonprofit software

Secular Humanism Online News -- April, 2010

2010-04-19T19:28:00.002-05:00

Vol.6 No.4, April, 2010

In This Issue:

Don't Miss the Council’s 30th Year L.A. Conference!

The Council for Secular Humanism has announced the spectacular lineup for its 30th Anniversary Conference. Long in the planning, “Setting the Agenda: Secular Humanism’s Next 30 Years” will feature some of the most impressive names in science promotion and secularism today, including Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Robert Wright, James Randi, P.Z. Myers, Christopher diCarlo, Eugenie Scott, Paul Kurtz, Lawrence Krauss, Chris Mooney, Jennifer Michael Hecht, Victor Stenger, Shadia Drury, Mark Johnson, Barry Kosmin, Ibn Warraq, and many more.

Discounts Available for Early Birds

Starting about May 1, the public at large will be able to register for the conference at regular rates. The Council will have a Web page with online registration and do a national brochure mailing to all FREE INQUIRY and SKEPTICAL INQUIRER subscribers. But there is an early-bird discount for those in the know: advance-registration discounts are available in the April/May FREE INQUIRY magazine to give subscribers and single-issue purchasers a chance to register first at lower rates. Those discounts, however, will be available only through May 15, and only when people register by mail or phone using the form in that issue (now on newsstands).

Apart from the roster of distinguished speakers, the conference will also feature the 15th anniversary celebration banquet for Center for Inquiry/Los Angeles, chaired by CFI/LA director James Underdown, which will include a live restaging of one of Steve Allen’s classic Meeting of Minds PBS episodes, starring Entourage’s Gary Cole as Steve Allen, with Charles Shuaghnessy (The Nanny), Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me), Robert Forster (Oscar nominee for Jackie Brown) and Dan Lauria (the father in The Wonder Years), who will portray intriguing historical figures live on stage.
The conference will be held in the lavishly restored, exuberantly art-deco Millennium Biltmore Hotel—the site of the Academy Awards ceremonies during the 1930s and 1940s and the on-site movie set of numerous Hollywood films, including Vertigo, Cocoon, and Ghostbusters.

Click here to see the full announcement

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African Americans for Humanism to Explore New Directions at Washington, D.C. conference

The first conference to be devoted exclusively to African Americans for Humanism (AAH), a program of the Council for Secular Humanism, will take place Sunday, May 16, at the Center for Inquiry’s Washington, D.C. office. The theme of the conference is “New Directions for African American Humanism.” It is scheduled to run from noon to 6 p.m.
Speakers will include AAH executive director Norm R. Allen Jr., CFI field organizer Debbie Goddard, freelance journalist Jamila Bey, and columnist Sikivu Hutchinson. Topics will include African American women and humanism, how to attract African Americans to organized humanism, the role of the clergy in the African American community, great African American humanists in history, and other subjects.
Registration is $45 for the general public, $35 for Friends of the Center and AAH members, and $15 for students. For abstracts of scheduled talks and registration information, visit:
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/dc/events/african_americans_for_humanism_conference/
This event is co-sponsored by the Center for Inquiry/D.C. and African Americans for Humanism.

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Secular Organizations for Sobriety to Hold Festival of Recovery in Celebration of 25 Years

Secular Organizations for Sobriety, also known as Save Our Selves (SOS) is set to mark 25 years of service this year when it hosts its third-annual Festival of Recovery on April 24, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Center for Inquiry/Los Angeles' Steve Allen Theater.
They do this in the shadow of Alcoholics Anonymous’ 75th anniversary. SOS is the world’s largest non-religious alterative to AA’s traditional “faith based” 12-Step program.
The ecumenical festival will feature all recovery options, including AA, Narcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, SOS, Women for Sobriety, SMART Recovery and mental health community recovery groups.
For more information, contact Jim Christopher via e-mail at sos

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Skeptics and Humanists Aid and Relief Effort (SHARE) Receives Notable Coverage in The New York Times

The Center for Inquiry’s charitable arm, Skeptics and Humanists Aid and Relief Effort (SHARE), received a notable mention in an April 2nd New York Times feature piece by distinguished columnist Samuel G. Freedman titled Atheists’ Collection Plate, With Religious Inspiration. (The Center is a supporting organization of the Council for Secular Humanism.)
Sherry Rook, CFI’s vice president of development, was quoted in the story, which detailed the recent efforts of the new “Foundation Beyond Belief,” founded by Dale McGowan.
The full article is available online here.
SHARE raised more than $100,000 in relief funds following the devastating January 12 Haitian earthquake. The response was immediate, with $47,000 coming in less than 24 hours after announcing the campaign on January 15. All donations—100 percent with no operating costs retained—were sent directly to the secular aid group Doctors Without Borders, which suffered the loss of all three of its medical facilities and worked against difficulties to provide the basics of first-aid care and stabilization.
SHARE began as a project of the Council for Secular Humanism in 1989 to provide an alternative for those who wish to contribute to disaster relief efforts without the intermediary of a religious organization. At that time SHARE was called the Secular Humanist Aid and Relief Effort. In early 2010, the SHARE program was transferred to the Center for Inquiry's aegis and renamed Skeptics and Humanists Aid and Relief Effort, still maintaining the acronym SHARE.

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On the Legal Front:

Church-State Struggle Continues to Fester in East Ramapo, New York
By Oscar Cohen
Our school district is in the midst of a church-state First Amendment struggle. The tension is palpable on alternate Wednesday evenings during East Ramapo Central School District’s (ERCSD) board meetings (www.youtube.com/luckylouproduction) where five of the nine school board members, voted into office by the orthodox Jewish community, consistently vote as a bloc to advance the interests of religion-based private schools. Three of the nine Board members, and most of the audience, are residents who have attended and/or whose children attend the public schools; their advocacy for public school education is clear. The bloc of five’s whispering, furtiveness, threats, and refusal to respond to the public’s questions characterize many of the meetings. This is a manifestly unequal tug-of-war concerning the use of public funds for private religious schools versus the use of taxes to support secular public school education.
A major interest of the religious school-associated board members is the referral of parochial special education school children to private religious schools at taxpayer expense. Children with disabilities in the United States are entitled to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE). Only when a school district cannot provide an appropriate special education to a child may the school district consider placing, and paying for, a child to attend a private school. The cost of such private service to the ERCSD can be as much as $70,000/year per student as opposed to approximately $25,000/year in a public school. ERCSD is known to offer excellent special education programs, superior to and less expensive than those in most private schools. There is no apparent educational reason for most children with disabilities in East Ramapo to be sent to private religious schools for such services at taxpayer expense.
Nevertheless, this winter the bloc of five, without prior discussion with the full board, fired the ERCSD district attorney of twenty-five years despite community objections, hiring instead a Long Island based lawyer with a well-documented reputation for placing children with disabilities in private religious schools at public expense. Every request for an explanation for hiring this attorney was met with silence. The new lawyer is charging the district $424,000 more than the previous school attorney, including $200 per meeting for the hundred-mile round trip he must take. The previous attorney worked in the county and did not charge for travel. This kind of decision is affecting students attending public schools in a negative way. For example, with the budget already tight, the district was unable to fund participation in a $300,000 nationally heralded math and science enrichment project for high school students. Thus, an exemplary program serving scores of high school students was in effect exchanged for a lawyer supporting the interests of the private religious schools.
The deliberate referrals of special education children to private religious schools at public expense violate the intent of federal law while contributing to the growing de facto segregation within ERCSD, where most attendees are students of color. The diminution of resources for students attending public schools is reflected by ERCSD graduation rates. Once among the highest achieving districts in Rockland County, ERCSD 2009 high school graduation rate has fallen to 67 percent compared to neighboring districts of Suffern (88 percent), Nyack (84 percent), and Pearl River (94 percent).
East Ramapo’s diversity is its strength. Its schools should serve as a magnet attracting homebuyers, teachers, school administrators, and business leaders. Instead, the contentious school board meetings, which generate undesirable media reports, and the board’s placing children with disabilities in private religious schools despite the existence of exemplary special education services in the East Ramapo public schools, are worrisome. Reducing resources to students in public schools in order to support private religious schools counters the spirit and letter of the law and will continue to undermine the vitality and growth of a diverse and wonderful community.

------------------------------------------------------------

CFI Files Amicus Brief with High Court
On Monday, March 15, the Center for Inquiry (CFI) submitted an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. CFI argued that religious student organizations do not have the constitutional right to violate public colleges' non-discrimination policies.
The case concerns a student chapter of the Christian Legal Society (CLS) at the University of California, Hastings College of Law. CLS sued the school after being denied official recognition and funding because the student group excluded non-Christian, gay and lesbian students, in violation of the school's non-discrimination policy. That policy requires that student groups can receive funding and official recognition only if they are open to all students. CLS maintains that enforcement of this policy interferes with the group’s right to free speech and free exercise of religion.
Read more here.

------------------------------------------------------------

UN Human Rights Council Passes 'Defamation of Religions' Resolution by Slim Margin
The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva has yet again passed a resolution, backed by Islamic countries, to suppress criticism of religion in the name of defending human rights. The Council passed a non-binding resolution on March 25 targeting the so-called "defamation of religions," with 20 votes in favor, 17 against, and 8 abstentions.
Read more here.

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Office of Public Policy Update

With all the news coming out of Washington the past few weeks regarding health care, it may be hard to imagine that anything else has been happening. Rest assured, though, that the CFI Office of Public Policy (OPP) has been working hard! Here is your March update:
Civic Days Conference Is Almost Here!
Preparations for Civic Days are now in full swing. We have planned many fun and exciting events to compliment our lobby training and events on Capitol Hill. On Sunday evening, April 25, Civic Days participants will have the opportunity to have coffee, dessert, and conversation with Doug Crandall. Doug is currently the director of legislative affairs for the U.S. Forest Service. He has worked in government throughout his distinguished career and will be present to discuss his experience in both the executive and legislative branches of government. He’s also really cool and pours a mean martini…
Another event that we are delighted to highlight is a visit on Sunday afternoon to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, where our guests will have the opportunity to explore two exhibits on evolution: Since Darwin: The Evolution of Evolution and the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins. These self-guided tours will explore the origins of humankind, from our ancestry and evolution to the key importance of Charles Darwin’s theory in unifying the biological sciences. As we explore the halls of the museum, we will ponder and discover answers to the question “What does it mean to be human?”
In addition to these events, we have also planned for Monday morning, April 26, a tour of Robert Ingersoll’s life in Washington D.C. led by Steve Lowe. On Monday afternoon, we will explore the Capitol Visitor Center. Don’t miss it!
For more information on Civic Days, or to register, please visit our event page at http://action.centerforinquiry.net/site/Calendar?view=Detail&id=100171. If you have any questions, please contact Matt Separa by e-mail at msepara or by telephone at 202-xxx-xxxx. We hope to see you there!
CFI/Arizona Continues Lobbying Work since AZ Civic Days
OPP Director Toni Van Pelt conducted a Civic Days training in Arizona this February, leading members of CFI/SAZ in their first organized lobbying effort at the state capitol in Phoenix. Since then, the folks in Arizona have continued to lobby the Arizona State Legislature on important issues relating to science and secularism. They are working to form a local coalition to lobby Senator McCain to call for an up or down vote on the nomination of Dawn Johnsen for assistant attorney general in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel. Keep up the great work, CFI/SAZ!
OPP Director Toni Van Pelt Speaks on Science in Public Policy
On March 20, Toni attended and spoke at the 4th annual Darwin Day Science Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. The conference was cosponsored by CFI/Indiana and the IUPUI Freethinkers and took place at the IUPUI Campus Center. The topic of Toni’s talk was “The Importance of Advocating for Science.” Highlighting CFI’s commitment to science and reason, Toni discussed the alarming frequency with which many Americans—including influential decision makers—fail to understand the nature of scientific inquiry and the integrity of empirical research. She further spoke on how this seeming disdain for science and its methods is aggravated by the excessive influence of religious doctrine on public policy and how the Office of Public Policy works to combat these injustices by advancing science and reason in the nation’s capital.
Repealing 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell'
President Obama recently announced that the time has come to finally repeal the discriminatory policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which prevents gay, lesbian, and bisexual soldiers from serving openly in our military. The OPP has been hard at work advocating for this repeal. CFI just published a position paper authored by Derek C. Araujo, CFI’s general counsel and director of CFI’s legal department. The paper carefully weighs the arguments for and against repealing DADT and concludes that maintaining the policy has significantly compromised the quality, effectiveness, and readiness of the United States military. The paper, along with all of CFI’s other position papers, is available here. Also, on March 23, OPP Director Toni Van Pelt and Policy Analyst Matt Separa attended a panel discussion at the Center for American Progress on implementing the repeal of DADT. A full round-up is available here.
Join us next month when we will have a full report on Civic Days and other exciting news!

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Brookings Guide for Governments and Country’s School Boards Neglects Secularists

A Special Report from the Office of Public Policy
By Toni Van Pelt
The Center for Inquiry Office of Public Policy (OPP) actively monitors and comments on the workings of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and its President’s Advisory Council and affiliated taskforces. Earlier this year representatives of the OPP attended a Brookings Institution presentation introducing a publication titled Religious Expression in American Public Life. Although Brookings says the document is intended “to provide accessible and useful information for Americans about this area of law,” it may be of more use to religious rather than nonreligious Americans.
According to Brookings, the document discusses current legal protections of religious expression, including issues such as religion and politics; religious gatherings on government property; chaplains in legislative bodies, prisons, and the military; and religion in the workplace. The document also covers the history and future of “common-ground projects in the religious freedom field.”
The Brookings presenters, who were part of a much larger group that drafted the document, were described as a “diverse working group of religious and secular leaders.” They included Melissa Rogers, nonresident senior fellow with the Governance Studies Department at Brookings and director of Wake Forest University School of Divinity Center for Religion and Public Affairs. She spearheaded the production of this document following a conference held five years ago by the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center and the McCormick Freedom Museum. A previous joint statement on religious expression in public schools was distributed to school boards around the country. The current effort, Religious Expression in American Public Life, is being published as a booklet in a question-and-answer format and will be distributed to local governments and school boards nationwide.
OPP’s initial review of the document found bias in the framing of the booklet’s questions. Most questions are couched in language that presumes religious expression is of primary importance. Scant attention is paid to the limits on religious expression imposed by the constitutional separation of church and state, and little or no attention is paid to the rights of nonbelievers. Nowhere does one find a discussion of how nonreligious students are protected by law from religious intrusion in public school. The conclusion of the document states “we agree that current laws protect the rights of people to express their religious convictions and practice their faith on government property and in public life as described here. Thus, we hope this document will help settle the debate whether current law provides any protection for the right of religious expression and practice in these settings (it clearly does).” Again, no concern is expressed for the rights of secularists.
According to Brookings Senior Fellow E.J. Dionne Jr., “the starting point for our dialogue and agreement is our shared conviction that religious liberty or freedom of conscience is a fundamental inalienable right for all people, religious and nonreligious.”
While the Office of Public Policy agrees this should be the starting point, OPP representatives do not believe this sentiment was followed in the development of this document. OPP staff will continue to protect our secular values and our secular democracy, and to monitor and challenge those who favor the religious.

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In the Media:

An institution accustomed to kid gloves, 4/07/10 - "On Faith" Newsweek/Washington Post
Who could replace Pope Benedict?, 3/30/10 - "On Faith" Newsweek/Washington Post
Atheist advocate coming to city, 3/30/10 - The Guelph Mercury
Texas Freedom Network vs. Texas State Board of Education, 3/29/10 - Education News.org
Atheists love this country, too, 3/18/10 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pulpit disbelief is nothing new, 3/16/10 - "On Faith" Newsweek/Washington Post
Blashphemy regulations not up to par, U.N. rep says, 3/16/10 - The Daily Free Press
Intolerant India, 3/11/10 - Wall Street Journal
The end for tax-funded religious service agencies?, 3/10/10 - "On Faith" Newsweek/Washington Post

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Secular Humanism Online News is edited by Nathan Bupp, Vice President of Communications for the Council for Secular Humanism and the Center for Inquiry. centerforinquiry.net

The Council for Secular Humanism is committed to free inquiry, reason, and science, the separation of Church and State, civil liberties, nontheism and humanist ethics. It does not endorse candidates or parties, nor does it take political positions as a corporate body. We open our publications to a wide range of opinions, including dissenting viewpoints; opinions expressed in columns and articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Council.

What is Secular Humanism?

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I would walk 500 miles.

2010-03-12T17:18:00.000-06:00

Lighten up, people....

Portland Humanist Examiner: Religion: Idaho Baptists face conspiracy, kidnapping charges in Haiti

2010-02-04T15:50:00.000-06:00

Religion: Idaho Baptists face conspiracy, kidnapping charges in Haiti
Thursday, February 4, 2010

Religion: Idaho Baptists face conspiracy and attempted kidnapping charges in Haiti. 10 Idaho Baptists who tried to smuggle 33 children out of Haiti into the neighboring Dominican Republic have been charged with conspiracy and attempted kidnapping,... Read more »

Portland Humanist Examiner, Micha J. Stone

Micha is a freelance writer and truth seeker. Micha adopts an optimistic stance that entails self determination and the dignity and worth of all people. More than simply negating the supernatural, Micha will investigate the human condition where politics and religion intersect. Informed by science, inspired by art, and motivated by compassion, Micha's task is to question the world in pursuit of the good. With an eye toward human and civil rights, church and state, oppression and discrimination, life and death; Micha will explore all manner of intolerance, bigotry, and injustice. The task is to explore and expose inhumanity, while promoting the humane, the just, and the wise.

AANEWS for Monday, October 5, 2009

2009-10-17T14:14:00.001-05:00

A M E R I C A N A T H E I S T S
A A N E W S
#1281 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 10/05/09
http://www.atheists.org
http://www.americanatheist.org
http://www.atheistviewpoint.tv
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Service of AMERICAN ATHEISTS, a nationwide movement that defends
civil rights for non-believers; works for the total separation of
Church and State; and addresses issues of First Amendment public
policy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"ATHEIST is really a thoroughly honest, unambiguous term, it admits
of no paltering and no evasion, and the need of the world, now as
ever, is for clear-cut issues and unambiguous speech."
-- Chapman Cohen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In This Issue...
* The Other Side of Blasphemy
* Worth Noting -- An Atheist Christmas, Travolta done with
Scientology?
* Dave's blog
* Resources
* About this list...
THE OTHER SIDE OF "BLASPHEMY" -- WHY ATHEISTS NEED TO DEFEND
FREE SPEECH FOR THE RELIGIOUS, THE IDIOTIC, THE EXTREME --
AND OURSELVES
Regular readers of AANEWS will likely recognize the names of Ray
Comfort and Benny Hinn.
Mr. Comfort is a professional evangelist and minister with a
penchant for debating Atheists and other non-believers. He was
ostensibly raised without religious beliefs, and once declared, "I
went through life without any Christian instruction at all. I went
to church about three times in about twenty years. I hated it.
I found it was an insult top my,your intellect."
Not for long, however. After "finding Jesus," he became a preacher
in his hometown of Christchurch, New Zealand, and embraced an
aggressive proselytizing style he describes as "Biblical Evangelism."
He teamed up former child actor and adolescent heart throb Kirk
Cameron -- a self-proclaimed former Atheist -- to launch and
international ministry which since 2002 has increasingly focused
on proselytizing and converting Atheists, Freethinkers and other
religious skeptics. Indeed, Mr. Comfort was a guest speaker at
the 2001 National Convention of American Atheists in Orlando,
Florida where he debated then-National Spokesperson Ron Barrier.
Comfort and Cameron are also regular headline grabbers for their
latest project which involves distribution of anti-evolution
materials on select college campuses next month during the 150th
anniversary of Charles Darwin's opus, "The Origin of Species."
Mr. Hinn is an even more colorful character, a swashbuckling
televangelist, faith-healer and showman who operates a number of
international outreach programs under the banner of "World Healing
Center Church, Inc." and Benny Hinn Ministries. His daily half-hour
television program, "This is Your Day" reaches over 100 countries,
According to an investigation by the NBC program "Dateline," Mr. Hinn
has not provided credible information attesting to the efficacy
of his faith-healing performances; but reporters did confirm that
Hinn resides in a $10 million "parsonage," and has a disposition
for staying in $10,000-per-night hotel suites during "layover" in
his ministry travels. Hinn's labyrinth of international companies
and the protection afforded to religious corporate entities make it
difficult if not impossible to accurately ascertain just how much
money he is taking in from credulous followers -- but it must be
substantial in order to support his high-profile lifestyle.
We mention Ray Comfort and Benny Hinn because they are not only
regular newsmakers but are also part of the contentious and growing
debate over "blasphemy" and freedom of speech.
With Atheist and other nonbeliever organizations prospering,
Mr. Comfort's bombastic claims about the evils of questioning
the existence of God and the doctrines of religion seem be having
little impact. Secularism is on the rise, and the percentage of
Americans who identify themselves has having no religious beliefs
is growing. Even so, some of our comrades in the struggle for
Reason and secularism are succumbing to the temptation to use
the legal system to circumscribe religious speech, insisting that
criticism -- or outright insult directed at Atheists -- is a form of
"hate speech." One recent example is the threat by a Texas-based
Atheist to sue Mr. Comfort and his ministry for distributing an
unflattering bumper sticker. (The full background can be found in
the links listed below).
As for the flamboyant Mr. Hinn, he is back in the headlines after
being refused entry into Great Britain under laws designed to contain
religious extremism. Thousands of Mr. Hinn's contributors --eh,
make that supporters -- who had flocked to London to take in Hinn's
colorful performance were disappointed according to the Telegraph
newspaper. Hinn was reportedly turned away by border officials
because he failed to produce documents of "sponsorship" by his
church. That explanation, however, ignores the fact that Hinn and his
traveling miracle fest have stumped the British countryside before.
"He's been coming here for years and years," groused one follower.
"I think it is very unfair that they have blocked him now."
Indeed, the action taken against Mr. Hinn is unfair. British
authorities have little to say about the matter; but this incident
suggests that the government remains nervous about the possibility
of religious tensions in a nation where the "official" Church of
England has lost its privileged position, and Islam -- thanks to
mass immigration -- is on the rise. If separationists take the
position that church, mosque and temple must not mingle in the
affairs in the state, the state must not mingle in theirs.
And why exclude Benny Hinn? His sideshow and outrageous claims
pale in comparison to that presented by the Pope Benedict and his
predecessors. Were a mainstream Protestant or Mullah from outside
the country, or the Dali Lama, to seek entry they would likely
be welcomed with open arms. Why pick on Hinn? Are his effusive
claims any less reasonable than those made by mainstream faiths?
Critics of religion, in fact, should welcome Hinn. He is a
useful foil in pointing to the "dark side" of religious passions.
Incursions by American and other evangelicals have failed to reverse
the growing secularization in Britain and throughout most of Europe.
Finally, banning Hinn or other controversial religious figures
simply fuels the credence of fundamentalist groups who might point
to the action of the government and claim that the state has become
"hostile" to religious freedoms and sensibilities.
A similar situation arises when Atheist and other nonbelievers
turn to the government to squelch religious claims and opinions.
In the Texas case, an Atheist argued that materials from Ray
Comfort's ministry were "hateful." They may be; but the First
Amendment protects such remarks, and courts place limit on speech
only under very specific cases such as "fighting words," libel and
slander. Religious groups continue their shrill clamor insisting
that governments enforce or create blasphemy statutes, such as
the recent Durban II international conference where Islamists
backed a wide range of restriction on remarks that criticized or
mocked their beliefs. Should the Freethought movement mimic these
intolerant demands?
Resorting to courts in the hope that anti-Atheist remarks can
be punished and banned makes us look as if we are defending
"just another religion." It undermines our claim that Reason and
free expression are the most efficacious antidotes to religious
dogmatism. Heading to court or hoping that, we too, can hide
behind restrictions on civil liberties makes us look as intolerant
as religious authoritarians.
Traditionally, Atheists have been in the forefront in the struggle to
defend freedom of thought and freedom of express. Charles Bradlaugh,
for instance, was founder of Britain's National Secular Society,
and led the fight to abolish the religious test for newly-elected
lawmakers in Parliament. In America, Freethinkers like C.B. Reynolds
spearheaded the effort to abolish arcane blasphemy laws which had
lingered on the law books for decades. That effort was part of a
legacy on behalf of freedom of expression which, in 1952, saw the
Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) strike down restrictions
on movies which purportedly had "sacrilegious content." These same
battles continue today in a different forms as nation states flirt
with new versions of blasphemy and censorship statues, or the UN
takes up the matter of giving religious beliefs special protections.
Atheists need to be in this fight. We also need to stake out and
defend a principled position which opposes government restrictions
on legitimate free speech. We have, too often, been the victims
of such legislative experiments, along with minority religions and
theological dissidents. The true alternative to "hate speech" and
"hurtful" remarks clearly remains more (not less) spirited discourse.
-- Conrad Goeringer
Editor, AANEWS
Web links used in this article:
<http://raycomfortfood.blogspot.com/2009/09/we-may-have-to-shut-down-atheist.html>
"We may have to shut down Atheist Central"
Details about threatened legal action against Ray Comfort
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucHIPag-m40
Atheist threatens to sue Ray Comfort over bumper sticker An
articulate response on a proposal to sue on account of alleged
religious "hate speech"
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6257116/Christian-preacher-refused-entry-to-Britain-under-rules-intended-to-fight-extremism.html>
Christian preacher refused entry to Britain under rules intended
to fight extremism Christian evangelist Benny Hinn, from Texas,
has been refused entry to Britain after falling foul of new rules
drawn up to combat hate crimes and extremism.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Hinn
Wikipedia background on Benny Hinn
**
WORTH NOTING --
<http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-09-27/travoltas-scientology-turning-point/?cid=hp:beastoriginalsL3>
Travolta's Scientology Turning Point? The actor's public
acknowledgement that his son, who died in January, was autistic has
former Scientologists convinced that he will leave the church-which
they say has little tolerance for chronic conditions.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/sep/29/atheist-guide-christmas-religionAtheism>s open-door policy On Friday, Cif belief editor Andrew
Brown wrote, "It is entirely possible that Ariane Sherine's book
on enjoying an atheist Christmas will sell this Christmas; but come
the new year, it won't be found on the bookshelf in the toilet but
in lavatories nicely warmed by Agas." His assertion is that atheists
(or "new atheists", as he confusingly calls us - are we the ones who
refuse to stay quiet?) are "educated and professional" snobs, and
that we use our lack of belief as an excuse to look down on people
who are working class: "Obviously, it is no longer done to sneer at
the working classes for being idle, brutish, smelly, and breeding too
much. But it's perfectly OK to sneer at 'faith heads' for all these
things: that shows you're enlightened. It's pure coincidence that
the despicable believers are for the most part lower class as well."
<http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/09/28/four-winged-dino-clinches-the-case-for-bird-evolution/>
Four-Winged Dino Clinches the Case for Bird Evolution A feathered
dinosaur unearthed in a Chinese quarry has added another solid piece
of evidence to the theory that birds descended from dinosaurs. The
newly uncovered fossil of the species Anchiornis huxleyi dates from
the Late Jurassic period, 151-161 million years ago, and therefore
predates the earliest known bird, the Archaeopteryx. Paleontologists
say this represents the final proof that dinosaurs were ancestral
to birds. "Drawing the tree of life, it's fairly obvious that
feathers arose before Archaeopteryx appears in the fossil record"
[BBC News], says paleontologist Michael Benton.
<http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2009/09/jesus-new-testament-atheist-atheism-bart-ehrman-cs-lewis/1>
Atheist reviewer takes on scholar's look at Jesus, Bible minusRusty
is a Faith & Reason regular who likes to stick a pin in conventional
views fairly often. So he's picked an author for the Book Club
who's well matched to his inquisitive ways.
http://wvgazette.com/News/200909290601
Coalition of atheists puts out call on billboard MORGANTOWN, W.Va. --
Members of Morgantown's recently formed Coalition of Reason have
a simple message: If you don't believe in God, you aren't alone.
<http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/09/30/oh-damn-blasphemy-day-looks-for-a-target/>
Oh, Damn! Blasphemy Day Looks for a Target Today, September 30,
is Blasphemy Day, and if that makes you want to curse, then the
Center for Inquiry may be the place to register your epithet -- or
send a donation. It all depends on your point of view, and whether
you want to complain about an atheist whose beliefs you can't stand
or denounce a divinity you don't believe in.
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/6247329/International-blasphemy-day-from-Danish-cartoons-to-Jerry-Springer---The-Opera.html>
International Blasphemy Day: from Danish cartoons to Jerry Springer
-The Opera International Blasphemy Day, 30 September, is intended
"to remind the world that religion should never again be beyond
open and honest discussion". It marks the anniversary of the 2005
publication of the 12 Danish cartoons that depicted Mohammed and
led to worldwide riots. Its founders want to "dismantle the wall
which exists between religion and criticism
<http://blogs.indystar.com/thoushalt/2009/09/a_struggle_for.html>
A struggle for the hearts and minds of "fundamentalist atheists"
Who knew there were "fundamentalist atheists?" In a rebuke of the
group he founded, Center for Inquiry Transnational creator Paul
Kurtz says in an essay that a blasphemy contest sponsored by CFI
"is not dissimilar to the anti-semitic cartoons of the Nazi era."
<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/091001-oldest-human-skeleton-ardi-missing-link-chimps-ardipithecus-ramidus.html>
Oldest "Human" Skeleton Found--Disproves "Missing Link" Scientists
today announced the discovery of the oldest fossil skeleton of a
human ancestor. The find reveals that our forebears underwent a
previously unknown stage of evolution more than a million years
before Lucy, the iconic early human ancestor specimen that walked
the Earth 3.2 million years ago.
<http://www.newschannel9.com/news/says-985149-football-field.html>
Bible Verse Banner Banned From Football Games FORT OGLETHORPE, GA -
A Christian sign is banned from the football field and now hundreds
rally to voice their disapproval. For years Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe
cheerleaders have held a sign with a bible verse up before football
games. But now that has changed and fans, families, and people
of faith are not happy. "It's kind of angered all of us but it's
also upset us just because we work really hard, and we're trying
to encourage the football team, and the community and that's just
been taking away from us," Taylor Guinn, a L.F.O. cheerleader, says.
<http://www.freep.com/article/20091001/NEWS04/91001066/1001/NEWS/School-district-says-it-erred-in-allowing-church-permission-slips>
School district says it erred in allowing church permission slips
After complaints raised by a Muslim group, the school district in
Roseville said today it made a mistake when permission slips were
distributed to elementary school students that would allow them to
attend Bible classes in a Baptist church.
<http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/10/02/what-christians-and-muslims-can-learn-from-the-the-saint-and-th/>
What Christians and Muslims Can Learn From the 'The Saint and the
Sultan' Forget the St. Francis of folklore - or Giotto, for that
matter -- and make way for a chapter of history that longtime Newsday
religion writer Paul Moses says, "in the language of the newsroom
. . . was covered up.'' His new book, "The Saint and the Sultan,''
reveals a Francis so opposed to the Fifth Crusade that he crossed
enemy lines on a peace mission in 1219 - and walked unarmed into
the camp of the sultan of Egypt, Malik al-Kamil.
http://www.secularism.org.uk/114186.html
Is Ricky Gervais' new film really atheist propaganda? The new film
from NSS honorary associate Ricky Gervais, The Invention of Lying,
has been accused of being little more than atheist propaganda. The
film is set in a world where there is no lying, until the character
played by Ricky Gervais tells his dying mother that she will go to
heaven and be with the angels, thereby inventing religion. Before
that, because everyone told the total truth, religion could not
exist.
<http://www.newuniversity.org/2009/05/opinion/good_fences_make_good190/>
Good Fences Make Good Neighbors In an attempt to blur the lines
between church and state, 33 churches participated in a nationwide
event called "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" in September 2008, prior to the
historic November election. The goal of this event was to trigger a
legal fight and ultimately overturn regulations that prevent places
of worship from supporting or opposing candidates for office.
<http://www.ncregister.com/daily/president_obama_finds_greatest_support_among_atheists_and_jews>
President Obama Finds Greatest Support Among Atheists and Jews
Gallup's Daily Tracking for the month of September found that 65%
of American atheists, agnostics and non-religious approve of the
job Barack Obama is doing as president. The president finds his
greatest support from non-religious and American Jews.
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1217925/The-end-world-Watch-new-trailer-disaster-movie-2012.html>
2012, the end-of-the-world feature film that critics say is a
disaster all by itself. See the hilariously OTT trailer here The
world ravaged by fires, earthquakes, meteor showers and floods and
a heroic struggle for survivors. t sounds like something straight
out of Hollywood - and it is. This is the first glimpse of the
latest U.S. blockbuster, 2012. John Cusack leads an all-star cast,
featuring Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Woody Harrelson, Chiwetel
Ejiofor and Amanda Peet struggling to stay alive when the Earth is
threatened with the biggest disaster man has ever known.
**
SILVERMAN BLOG SHAKING UP CYBERSPACE!
It is one of the fastest growing blogs in the
Atheist/Freethought/Secular Humanist community, and you can get in
on the discussion!
Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists is in
the Blogosphere at http://nogodblog.com. It's filled with insight,
wit, hot news, controversial opinion -- and polite, thoughtful
commentary. So join the conversation! Sign up (it's free) by
visiting http://www.atheists.org and click on the blog navigation
button, or go directly to http://nogodblog.com .
**
RESOURCES FROM AMERICAN ATHEISTS
* For membership information about American Atheists, send
mail to info@. Kindly include your name and postal
mailing address. Ask for a free membership info packet. You may
also visit http://www.atheists.org and click on the "Membership"
navigation button.
* For a free catalogue of American Atheist Press books, videos and
other products, send mail to catalogue@. Kindly include
your name and postal mailing address, and request a copy of the
AAP catalogue. You may also shop directly at http://www.atheists.org
--click on the "Shopping" navigation button.
* Current members in good standing of American Atheists may sign up
for our free E-mail Discussion Group list, aachat. We have over 150
participants who discuss topics such as Atheism, religion, First
Amendment issues, creationism and much, much more. Contact the
Moderator, Ed Gauci through egauci@.
**
ABOUT THIS LIST...
AANEWS is a free service from American Atheists, a nationwide
movement founded by Madalyn Murray O'Hair that defends the civil
rights of nonbelievers; works for the total separation of church
and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.
You may forward, post or quote from this dispatch provided
that appropriate credit is given to both AANEWS and American
Atheists. Please do not post complete editions of this
newsletter indiscriminately to news groups, boards or other
outlets. Edited by Conrad F. Goeringer (cg@). The
Internet Representative for American Atheists is Larry Mundinger
(lmundinger@). The President of American Atheists is
Ed Buckner (ebuckner@).
----------------------------------------------------------------------

American Atheists, PO Box 158, Cranford, NJ 07016

CFI Indiana October 2009 Schedule

2009-10-17T09:31:00.002-05:00

PROGRAM SCHEDULE
October 2009

Join us for CFI Indiana activities and other interesting
events around Indianapolis!
(To view or print these events in a calendar format, please visit our website.)

Job Board—In these times of recession, we have many people out of work.  We now have a “Job Board” at CFI Indiana.  If you are looking for a job, check the board. If you know of jobs, please bring information about them them to the center or send them to me to post. You may also post your qualifications and the description of the job you are looking for.
Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS) is an alternative to Alcholics Anonymous (AA) If you are interested in being a part of a local SOS group, email indysos@.

Special Events – Mark your Calendar!

National Coming Out Day—Sunday, October 11, 6:00 pm, Center for Inquiry Indiana. Topic:   PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). CFI Indiana Friend of the Center. Jeff Jones is the speaker.
Richard Dawkins at IU Bloomington—Monday, October 12, IU Auditorium, 7:00 pm. Admission is free. There are no tickets. Just go and stand in line for general seating. Secular Alliance of Indiana University (SAIU) is one of the organizers.
Debate: You Can Be Good Without God—Monday, October 19th, 7:00 p.m. in Woodburn 100 on the Indiana University Bloomington campus.   Debate on the slogan currently on Bloomington Transit buses "You can be good without God" between Dan Waugh, Pastor of Adult Ministries at the Evangelical Community Church in Bloomington and Dan Barker, Co-President of the Freedom from Religion Foundation. Secular Alliance of Indiana University (SAIU) is one of the sponsors.
Sunday, November 8—Spirit and Place event, "Inspiring Places--Magnificent Victory Monument for Rational Outlook on Life--Das Deutsches House/Athenaeum,"   2:00 pm, Athenaeum, 401 East Michigan, Indianapolis.

Regular Events
Science Movie—Sunday, October 4, 6:00 pm, Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. Movie: Planet Earth: Fresh Water
CFI Kids—Sunday, Oct. 11, 3:00 pm, Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. CFI Kids is for children and their parents. Topic: Decomposition. At least one parent must participate in the meeting with the child. Please contact Joe Oliver at joe.jr317@ or call 000-000-0000 for more information.
Mommymoon—Wednesday, October 14, 11:00 am. Meet us in the kid's area of the downtown Central Library, 40 East St. Clair St., Indianapolis. Don't forget the kids and a light snack! More information.
Secular Family Network Pitch-In Lunch—Saturday, October 17 at 12:00 noon at Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk Suite A.   Bring your family and food to share.
CFI Friends and Family Party @ Michele's in Fishers (Hamilton County)—Saturday, October 17, 7:00 pm. You must RSVP to shaw.michele1@ by Wednesday, October 14 directions and so that she can have enough food for dinner. Bring your own beverage and a lawn chair.
Scientific Examination of Religion—Sunday, October 18, 6:00 pm, Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. Topic: Science, Islam and the Qu'ran. Sean O'Brien is the leader of this group.
Indy Atheist Meetup—Monday, October 19, 7:00 pm. at Moe and Johnny’s, 5380 North College, Indianapolis. Open discussion. Anyone is welcome. www.indyatheists.org
Café Inquiry—Thursday, October 22, 6:30 pm, Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. Dr. May Khanna, Visiting Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the IU School of Medicine, will be leading a discussion about the origin of life--“RNA: Darwin's favorite molecule (had he known about it!)” Andrew Olson is the coordinator of this group.
Film and Discussion on Education—Friday, October 23, 7:00 pm, Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. Film: Two Million Minutes. Michele Shaw is the discussion leader.
CFI Kids—Sunday, October 25, 3:00 pm, Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. Topic: Worms. CFI Kids is for children and their parents. At least one parent must participate in the meeting with the child. Please contact Joe Oliver at joe.jr317@ or call 000-000-0000 for more information.
Tom Flynn, "Robert Ingersoll: The Most Remarkable American Most People Never Heard Of," Sunday, October 24, 4:00 pm, Hamilton 16 Theatre, 13825 Norell Road, Noblesville, IN (near I-69/Olio Road/141st Street). Read Reba's blog.
Humanist Speakers—Tuesday, October 27, 7:00 pm, Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. Practice your public speaking skills in a relaxed environment.   Mike Middleton is the leader of this group.
Mommymoon—Wednesday, October 28, 6 pm for a Harvest Party! Meet us in the kid's area of the downtown Central Library 40 East St. Clair St., Indianapolis. More information.
Book Discussion—Thursday, October 29, 7:00 pm, Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. The Age of Empathy – Nature’s Lessons For a Kinder Society, by Frans de Waal.   Steve Duerr is the discussion leader.
Film and Discussion on Health Care—Friday, October 30, 7:00 pm, Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. Film: Sick Around America: Investigating the National Debate on Healthcare Reform.

Weekly Events
Coffee and Conversation—every Sunday, 10:00 am to noon at Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis, IN. Unstructured conversation and socializing.
English as a New Language—every Saturday at Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis, IN. This is for anyone from any language background who wants to learn and improve their English speaking skills. No charge.
Secular Family Network Playgroup—will not meet in October due to many conflicts with preschools, etc. Please contact Andi Pierce at apierce@ (Please note new email address.) and let her know what days/times would work best for you in the future.

Other Progrms of Interest
Butler University: Woods Lecture—Monday, October 5, 7:30 pm, Atherton Union Reilly Room, 4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis. The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love and the Meaning of Life.
The International Interfaith Initiative Fall Conference—October 8-9, Indiana War Memorial, 431 North Meridian St. Indianapolis. The theme of the conference is “The Confluence of Religion and Politics” and features a keynote conversation by Honorable Lee Hamilton and Reverend Richard Hamilton.
Butler Religion Seminar— Tuesday, October 20, 7:00 pm, Clowes Hall, Butler University, 4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis. The Piety and Poetry of Jerusalem.

Freethought Discussion Groups in Other Indiana Cities
CFI Indiana Hamilton County Meetup—meets every other Sunday at 10:00 am. Check webste for location. For more information call Ryan at 000-000-0000.
Bloomington Atheist Happy Hour—first Friday of every month 5:30-6:30 pm at The Dunn Inn, 208 South Dunn (between 3rd and 4th), Bloomington, IN.

Freethinkers of Montgomery County (Sponsored by CFI Indiana)—Meet every first and third Thursday, 6:30 to 8:00 pm, Crawfordsville Public Library Basement.
Lafayette Freethinkers (Sponsored by CFI Indiana)—Meet every second Thursday of the month from 6:30-8:00 pm at the UU Church, Room 106 in West Lafayette and on the fourth Thursday at the PRIDE Community Center in Lafayette.
Freethought Muncie-New Castle (A CFI Indiana Discussion Group)—For information about this group and also the Ball State student group email Robert Pinger at pinger@.

Freethought Fort Wayne (A CFI Indiana Discussion Group)—Check out the latest Enlightenment Show which is produced by local Fort Wayne Freethinkers. Contact Andy Diekroger at freethoughtfw@ for more information.

Richmond Area Free Thinkers Society. Contact: Aaron Hill at contact@ for more information.
Michiana Skeptics—contact Elizabeth Brown, indimenticabile1@
CUFREE (Champaign Urbana Freethinkers)
Louisville Atheist Meetup

Freethought Groups on Indiana College Campuses
IUPUI Freethinkers—Email free@ for information and meeting times.

IU/Bloomington-- For more information, email secular@.

Earlham College, Richmond—For more information, email free@.

Ball State University—For information email Robert Pinger at pinger@.

Purdue University/Lafayette-- Purdue NonTheists

For more information about these programs and more and to sign up to receive a full CFI Indiana newsletter, email indy@ or call 000-000-0000.

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
Tell-a-friend!

Keyword News: [atheism]

2009-10-15T22:40:00.001-05:00

Yahoo! Alerts

Thursday, October 01, 2009 2:21 PM PDT

Review | The Invention of Lying (PG-13) ***
Miami Herald Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:36 AM PDT
The new film from Ricky The Office Gervais may well be the most subtle subversive comedy of the year. It's not disturbingly crude like, say, Sacha Baron Cohen's over-the-top BrÃ¼no. But it may well be the first mainstream atheism-based feature film, and its amusing premise -- that lying is not always a bad thing because falsehoods provide hope -- is a new twist on the familiar I-can-only-tell-the ...

Keyword News: [atheism]

2009-10-04T16:22:00.000-05:00

Yahoo! Alerts

Sunday, October 04, 2009 2:21 PM PDT

Local News
u.tv Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:02 PM PDT
Ariane Sherine: I was due to go on the radio to discuss atheism when the spasms hit. Could it â€" hic â€" be Him?

See more news stories that match my keyword

Urge Your Senators: Stop Obstructing Judicial and Executive Nominations!

2009-10-03T16:32:00.000-05:00

Our Constitutional Values

Dear John
The Center for Inquiry asks you to contact your senators to eliminate the troubling backlog of judicial and executive branch nominees that exists to date in the 111th Congress and to end obstruction of Judicial and Executive confirmations including those of Dawn Johnsen and Thomas Perez as Assistant Attorney Generals in the Department of Justice.

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):
Your Senators

Below is the sample letter:

Subject: Confirm Key Judicial and Executive Nominees Now!
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],
As a Friend of the Center for Inquiry, I urge you to support a prompt vote for the confirmation of Dawn Johnsen as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) and Thomas Perez as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division in the Department of Justice. The Center for Inquiry is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization devoted to the separation of church and state, civil rights, and the rule of law.
We seek your cooperation in eliminating the troubling backlog of judicial and executive branch nominees that exists to date in the 111th Congress. The obstruction of many of President Obama's nominees through filibuster threats and anonymous 'holds' is hindering the important work of our judicial and executive branches of government, bringing into question the Senate's constitutional role of 'Advice and Consent', and threatening any prospect of bipartisan cooperation on many pressing national issues important to all Americans.
The OLC f requently advises the White House and the federal agencies about the limits of law in important matters ranging from voting rights to religious discrimination. The Center for Inquiry is concerned that the Justice Department adhere strictly to the rule of law rather than adding the appearance of legality to ideological decisions, as was the case during the previous administration. The OLC will soon become significant to the Center for Inquiry in its commitment to the separation of church and state, because the OLC will play an important role in deciding the constitutionality of policy in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
Both of the nominees are extremely well qualified. Professor Johnsen is a distinguished legal scholar who served in the OLC during the 1990's. She showed her concern for the OLC when the integrity of the office was suspect by helping to craft legislation to bring greater transparency to the office. In 2004, she organized a group of former OLC attorneys to write a statement of principles for the office that received bipartisan praise. Mr. Perez has an outstanding record of public service both inside and outside the CRD, including significant management responsibilities. Because the CRD currently faces severe challenges, including the need to remedy the loss of a significant number of career staff, to correct for troubling past hiring practices, and to correct for past failures to fully enforce federal civil rights laws, Mr. Perez's prompt confirmation is essential.
The DOJ needs new direction and Dawn Johnsen and Thomas Perez are ideally placed to provide it. Their experience and passion for the law give them the wisdom and courage to tell the President what is legal and constitutional, regardless of whether or not it is politically expedient.
We believe that the confirmation of each of these nominees will contribute significantly to re-establishing the reputation of the U.S. as a nati on governed by laws not ideology. Please confirm their nominations as quickly as possible.

Sincerely,

John Felix

Take Action!

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What's At Stake:
Nothing less than upholding the law and the U.S. Constitution. The Office of Legal Counsel OLC) in the Department of Justice acts like an in-house Supreme Court deciding on the legality of issues ranging from voting rights to religious discrimination. It tells the President and the executive branch agencies whether proposed executive orders or regulations are within the law and the Constitution. In the previous administration, the OLC betrayed its commitment to law by bending its opinions to the political and ideological requests of the White House. Most notoriously, the OLC issued memoranda that permitted the administration to authorize harsh interrogation methods, and to authorize wiretapping without warrants. The OLC will soon become significant to the Center for Inquiry in its commitment to the separation of church and state, because the OLC will play an important role in deciding the constitutionality of policy in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Instead of a general principle prohibiting religious discrimination in hiring for social services provided by religious institutions, the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will refer hiring issues to the OLC on a 'case-by-case' basis. The recommendations of the OLC on each case will go directly to President Barack Obama for his decision. Under the leadership of Professor Johnsen, we can be assured that the recommendations will be based on a sound and objective consideration of the laws upholding separation of church and state. Thomas Perez's appointment to the Division of Civil Rights is also very important to our nation. The previous administration shifted this important office's focus away from enforcing civil rights laws. Now, the Obama administration has vowed to revitalize this office by hiring a greater number of lawyers and by returning the focus to issues such as voting rights, employment fairness, and equitable housing. This work cannot truly begin, however, without a leader. Thus, it is vital that Perez be swiftly appointed. There is a troubling backlog of judicial and executive branch nominees that exists to date in the 111th Congress. The obstruction of many of President Obama's nominees through filibuster threats and anonymous 'holds' is hindering the important work of our judicial and executive branches of government, bringing into question the Senate's constitutional role of providing 'Advice and Consent', and threatening any prospect of bipartisan cooperation on many pressing national issues important to all Americans. Both of the nominees have been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but their nominations are threatened by a minority of Senators. They are threatening a filibuster, although many senators declared that they would never filibuster a President's nominee. Instead of further delay, the Senate should schedule a vote and move on to other issues such as health care, energy, and education. Dawn Johnsen and Thomas Perez are extremely qualified for their essential role in restoring integrity to the Department of Justice. We need them to be working in the office now, not waiting for Senators to vote, so please send your email or make than phone call NOW.

Campaign Expiration Date:
October 30, 2009

621 Pennsylvania Ave. SE · Washington D.C. · 20003

(000) 000-0000 · tvanpelt@

How to set up a Google video search using an RSS feed | eHow.com

2009-10-02T09:55:00.001-05:00

How to set up a Google video search using an RSS feed | eHow.com

Dispraxis writes:

When you search for keyword terms on Google search, you may have noticed that there is no RSS feed icon. The missing ability to repeat a particular search on your blog or Website from the most popular and used search engine seems to be a serious drawback when using it. However, the capability is not AWOL, it is purposely buried by them probably so that the feature is not abused. In this article, getting as many video feeds as you want through Google Alerts shows you step by step how to set them up for your favorite Web search terms.

PaleoBabble

2009-10-01T07:32:00.010-05:00

PaleoBabble

New Testament Resurrection Theology Based on Ancient Egyptian Religion?

Posted: 30 Sep 2009 10:35 AM PDT

Anyone who has seen the internet video Zeitgeist likely recalls this assertion about New Testament theology. Those in academia know that Zeitgeist’s content is deeply flawed, but that hardly matters, since most of the people who but into its ideas aren’t scholars or anyone else working in the fields of New Testament Studies or Egyptology.
Toward exposing this truckload of paleobabble, I submit this article by Nicholas Perrin entitled, “On Raising Osiris in 1 Corinthians 15.” It’s a scholarly piece, but I think it’s readable for the non-specialist. It exposes the problems with this popular correlation.

Technorati Tags: Christianity, Dying and Rising gods, Egypt, Egyptian, resurrection, Zeitgeist

Joe Burke replied to a discussion on Atheist Nexus

2009-09-29T20:03:00.011-05:00

Joe Burke replied to the discussion "How to make theists watch a video" on Atheist Nexus
To view the new reply, visit:
http://www.atheistnexus.org/xn/detail/2182797:Comment:525575

Dispraxis writes: Joe's videos are often very funny, but apparently it was NOT the one he was referencing in his post to YouTube Atheists on atheistnexus.org that he was writing about. My mistake. :(
--

PaleoBabble

2009-09-29T19:49:00.008-05:00

PaleoBabble

A New Blog Taking on at Least One Point of PaleoBabble

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 09:49 AM PDT

I discovered this morning that there is a new blog online that takes on the “King James Only” nonsense). For those of you who don’t know what that is, the KJV-only idea is that the KJV itself is the result of a 17th century act of divine inspiration–it is God’s own translation of the original manuscripts of the Bible for English readers. All other English translations are either inferior or products of satanic activity (since they are based on “Alexandrian” manuscripts from that pagan hell-hole, Egypt). Many who hold to KJV-only also believe that the manuscript traditions upon which the English KJV is based are complete and inerrant representations of the original documents of the Bible. PaleoBabble readers got a little taste of this silliness with the “666 in the NIV” post I did a little while back.
This is paleobabble, of course, to anyone who knows anything about the transmission of the biblical texts or who cares about logic. It’s an interesting idea to devote a whole blog to this subject, and the contirbutors are apparently former KJV-only adherents.

Technorati Tags: Bible, KJV only, manuscripts, translation

AANEWS for Monday, September 28, 2009

2009-09-29T19:46:00.003-05:00

A M E R I C A N A T H E I S T S
A A N E W S
#1280 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 09/28/09
http://www.atheists.org
http://www.americanatheist.org
http://www.atheistviewpoint.tv
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Service of AMERICAN ATHEISTS, a nationwide movement that defends
civil rights for non-believers; works for the total separation of
Church and State; and addresses issues of First Amendment public
policy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"ATHEIST is really a thoroughly honest, unambiguous term, it admits
of no paltering and no evasion, and the need of the world, now as
ever, is for clear-cut issues and unambiguous speech."
-- Chapman Cohen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In This Issue...
* Religious test for insurance coverage?
* Blasphemy Day events
* Worth Noting: Latest on Darwin film
* Dave's blog
* Resources
* About this list...
"THE MOST MISTRUSTED GROUP" AND NO, WE WON'T SELL YOU INSURANCE!
A recent piece in Psychology Today reports on yet another study
that finds Atheists to be "the most mistrusted group" in the
United States.
When asked in a national survey to identify segments of the
population which did "not all agree with my vision of American
society," ten groups were listed. Some were religious -- Christians,
Muslims and Jews -- while others covered ethnic categories (Asians,
blacks). Still others were traditional targets of popular animus,
such as homosexuals and immigrants. The category which elicited the
most opprobrium, however, was Atheists. When it came to marriage
and other indicators of social acceptance, the godless were the
most despised, marginalized and excluded.
Psychology Today contributor Gad Saad observed, "This might be one
of the saddest scientific findings I have ever read." He cited a
roll-call of famous luminaries including Albert Einstein, Francis
Crick, Linus Pauling, Bertrand Russell and others who fall into
the Atheist or non-believer category. There have been Atheist men
and women who have made astounding contributions to the welfare of
humanity, who have fought for civil liberties and individual rights,
who have struggled against considerable odds to make the world a
more peaceful, tolerant and nourishing space -- and to no avail,
at least, it appears, to the average American.
Dr. Saad's trenchant commentary can be found at
<http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/homo-consumericus/200908/atheists-are-the-most-mistrusted-group-they-are-evil-and-immoral>
We also call your attention to a little-publicized case from Ohio
involving clear discrimination directed at Atheists. A national
insurance firm, GuideOne Mutual, has been found guilty of violating
the Federal Fair Housing Act in its marketing campaign to provide
premium discounts to "church goers."
Led by the National Fair Housing Alliance and the Fair Housing
Advocates Association, plaintiffs challenged the practice in
federal court. A spokesperson for the FHA described the case,
filed in November, 2007, saying: "If I went to the grocery store to
buy some bread, they couldn't have a section for Christian bread.
It's about a level playing field and equal access to a product.
You can't put a corporate bias into the sale of a product."
The Ohio decision involves a narrow and clear-cut area of
anti-discrimination law. Christians were given preferential
treatment through a "FaithGuard" program operated by the company.
The US District Court ordered GuideOne Mutual to pay$74,000 to
settle the plaintiffs' claims; the case affects home owners and
renters in 19 states where the company does business. Visit
<http://www.allgov.com/ViewNews/Insurance_Company_Settles_Claim_for_Discriminating_against_Atheists_90927>
for more on this case.
**
FEELING BLASPHEMOUS?
Join us as we celebrate International Blasphemy Day! It's a 3 day
celebration of not being afraid to think as you please and speak
your mind without dogma
Sept. 28-Open House 2-5pm Taping of the Atheist Viewpoint 7:00pm
Sept. 29-Meet and Greet Your Fellow Atheists 2pm-?
Sept. 30-Blasphemy Day! De-Baptisms performed 10am-2pm Movie-7pm
What better movie to watch on this day? "Blasphemy"
All events are at the American Atheist Center 225 Christiani
St. Cranford
000-000-0000
All events are FREE
**
WORTH NOTING...
<http://www.alternet.org/world/142839/10_ways_the_u.s._military_has_shoved_christianity_down_muslims%27_throats_>
10 Ways the U.S. Military Has Shoved Christianity Down Muslims'
Throats The Military Religious Freedom Foundation was founded in
2005 by Mikey Weinstein, a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and
Reagan administration White House counsel, after the harassment his
own sons faced as Jewish cadets at the academy led him to discover
that the fundamentalist Christian takeover of the Air Force Academy
was far from an isolated problem.
<http://www.alternet.org/politics/142787/overshadowed_by_tea_party_movement%2C_the_christian_right_scrambles_to_claim_it_isn%27t_racist>
Overshadowed by Tea Party Movement, the Christian Right Scrambles to
Claim It Isn't Racist At the religious right's Values Voter
Summit this weekend, some of the air seemed to have gone out of
the balloon. Gathering at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, 1,800
activists and their leaders seemed resigned to being subsumed by
the broader Tea Party movement, or rendered irrelevant by it. This
year's conference, sponsored by the political affiliate of the
Family Research Council, emphasized matters important to Tea Party
leaders: freedom was linked with free enterprise; ominous were
warnings offered about a march to socialism; global warming was
said to be a good thing; and taxes were deemed to be too high and
largely misappropriated.
<http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2009/09/24/canadian-creationism-just-22-percent/>
Canadian Creationism: Just 22 Percent I've been doing some research
and just found this figure: only 22 percent of Canadians think
God created human beings within the last 10,000 years or so. In
the U.S. the number is roughly double that. Similarly, I recently
learned from appearing on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's
"Lateline" program that just 20 percent of Australians are global
warming deniers. They're very worried about this fact down there,
and they should be-but again, the percentage is much higher in the
U.S. Pew puts it at 49 percent.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFsB1Jk1OQ0&feature=related>
Check out thi pre-election video where Mr. Obama emphasizes the
role of science in our nation's history, and cites Chgarles Darwin's
anniversary.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/sep/23/darwin-creation-film>
Creation is a fitting tribute to Darwin: A new film about the great
scientist is upsetting Darwinologists as much as creationists. Their
suspicion is misplaced It's the double celebration year, and for
this amateur Darwinologist, the best is yet to come. The release
this week of the film Creation is a unique occasion when my two
biggest obsessions, movies and evolution finally converge. Creation
is a fictionalised account of Charles Darwin's middle age, it spans
the time between the death of his daughter and the publication of
the Origin of Species. It's based on Annie's Box, a book by his
great-great-grandson Randal Keynes, and thus has the absolute seal
of approval of the guardians of Darwin's estate. That the chronology
is not entirely accurate, and that it features Annie's ghost as a
device appears to have troubled some hardy Darwinologists.
<http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/the_importance_of_blasphemy/>
There are many historical myths with which we like to comfort
ourselves. One myth that appeals to Americans is that ever since the
founding of our country we have been strong supporters of individual
rights and fundamental freedoms. After all, shortly after we adopted
the Constitution we also adopted the Bill of Rights, which prohibits
government interference with speech and government establishment
of religion.
http://www.jumpinmagonline.com/page33.aspx
Jump In Magazine interview with Blair Scott, American Atheists
Affiliation Director.
<http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/09/24/50-000-muslims-to-pray-on-capitol-hill-guess-whos-not-happy/>
50,000 Muslims to Pray on Capitol Hill: Guess Who's Not Happy? The
event sounds like yet another Tea Party protest, or perhaps an
encore of last weekend's Values Voter Summit: Devout believers
joining together this Friday to pray on Capitol Hill for the soul
of America. Who could argue with that? Well, when the believers
happen to be Muslims, and there could be as many as 50,000 of them
kneeling to pray in Arabic, yes, you could see how there might be
some blowback from the usual suspects.
<http://www.usnews.com/blogs/god-and-country/2009/09/25/darwin-defenders-lash-out-at-creationist-origin-of-species.html>
Darwin Defenders Lash Out at Creationist Origin of Species Lots
of Darwin defenders responded to my post about the new Creationist
edition of Origin of Species. Needless to say, they're not pleased.
<http://www.popeater.com/2009/09/25/kirk-cameron-defends-attack-on-darwin/>
Kirk Cameron Defends Attack on 'Species' Former teen idol Kirk
Cameron has it out for Charles Darwin, and is making no apologies
for his controversial (and mocked, see below) plan to distribute
thousands of altered copies of 'The Origin of Species' to college
students. The 'Growing Pains' alum released a video last week
announcing that on Nov. 19, he and other Creationist activists
will distribute a special 'Species' with a 50-page intro that
slams evolution and paints Darwin as both racist and misogynistic
and explicitly highlights "Adolph Hitler's undeniable connection
to the theory." Nov. 21 is the 150th anniversary of the book's
original publication.
http://www.sltrib.com/faith/ci_13411157
College makes or breaks faith for many students The four University
of Utah students were sharing one of those sublime moments. Piled in
the back of Alec Gehrke's Malibu -- a refurbished car bought from the
LDS Church -- they were parked above the Salt Lake City Cemetery in
the Avenues late on a warm Saturday night. Stars lit the sky and
the city lights twinkled from the valley floor below. Even their
breathing seemed connected, as if they were links on the same chain.
"It was existential," Gehrke says.
<http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/254062/>
Atheist advocates evidence-based belief on Fargo's Freethought Day
PZ Myers, an outspoken atheist and evolutionary biologist, had some
nice things to say about Fargo on Thursday. Specifically, he liked
a proclamation signed by Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker establishing
Sept. 24 as Freethought Day. "I'm very pleased to see that Fargo
now has a Freethought Day, which is pretty impressive," said Myers.
<http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/homo-consumericus/200908/atheists-are-the-most-mistrusted-group-they-are-evil-and-immoral>
Atheists Are the Most Mistrusted Group: They Are Evil and
Immoral! Some of you might remember Mr. Obama's inauguration speech
wherein he made an explicit reference to non-believers. Apparently,
this was the first instance where an incoming American president
has formally recognized the existence of this group of Americans
(which incidentally includes the great majority of intellectuals,
scientists, and philosophers). Does this imply that atheists are
now largely accepted within the greater American society? Are they
respected for their non-belief in imaginary narratives of invisible
deities? Regrettably, the answer is an emphatic no!
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/27/atheist-christmas-book>
Atheists examine Christmas from angel-free angle It is a book
about Christmas but there's not a manger, virgin birth or angel in
sight. Buoyed by the success of their campaign which proclaimed
There's Probably No God, Now Stop Worrying on the side of London
buses, some of Britain's most prominent atheists have come together
to publish a book for the festive season.

<http://www.allgov.com/ViewNews/Insurance_Company_Settles_Claim_for_Discriminating_against_Atheists_90927>
Insurance Company Settles Claim for Discriminating against Atheists
GuideOne Mutual Insurance didn't see any problem with offering
special benefits to god-fearing consumers, but atheists and
agnostics, not to mention the federal government, sure did. The
Department of Justice sued GuideOne in federal court in Kentucky
after receiving complaints about the insurer's "FaithGuard" policy
that offered homebuyers, owners and renters in 19 states special
benefits and discounts if they were churchgoers
<http://trueslant.com/laurieessig/2009/09/28/us-soldiers-urged-to-pray-for-muslims-to-become-christians/>
US soldiers urged to pray for Muslims to become Christians On Friday,
several thousand Muslims gathered in DC for a very peaceful National
Day of Prayer. At the same time, several Evangelical Christian
groups gathered to protest the event. According to a Fox News
story, At a separate event, held simultaneously in a conference
room at the Rayburn House Office Building, a group calling itself
Stop Islamization of America warned about the supposedly hateful,
violent, and anti-Western teachings of the Koran.
**
SILVERMAN BLOG SHAKING UP CYBERSPACE!
It is one of the fastest growing blogs in the
Atheist/Freethought/Secular Humanist community, and you can get in
on the discussion!
Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists is in
the Blogosphere at http://nogodblog.com. It's filled with insight,
wit, hot news, controversial opinion -- and polite, thoughtful
commentary. So join the conversation! Sign up (it's free) by
visiting http://www.atheists.org and click on the blog navigation
button, or go directly to http://nogodblog.com .
**
RESOURCES FROM AMERICAN ATHEISTS
* For membership information about American Atheists, send
mail to info@atheists.org. Kindly include your name and postal
mailing address. Ask for a free membership info packet. You may
also visit http://www.atheists.org and click on the "Membership"
navigation button.
* For a free catalogue of American Atheist Press books, videos and
other products, send mail to catalogue@atheists.org. Kindly include
your name and postal mailing address, and request a copy of the
AAP catalogue. You may also shop directly at http://www.atheists.org
--click on the "Shopping" navigation button.
* Current members in good standing of American Atheists may sign up
for our free E-mail Discussion Group list, aachat. We have over 150
participants who discuss topics such as Atheism, religion, First
Amendment issues, creationism and much, much more. Contact the
Moderator, Ed Gauci through egauci@atheists.org .
----------------------------------------------------------------------

American Atheists, PO Box 158, Cranford, NJ 07016

Keyword News: [atheism]

2009-09-29T17:42:00.003-05:00

Yahoo! Alerts

Monday, September 28, 2009 2:21 PM PDT

Few 'No Religion' Americans Are Atheists
US News & World Report Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:28 PM PDT
Even among Americans who claim no religion, atheism is unpopular

See more news stories that match my keyword

CFI Indiana Schedule--September 28-30, 2009

2009-09-29T17:34:00.005-05:00

PROGRAM SCHEDULE
SEPTEMBER 28-30, 2009

Join us for CFI Indiana activities and other interesting
events around Indianapolis!
(To view or print these events in a calendar format, please visit our website.)

Check out these links:
Ibn Warraq praises Religion Under Examination, CFI Indiana and our volunteers.
Recent local press coverage.
Reba's tribute to Paul Kurtz and the "Exuberant Life."
Number of "nones" moving up on number in religion denominations.
Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS) is an alternative to Alcholics Anonymous (AA) If you are interested in being a part of a local SOS group, email indysos@.
Special Events – Mark your Calendar!

Monday, October 12—Richard Dawkins at IU Bloomington, Auditorium, 7:00 pm. We have his newest book, The Greatest Show on Earth--Evidence for Evolution on sale at CFI Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis for $25.00. Profit goes to CFI Indiana.
Sunday, October 25—Tom Flynn, "Robert Ingersoll: The Most Remarkable American Most People Never Heard Of," 4:00 pm, Hamilton 16 Theatre, 13825 Norell Road, Noblesville, IN (near I-69/Olio Road/141st Street).
Sunday, November 8—Spirit and Place event, "Inspiring Places--Magnificent Victory Monument for Rational Outlook on Life--Das Deutsches House/Athenaeum,"   2:00 pm, Athenaeum, 401 East Michigan, Indianapolis.
Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign—Keep up with the new developments for this campaign.
Regular Events

Café Inquiry—Tuesday, September 29, 6:30 pm, Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. Topic: Indiana’s Natural History: Excavating Ice-Age Mastodons in Indiana. Dr. Arthur Mirsky will describe exhuming mastodons from a peaty deposit of one of the last ice sheets to cover part of Indiana. Dr. Mirsky is Professor Emeritus in the Dept. of Earth Sciences at IUPUI.
Mommymoon—Wednesday, September 30, 11:00 am, the 61st & Broadway neighborhood park. Don't forget the kids, swimsuits, sunscreen, towels and a snack! For more information: info@
International Blasphemy Day—Wednesday, September 30, 6:30 pm, Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. Discussion. What is blasphemy?   What laws are there now and have been in the past concerning blasphemy?   Should blasphemy be a crime? Should religion be immune from criticism? Reba Boyd Wooden will be the discussion leader. Check out CFI's contest.
Weekly Events
Coffee and Conversation—every Sunday, 10:00 am to noon at Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis, IN. Unstructured conversation and socializing.
Conversations in Spanish—every Sunday(except September 13), 10:00 am to noon at Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis, IN. This is for people who want to learn Spanish or practice their Spanish.

Secular Family Network Playgroup—every Monday, 10:00 am to noon at Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. A good time for the kids to get acquainted, play, and socialize while their moms/dads get together for good conversation and support. Anyone is welcome. If you have questions, contact Andi Pierce at apierce@. Call Andi at 000-000-0000 to check for possible location change.
English as a New Language—every Saturday, (except September 12) 10:00-11:30 am at Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis, IN. This is for anyone from any language background who wants to learn and improve their English speaking skills. No charge.
Freethought Discussion Groups in Other Indiana Cities
CFI Indiana Hamilton County Meetup—meets every other Sunday at 10:00 am. Check webste for location. For more information call Ryan at 000-000-0000.
Bloomington Atheist Happy Hour—first Friday of every month 5:30-6:30 pm at The Dunn Inn, 208 South Dunn (between 3rd and 4th), Bloomington, IN.

Freethinkers of Montgomery County (Sponsored by CFI Indiana)—Meet every first and third Thursday, 6:30 to 8:00 pm, Crawfordsville Public Library Basement.
Lafayette Freethinkers (Sponsored by CFI Indiana)—Meet every second Thursday of the month from 6:30-8:00 pm at the UU Church, Room 106 in West Lafayette and on the fourth Thursday at the PRIDE Community Center in Lafayette.
Freethought Muncie-New Castle (A CFI Indiana Discussion Group)—For information about this group and also the Ball State student group email Robert Pinger at pinger@.

Richmond Area Free Thinkers Society. Contact: Aaron Hill at contact@ for more information.
Michiana Skeptics—contact Elizabeth Brown, indimenticabile1@
CUFREE (Champaign Urbana Freethinkers)

Louisville Atheist Meetup

Freethought Groups on Indiana College Campuses
IUPUI Freethinkers—Email free@ for information and meeting times.

IU/Bloomington-- For more information, email secular@.

Earlham College, Richmond—For more information, email free@.

Ball State University—For information email Robert Pinger at pinger@.

Purdue University/Lafayette-- Purdue NonTheists

For more information about these programs and more and to sign up to receive a full CFI Indiana newsletter, email indy@ or call 000-000-0000.

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
Tell-a-friend!

On Atheist Nexus: AAI Convention, Atheist Nexus Party, and T-Shirts

2009-09-27T18:24:00.012-05:00

A message to all members of Atheist Nexus
Some quick updates:
AAI 2009 Convention/Atheist Nexus Party
Remember, next week (October 2-4) Atheist Nexus will be participating in the American Atheist International (AAI) conference in Los Angeles. If you have not yet bought your tickets, a few more have now been made available. http://www.atheistconvention.org/.
I will be speaking on Friday afternoon, and Atheist Nexus will be sponsoring a LIVE Music Party on Saturday night after Richard Dawkins speaks. The party will be free for all convention attendees. However, as a special offer to Nexus members, if you are not attending the convention, you will be able to attend the party for a special $10 cover charge. You also must be at least twenty-one, and space will be extremely limited.
Also, we will hopefully be streaming the party live on the front page of Atheist Nexus and doing some special interviews. Stay tuned for more info.
Volunteers Needed!
We are in serious need of volunteers at the party, and at the Atheist Nexus expo table. If you are attending, and can help out at all, please email me (atheistnexus@).
Nexus Shirts
Be sure to wear your Nexus t-shirt to Saturday's party. If you ordered one, and will be at the convention, contact me and I will give it to you at the convention.
If you have not ordered one, do so now. They are in the process of being printed and the available sizes are limited. They will no longer be available after this Wednesday (September 30). After that a few will be available at the convention.
Donate
If you are able, please consider donating to Atheist Nexus. We hope this party will be the first of many that we throw across the country. http://www.atheistnexus.org/about/contributions-1
Thanks so much,
Richard Haynes
(AKA: Brother Richard)
Visit Atheist Nexus at: http://www.atheistnexus.org
--

Freethought Examiner: Supreme Court challenge to Church & State separation?

2009-09-27T18:16:00.007-05:00

Supreme Court challenge to Church & State separation? Friday, September 25, 2009 One of the great things about the United States is the legal system of checks and balances designed to protect the innocent and render fair judgment. If the system has failed at one level, it may work at another, and so on, "all the way to the... Read more » Freethought Examiner, D.M. Murdock D.M. Murdock, also known as Acharya S, is an independent scholar of comparative religion and mythology from a "freethinking" perspective. She is the author of The Christ Conspiracy, Suns of God, Who was Jesus? and Christ in Egypt. Her work was featured in the movie Zeitgeist and Bill Maher's Religulous. Her main website is TruthBeKnown.com.		Advertisement
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Rockford Higher Criticism Examiner: Chaos and order, sources of Roscoe, IL resident TJ Morgan's artistic creativity

2009-09-26T09:12:00.006-05:00

Chaos and order, sources of Roscoe, IL resident TJ Morgan's artistic creativity Saturday, September 26, 2009 Travis Morgan, often known as TJ Morgan, lives with his wife and four children north of Rockford, IL, in the town of Roscoe. From there, like the talented few, he reaches out to the business world and cyberspace, holding down a regular job as Senior... Read more » Rockford Higher Criticism Examiner, John F. Felix John F. Felix is a freethinking student of philosophy, science, literature, ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and a family man just passed the 25-year mark, loving Chicago and Rockford, IL, lifeways. He is a published poet, and performs freelance research for authors and scholars (expertise: creating new versions of ancient e-texts). Send John a message.		Advertisement
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Freethought Examiner: Why debunk atheism?

2009-09-24T17:12:00.005-05:00

Why debunk atheism? Tuesday, September 22, 2009 These days, we often see the battle raging in news items, on websites and in forums between theists and atheists, as one tries to outwit the other, etc., ad infinitum. Each side takes great glee in providing a more clever or morally superior position... Read more » Freethought Examiner, D.M. Murdock D.M. Murdock, also known as Acharya S, is an independent scholar of comparative religion and mythology from a "freethinking" perspective. She is the author of The Christ Conspiracy, Suns of God, Who was Jesus? and Christ in Egypt. Her work was featured in the movie Zeitgeist and Bill Maher's Religulous. Her main website is TruthBeKnown.com.		Advertisement
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Dr. Terence Meaden started a discussion in ORIGINS: UNIVERSE, LIFE, HUMANKIND, AND DARWIN on Atheist Nexus

2009-09-22T07:51:00.005-05:00

Dr. Terence Meaden started a discussion in ORIGINS: UNIVERSE, LIFE, HUMANKIND, AND DARWIN on Atheist Nexus

The feature film CREATION opens throughout Britain this Friday 25 September 2009. Those who live in America, make a great fuss about its absence.

To view this activity, go to:
http://www.atheistnexus.org/group/originsuniverselifehumankindanddarwin/forum/topic/show?id=2182797%3ATopic%3A513686
--

Nate started a discussion in ORIGINS: UNIVERSE, LIFE, HUMANKIND, AND DARWIN on Atheist Nexus

2009-09-22T07:39:00.011-05:00

Nate started a discussion in ORIGINS: UNIVERSE, LIFE, HUMANKIND, AND DARWIN on Atheist Nexus

The Age of Empathy: Nature’s Lessons for a Kinder Society- book examines the evolution of empathy.

Primatologist Frans de Waal's new book says: Beasts are not actually all that beastly, and so we need not be either. Nature does not force us to be selfish.

To view this activity, go to:
http://www.atheistnexus.org/group/originsuniverselifehumankindanddarwin/forum/topic/show?id=2182797%3ATopic%3A512958
--

The feature film 'Creation': ORIGINS: UNIVERSE, LIFE, HUMANKIND, AND DARWIN

2009-09-22T07:29:00.005-05:00

A message from Dr. Terence Meaden to all members of ORIGINS: UNIVERSE, LIFE, HUMANKIND, AND DARWIN on Atheist Nexus!
Being released 25 Sept (in Britain; alas not yet in the US)
Visit ORIGINS: UNIVERSE, LIFE, HUMANKIND, AND DARWIN at:
http://www.atheistnexus.org/groups/group/show?id=2182797%3AGroup%3A109911
--

felch grogan added a comment to my blog post on Atheist Nexus

2009-09-21T10:39:00.003-05:00

felch grogan added a comment to my blog post "D.M. Murdock's Christ Conspiracy no grounds for irreconcilable difference" on Atheist Nexus. He definitely has a point, there. Sometimes you need to get out of the 140 character twitter mode. The audience, or the lack thereof, is always right.

To view the new comment, visit:
http://www.atheistnexus.org/profiles/blog/show?id=2182797%3ABlogPost%3A510020&page=1#comment-2182797_Comment_511247

Join atheistnexus.org.
--

"Beyond Cosmic Dice" this Monday PLUS CFI Indiana Weekly Schedule

2009-09-19T14:09:00.002-05:00

Special event this Monday!

BEYOND COSMIC DICE:
Moral Life in a Random World

with Dr. Jeff Schweitzer
Marine biologist and former Clinton White House
Science Advisor

Monday, September 21, 7:00 p.m.

CFI Indiana
350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis
Admission: $5.00 donation appreciated

Morality is our biological destiny. We each have within us the awesome power to create our own meaning in life, our own sense of purpose, our own destiny. We can move beyond the random hand of birth to pave our own road to a better life. Whereas religion claims that happiness and fulfillment are found from submission to a higher power, Dr. Jeff Schweitzer will define these terms quite differently. We will not appeal to religion or god. Happiness and fulfillment are derived from the freedom to discover within ourselves our inherent good, and then to act on that better instinct, not because of any mandate from above or in obedience to the Bible, but because we can.

Dr. Jeff Schweitzer is a scientist who has written extensively on topics of morality, religion, politics, and science – how they relate to each other and their importance in today’s polarized social environment. He is the author of Vote to Save the Planet and the new book, Beyond Cosmic Dice: Moral Life in a Random World.
Dr. Schweitzer began his scientific career in the fields of marine biology and neurophysiology earning his Ph.D. from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. In 1984, he joined the Center for Learning and Memory at the University of California, Irvine, and in 1991 he was appointed as the Chief Environmental Officer at the State Department’s Agency for International Development.
In 1992, he was made Assistant Director for International Affairs in the Office of Science and Technology Policy where he was responsible for providing scientific and technological policy advice and analysis for the President's Science Advisor and the Vice President.
During his tenure at the White House, Dr. Schweitzer realized that one critical element was missing from global efforts to bring science, conservation, and development together: there was no appropriate ethical foundation providing a compelling mandate. Since his retirement from government, Dr. Schweitzer has devoted himself to the task of articulating and promoting such an ethic, a new way to ensure that humans can grow and prosper indefinitely in a healthy environment.
For more information, please visit www.jeffschweitzer.com or click here to listen to an interview between Dr. Schweitzer and D.J. Grothe on Point of Inquiry, the radio show and podcast of the Center for Inquiry.
Copies of Beyond Cosmic Dice: Moral Life in a Random World will be available for sale and signing at the event. E-mail indy@ to reserve a copy.
There will be food for an evening meal. $5.00 expected donation to cover the cost of the food.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE — September 21-27

Book Signing—Dr. Jeff Schweitzer, author, Beyond Cosmic Dice: Moral Life in a Random World (Book on Sale at CFI Indiana for $20), Monday, September 21, 7:00 pm, CFI Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis.

Indy Atheists—Dr. Jeff Schweitzer, author, Beyond Cosmic Dice: Moral Life in a Random World-(Book on Sale at CFI Indiana for $20), Monday, September 21, 7:00 pm, CFI Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis.

Humanist Speakers—Tuesday, September 22, 7:00 pm, Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. Practice your public speaking skills in a relaxed environment. Contact Mike Middleton at mmiddleton.1@ to learn more about this group. Anyone is welcome to attend.

CFI Indiana Movie Night—Friday, September 25, 6:00 pm. Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. Movie: Revolutionary Road

CFI Kids (formerly Earth Scouts)—Sunday, September 27, Fort Harrison State Park, East 59th Street and Post Road, 10:00 am. They will be participating in the Hoosier Outdoor Experience. Information at: http://www.in.gov/dnr/5009.htm Please check with Joe Oliver either by e-mail, joe.jr317@ or by phone,000-000-0000 for a rally point.

Scientific Examination of Religion—Sunday, September 27, 6:00 pm, Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. Topic: Islam, Science and the Qu'ran: Examining the Islamic contributions to science and claims that the Qu'ran foretells modern discoveries. Sean O’Brien is the discussion leader and coordinator of this group

For more information about this and other events, please visit www.centerforinquiry.net/indy, email indy@, or call 000-000-0000. To become a Friend of the Center, visit our membership page.

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
Tell-a-friend!

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AANEWS for Friday, Spetember 18, 2009

2009-09-19T14:05:00.007-05:00

A M E R I C A N A T H E I S T S
A A N E W S
#1278 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 09/18/09
http://www.atheists.org
http://www.americanatheist.org
http://www.atheistviewpoint.tv
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Service of AMERICAN ATHEISTS, a nationwide movement that defends
civil rights for non-believers; works for the total separation of
Church and State; and addresses issues of First Amendment public
policy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"ATHEIST is really a thoroughly honest, unambiguous term, it admits
of no paltering and no evasion, and the need of the world, now as
ever, is for clear-cut issues and unambiguous speech."
-- Chapman Cohen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In This Issue...
* God's Goons Gone Wild? Bet on it...
* Buckner on the stump, DC/Metro speaking tour
* Worth Noting... Teen pregnancy in the Bible Belt?
* Dave's blog
* Resources
* About this list...
GOD'S GOONS GONE WILD: SEX-BASED SUGGESTIONS FOR
DEALING WITH FUTURE FUNDIES?
By Tim Mitchell
AlterNet.org recently published an excerpt from Lara Riscol's
upcoming book, "Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Human Sexuality". The
excerpt is entitled, "Girls Gone Wild vs. Virgins Till Marriage:
Why Is Sexual Life in America So Schizoid?" There are some parts of
the excerpt that are worthy of note. In particular, Riscol recounts
a particular example of pro-abstinence education put forth by the
Christian Right. In fact, the Christian Right makes up the bulk of
the conservative half of the excerpt. She writes:
"The two authors of the book, 'Hooked: how casual sex is harming our
kids,' lectured at a broadcast forum by the Christian-right Family
Research Council, the powerful lobbying arm of media empire Focus
on the Family. Beyond the usual physical dire consequences, Joe
McIlhaney and Freda Bush declared the irreparable emotional damage
of one having multiple sex partners. Dr. Bush drove home their
scientific claims by describing how adhesive tape loses its sticky
power after pulling it apart more than once. Like used adhesive
tape, the more you have sex with someone other than your spouse,
the more you lose your ability to bond. Oh, and sex means anything
that incites physical arousal; no word on masturbation. Bottom line
is there are only two types of sex: married (good) and unmarried
(bad). . . . Their conclusion supports the absolutist agenda of the
synergistic family values, traditional marriage and abstinence-only
movements that push the conservative ideal of sex confined to a
heteronormative lifetime of marital fidelity, to the exclusion of
all other sexual expressions. . . . For many, a magic pill to make
bad and scary things go away sounds nice. But if prescribing to
dogmatic absolutes worked, then the most religious and conservative
red states wouldn't have the highest rates of teen pregnancy,
divorce and porn consumption."
However, much of what Riscol discusses about the Christian Right
and sex doesn't get to the core problem of, as she puts it, our
inability to "budge beyond nostalgia-fed moral panics to sane
responses to modern challenges." In fact, even though her examples
of religious fundamentalism focus largely on the issue of sex,
they basically sum up the Christian Right's approach to just about
anything they see as a social problem, from abortion to evolution:
Present it in black and white terms.
Lump it in with other things that scare them to the point where they
are indistinguishable (e.g., homosexuality = bestiality, feminism =
communism, Obama = Islam, etc.) to gain emotional support. Claim
that accepting Jesus as your personal savior is the ONLY solution.
Ask for money, and then ask for more money, and then ask for even
more money.
Attack, attack, attack.
Profit!
Furthermore, while authors such as Riscol touch on media-friendly
instances of fundie-supported anti-sexuality, they fail to question
the troubling contradictions that abound within conservative
religious circles. For example, even though the Christian Right
is eager to tell you how secular society promotes pedophilia, they
themselves go to great lengths to suppress press coverage of when
crimes of pedophilia occur within their own ranks of clergy, even
to the point of openly opposing legislation that supports extending
the civil statute of limitations for cases of child sex abuse. Or
when the Christian Right will speak loudly against gay marriage and
transsexuality, but say absolutely nothing when industrial chemicals
produce lakes and rivers filled with hermaphrodite fish and frogs.
While there are no instant solutions to ongoing contradiction
of human sexuality and religious conservatism/fundamentalism,
here are a few suggestions that I have about what can be done
to shake up the ongoing debate about sex and push it into less
fundie-friendly waters.
1. In addition to Darwin Day, atheists, agnostics, humanists and
free thinkers should also push for a Kinsey Day, in recognition
of trailblazing biologist/sexologist Alfred Kinsey. His work into
human sexuality has gone a long way towards promoting discussion of
human sexual behavior as something natural, not something of which
to be ashamed. He applied scientific research methods to a bunch of
horny, repressed and confused Americans-if that isn't a bold use of
reason, I don't know what is. Furthermore, like Darwin, religious
conservatives/fundies hate Kinsey as well. For example, according
to the Concerned Women of America (http://www.cwfa.org/kinsey.asp),
the ultimate goal of Kinsey and his supporters is "to normalize
pedophilia". As if the Vatican doesn't?
2. Change the debate venues with Christian Right leaders to
those speakers and locations that are more sex-friendly. In the
future, I don't want to see more Christian Right talking heads
take on Atheists, Agnostics, Pagans, Jews or liberal Christians;
instead, I want to see the likes of Pope Ratzinger, Rick Warren
and T.D. Jakes talk about sex with nudists, preferably in front
of a nudist audience. (It would be even better to do this with
Christian nudists, which actually do exist. See the Christian
Nudist Convocation and the Christian Nudist Naturist Fellowships
International for examples.) Religious conservatives see sex (and
by extension, nudity) as dirty and sinful, while nudists are so
comfortable with their bodies (and by extension, their sexuality)
that they don't need clothes. Thus, it's a safe bet that fundies
are probably scared to death of nudists, probably more so than
any Atheist or Pagan they'll ever encounter.
Of course, nudists are just one possibility. For example, while
promoting his new book "Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement
that Shattered the Party" on Democracy Now!, noted journalist Max
Blumenthal recently had this to say about Christian Right leader
James Dobson:
Dobson is a fascinating figure, because although he's leading what
is widely considered a religious movement, he's not a religious
leader. He has no theological credentials. He's not a preacher. What
is he? He's a child psychologist. And the way that he's won so
many followers is by, you know, doing radio shows about common,
mundane problems, like bedwetting, for example, or dealing with a
child that has, you know, issues with their sexuality, something
like that. . . . Where did Dobson's fortune come from? How did
he erect this empire? It came mainly from one book . . . Dare to
Discipline, which is essentially a manual for corporal punishment,
for beating your child. In this book, he says pain is a marvelous
purifier that a child should be-that pain goes a long way with a
child, that pain should be dispensed sufficiently enough to make a
child cry, but then the child will crumple to your breast, and you
should welcome the child with warm, open arms. This is a recipe for
sadomasochism . . . By creating a belt-wielding army of millions,
Dobson created the next generation of Republican shock troops,
who are more radical than before. And sadomasochism . . . is what
defines the essential character . . . of the Republican follower of
today. They're sadistic in that they want to lash out at deviants,
at people who are weaker than them, homosexuals, immigrants,
foreigners, socialists. At the same time, they're masochistic. They
are followers of a higher cause, of a strong leader, a magic helper
like Dobson or George W. Bush or the macho Jesus archetype that
they worship. And this is what defines this movement.
So, on the basis of Blumenthal's observations, I would pay a
lot of money to hear Dobson discuss issues such as domination,
submission and discipline with a professional dominatrix in
front of a pro-bondage-domination/sado-masochism (BDSM) audience.
Wouldn't you?
3. If you can't beat 'em, you can still make money off of 'em.
In reference to my previous point, there is an obvious BDSM theme in
conservative religious ideology in America. From Mel Gibson's snuff
film "The Passion of the Christ" to the almost daily Jesus S&M shows
at the Holy Land Experience, a Christian theme park in Florida,
there is clearly some deep-seated appreciation of pain (both giving
and receiving) among the biblical literalist crowd. Thus, you could
probably make a fortune by discretely selling Christian-themed
BDSM gear to fundies everywhere, especially in the Bible Belt.
I was thinking of giving my business a somewhat British theme by
calling it "Fish and Whips".
I guarantee you it will make a mint.
(Tim Mitchell is a professional writer who has contributed his
skills to many companies and non-profit organizations along the east
coast. Mr. Mitchell has used his diverse experience in both public
relations and media production to aid various groups in their efforts
to raise awareness of religious freedom and First Amendment issues.)
**
AMERICAN ATHEISTS
http://www.atheists.org
DR. ED BUCKNER ON D.C. METRO/
VIRGINIA SPEAKING TOUR
September 22-25, 2009
Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, will be speaking
at several venues in the Washington, DC Metro area September 22-25,
2009.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009 Virginia Commonwealth University,
sponsored by the United Secular Alliance at VSU
<http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18255897234>
Location: University Commons; Virginia Rooms B and C
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
"This is a Free Country, Not a Christian Nation."
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 American University, sponsored by AU
Rationalists and Atheists (AURA)
<http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=34367344446>
Location: School of International Service Building, Lounge
8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Thursday, September 24, 2009 George Mason University, sponsored by
Rational Response Squad at GMU 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Location: Johnson Center, Meeting Room A
Friday, September 25, 2009
Sponsored by the Beltway Atheists, http://www.beltwayatheists.org
Location: Private Residence, NW DC, followed by social event --
RSVP required
For more information on all speaking engagements, please contact
Shelley Mountjoy through shelley@.
AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights
for Atheists, Freethinkers and other nonbelievers; works for the
total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First
Amendment public policy.)
**
WORTH NOTING ...
<http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/17/florida.school.prayer/index.htm>
Florida school officials in prayer case could get jail time
Two Florida school administrators were due to appear in federal
court Thursday to face contempt charges for saying a prayer at a
school luncheon. Rep. Mike McIntyre is one of three members of the
Congressional Prayer Caucus backing the school officials. Frank Lay,
principal of Pace High School in Pace, Florida, and school athletic
director Robert Freeman are accused of violating a consent decree
banning employees of Santa Rosa County schools from endorsing
religion.

<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32884806/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/>
Teen birth rates highest in most religious states: Link may be
due to communities frowning on contraception, researchers say
U.S. states whose residents have more conservative religious beliefs
on average tend to have higher rates of teenagers giving birth, a
new study suggests. The relationship could be due to the fact that
communities with such religious beliefs (a literal interpretation of
the Bible, for instance) may frown upon contraception, researchers
say. If that same culture isn't successfully discouraging teen sex,
the pregnancy and birth rates rise.
<http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/2009/09/18/monkey-business-creation-91466-24722916/>
Monkey Business: Creation Da Vinci Code star Paul Bettany is
overjoyed that he has the chance to play one of his personal heroes -
Charles Darwin. But, as Rob Driscoll discovers, he also had to face
some personal demons along the way .
**
**
SILVERMAN BLOG SHAKING UP CYBERSPACE!
It is one of the fastest growing blogs in the
Atheist/Freethought/Secular Humanist community, and you can get in
on the discussion!
Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists is in
the Blogosphere at http://nogodblog.com. It's filled with insight,
wit, hot news, controversial opinion -- and polite, thoughtful
commentary. So join the conversation! Sign up (it's free) by
visiting http://www.atheists.org and click on the blog navigation
button, or go directly to http://nogodblog.com .
**
RESOURCES FROM AMERICAN ATHEISTS
* For membership information about American Atheists, send
mail to info@. Kindly include your name and postal
mailing address. Ask for a free membership info packet. You may
also visit http://www.atheists.org and click on the "Membership"
navigation button.
* For a free catalogue of American Atheist Press books, videos and
other products, send mail to catalogue@. Kindly include
your name and postal mailing address, and request a copy of the
AAP catalogue. You may also shop directly at http://www.atheists.org
--click on the "Shopping" navigation button.
* Current members in good standing of American Atheists may sign up
for our free E-mail Discussion Group list, aachat. We have over 150
participants who discuss topics such as Atheism, religion, First
Amendment issues, creationism and much, much more. Contact the
Moderator, Ed Gauci through egauci@.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Keyword News: [atheism]

2009-09-19T12:15:00.008-05:00

Yahoo! Alerts

Friday, September 18, 2009 10:25 AM PDT

Author Slams Wall Street Journal for Bias
Christian News Wire Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:41 AM PDT
MEDIA ADVISORY, Sept. 18 / Christian Newswire / -- This weekend The Wall Street Journal pitted atheism against God (Sept. 12-13th 2009, page W1). The full-page piece was adorned with huge graphics of Charles Darwin going head-to-head with God. Best-selling author Ray Comfort said, "The problem was that both perspectives were pro-atheistic evolution.

See more news stories that match my keyword

PaleoBabble

2009-09-19T12:09:00.005-05:00

PaleoBabble

Latest Salvo in the Giza Caves Debate

Posted: 16 Sep 2009 11:00 PM PDT

From professor Peter Manuelian here.

Technorati Tags: Andrew Collins, Egypt, giza, Pyramids, Zahi Hawass

CFI Urges Attorney General to Rescind Faith-Based Rule

2009-09-19T12:07:00.004-05:00

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
September 17, 2009
Contact: Nathan Bupp
Phone: (000) 000-0000 x 000
E-mail: nbupp@

Center for Inquiry Joins Coalition Partners in Urging Attorney General to Rescind Faith-Based Rule Allowing Discrimination in Hiring
Washington, D.C. -- The Center for Inquiry (CFI) has today added its signature to a letter from a coalition of 57 other organizations committed to civil rights and religious freedom urging Attorney General Eric Holder to review and withdraw a rule connected to "faith-based" funding that groups believe pave the way for discriminatory hiring practices.
The Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in June of 2007 crafted a legal memo arguing that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) grants religious organizations leeway to discriminate, as they see fit, on religious grounds when hiring staff in taxpayer-funded programs.
The joint letter sent to Holder today presents a case against this interpretation of the RFRA. “CFI found it imperative to demonstrate our vigorous support for the withdrawal of this rule,” said Toni Van Pelt, Policy Director for the Office of Public Policy, the lobbying arm of the Center for Inquiry. “We are strongly opposed to religious discrimination in hiring and to the misuse of taxpayers’ funds for religious purposes. We hope that the Obama administration will see fit to reverse this assault perpetrated by the Bush administration on fundamental rights guaranteed under the first amendment."

Calling the Bush administrations interpretation of RFRA “far-fetched,” the letter goes on to declare that “The OLC Memo’s interpretation that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (“RFRA”) provides for a blanket override of statutory nondiscrimination provisions is erroneous and threatens core civil rights and religious freedom protections,” and is “not justified under applicable legal standards.”
The organizations argue that RFRA, passed in 1993, was “in essence?intended to provide robust protection of free exercise rights, restoring a standard of strict scrutiny to federal laws that substantially burden religion.” But RFRA, they say, was not intended to gut federal civil rights laws because the government has a compelling interest in enforcing them.
The Center for Inquiry, along with many other groups that endorsed this letter, is a member of the Coalition Against Religious Discrimination. The Coalition argues that religious groups that accept public funds should be required to meet federal civil rights laws.
In addition to the Center for Inquiry, the following groups signed the letter: African American Ministers in Action; American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee; American Association of University Women; Asian American Justice Center; American Civil Liberties Union; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO; American Humanist Association; American Jewish Committee; Americans for Religious Liberty; Anti-Defamation League; Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty; Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; B’nai B’rith International; Center for Inquiry; Central Conference of American Rabbis; Disciples Justice Action Network; Equal Partners in Faith; Friends Committee on National Legislation; Interfaith Alliance; Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America; Hindu American Foundation; Human Rights Campaign; Japanese American Citizens League; Jewish Council for Public Affairs; Lambda Legal; Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; Legal Momentum; NAACP; NA’AMAT USA; National Center for Lesbian Rights; National Community Action Foundation; National Council of Jewish Women; National Council of La Raza; National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; National Education Association; National Employment Lawyers Association; National Ministries, American Baptist Churches USA; National Organization for Women; National Partnership for Women and Families; National Women’s Law Center; OMB Watch; People For the American Way; The Rabbinical Assembly; Rainbow PUSH Coalition; Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice; Secular Coalition for America; Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S.; Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Sikh Council on Religion and Education; Texas Faith Network; Texas Freedom Network; Union for Reform Judaism; Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations; United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries; United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society; Women of Reform Judaism; Women’s Law Project.
The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a nonprofit, educational, advocacy, and scientific-research think tank based in Amherst, New committed to fostering a secular society based on science, reason, freedom of inquiry, and humanist values. The Center’s Web site is www.centerforinquiry.net . CFI’s Office of Public Policy (OPP) is the Washington D.C .lobbying arm of the Center for Inquiry. The OPP’s mandate is to lobby Congress and the Administration on issues related to science and secularism. Their Web site can be found at www.centerforinquiry.net/opp
###

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Freethought Examiner: Is atheism the answer? Part 3

2009-09-19T11:27:00.002-05:00

Is atheism the answer? Part 3 Thursday, September 17, 2009 In continuing this series, I decided to let the dust settle a bit, as I took a break to work on other projects. To recap my previous essays on this subject, Part 1 of "Is atheism the answer?" made the case that atheism is a necessary aspect... Read more » Freethought Examiner, D.M. Murdock D.M. Murdock, also known as Acharya S, is an independent scholar of comparative religion and mythology from a "freethinking" perspective. She is the author of The Christ Conspiracy, Suns of God, Who was Jesus? and Christ in Egypt. Her work was featured in the movie Zeitgeist and Bill Maher's Religulous. Her main website is TruthBeKnown.com.		Advertisement
		Advertisement

AANEWS for Thursday, September 17, 2009 -- Breaking, Darwin film "in bidding war" for U.S. distributor

2009-09-17T14:56:00.001-05:00

A M E R I C A N A T H E I S T S
A A N E W S
#1277 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 09/17/09
http://www.atheists.org
http://www.americanatheist.org
http://www.atheistviewpoint.tv
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Service of AMERICAN ATHEISTS, a nationwide movement that defends
civil rights for non-believers; works for the total separation of
Church and State; and addresses issues of First Amendment public
policy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"ATHEIST is really a thoroughly honest, unambiguous term, it admits
of no paltering and no evasion, and the need of the world, now as
ever, is for clear-cut issues and unambiguous speech."
-- Chapman Cohen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In This Issue...
* Breaking -- U.S. Distributor for Darwin Film?
* Worth Noting: Creation v. evolution, Muslim school daze
* Join American Atheists
* Get blogging at NoGodBlog
* Resources
* About this list...
Breaking...
DARWIN FILM PRODUCERS IN BIDDING WAR, "CLOSE TO DEAL"
FOR U.S. DISTRIBUTOR
Following weeks of rejection, the producers of a new film about
Charles Darwin now say that they are in the midst of a "bidding
war" and will have a distributor in the United States "by the end
of the week."
This latest news comes after statements by producer Jeremy Thomas,
who said that the ideas explored in his latest movie "Creation"
were "too controversial for religious America." That resulted
in potential distributors for the U.S. market expressing concern
about protests from fundamentalist Christians in a nation where
the majority of the population do not accept scientific findings
for the origin of life and the universe. Last week, Thomas told
reporters that the production firm "has no distributor in the
U.S." and added, "There's still a great belief that He made the
world in six days. We live in a country (United Kingdom) which is
no longer so religious. But in the U.S., outside of New York and
Los Angeles, religion rules."
Word of the distribution breakthrough is being reported on the NBC
Bay Area News site. The report, " 'Creation' May Cause Big Bang
in U.S.", adds "Church goers eye Darwin Bio-Pic with Concern."
The movie web site is
http://www.creationthemovie.com , and the NBC story resides at
<http://www.nbcbayarea.com/entertainment/movies/Creation-May-Cause-Big-Bang-in-US-59246832.html.>
**
WORTH NOTING...
<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125297372149610431.html?mod=rss_US_News>
Muslims Press for School Holidays in New York City Muslims groups
here are pressing city officials to close public schools on two of
the faith's holiest days, just as schools do for major Jewish and
Christian holidays. But the groups have yet to persuade the man in
charge of New York City schools, Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Muslim
groups have asked the city to cancel classes on Eid Ul-Fitr, which
marks the end of Ramadan, and Eid Ul-Adha, which marks the end of
the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
<http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-people-believe-in-conspiracies&sc=WR_20090915>
Why PeopleBelieve in Conspiracies:A skeptic's take on the public's
fascination with disinformation Aftera public lecture in 2005, I was
buttonholed byadocumentaryfilmmakerwith Michael Moore-ish ambitions
of exposingtheconspiracybehind9/11. "You mean the conspiracy by
Osama bin Ladenandal Qaedatoattack the United States?" I asked
rhetorically,knowingwhat wastocome. "That's what they want you
to believe," hesaid. "Whoisthey?" Iqueried. "The government," he
whispered, as if"they"mightbelistening at that very moment. "But
didn't Osama andsomemembersof alQaeda not only say they did it,"
I reminded him,"theygloatedaboutwhat a glorious triumph it was?"
<http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_details/article/29/2009/september/14/ohio-town-moves-to-preserve-church-facing-closure.html>
Ohio town moves to preserve church facing closure A proposal to
protect a landmark Roman Catholic church has the potential to
turn into a fight over private property rights and church-state
separation. Council members and the mayor in this Cleveland suburb
along Lake Erie are moving to create a law that would stop the
Cleveland diocese or any future owner from tearing down the church
or gutting its ornate interior if the church closes as expected.
<http://scienceblogs.com/laelaps/2009/09/this_seems_fishy_to_me.php?utm_source=networkbanner&utm_medium=link>
Have creationists tricked scientists yet again? Creationists
have made a habit out of tricking scientists and historians into
appearing in pro-creationism films. Such "culture warriors" view
their dishonest tactics as fully acceptable. They think their deceit
is working for the greater good, and scientists must increasingly
be aware of who they are being interviewed by. (For a relevant
discussion of dishonesty among evangelicals see the chapters on
conservative philanthropist Howard Ahmanson Jr. in Republican
Gomorrah, particularly the portion about Ahmanson's connection to
the Discovery Institute.)
<http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/can-bill-fosters-creation-beliefs-evolve-into-valid-issue-in-st-petersburg/1036480>
Can Bill Foster's creation beliefs evolve into valid issue in
St. Petersburg mayoral race? "Dinosaurs are mentioned in Job,
so I don't have any problem believing that dinosaurs roamed the
earth,'' says St. Petersburg mayoral candidate Bill Foster. He
says he believes dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time,
though most scientists say there is a gap of at least 60 million
years between dinosaurs and mankind.
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/sep/17/darwin-evolution-religionDarwin>s complex loss of faith It is easier to make a film about
a man who allegedly "killed God" than one who studied barnacles
for eight year years. The new film about Charles Darwin, Creation,
does the former and although it has been criticised for historical
inaccuracy, it remains a beautiful, moving and eminently watchable
movie.
**
CELEBRATE YOUR INTELLECTUAL INDEPENDENCE! JOIN
AMERICAN ATHEISTS AT OUR NEW, LOW RATE
Here's a "stimulus package" for Atheists! We know that times are
difficult. Nonbelievers are like everyone else in the country
--you can get laid off or put on part-time, you can see important
investment and home value evaporate. And many people are cutting
costs, postponing vacations, cutting back whenever and wherever
they can.
So, American Atheists is making it easier than ever before to join
up in the fight for Reason, separation of church and state, and
the effort to give America's unbelieving community "a place at the
table" in the discussion over First Amendment public policy. You
can join American Atheists for only $20 per year; you receive the
American Atheist Magazine, a leading journal for news and opinion;
plus all of the discounts and other benefits of membership. It's
easy to do! Visit
<http://www.atheists.org/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=26>
to sign up using our secure, on-line transaction server.
Your membership in American Atheists shows that you care about taking
a stand for Reason, civil liberties for Atheists, and the total,
absolute separation of church and state! Membership is open to all
who agree with our Statement of Aims and Purposes. Joining American
Atheists, though, also has it rewards! Benefits and Privileges of
Membership include.
Membership dues and donations to American Atheists are tax
deductible.
Your personal Membership card qualifying you at Conferences,
Conventions and other organizational activities for special
Membership Discounts.
A beautiful Certificate of Membership suitable for framing signed
personally by the President of American Atheists.
Participation in our on-line discussion group, AACHAT.
Participation in our special "Atheist Singles" program (see below).
A special 10% discount on ALL books and products offered through
American Atheists Press.
A special discount when you present your Membership Card for
registration at American Atheist Conventions, Regional Atheist
Meets and other select activities.
A subscription to the American Atheists Magazine - a leading source
of news about AA activism and First Amendment issues!
Eligibility in the new American Atheists Scholarship Program. The
Scholarships will provide generations of American Atheist families
with funds, and help to defer costly education expenses.
Members of American Atheists benefit from our Savings Partners
program of discounts on goods and services from both local and
national businesses. And there's a special gift waiting for you when
you join American Atheists! By joining American Atheists, you're
making a major contribution in helping to protect civil liberties
for Atheists, and preserve Jefferson's "wall of separation" between
government and religion. Let us hear from you today!
<http://www.atheists.org/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=26>
**
SILVERMAN BLOG SHAKING UP CYBERSPACE!
It is one of the fastest growing blogs in the
Atheist/Freethought/Secular Humanist community, and you can get in
on the discussion!
Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists is in
the Blogosphere at http://nogodblog.com. It's filled with insight,
wit, hot news, controversial opinion -- and polite, thoughtful
commentary. So join the conversation! Sign up (it's free) by
visiting http://www.atheists.org and click on the blog navigation
button, or go directly to http://nogodblog.com .
**
RESOURCES FROM AMERICAN ATHEISTS
* For membership information about American Atheists, send
mail to info@. Kindly include your name and postal
mailing address. Ask for a free membership info packet. You may
also visit http://www.atheists.org and click on the "Membership"
navigation button.
* For a free catalogue of American Atheist Press books, videos and
other products, send mail to catalogue@. Kindly include
your name and postal mailing address, and request a copy of the
AAP catalogue. You may also shop directly at http://www.atheists.org
--click on the "Shopping" navigation button.
* Current members in good standing of American Atheists may sign up
for our free E-mail Discussion Group list, aachat. We have over 150
participants who discuss topics such as Atheism, religion, First
Amendment issues, creationism and much, much more. Contact the
Moderator, Ed Gauci through egauci@.

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9/22 Special St. Louis Event: "Cosmic Dice: Moral Life in a Random World" w/Jeff Schweitzer

2009-09-16T18:13:00.003-05:00

Please join us for this special event!

BEYOND COSMIC DICE:
Moral Life in a Random World

with Dr. Jeff Schweitzer
Marine biologist and former Clinton White House
Science Advisor

Tuesday, September 22
7:00 p.m.

The Ethical Society of St. Louis
9001 Clayton Road, St. Louis, MO
Admission: $5

This event is sponsored by
Center for Inquiry, The Skeptical Society of St. Louis,
and The Ethical Society of St. Louis.

For more information, please call 000-000-0000 ext. 000, or email grassroots@.

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
Tell-a-friend!

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Center for Inquiry.

Keyword News: [atheism]

2009-09-16T10:58:00.007-05:00

Yahoo! Alerts

Wednesday, September 16, 2009 2:21 AM PDT

This atheist blogger sold his soul on eBay
rediff.com Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:42 PM PDT
Hemant Mehta's atheism-oriented blog works, finds P Rajendran, because of its non-confrontational tone.

See more news stories that match my keyword

Keyword News: [atheism]

2009-09-16T10:56:00.012-05:00

Yahoo! Alerts

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 6:21 PM PDT

Cardinal Pell to Debate Christopher Hitchens
Zenit News Agency Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:46 PM PDT
SYDNEY, Australia, SEPT. 15, 2009 ( Zenit.org ).- The first ever Festival of Dangerous Ideas will pit Sydney's archbishop, Cardinal George Pell, against one of the most prominent exponents of modern atheism, British journalist Christopher Hitchens.

See more news stories that match my keyword

The "Origins" group: ORIGINS: UNIVERSE, LIFE, HUMANKIND, AND DARWIN

2009-09-16T10:54:00.003-05:00

A message from Dr. Terence Meaden to all members of ORIGINS: UNIVERSE, LIFE, HUMANKIND, AND DARWIN on Atheist Nexus!
First anniversary of founding the "Origins" group
Visit ORIGINS: UNIVERSE, LIFE, HUMANKIND, AND DARWIN at:
http://www.atheistnexus.org/groups/group/show?id=2182797%3AGroup%3A109911
--

John Dewey's 150th Birthday Celebration

2009-09-16T10:52:00.006-05:00

John Dewey's 150th Birthday Celebration
An International Conference
on Dewey's Impact on America and the World

The Center for Inquiry is celebrating the 150th birthday of philosopher and educator John Dewey with a three-day conference Oct. 22-24, 2009 at the CFI/Transnational headquarters in Amherst, N.Y.

Speakers include:

Larry Hickman, Director of the Center for Dewey Studies
Philip Kitcher, John Dewey Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University
Paul Kurtz, Professor Emeritus, SUNY Buffalo
and many more senior scholars on all aspects of the thought
and influence of John Dewey

Keynote Address begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22.

Conference runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Walk-ins are welcome. Please join us anytime!

CONFERENCE INFORMATION

General Conference Fee: $30
Students and Friends of CFI: $15
Two optional lunches: $30
TOTAL: $60 (General), $45 (Students & Friends of CFI)

HOW TO REGISTER
Contact Cheryl Catania at 000-000-0000, ext. 000.
Registration Forms and Online Registration available at: www.centerforinquiry.net/research/conferences/

The Center for Inquiry/Transnational is located at
1310 Sweet Home Road, Amherst, N.Y.
across the street from University at Buffalo North Campus

For more information contact John Shook at jshook@ or 000-000-0000.

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
Tell-a-friend!

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Rockford Higher Criticism Examiner: D.M. Murdock's "Christ Conspiracy" no grounds for irreconcilable differences

2009-09-15T16:03:00.001-05:00

D.M. Murdock's "Christ Conspiracy" no grounds for irreconcilable differences Tuesday, September 15, 2009 D. M. Murdock (Acharya S), Freethought Examiner, writes profusely on the subject of mythicism, the theory that no historical Jesus ever existed, and I have read nearly all her published books and e-books, as well as the majority of her articles on... Read more » Rockford Higher Criticism Examiner, John F. Felix John F. Felix is a freethinking student of philosophy, science, literature, ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and a family man just passed the 25-year mark, loving Chicago and Rockford, IL, lifeways. He is a published poet, and performs freelance research for authors and scholars (expertise: creating new versions of ancient e-texts). Send John a message.		Advertisement
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AANEWS for Monday, September 14, 2009

2009-09-14T22:57:00.001-05:00

A M E R I C A N A T H E I S T S
A A N E W S
#1276 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 09/14/09
http://www.atheists.org
http://www.americanatheist.org
http://www.atheistviewpoint.tv
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Service of AMERICAN ATHEISTS, a nationwide movement that defends
civil rights for non-believers; works for the total separation of
Church and State; and addresses issues of First Amendment public
policy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"ATHEIST is really a thoroughly honest, unambiguous term, it admits
of no paltering and no evasion, and the need of the world, now as
ever, is for clear-cut issues and unambiguous speech."
-- Chapman Cohen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In This Issue...
* A public disgrace! Darwin film unable to find US distributor.
* Worth Noting --Karen Armstrong on God, more...
* Join American Atheists
* Dave's blog
* Resources
* About this list...
INTELLECTUAL BANKRUPTCY IN AMERICA: NEW DARWIN FILM
UNABLE TO SECURE U.S. DISTRIBUTOR
Producers of a new film about the life of naturalist Charles Darwin
have been unable to secure a company to handle distribution in the
United States.
According to Oscar-winning director Jeremy Thomas , the theme of
the forthcoming movie "Creation" is deemed "too controversial for
religious America"
The production opened the recent Toronto Film Festival and won rave
reviews. Starring Paul Bettany and Martha West, it traces the agony
and achievements of a young Charles Darwin in his "struggle between
faith and reason" as he penned his landmark work on evolutionary
biology, "On the Origin of Species." The Daily Telegraph newspaper
notes, "it has been sold in almost every territory around the
world, from Australia to Scandinavia ... However, US distributors
have passed on a film that will prove hugely divisive in a country
where according to a Gallup poll conducted in February, only 39%
of Americans believe in the theory of evolution."
In the course of the movie, Darwin agonizes over the sudden death
of his 10-year-old daughter and his loss of faith in God.
Production of the film has been closely followed by Christian
bloggers and web sites, and only recently was mentioned in the
mainstream media. Its release "is virtually certain to provoke
massive controversy" and spark new debate over evolution, science
and religion according to one Telegraph reviewer. The producers
have even opened a special resource service aimed at trying to
answer objections from Christian organizations who may find the
film blasphemous and objectionable.
One Christian web site, Movieguide.org, is characterizing Charles
Darwin as "a racist, a bigot and a 1800s naturalist whose legacy
is mass murder." It also described evolutionary theory as
"half-baked," and stridently claimed that Darwin's work resulted
in the horrific deeds of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi henchmen, along
with "atrocities, crimes against humanity, cloning and genetic
engineering." The Daily Mail reports that producer Jeremy Thomas
is astounded that such opinions find a wide and credulous audience
fully 150 years after the publication of Darwin's seminal work,
and that religious sensibilities constitute a near-insurmountable
barrier to finding an American distributor for this film.
"The film has no distributor in America," Mr. Thomas opined.
"It has got a deal everywhere else in the world but in the U.S.,
and it's because of what the film is about. People have been
saying this is the best film they've seen all year, yes nobody in
the U.S. has picked it up."
And more: "It is unbelievable to us that this is still a real hot
potato in America," says Thomas. "There's still a great belief
that He made the world in six days. We live in a country (the
United Kingdom) which is no longer so religious. But in the U.S.,
outside of New York and Los Angeles, religion rules."
Thomas is only partially correct, though in his assessment of
the American religious landscape. Religious fundamentalists are
not a majority of the population; and the ranks of us who describe
ourselves as having "no religion" -- a figure that includes Atheists,
Freethinkers, Humanists and other "seculars" -- has been steadily
growing. It is the fundamentalist Christians, though, who are among
the most politically organized in the country, as they saunter forth
to carry out "the Great Commission" and forge a "godly society."
The fact that religious prejudice can intimidate Hollywood
distributors and studios in so blatant a fashion is testament to
a number of disturbing trends.
One is the regrettable complacence of the scientific and
educational communities who, until recently, assumed that
creationist fantasies were a relic of the 1920s and small pockets
of backwoods provincialism. With a public school system and the
gradual enlightenment of the population, surely fundamentalist
ideas concerning the origins of life would dissipate. After all,
mainstream Protestant bodies and even the Roman Catholic Church
announced that there was no conflict between modern scientific
findings (like evolutionary processes, "deep time" and insights
into the chemistry of life itself) and their brands of religion.
Why worry?
The second is a deadly combination of ideological revanchism and
sheer determination by fundamentalists to proselytize and organize.
Creationism is alive and well, from the lavish Creationist Museum in
Petersburg, Kentucky to dozens of advocacy and legal groups seeking
to introduce this religious doctrine into the public schools under
the veneer of providing students with "alternative" explanations"
of how life and the universe began. We ignore these ideological
initiatives at our peril. America remains a sophisticated
technological society with a first-rate scientific establishment
(although some see erosion of this position); but socially and
culturally, we fail to live up to those lofty standards.
The fact that a film about Charles Darwin cannot be brought --
at least for now -- to audiences in America is evidence of the
religiously-driven intellectual bankruptcy plaguing our land. It is
also a call for all enlightened Americans to, well, get our hands a
bit dirty in the battle over teaching creationism, and the rest of
"good science," in schools and defending Darwin in the public square.
When, during the opening of the Creationist museum in Kentucky a
year ago Freethought activist Edwin Kagin organized the Rally for
Reason," he received widespread support. Some potential allies,
though,decided to sit out this battle, surmising that a public
demonstration at the gates of the newly-minted museum, would simply
draw unwarranted attention to the event. In other words, advocates
of "good science" and fact-based public policy should, presumably,
ignore the vocal and politically savvy movement of creationists and
"Intelligent Design" partisans in hopes that they will -- what? --
go away?
That is a gamble we as a culture simply cannot take.
We hope that "Creation" finds a willing and enthusiastic distribution
company in the United States, and that the public supports this
film at the box office. Failing this, we further tarnish our
international image and continue to jeopardize the education of
further generations.
-- Conrad Goeringer,
Editor, AANEWS
Links used in this report:
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6173399/Charles-Darwin-film-too-controversial-for-religious-America.html>
Charles Darwin film 'too controversial for religious America' A
British film about Charles Darwin has failed to find a US distributor
because his theory of evolution is too controversial for American
audiences, according to its producer.
http://rallyforreason.arkonuts.com/
Web site for The Rally for Reason
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creationism
Wikipedia entry on creationism
http://creationthemovie.com
Web site for "Creation," the film.
**
WORTH NOTING...
<http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iQgwgq_BKyyMd7Ujvs9ZaVpheDpgD9AJTF0G0>
Muslim woman presses French panel for burqa ban Her voice trembling
with emotion, the leader of an advocacy group for Muslim women and
girls urged a French parliamentary panel on Wednesday to press for
laws that would ban the wearing of Islamic body- and face-covering
veils. Sihem Habchi appeared as the first witness before a newly
created parliamentary group studying Islamic clothing such as burqas
and niqabs - part of France's effort to integrate its growing Muslim
population while preserving its heritage and secular roots.
<http://westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgun/2009/09/godless-work-edmonton-atheists-to-pitch-in-to-clean-alberta-highways.html>
Godless work: Edmonton atheists to pitch in to clean Alberta highways
In a press release today, the Society of Edmonton Atheists announced
its plan to participate in the Government of Alberta's "Caring for
Alberta Highways" program. On Sunday, this merry band of heathens
will be cleaning the stretch of Highway 2 North near the city's
international airport. The godless work will begin in the morning
and last until the organization's 3.2 kilometre stretch of adopted
road is free from litter.
<http://atheism.about.com/b/2009/09/06/americans-dont-believe-in-churchstate-separation.htm>
Americans Don't Believe in Church/State Separation Americans may
believe in the importance of religious liberty, but for some reason
they don't also believe in separating church from state. These views
aren't compatible unless one thinks that a religious government
would protect the rights of religious minorities. More likely I
think, though, is that most Americans just don't think very deeply
or seriously about the positions they adopt.
<http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/elizabeth_mosque_organizes_nat.html>
Elizabeth mosque organizes national prayer gathering for Muslims in
Washington, D.C. A mosque in Elizabeth, Dar-ul-Islam, is spearheading
a national prayer gathering next month in Washington, D.C., that
organizers are billing as the first event of its kind -- organized
prayer for tens of thousands of Muslims outside the U.S. Capitol
building. The event will not include political speeches or placards,
just prayer, said Hassen Abdellah, president of Dar-ul-Islam and
a main organizer of the event, which is scheduled for Sept. 25.
http://www.slate.com/id/2227245/entry/2227455/
The Architect of 9/11 In 1994, Mohamed Atta traveled to Istanbul
with a student group and continued onward to visit Dittmar Machule
in northern Syria, where the professor was doing fieldwork on
a Bronze Age village under excavation. But Atta found himself
more interested in the traditional urbanism of the nearest major
city, Aleppo. Atta was hardly the first student of Middle Eastern
architecture drawn to Aleppo. Along with Fez in Morocco and Sana'a
in Yemen, Aleppo is considered among the best-preserved cities in
the Arab world. When he decided to write his thesis on the city,
he returned later that year to conduct more extensive research.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/215180
Out, Out, Damned Atheists: Karen Armstrong weighs in on God. The
latest salvo in the war between the atheists and the believers
comes from the doyenne of religious intellectual history, Karen
Armstrong. Her tone is one of high-minded irritation. Her argument
is compelling. To oversimplify: "faith" and "reason" are not like
political parties. You don't join one after having been convinced
via argument of its validity.
<http://www.evolutionnews.org/2009/09/a_mind_even_if_its_just_a_coup.html>
A Mind, Even if It's Just a Couple of Pounds of Meat, Is a Terrible
Thing to Waste (From Discovery Institute) - The world is awash
with charities. Most are quite worthwhile. For pennies a day, you
can send a child in an impoverished country to school, and kindle
a lifetime of learning. But there remain many unmet needs. What
about people living in ideological poverty? We've all heard the
stories. Materialist philosophers of the mind who deny that the mind
exists. Full professors of evolutionary biology who misunderstand
demonstrations of the existence of God that are routinely mastered
by teenagers in Introductory Philosophy courses. Atheist authors
of letters to Christian nations who excoriate religion and ignore
the unparalleled atrocities of atheism. Unrepentant Trotskyites
who scold Christians for adherence to a messianic ideology.
<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204731804574391183769432284.html?mod=googlenews_wsj>
Faith-Based Double Standards In 2001, President Bush issued his
first executive order as president. He created a program to encourage
religious organizations to receive taxpayer funds to perform social
services. The Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, as it was called,
infuriated many. Civil libertarians said it violated the separation
of church and state, liberals suggested that the office was paying
off political supporters, and even Christian conservatives worried
about the tentacles of government regulation.
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6173399/Charles-Darwin-film-too-controversial-for-religious-America.html>
Charles Darwin film 'too controversial for religious America' A
British film about Charles Darwin has failed to find a US distributor
because his theory of evolution is too controversial for American
audiences, according to its producer.

<http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/09/11/religion-in-america-in-decline/>
Religion in America in Decline Religion in America is on the decline
and has been dropping since the turn of the century. That's not an
atheist's happy dream. It's the conclusion of researchers at Faith
Communities Today (FACT), the multi-year study of American religion
quarterbacked by the Hartford Seminary's Hartford Institute for
Religion Research.
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/3405/
How Atheists View Religion The struggle between religion and reason
for the hearts and minds of the people goes back at least as far
as ancient Greece and has been played out time and again through
the ages. Throughout the 21st century, modern civilization
will confront a wide range of intellectual, moral, and social
challenges. One of the most difficult issues to settle will be the
proper role of religion in the public sphere.
**
CELEBRATE YOUR INTELLECTUAL INDEPENDENCE! JOIN
AMERICAN ATHEISTS AT OUR NEW, LOW RATE
Here's a "stimulus package" for Atheists! We know that times are
difficult. Nonbelievers are like everyone else in the country
--you can get laid off or put on part-time, you can see important
investment and home value evaporate. And many people are cutting
costs, postponing vacations, cutting back whenever and wherever
they can.
So, American Atheists is making it easier than ever before to join
up in the fight for Reason, separation of church and state, and
the effort to give America's unbelieving community "a place at the
table" in the discussion over First Amendment public policy. You
can join American Atheists for only $20 per year; you receive the
American Atheist Magazine, a leading journal for news and opinion;
plus all of the discounts and other benefits of membership. It's
easy to do! Visit
<http://www.atheists.org/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=26>
to sign up using our secure, on-line transaction server.
Your membership in American Atheists shows that you care about taking
a stand for Reason, civil liberties for Atheists, and the total,
absolute separation of church and state! Membership is open to all
who agree with our Statement of Aims and Purposes. Joining American
Atheists, though, also has it rewards! Benefits and Privileges of
Membership include.
Membership dues and donations to American Atheists are tax
deductible.
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American Atheists Press.
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registration at American Atheist Conventions, Regional Atheist
Meets and other select activities.
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Members of American Atheists benefit from our Savings Partners
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you join American Atheists! By joining American Atheists, you're
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<http://www.atheists.org/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=26>
**
SILVERMAN BLOG SHAKING UP CYBERSPACE!
It is one of the fastest growing blogs in the
Atheist/Freethought/Secular Humanist community, and you can get in
on the discussion!
Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists is in
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commentary. So join the conversation! Sign up (it's free) by
visiting http://www.atheists.org and click on the blog navigation
button, or go directly to http://nogodblog.com .
**
RESOURCES FROM AMERICAN ATHEISTS
* For membership information about American Atheists, send
mail to info@. Kindly include your name and postal
mailing address. Ask for a free membership info packet. You may
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* For a free catalogue of American Atheist Press books, videos and
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* Current members in good standing of American Atheists may sign up
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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Freethought Examiner: 'The Christ Conspiracy' in the Huffington Post

2009-09-14T22:53:00.004-05:00

'The Christ Conspiracy' in the Huffington Post Monday, September 14, 2009 My friend Dr. Robert Eisenman, a well-known Bible scholar, has just scored a major coup—albeit one that may not be immediately recognized—in his article for the Huffington Post entitled, "Redemonizing Judas: Gospel Fiction or Gospel... Read more » Freethought Examiner, D.M. Murdock D.M. Murdock, also known as Acharya S, is an independent scholar of comparative religion and mythology from a "freethinking" perspective. She is the author of The Christ Conspiracy, Suns of God, Who was Jesus? and Christ in Egypt. Her work was featured in the movie Zeitgeist and Bill Maher's Religulous. Her main website is TruthBeKnown.com.		Advertisement
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Freethought Examiner: Does religion cause immorality?

2009-09-14T22:46:00.002-05:00

Does religion cause immorality? Friday, September 11, 2009 In July, the journal Evolutionary Psychology published a study concerning religiosity and its effects on society by "independent scholar" Greg S. Paul, who produced results that many people these days would not be terribly surprised... Read more » Freethought Examiner, D.M. Murdock D.M. Murdock, also known as Acharya S, is an independent scholar of comparative religion and mythology from a "freethinking" perspective. She is the author of The Christ Conspiracy, Suns of God, Who was Jesus? and Christ in Egypt. Her work was featured in the movie Zeitgeist and Bill Maher's Religulous. Her main website is TruthBeKnown.com.		Advertisement
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Dispraxis

Contest: free signed John Loftus anthology The End of Christianity

CONTEST!: Win a signed copy of the John Loftus anthology The End of Christianity!

Audio book free previews - Robert M. Price - Night of the Living Savior - read by the Bible Geek himself!

Please, click the Donate button to assist Robert M. Price and his family!

1966: the good ol' days.

Some Jordanian Lead Plates 'made of people,' Miskatonic scientists reveal.

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One Week to Carl Sagan Day! How are you celebrating?

Carl Sagan Day: November 9Celebrate with us!

Look for events already planned near you andcheck back with us for updates at carlsaganday.org!

Please email your event information to centerforinquiry.net.

COSMOS imagery and logo copyright © 1980 Druyan-Sagan Associates, Inc. formerly known as Carl Sagan Productions, Inc. For more information about CFI or Carl Sagan Day, please visit carlsaganday.org or email centerforinquiry.net.

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Help support Double Feature Press.

From the Double Feature Press kickstart page:

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Page FrontPage

Forge a New Symbol for Tolerance

Reflections on the origins of Judaism

Sacrifice on the Serengeti - A Guest Post by Eric M Johnson | Dr. Carin Bondar

Refuting Quackery with Science-Based Medicine

Refuting Quackery with Science-Based Medicine

with David Gorski, MD

Saturday, August 21st, 2010 at 12:30 pmBlack Rock Pub/Kitchen, 3614 N. Damen Ave., Chicago

Free to attend.

Support CFI/Chicago

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The Agnostic's Manifesto

AANEWS for Wednesday, June 23, 2010

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Keyword News: [atheism]

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Making Humanism Relevant to African Americans

"Making Humanism Relevant to African Americans"

Saturday, July 10, 6:00-11:00 pm

Center for Inquiry Indiana350 Canal Walk, Suite AIndianapolis, IN 46202

Featuring Special Guest Speakers:

Join us for a Meet & Greet Pre-Event Lunch/Dinner: 3:00 pm

Register online or mail in registration.

Speaker Bios:

Secular Humanism Online News -- April, 2010

In This Issue:

Don't Miss the Council’s 30th Year L.A. Conference!

Discounts Available for Early Birds

Click here to see the full announcement

African Americans for Humanism to Explore New Directions at Washington, D.C. conference

Secular Organizations for Sobriety to Hold Festival of Recovery in Celebration of 25 Years

Skeptics and Humanists Aid and Relief Effort (SHARE) Receives Notable Coverage in The New York Times

On the Legal Front:

Office of Public Policy Update

Brookings Guide for Governments and Country’s School Boards Neglects Secularists

In the Media:

I would walk 500 miles.

Portland Humanist Examiner: Religion: Idaho Baptists face conspiracy, kidnapping charges in Haiti

AANEWS for Monday, October 5, 2009

CFI Indiana October 2009 Schedule

Keyword News: [atheism]

Keyword News: [atheism]

Urge Your Senators: Stop Obstructing Judicial and Executive Nominations!

How to set up a Google video search using an RSS feed | eHow.com

PaleoBabble

PaleoBabble

Joe Burke replied to a discussion on Atheist Nexus

PaleoBabble

PaleoBabble

Carl Sagan Day: November 9
Celebrate with us!

Look for events already planned near you and
check back with us for updates at
carlsaganday.org!

Saturday, August 21st, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Black Rock Pub/Kitchen, 3614 N. Damen Ave., Chicago

Center for Inquiry Indiana
350 Canal Walk, Suite A
Indianapolis, IN 46202