WNCAtheists Activities
Tuesday July 6, 2010 at
7:00
PM
WNC
Atheists
Meet-up
ASHEVILLE
Books-A-Million
136
South Tunnel Rd
Tuesday July 20, 2010
at
7:00
PM
WNC
Atheists
Meet-up
ASHEVILLE
Books-A-Million
136
South Tunnel Rd
Tuesday July 27, 2010
at
7:00
PM
WNC
Atheists
Book/Movie Club
Meeting
Book
Night
Date: Tuesday July 27th
Time: 7:00 pm
Book: "God?:
A Debate between a Christian and an Atheist"
by William
Lane Craig & Walter Sinnott-Armstrong
Location: Kim and Russell's house
***Please RSVP Russell
to let
him know if you will be
attending.
Just in case you don't have
Russell's e-mail address, it is rprmando@yahoo.com
Directions:
Contact for
Directions
Other
Local Events
Ethical
Culture Society of Asheville
Sunday July 18,
2010
2:00-3:30
Botanical
Gardens Visitor Center, 151 W.T. Weaver Blvd.
ASHEVILLE
"Ethical
Humanism’s Golden Rule – Eliciting the Best" will be
presented by Joy McConnell
Mrs. McConnell, American Ethical Union Consulting Leader to
the Ethical Society of Asheville, President of the AEU National
Leaders Council and recent Buncombe
County resident, will speak about, founder, Felix Adler's moral
imperative, "Elicit the best in others and thereby in
yourself." What does it mean? How can we elicit the
best in others? This core philosophical principle of
Ethical Culture is still a hallmark of the movement
today.
There will be a discussion period following the presentation
and, following the meeting, there will be time
for informal conversation. All are welcome! For
more information contact: asheville@aeu.org, www.aeu.org or 687-7759.
This
is a humanistic,
educational,
non-theistic alternative to traditional religions inspired by the ideal that the supreme
aim of human life is working to create a more
humane society.
asheville@aeu.org
Minds
Wide Open
"Critical Thought for a Critical Time"
http://www.mindswideopen.net
Streaming video from the Local URTV Show
(More episodes will be available soon)
Check URTV's site for regular show-times too:
http://www.urtv.org/schedule.html
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July 2010
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Group News
You can still donate
to the
Relay for Life team Good
Beyond Belief.
As of early this morning, the team has raised $2,980.59
-with a
goal
of $5,000.00.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Also...
The website for the NC Secular Association is now up http://www.ncsecular.org/
You can find links on the website to other groups in the Association,
links to FreeThoughtAction, where you can donate, or purchase
t-shirts/bumperstickers, as well as links to the various media coverage
around the state.
FreeThoughtAction
is covering $5,000 towards these costs.
Joseph Stewart, whom several of you have met, and who has headed up
this project is currently covering the remainder of all costs out of his own pocket.
Appeals are being made to other national organizations, as well as the
general FreeThoughtAction
supporters.
If you would like to donate to this project, you may do so directly
through the FTA website donation
page
using PayPal. Or you may pass monies on to me at one of our
meetings, and I will submit this on-line for you.
If you go directly through the FTA website, please let Joseph Stewart
know how much you donated, so he can keep track of what's been given
for this project. His e-mail address is joseph-stewart@live.com
_________________________________________________________________________________________
And...
The Third Annual
Sunday
September
19th 2010
at Lake Julian Park
Picnic shelter #2
The success of this
picnic depends on you.
Sign-up on-line for what you will bring (food and supplies, alcohol
not pernmitted ).
Examples (Sodas, chips, cups, plates, prepared foods).
Remember, we have a variety of people coming with a variety of
tastes/dietary requirements (everything from Junk-food Junkie to
Vegan)
The list is started in a sub-forum on the WNCAtheists Forum and can be
accessed directly here: Regional
Collaboration
This list is only accessible through the direct link above, unless you are logged-in as a
registered user, so use the link above if you are not registered and do
not wish to be.
If you have any ideas for activities to include this year, just let me
know, or post the ideas to the Regional
Collaboration
forum.
Darrell
Darrell@wncatheists.com
If you had problems with any of the links before, those should now be
fixed.
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News
Stories
of Interest
News items are
available at the WNCAtheists Forum
Items may be
read, posted and comments added on the Forum.
A billboard here and in five other North Carolina cities is drawing
more attention for two missing words than it is for the three words
blazoned over a U.S. flag.
“One nation indivisible,” the billboard reads, omitting the words
“under God,” which were added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954.
A statewide coalition of atheists and agnostics has placed six
billboards around North Carolina, including a controversial one in
Charlotte. They are intended to make the point that Americans who don't
believe in God can still be patriotic.
The Asheville billboard stands over Interstate 26 near Brevard Road.
One in Charlotte drew criticism for being placed along the Billy Graham
Parkway.
The Rev. J. Wendell Runion, head of a local evangelical organization
that includes Christian radio station WKJV-AM, said he is thankful he
lives in America, where freedom of speech is a right....
Should I Quit My Religion? Questions for the New
Atheists
I want your opinion about something. I’m a
liberal religious person who doesn’t believe in doctrines, dogma or a
supernatural God. 19% of members in my tradition identify as atheist,
30% as agnostic and the rest Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Pagan or
otherwise. Many of us have been wounded by the bigotry, homophobia and
dogma in the religions we grew up in and find refuge, support and
community in my tradition. We come together on Sunday mornings to enjoy
music and hear sermons about social justice, the power of community and
how to live inspiring and meaningful lives. Some ministers may use the
word God in an all-inclusive way but most choose to avoid the term
because of its troubled history. Here’s my question for you: Should I
abandon my tradition because liberal and moderate religion serves to
justify the extremes? Is my participation in this religious institution
providing legitimacy and credibility for fundamentalism, violence,
oppression and bigotry done in the name of religion? I’m studying to be
a minister in this tradition. It’s called Unitarian Universalism. Am I
guilty by association? Should I jump ship? What do you think?...
Don’t believe in God? Join the club, local atheists
say
The billboard, sponsored by the Austin
Coalition of Reason - a self-described collection of non-dogmatic
rationalist and freethinker groups in the greater Austin area - went up
Monday with $7,344 in funding from the United Coalition of Reason
(United CoR), the national umbrella group.
Don Rhoades, the coordinator for the Austin group, said this morning
that the billboard marks the launch of Austin’s Coalition of Reason,
which will serve as a connective organization and network of groups
like the Center for Inquiry and the Atheist Community of Austin. “The
whole idea of the billboard is for people in Austin to come to the
website and see the variety that we offer so that there’s something
that will feel pretty good for most nonbelievers,” Rhoades said.
The national marketing campaign for nonbelievers by the United
Coalition of Reason has included advertisements on billboards, buses
and subways since last year, with mixed reception and some controversy.
Most recently, in Charlotte, North Carolina, vandals spray painted
“Under God” beneath a billboard that featured words from the Pledge of
Allegiance without that phrase...
“We’re All Born Atheists”
Being an atheist in America means being
less than human. I know from personal experience, not from being an
atheist but from being raised Christian in a conservative Christian
town and holding negative biases about atheists. Like many others I
thought that a belief in God was the foundation of morality, that
Christians were superior to others and that atheists were a threat to
believers. I didn’t, however, reach this conclusion consciously after
weighing the facts and examining the issue independently. But rather it
was something so ingrained within the culture that it permeated the
social conscience. And of course atheists were just one group among
many targeted by some Christians. But for several years now there have
been movements both religious and secular that have championed the
rights of other marginalized groups such as gays, people of color and
women. Now it’s time for religious and spiritual people to take a stand
for non-believers of all varieties.
Recent years have seen the spread of whats called the new atheism. Led
by Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett
(in the photo above) who are dubbed the “four horsemen,” they are known
for their fiery rhetoric and passionate critique of all things
religious. While they certainly don’t represent all atheists–some
prefer a more moderate approach–they have provided an important voice
of resistance and identity for a group that has remained painfully
silent for to long. And atheism is one of the fastest growing
identities in America. It’s now the third largest group behind
Catholics and Baptists. People are fed up with the abuse scandals,
hypocrisy, violence and rejection of scientific progress that is
associated with so many religions and their teachings. Now that atheism
has a renewed interest in the public sphere it is an excellent
opportunity for religious people of all sorts to show kindness,
compassion and understanding to atheists–all things which are central
to their traditions....
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Have
something to include in the next Updates - ideas for group activities,
other
events or news, send it to:
Darrell@wncatheists.com
Visit
our
web-site:
http://www.wncatheists.com
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