Uncategorized – Page 18

A Glimpse of Rationality

For anyone who has followed Jessica Ahlquist’s endeavor to remove a religious banner in her public high school in Cranston, RI, (and followed it in the recent NOSHA spring newsletter), you’re no doubt familiar with the other bizarre twist that occurred as a result: “Floristgate”. Various secular organizations tried to send Jessica a spray of flowers to celebrate her legal victory and found that several of the florists refused to comply with their order, saying because they didn’t agree with […]

To Live at All Is Miracle Enough

I came across this by chance the end of December and had intended to post it sooner. (You can see the original post by Faisal Saeed Al Mutar.) It reminds me how lucky I am, we all are, in fact, and is something that I should read every once in a while when I’m feeling stressed about what I’d like my world to be. Doesn’t Monty Python have something similar to say? But Richard Dawkins is eloquent in his observations and everyone […]

One of Us

“Isn’t that so sad,” I said more as a declaration than expecting someone to agree. “Well, not really. I mean, it was expected,” said my always witty friend, so matter-of-factly. “It would have been sad if it wasn’t, don’t you think?” I had to admit, my friend was right and his perspective made me pause to think more about the heartache that was palpable on the web. It would have been stupefying if he had passed away suddenly […]

Want to present at the AHA Conference in New Orleans, June 2012?

Or do you know of someone local who might be an excellent candidate? The AHA is proud to hold its 71st Annual Conference in the great city of New Orleans, hosted by the New Orleans Secular Humanist Association (NOSHA). Call for Speakers Now Open If you are interested in leading a breakout session, speaking on a panel, of if you are an entertainer, send a proposal, outline, complete text, audio, video or web link to Brian Magee at bmagee@americanhumanist.org (Please include […]

It’s Important, So Let’s Not Talk About It

This article is too important not to pass on to anyone and everyone who can read above a 3rd grade level. And because the original link to the article is botched, I wanted to make sure that everything came through with ease. If I find a llink that works, I’ll repost it. Because death with dignity is a hallmark of most secular creeds that I’m familiar with, we are constantly fighting the interference of religious people who feel they have the answer about death […]

Fun With Words

Below is the American Family Association’s Statement of Faith, which was mentioned in an article on Rick Perry’s prayer rally a few months back. My friend, Will, made some changes to it which are worth passing along. AFA STATEMENT OF FAITH 1. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God. 2. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 3. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus […]

The Freethinker In The Mirror

Rusty, a friend of mine from our secular humanist group, wrote an interesting piece that several people think is a pretty good challenge to non-believers: “Are you a Freethinker? A Freethinker is a person who thinks free from delusion, deception, misperception, fantasy, fiction and religious, political, cultural and even familial bias. For the sake of this discussion we will simplify it to freedom from religious philosophy. There are two primary Christian philosophical concepts: 1. The obsessive and debilitating fear of Yahweh and Hell. 2. […]

How Will You Cope With Being Left Behind?

That was the essay question posed by NOSHA at our “Left Behind” party in May. You know the day the world was supposed to end? We even awarded prizes for some of the best submissions written that wacky evening. Here’s the winning entry submitted by Betty of New Orleans: 1ST PLACE How will I cope? What will I do? In a word: very dry martinis. Wait! That’s three words. How irrelevant. But then, when it’s all over – everything is irrelevant. So […]

The Whole Enchilada

It’s pretty clear that secular, progressive citizens of Louisiana will not have any “wins” this year. What am I talking about, you ask? Here’s the big four bruises, so far, for this year: CREATIONISM: The repeal of the Louisiana Science Education Act did not make it out of committee despite Baton Rouge high school graduate Zach Kopplin’s most valiant efforts and the support he generated from forty Nobel Laureates. Here’s one example of the blow back our state can expect: “The […]

To Mock or Not to Mock…

That is the question. And it seems to be a question of the minds of people who were concerned that our “Left Behind” activities would send the wrong message to the public about NOSHA and what we stand for. Are we mocking people and how does that promote respect and harmony? It’s a valid question even if you don’t feel we are doing anything to be ashamed of. (Which we aren’t IMHO.) A friend of mine, Jim, wrote a very […]