The Humanist Advocate

We Can Be Heroes, Just for One Day

Comedian and banjoist Steve Martin collaborated with members of roots band Steep Canyon Rangers on writing and performing  “Atheists Don’t Have No Songs” over a decade ago, and the humorous acapella verses remain a haunting enigma for atheists—no songs equals no love, no hate, no friends…well, you know: no purpose, no anything. It’s a musical shaming of atheists, if ever there was one (but probably not).  Add to the list of things under the heading of No, the conclusion that…

Thoughts: We Got ‘Em

The New Orleans Secular Humanist Association expresses its condolences to all of New Orleans’ visitors and citizens  and their families who were victims of the terrorist attack in the early morning of January 1, 2025. The event became the predominant  mainstream media and cable news network story of the day, and resulted in the postponement of a major football game. The brutal killing field littered with 15 bodies equaled those that have occured in Europe and other parts of the…

Supporting climate champions in the year to come

Supporting climate champions in the year to come

Award winning journalist Bob Marshall spoke to NOSHA this month about our climate situation regarding the history that has led to where our state is now and what we can expect in the future. And while many of us have grim views of the condition of climate issues in our current political circumstances, he did provide a list of groups he recommends that can use our support and which will keep us informed and offer some bright spots in this…

You’re 25 Only Once

The following is an address made at the 25th Anniversary celebration of NOSHA’s founding, held at Messina’s Runway Cafe located at the Lakefront Airport on September 21, 2024. Following the address, recognition of the members in attendance who were at the very first meeting and some that joined very soon after: David and Connie Schultz, Will Hunn, Lucy Tierney, and John-Patrick and Patricia Lestrade and Grant and Suzy Smith, as well as Charlotte Klasson stood to the appreciative applause of…

Hello New Orleans

Hello New Orleans

On reading the following article—which was New Orleans’ informal public “introduction” to NOSHA—written by the now-retired Times-Picayune columnist Bruce Nolan one Saturday morning, I remember thinking to myself something like “hmm, very interesting..” followed by a quick rejection of the idea of getting involved, using the standard rationalizations that everyone has for not joining a group—”too busy…not enough spare time…I really wouldn’t like it….too much other stuff I need to do”. Twelve years later all those excuses had somehow disappeared…

In the Beginning…..A Group Seeking Answers

In the Beginning…..A Group Seeking Answers

It’s that time of year again. Although the  formation of NOSHA  has been marked as August, 1999, other birthday commemorations have been scheduled in September, or later.  Somewhere around this time each year though, we recognize the resolve of the dozen or so dedicated freethinkers that saw the importance of establishing a forum for their contemporaries—in a city where a group openly touting religious heresies mixed with social and individual freedoms would have been unthinkable, or short lived at best.  David…

BOOK REVIEW: Create Your Own Religion: A How-To Guide for Believers, Doers, and Seekers by Daniele Bolelli

BOOK REVIEW: Create Your Own Religion: A How-To Guide for Believers, Doers, and Seekers by Daniele Bolelli

Review by Daniel Meden. August 2024   Create Your Own Religion: A How-To Guide for Believers, Doers, and Seekers by Italian professor and martial artist, Daniele Bolelli, explores personal spirituality and belief systems across all corners of the globe. Bolelli encourages a critical examination of traditional religions and asks readers to consider creating their own belief systems based on unique needs and values. He argues that many conventional religions are outdated and fail to address the complexities of modern life….

Why History is Not a Good Excuse for a Bad Idea

Adding a law to the state books every so often that puts a new twist on old time religion by Louisiana’s  congresspersons is always considered in good form by them, as doing so publicly affirms their loyalty and reverence to the gods in the Bible, and encourages, by the force of law, Louisiana citizens to do the same. Since the early 1980s, one fundamentalist Christian-based law after another has been heaped on the Louisiana statutes, and most of them remain….

Onward, To the Past

Last August I received an invitation to attend the inaugural meeting of La Nouvelle Vendée (LNV) , to be held in a low slung metal community building in Arnaudville, a village a few miles north of Lafayette, and on the western reach of the Atchafalaya Swamp. The promoters had gotten my email address from somewhere—probably from my searching for information about “the other” Christian theocratic movement: the Catholic version. So much has been written about the political aspirations of so…

My Thoughts on Machiavelli

My Thoughts on Machiavelli

Dr. Martyn Thompson (pictured left with NOSHA member Lucy Wells Tierney, the author) described Machiavelli at NOSHA in May. My take: The end justifies the means; it’s in a cycle. Here are my rough and ignorant notes, only for you few: Machiavelli on the Use and Purpose of Political Violence   M (Machiavelli) told his readers he travels a road no one has travelled before me, abandoning commonplace morality for the truth about political reality. What does he mean by…

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