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Jerry Donnelly's Letter to the Killeen Daily Herald

When Freethought Books Project webmaster, Jerry Donnelly, read about a religious prison program in his newspaper, he felt compelled to speak out.   “I would like to let readers know there is another way to reach inmates,” he said.  Donnelly went on to extol the virtues of the Freethought Books Project, which gives secular, freethinking, and humanist literature to inmates across the US.

“The Freethought Book[s] Project…does not involve indoctrination in the supernatural, but rather the simple opening of the human mind, with its incredible powers of reason and logic, to the amazing natural world that we live in through reading freethought, secular and science-oriented books.”

In short, Donnelly’s letter to the Killeen Daily Herald recommended alternatives to preaching a religious message in prison.  “Through this program…prisoners will learn to rely on their own logic, reason and inner strength to become successful, productive members of society.”  Keep up the good work, Jerry!

Freethought Books Project Logo

Freethought Books Project Logo

As of this October, the Freethought Books Project has 500 facebook cause members.  Only this past semester, fewer than 300 people were active in the Reed Secular Alliance’s charitable endeavors.

“Social networking sites like facebook have really allowed this project to grow,” founder Leslie Zukor explains.  “When we started this in the fall of 2005, I never expected it to expand this far.”

Just this past Monday, the Freethought Books Project sent nineteen boxes of books to prisoners.  To join, click the link with Leslie Zukor and the books on the sidebar.

Zukor's photo on The Humanist's front cover

Zukor's photo on The Humanist's front cover

Reed Secular Alliance President, Leslie Zukor’s photo of PZ Myers is on the front cover of this month’s Humanist Magazine.  Zukor, who attended the American Humanist Association’s conference in Phoenix, had the opportunity to meet science blogger and outspoken freethinker, PZ Myers.

“It was great to introduce myself to Myers,” Zukor said.   “And it is equally exciting to have your work on the front cover of The Humanist.”   The Humanist is the semi-monthly publication of the American Humanist Association, and has subscribers across the United States.

To see the story about PZ Myers and another picture Zukor took, read the current edition of the Magazine.

Returning to the Fold – Reflections from a Barbed Wire Monastery

By:  Prison Bob

A prisoner contemplating in his cell

A prisoner contemplating in his cell

The following is part nine of an ongoing feature with a real incarcerated prisoner, who goes by the pseudonym of Prison Bob.  This individual is behind bars in Oklahoma, and he is a freethinker and staunch atheist.  We hope you will enjoy this feature.

Recently, I dropped a few lines concerning a Wiccan/Pagan, who has in the last few months turned from his non-Christian beliefs to fully embrace Christianity.  In fact, he has not only embraced it, but like so many new or returning practitioners, he feels comfortable holding conversations completely concerning his favored Bible translation.  He really prefers the King James Chronological.  Evidently, it reads more like a story, so it is therefore easier to assimilate without deep thought.

I might come across as catty or gossipy, but all I’m going to talk about are observations or conversations I have personally had with the persons in question.  The former Pagan I’ll call Jad.  His former lover, I’ll call Mar.  The reason Jad has left Mar and wholly embraced the Christian ethos is over a woman.  Jad’s new (two months) woman nee fiancee found him online.  He tells me he doesn’t know why.  Mar, still in love, was devastated, but is still here and caring.  Interestingly, both Mar and Jad come up for parole within a year.  After more than two decades apiece, both men are preparing for this with large amounts of hope.

Now all of a sudden, Jad is no longer a former addict who himself sold in prison (not this facility) to obtain a fix.  Having found Jad used, abused, and left with no one who would touch him, Mar has (their story) taken care of him for years.  Now, Jad is a man with hope.  He is proselytizing.  He’s out winning souls  for, say it with a Southern drawl, Jay-sus.  None of that truly bothers me.   Homosexuality just is.  And it isn’t as if I can pass judgment on the actions of another addict.  One does what one can and must survive this.  But…

I personally find it repugnant that in less than 90 days, Jad has gone from staunch anti-Christian to a good little Christian soldier.  Jad and Mar are no longer even seen around one another.  Jad is in marriage counseling and he and the mystery woman are planning an early winter union.  It may sound hateful of me, but none of this heartfelt conversion happened in the two and a half decades prior to mystery woman choosing Jad like a pet from the pound and mailing him unexpected funds.

The question I have asked myself time and again since beginning to watch this situation is:  What happens to Jad psychologically if, after this spurt of new thought, the marriage fails or the attempt at parole does not succeed?  How much damage is he preparing to do to himself?  Who knows.  And I’m a guy who has gotten married three times, because I thought I was saving them.  It seems that when sober, I have an overdeveloped White Knight Complex.  There is no way I’d marry a woman I couldn’t be around, or had only met three times.

Well, maybe Halle Berry.  Or Rihanna.  Or Jenna Elfman.

Okay, very few!

I’m possibly over-judgmental, but I never claimed to be above that.  Be kind to yourselves and others.

Anda Clark speaks to Darrel Ray before she introduced the speaker

Anda Clark speaks to Darrel Ray before she introduced the speaker

Roughly 200 people attended Darrel Ray’s The God Virus lecture at Reed College on October 7th.  During the event, Dr. Ray made the case that religion is indeed a virus-like phenomenon, as it infects individuals and societies.  Drawing heavily from Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and memetic theory, Darrel Ray argued that the idea of religion has a strong impact on our minds, and thus, upon our actions as members of society.

Darrel Ray speaks about his book

Darrel Ray speaks about his book

During Ray’s talk, the speaker went to great lengths in detailing the deleterious effects of religion.  Not only does religion prey on human feelings of inadequacy, it also guilt trips humans into believing that they must worship x deity, or else they are destined for Hell.  In short, a religion like Christianity necessitates its own cosmology by having an answer – Heaven through belief – to guilt of its own design.

Center For Inquiry event organizer, Kurt Johansen, looks on from the crowd

Center For Inquiry event organizer, Kurt Johansen, looks on from the crowd

Although the lecture was interesting, it was met with objections by many Reed students.  According to an audience member, Ray was downright “inflammatory”.  “What are you trying to accomplish,” the student asked, “by being offensive?”   Another Reedie wondered why the speaker was invited, given that he had the temerity to make jokes at the expense of religion.

Darrel Ray tells about a virus in rats that needs to infect a cat

Darrel Ray tells about a virus in rats that needs to infect a cat

“I was disappointed by the sheer volume of jokes against religion,” event organizer, Leslie Zukor, said after the talk.  “I expected the lecture to be provocative.  However, I was hoping for a more serious presentation of the evidence.”  Zukor also wished for more cultural explanations for religious phenomena.  “He used memetics and biology at the expense of all else,” Zukor, an Anthropology major, explained.

Darrel Ray presents his case

Darrel Ray presents his case

Although some Reed students were critical of Dr. Ray, the off-campus attendees were satisfied with his presentation.  Audience members comprised “recovering” Catholics, fundamentalists, and Jews.  They were all enthused by the speaker’s rhetoric and were looking for more connections with the Portland freethought community.  Darrel Ray vowed to start a “recovering religion” group in the Portland-area.

The large crowd for Dr. Darrel Ray

The large crowd for Dr. Darrel Ray

Despite the talk’s provocative nature, Darrel Ray offered a human solution to debating theists about religion.  “When people talk about the human problems that have led them to accept Jesus,” he explained, “Be a friend to them.  Don’t try to argue with their emotional conclusion with rational evidence.”  According to some audience members, the conclusion felt out of place.

Darrel Ray connects with the audience

Darrel Ray connects with the audience

“How can you be a friend to religious people, when you mock and make fun of their beliefs?” audience members wondered.   Despite all the criticisms from Reed students, the Center For Inquiry members who showed up were pleased at the crowd, Darrel Ray’s talk, and the information presented that religion is indeed a virus that infects our lives and culture.

We hope you will attend our next talk with Harvard Humanist Chaplain Greg Epstein.

Ever wondered what it’s like to be an atheist in prison?  According to Sean Bearden, a prisoner in New York, non-theism behind bars has its challenges.  To read more about his experiences, click on the following link:

Sean-Bearden-Essay.

We hope you will enjoy his story.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster Lands at Reed

The Flying Spaghetti Monster Lands at Reed

The Reed Secular Alliance is hosting a Pastafarian dinner with Darrel Ray, author of The God Virus.  We will meet at Eliot Circle at 4:45 pm and head out to an Italian Food restaurant, where we will be touched by His Noodly Appendage.  The Pastafarian dinner will be from 5 to 6 pm at a Portland-area pizza parlor.  Details TBD.  To RSVP, contact the RSA at rsa.secular@gmail.com.

Greg Epstein's new book

Greg Epstein's new book

Join the Reed Secular Alliance as we welcome Greg Epstein, author of Good Without God.   Epstein will speak about his new book, which offers a challenge to the religious fundamentalism of the Christian Right and the New Atheism, as espoused by Richard Dawkins.  In short, the author provides a much-needed voice for Secular Humanism today, from someone who truly understands religion.

As the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University, Epstein has a unique perspective – one that is informed by his undergraduate work in religion and Chinese at the University of Michigan and his graduate degrees from Michigan’s Judaic Studies program and Harvard’s Divinity School.  He provides a positive, Secular Humanist approach to current affairs and explains how non-theistic ethics can guide us in the world today.

The event will be held on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 7:30 pm in the Psychology Auditorium.  Reed’s address is 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd., Portland, OR 97202.   For all further inquires, please contact the RSA at rsa.secular@gmail.com.

Richard Dawkins's Latest Book

Richard Dawkins's Latest Book

The Reed Secular Alliance has secured five tickets for the Richard Dawkins’s upcoming talk at Portland State.  The event will take place on Saturday, October 10th, 2009 at 6:30 pm.  Dawkins will speak about The Greatest Show on Earth:  Evidence for Evolution.

Tickets are free, and include transportation from Reed College to the event.  There will likely be an optional dinner afterward, at student expense.  Space is limited, so reserve your ticket by contacting rsa.secular@gmail.com.

We hope to see you there!

Letters from a Barbed Wire Monastery:  The Choice to Think Freely

By:  Prison Bob

A prison cell

A prison cell

Why I choose to do anything is often a mystery.  Even to me.  To explain, when I joined the Marine Corps in 1989, it was a spur of the moment thing.  The recruiter called and said, “Have you thought about what you want to do after high school?”  I told her “Nope, no clue.”  So, she says, “Have you thought of joining the Marine Corps?”  I hadn’t, so I said (this  is 100% true), “Sure, where do I sign up?”  Used to rejection, she said, “You don’t have to say no right…What did you just say?”  I repeated, “Sure.  Where do I sign up?”  That’s only one example of how I float through life.  I rarely pre-plan or think anthing through.  And, I am certain that it shows. 

So, in an earlier letter, I mention that I chose to label myself as an atheist/agnostic/freethinker, because I was bored with Christianity in the form of church.  At too early an age, I felt that something as siginificant as the thought process which would guide the rest of my life would need a more relevant basis than just “it’s what’s expected.”  The most telling reason why I have denounced religion – any form of religion – is that I find it to be dishonest.  I am not the epitome of honesty.  I am, however, often indescreetly honest, some may say brutally so.  Such open, anti-social weapons-grade honesty doesn’t make friends.  To put it most openly, I feel that I cannot have faith, because I have knowledge.  Do I know everything?  No, I just act like it sometimes.

And, yes.  The above was a psychological trick that I use when things become too intense for me.  The first three paragraphs took me a week to compose.  Deep introspection is physically painful for me.  That is why, at most times, I keep only a nodding acquaintance with deep, personal thought.  Besides the pain, there is the ever-present rage, just beneath the surface.  Impotent rage – the best kind.  As I see it, the dishonesty – not of religion in theory – but of religion in practice, tells you to be true to a god figure.  Then, this god figure will provide for you in “the afterlife”.  To me, that sounds like a lend-lease or installment purchase plan.

Religion sticks in my craw, because it asks – no tells – you to go against your very nature as a human.  Religion, in the end, is for lazy people.  Religion – Christianity specifically – introduced fanaticism.  From fanaticism comes racism.  It isn’t the only religion to put forth such thoughts.

Yet, I don’t know of any gnostic or agnostic mindset, which proposes the “death to those not like me”.  If you cite communism, well, wasn’t that just a religion with the state as deity? 

Be well.  See you next month.

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