Howard Thompson (Gofreemind),Editor
Number 9 -- March 16, 1996 -- Austin, TX
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News about atheist chat rooms, folders, and AOL happenings
invited.
Copyright c1996 by Howard Thompson.
SpcForce had become very active opposing AOL censorship and harassme nt of atheists on AOL. He'd started an E-mail campaign to newspapers and other media, as w ell as complaining directly Steve Case, and other AOL staffers.
We can only hope that SpcForce was not kicked off AOL for defending free speech. If anyone is in contact with Spc, we'd all like to know that he's fine, or f ighting the good fight against mindless AOL censorship rules via other channels. Good luck wher ever you are, Spc.
Your efforts to defend and build our community are appreciated.
"nondenominational, publicly accessible direct link to the Heavens that can electronically beam prayers, hopes and dreams into space, into time, . . . into forever."
What?
The owners of this enterprise (the Heaven sent Society) will take yo ur drawings, letters, or other missives created on paper, scan them, digitize them, and then tran smit them into space where, "they become available to be intercepted by God."
If this isn't enough to send you racing to put pen to paper to create your submission to His Holy Receiverness, you also receive by return mail
"a handsome 8.5 x 11 i nch Broadcast Certificate suitable for framing. This document certifies the transmissi on of your message with a signed and dated Authentication Seal."And all for only $9.95 a page!
It's nice to know that our never short for words group is once again discovering how much fun it is to banter online. HypatiaSM's chats have no doubt been fr ee of the smutty interplay with the ladies that a certain unnamed newsletter editor used t o always interject into the proceedings.
Those interested in receiving HypatiaSM's notices on chat topic should E-mail her and ask to be put on her mailing list. You can reach the ACLU Freedom Hall chats as follows: Keyword:ACLU, Ok, Enter Constitution Hall, ACLU Live Icon, Freedom Hall Icon.
(From Pelecanus)
Well, I told you I posted that message on the quilting list I belong to
-protesting that this woman thought it okay to ask 1200 strangers from a
nonreligious mailing list to pray for her grandson? The flames in my
mailbox were something to behold! Mostly from rabid, nasty god-ferin'
folk, who told me quilters were kind considerate and compassionate and
that I was none of the above. The kind, considerate and compassionate
responses came from the few that agreed with me (yes there were some!).
The furor has now died down, and I can once again call up my mail without
wanting to duck under the table. Oh well, not my first flame fest, not my
last, and I certainly expected it.
Editorial Request:
If you open an atheist AOL public room, a log of the chat would be
appreciated. The public chat rooms used to be a great way to contact new
realists for our community. If you'll attach a copy of the chat log to an
E-mail to gofre emind@aol.com, all new potential realists will receive an
informative Realist Community Greeting and a copy of the newsletter. It's
a good way to greet people and welcome them to our community.
It's also a good idea to spend a little time online in the community Atheist Teen folder and post at least a "hello" to let others know that there are atheist teens to talk to.
The Army of God has been described by federal officials as a "terror ist group" and their manual as, "a handbook of crimes against abortion clinics and workers." The Newport News area has experienced a number of violent acts against abortion clinics and wor kers in recent years.
They publish Skeptic magazine, quarterly, which can be found on the magaz ine rack of most well stocked book stores. Among topics addressed are: false memory syndrome v 2E repressed memory syndrome, the AIDS skeptics, holocaust revisionism, race and IQ, cosmolog y and God.
The Skeptic magazine offers an Internet special introductory price o f $25.00 ($35.00 normal). You can subscribe by accessing the Skeptic web page at http://www.skeptic.com/.
The Skeptics Society is also offering a Conference in California on Evolutionary Psychology and Humanistic Ethics on March 30-31, 1996. Steve Allen & James "The Amazing" Randi will be present. For conference information or magazine subscripti ons, contact the Skeptics Society at 818/794-3119. Fax: 818/794-1301. E-mail : SKEPTICMAG@ AOL.COM.
P.O. Box 338, Altadena, CA 91001. (Information provided by Michael Sherm er, publisher of the Skeptic magazine.)
"My sincere thanks for the time and effort you've taken in sending t his. I would, of course, be delighted to join the realist community, and will be happy to stop wasting my time within the religion section of AOL. I was getting curious why so many of my posts were disappearing from the atheists' area, and you've shown a very revealing light upon Sermoner1. I again owe you a debt of thanks!""Kudos to your supporting a PROACTIVE stance within the realm of freethinkers. (Don't despair, those who search for the truth through reason always kick ass on the blind followers of a blind faith. BTW, I'm a large, physically capable male, if the last sent ence hadn't given it away, LOL. I've often been curious why other atheists insisted upon appearing open to any idiotic criticism rolling out of the mouths of 'believers'.) One last note on S 1: I really can't blame him for knocking some of my posts into the ground, considering his belief system. I'd lately taken up the habit of thanking Christians for their attempts to become atheists, clearly observed (not always) by their use, or attempts to use, reason and logic in defense of Christianity. Looking at it from his point of view, this must have been a disturbing trend. Hope to see you around ACLU."
Philip Paulson responsed to a San Diego Union-Tribune editorial attacking the Atheist Coalition's activities with this letter:
Dear Editorial Editor,
The Mt. Soledad Park Easter sunrise celebration UT Editorial (3/2/96) was filled with temperamental lingo. Unfortunately, when one is overly emotional, one's intellectual capacity to express ideas becomes inhibited. The editorial used words, such as, "trampled," "insult," "condemned," "childish," "blatant," and"shamefulness" which do not address the facts. These words cleverly work up passions of irrational expressions and inhibit int ellectual reasoning. They exploit, distort, and exaggerate the news to create sensations and attrac t readers.Here are the facts: Park event permits are issued on a first come, f irst serve basis. The City of San Diego granted the Atheist Coalition a permit to use the park at sunrise hours on Sunday, April 7, 1996. Easter just so happens to fall on April 7th. Just because Easter falls on April 7th does not give preference for the exclusive use of a public park to a Christian religious group over all others. The decision to issue an Event Permit to the Atheist Coalition was delayed for several days to haggle over the political fallout brought on by City Council Members Juan Vargas, a former Catholic Jesuit, and George Stevens, a Baptist Minister.
The Mt. Soledad Memorial Association had the right to also concurrently use the park with the Atheist Coalition but refused to do so. Not withstanding, individual Christians can participate in their individual religious ways on Mt. Soledad at the sunrise Easter time. No one, without regard to religion or nonreligion, is prohibited from using the park then.
Yes, the City of San Diego has endorsed the Christian Easter Sunrise worship services on Mt. Soledad for 73 years. However, the UT Editorial Editor ought to recognize that a 73-year old governmental tradition promoting religion is in essence 73 years of unconstitutional behavior. The government-related religious symbol on Mt. Soledad Park has been unconstitutional the very first day it was placed on City government lands. In truth and in fact, one organization, the Atheist Coalition, applied for a use permit there, one permit issuance to a non-Christian group in 73 years, and the UT Editorial Page Editor states that this one non-Christian group should "back off."
Philip Paulson
pkp@ix.netcom.com
Plaintiff, Paulson v. City of San Diego
(From Clifwalker)
"Rational Recovery is now a topic on the America Online forum called Personal Empowerment Network (Keyword: PEN). The path is PEN / Dependency and Recovery / Rational Recovery; the topic folder is currently the first folder on the list.""I recently made five long-distance calls to CEO Steve Case's office complaining about a post from Duh Yup Uh which was deleted from the Adult Children folder within hours of its being posted. That post has been silently restored to the folder, but still no comment from the PEN people. This behavior is typical of PEN; other forums have been known to send a copy of the deleted post and an explanation for its removal."
"An inked impression on a just-received five dollar bill indicates that a unique rubber stamp is on the market""The stamp is designed to obliterate the IN GOD WE TRUST jingle on Federal notes. The stamp image has two portions. For covering over IN GOD WE TRUST, there's a raised surface, shaped as a horizontal, solid rectangle. Below that panel is a two-word political message: ATHEIST MONEY."
Is our acceptance of reality and rejection of the supernatural the e nd of our human development? Is the intellectual achievement of atheism or agnosticism a ll there is for us? Many realists live as if this were so. They regard atheism as the end of thei r personal development.
This is an odd, though understandable, conclusion for people who rel y on reason and scientific evidence for their concept of reality. We can much more easil y achieve intellectual comprehension of reality than we can absorb our new outlook into our live s. The intellectual insights that generate realism are a significant, crucial step in freeing ourselves from the harm of supernaturalism. But, realism is only the first step, a beginning, not a n ending of our changing lives.
Anyone familiar with psychological therapy is familiar with what I'm describing. The early phase of therapy is a struggle to see with clarity the person you are. Y ou have to sweep away confused ideas about self, friends, feelings, and loved ones. You have t o work through emotional defenses and denials. When you are successful, you experience insights i nto your emotional games and intellectual delusions.
The phase of insight in personal change is crucial and heady. You can actually see how you've constrained your life in destructive ways. You feel in control of the information that can transform you into the person you always wished to be. That's like most realists with their intellectual achievement of atheism. Yet, like the person in therapy, the achievement of insight and realization are only a beginning.
The long work of changing yourself begins AFTER the struggle for insight has been won.
Your body and brain don't simply drop all the old habits just because you now understand how they harm you. You must work for years to incorporate new insights into your behavior. You have to constantly struggle against old emotional patterns and replace them with new patterns.
You have decades of old self to renovate before your insights are implemented.
It is exactly the same for a choice of belief as unique as realism. The intellectual realization of atheism is not isolated from your emotional and social lif e. Your habits are mostly a pattern of what you've absorbed from the dominate Christian culture throu ghout your life. It is easy to think "atheism," yet accept as "proper" all the values and behavi ors of Christian culture, since that is what you've known and lived your whole life.
Our choice of realist beliefs is vital in our lives, but not an ending of our personal change.
It should be the beginning of an assessment of our programmed values and personal lives. It should be an era of questioning and revisiting everything important we ta ke for granted. It should be the spark that leads us to better lives as the person we wish to be.
The single advantage of realism over supernaturalism is that realist s have a more accurate concept of reality upon which to base decisions. The solitary choice of realism as a belief is the smallest part of the realist advantage. The fullness of the realist adva ntage comes with working through the accumulated baggage of supernaturalism and revising harmful c ultural programming we accepted as "proper."
Realism as a beginning or ending is our personal choice. If we let it be an ending of our personal quest, we miss most of the rewards in our emotional and social l ives. If we have the courage to let it be a beginning of personal change that renovates our Ch ristian cultural programming, then -- why then we may just achieve some of that life of ho pe and vision of self we've tried to talk ourselves out of for most of our years. HT
"Popular television is flooded with filth and violence; MTV, VH-1 , and pop radio stations are sewers of obscenity, rebellion and violence; pop magazines p romote the vilest forms of pornography and a form of materialism, selfishness, and greed that has fallen to the lowest levels in human history." (Pat Robertson, The New World Order, P.222-22 3, 1991.)As an atheist, I have to tell you, this is one of the scariest Christian quotes of all, mainly because I AGREE WITH EVERY WORD. Being a realist does not automatically mean that anything goes. In fact, being a realist means we have to face this probl em squarely, and admit that it is a problem. Our solutions would of course be radically different fr om those of the radical right, but perhaps this issue provides some common ground for us, in term s of acknowledging the state of American culture. [Jim Speiser]
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