|
In order to view this object you need Flash Player 9+ support!  |
Welcome, freethinkers!
Central Minnesota Friends Free of Theism is a nonprofit educational organization created to foster a community of reason in Central Minnesota. We are atheists, agnostics, humanists, secularists, and freethinkers in and around St. Cloud. We live our lives happily free of dogma and the constraints of religion.
Monthly membership meetings are now held at 7:00 p.m. on third Mondays (except December) at either the new public library in St. Cloud or the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Hall. Social gatherings are held at various locations throughout the year. We also get together occasionally for coffee on Saturday mornings. Members receive notice of meetings by mail or email, or check the events calendar.
Contact us at info@freeoftheism.org for more information.
Thanks for visiting!
Dear Christopher Hitchens...
The genuine compassion of nonbelievers around the world is with you.
May we all be so dignified in facing our demise...
Mike Celizic puts it bluntly:
I’m dying.
The lymphoma we’d thought we’d beaten into remission back in May came roaring back last month. We threw some really nasty chemo at it. The cancer ate it up and came back for more.
And so I’m going to die, and not in four or five months. I’ve got probably a couple of halfway decent weeks left. Then the lymphoma will take over my bloodstream and kill me.
Two things strike me about this story, aside from the obvious admiration and respect garnered by this man's approach to death. One is the disgusting nature of those Christians who pounce on every opportunity to prop up their superstition, almost as though they can't face their own doubt and fear.
Another is the invigorating honesty of the nonbelievers who come to the dying man's defense, and the real, beautiful morality they possess. It's that sense of the moment and all it offers that makes the naturalistic outlook so appealing to me.
Thank you for the reminder, Mike.
Gay Pride Festival coming to St. Cloud in September
St. Cloud Pride is a non-profit group, formed to raise awareness of issues of heterosexism and homophobia within the St. Cloud and surrounding community providing education, resources, programming and social opportunities to the LGBTA community.
Members of St. Cloud Pride range from all aspects of the LGBTA community, and pride themselves to be associated with the LGBTA community.
Join us for our First Annual St. Cloud Pridefest Weekend, Friday September 24th, and Saturday September 25th.
Central Minnesota Friends Free of Theism donates $395, helps student attend camp
Special thanks to Doug Peterson for spearheading this project and seeing it through. We're proud to be contributing to our community.
Central Minnesota Friends Free of Theism, a St. Cloud area organization of humanists, rationalists, freethinkers, atheists and agnostics, has funded a scholarship sponsoring a student to attend a one-week at Camp Quest in Minnetrista this summer. Central Minnesota Friends Free of Theism made a donation of $395. There is a waiting list annually that has children who want to attend camp but can’t afford the fee.
Camp Quest of Minnesota (minnesota.camp-quest.org) is affiliated with National Camp Quest (www.camp-quest.org) of Ohio, the first secular summer camp for youth in the history of the United States. Camp Quest was specifically designed for children of Unitarians, atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, humanists, or whatever terms might be applied to those who maintain a naturalistic, rather than supernaturalistic world view.
Brian Keith Dalton and PZ Myers at Fargo-Moorhead freethought convention!
Greetings from the Red River Freethinkers,
The Red River Freethinkers are excited and proud to announce that we will be hosting Fargo’s first non-theistic conference! “Project 42: 2010 Valley Freethought Convention” will be on Saturday, September 18, 2010, at the Fargo Civic Center in downtown Fargo, ND. The event will include five world-class speakers
: - Brian Keith Dalton: Producer and star of Mr. Deity, the increasingly popular on-line comedy series that takes a look at the universe with incredibly witty insights.
- PZ Myers: Author of Pharyngula, one of the most acclaimed science blogs of all time, a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
- Dan Barker: Co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and author of several books, his most recent being Godless: How An Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists.
- Annie Laurie Gaylor: Co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, author, and executive editor of Freethought Today.
- August Berkshire: A well-known and respected speaker on atheism for comparative religion classes in high schools, and to community and Christian colleges. In 1984 he co-founded and was the first president of the Twin Cities Chapter of American Atheists (which became Minnesota Atheists in 1991). His website is www.augustberkshire.com.
Because this event is a first for the Red River Freethinkers (RRF), we could really use your help getting the word out about this convention. Please tell your group members, friends, family, clergy, dry cleaners… anyone you can about this exciting first-of-its-kind event in the Fargo-Moorhead area. This section of the country has gone far too long without the voice of reason being heard.
We feel that, with your help, not only will this event be a smashing success, but it will make it possible for the Red River Freethinkers to host an even bigger and better event of this type in the future. Thank you!
The website for the convention is: www.Project42Convention.org. It has speaker and ticket ordering information, as well as where the name “Project 42” comes from.
For further questions, please contact us: Jon Lindgren, RRF President This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Shuster column: 'Christian nation' label is a disservice to United States
More than 60 percent of Americans consider the United States a “Christian nation.”
In a literal sense, the label is inaccurate. The Constitution clearly separates church and state. Still, there is no doubt Christianity has played a major role in our nation’s history and, as exemplified by the above survey, remains a dominant force in American culture.
Despite the benevolent connotation of “Christian nation,” compassion is not a consistent characteristic of the United States and its citizenry. In addition, passive acceptance of the Christian-nation brand ignores the negative influence of this faith on our country.
Well said, Dr. Shuster. I applaud your insight and the courage it took to expose yourself to those mean-spirited individuals who are attacking you in the comments thread.
Oppose the National Day of Prayer — God & Government a Dangerous Mix
Dear Mr. President and Governors of the 50 States:
We, the undersigned, applaud the federal court ruling by Judge Barbara Crabb declaring the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional.
Our secular nation was founded in part by refugees seeking freedom of conscience and freedom from religious tyranny. They wanted a land where government could not tell them which church to support, what religious rituals to engage in or what to believe or disbelieve. They knew there can be no true religious liberty without the freedom to dissent. Whether to pray, or believe in a god who answers prayer, is an intensely precious and personal decision protected under our First Amendment as a paramount matter of conscience.
Congress, in 1952, abridged that freedom of conscience when it designated a National Day of Prayer: "The President shall set aside and proclaim a suitable day each year, other than a Sunday, as a National Day of Prayer, on which the people of the United States may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.” (Public Law 82-324)
Rev. Billy Graham asked Congress to declare an annual National Day of Prayer so “the Lord Jesus Christ” would be recognized across the land. Sen. Absalom Robertson, father of Rev. Pat Robertson, introduced the bill to instill "faith in an Almighty God." Influential evangelicals lobbied Congress in 1988 to designate the first Thursday in May as the annual National Day of Prayer so they could better organize prayer events uniting religion and government.
Our founders did not pray when they adopted our Constitution, which shows their intent to separate religion from government. The Constitution's only references to religion are exclusionary. The U.S. President and elected officials have neither the moral nor the constitutional authority to dictate to Americans to pray, much less to tell citizens what to pray about, to set aside an entire day for prayer every year, and to gather with others “to turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.”
As Judge Crabb ruled, "In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience.”
Don't let Christian evangelicals hijack our secular Constitution.
http://ffrf.org/legal/national-day-of-prayer-victory/stop-the-national-day-of-prayer-petition/
President Obama: Sexual orientation should NOT be a factor in selecting a Supreme Court nominee
Fight back against Focus on the Family and the American Family Association by signing our letter
The American Family Association and Focus on the Family think that LGBT people should be disqualified from being nominated to the Supreme Court because "homosexual behavior is a sin and does not reflect God's created intent and desire for humanity."
It's outrageous. As they fire up their massive lobbying machines, it's time for us to make our voices heard.
Sign our letter to President Obama opposing employment discrimination, especially at the Supreme Court.
Dear President Obama--
With the retirement of venerable liberal Justice John Paul Stevens, your decision to select his replacement will be one of the most important choices of your administration.
Focus on the Family and others on the far-right believe that you should discriminate against any potential nominee because they happen to be gay or lesbian. Employment discrimination is never acceptable, especially for one of our nation's most important jobs.
As a strong supporter of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, we urge you to reject the notion that an individual's sexual orientation should be a disqualifying factor in the nomination selection process for vacancies on the Supreme Court.
51,643 people have signed our letter (as of Tuesday, April 20). Can we reach 60,000? Please add your name now!
- Dear Christopher Hitchens...
- May we all be so dignified in facing our demise...
- Urgent notice: Show your opposition to the anti-gay movement Thursday
- Coffee Social August 1
- Central Minnesota Friends Free of Theism donates $395, helps student attend camp
- Brian Keith Dalton and PZ Myers at Fargo-Moorhead freethought convention!
- Camp Quest on the Atheist Experience show
- May membership meeting at UU hall
| Secular Student Alliance |
|