Monday, January 16, 2012

Religious Freedom Day

It is rare enough that we Americans pause to reflect upon our history of religious freedom, which is odd because it is one of the very few civil liberties which we may rightly claim to have pioneered in both theory and practice. It is rarer still that we officially acknowledge that religious freedom applies not merely to religious people, but also to those who hope to be free of religion altogether. Today, however, it seems that we can do both, according to this proclamation from the White House (click to enlarge).





Original source file [PDF]


Note that "the Virginia Statute formed the basis for the First Amendment, which has preserved religious freedom for both believers and non-believers for over 220 years." Lest anyone assume that this is a 21st century gloss on an 18th century statute, we have Jefferson's own words on the subject, from his autobiography. While discussing the passage of the statute, the Assmbly considered an Amendment which might have limited the import of the law to toleration between denominations within Christianity:

Where the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed by inserting 'Jesus Christ,' so that it would read 'A departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion;' the insertion was rejected by the great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mohammedan, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination. [Source]
Accordingly, to the faithful of all denominations, and to the infidels of them all, we wish you a very happy 'Religious Freedom Day' for 2012. May you enjoy freedom of conscience all throughout the year!

Monday, December 5, 2011

David Bazan at the Opolis


Last night, a few of the members of the AOK made the trip down the Norman to see America's foremost former-Christian indie rocker sing his heart out about faith and doubt, alcohol use and abuse, love and sex, and various other struggles. Awhile back, the Chicago Reader wrote up the definitive profile on Bazan's loss of faith and how he was unborn-again as a secular solo artist -- freed from the stigma 'Christian rock' and all the baggage and mediocrity it represents. I won't recapitulate that history here.

At several points during the show, Bazan answered questions from the audience, some more insightful than others, mostly about the theory and practice of rock music. One particularly perspicacious lad inquired about the process of writing Curse Your Branches (Bazan's openly agnostic solo debut) and the reply was too good to avoid being paraphrased here.

He said that didn't want to write an album where he came off as "up his own ass about religion" but whenever he tried to soften the message or redirect to other topics, the words just wouldn't come. Once he decided to be forthright about his internal struggles (despite the risk of alienating Christian fans) the songs came hard and fast, and the skeptical theme and wistful tone of that album emerged organically.

How is this relevant to us as unbelievers in the Bible Belt? Three points arise from Bazan's personal and artistic experience:
  1. Being honest about your worldview, even when in an unpopular minority, relieves the inner tension between how you see yourself and how you present yourself.

  2. This resolution in turn frees you to express yourself more creatively and effectively, and provides those around you with the chance to indulge in much needed doubt.

  3. Coming out as an unbeliever might not ruin your life half so as much as you'd think. If a successful Christian musician can kick off his solo career by asking his (mostly evangelical) fan base to question everything, can't those of us living ordinary lives be a bit more honest with our friends and family when it comes to matters of religious faith?
Finally, it needs to be noted that Bazan's most recent album wasn't particularly about religion. Once he got processed through his faith-based struggles, he managed to move on to new ones. So, in time, shall we all.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Podcast #071 - Skepticon IV feedback

Last week, a small number of the Oklahoma Atheists made the annual hadj to Springfield, MO for the premier skepticism convention in the Midwest. Naturally, we thought to share some of our experiences for the many who couldn't make the trip out: mp3. Enjoy!



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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Gelato and vengeance (best served cold)


Over the past weekend, there was a bit of a kerfuffle over a certain gelato shop in Springfield, MO. If you've not yet heard about it, you can read the background here and here, or you can read a significantly less accurate summary courtesy of the mainstream media.

Given that online restaurant reviews effects a franchisee's bottom line, the moral questions being batted about on reddit, twitter, and the blogs are roughly these: "When should we forgive and forget?" and "How much punishment is enough?" On the one hand, we have those who say the apology was genuine and forgiveness should follow forthwith, such as Jen and Hemant, while on the other hand we have more unforgiving voices such as PZ and JT. As I write this, one half of the atheist memesphere is trying to convince the other half to side with them, and vice-versa. It's like déjà-vu all over again.

Countless bytes are being spilled on the simple issue of just how outraged we should be and how to react to the situation as it unfolds. I am going to suggest that much of this hand-wringing and word-wrangling is largely unnecessary, because we can count on the skeptical movement as a whole, over the long term, to mete out more-or-less the right amount of moral disapprobation.

Awhile ago, James Surowiecki wrote a fascinating book called The Wisdom of Crowds, about the aggregation of information by groups. In the book, he outlines four elements necessary for crowds to make better-than-expert decisions: diversity of opinion, independence, decentralization, and aggregation. Skeptics are famous for and rightly proud of the first two of these attributes, and indeed, we'd not be seeing #gelatogate as a controversy if it were otherwise. Moreover, we have an effective aggregation mechanism already in place in the form of online ratings for local businesses. This leaves only decentralization, which requires people to specialize and draw on local knowledge. In this case, the special knowledge is an awareness of how one has been emotionally drained by a thousand little cuts, each one a small act of open bigotry against unbelievers. This is knowledge that most any Skepticon attendee carries around with them whether they want to dwell on it or not, especially those who live within driving distance of the event itself.

Any number of various other epistemic and moral considerations may be brought to the table here, but the upshot is that each skeptic has to weigh the offense and the consequences for themselves. So, go online and leave a negative review, if you want to register your disgust at Andy's hot coffee and flaming bigotry. Alternatively, leave a positive review if you found his gelato delicious and his apology adequate. I trust that you'll make the right decision, whatever that turns out to be.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Camp Quest Oklahoma

We've received word that approval has been given by the Camp Quest board to move forward setting up Camp Quest here in Oklahoma. Such a major endeavor will, of course, incur a number of significant expenses up front, such as the filing fees for setting up a non-profit group and reserving a camp site. To that end, we invite those who are willing and able to support a summer camp designed for children of freethinkers to consider donating below.













If you'd like to know more about the goals and methods of Camp Quest, we have a video playlist of the presentation given by Zach and Phillip of Camp Quest Texas.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

SYNOPTOBERFEST!



Throughout the month of October, the men and women of the Weekly Inebriated Scriptural Exegesis And Source Study (WISEASS) will be slogging through the synoptic gospels, in parallel, and posting up the fruits of our efforts to the podcast feed. If you're into more instant gratification, you can just click below to listen now:

05 Oct 2011
12 Oct 2011
19 Oct 2011
26 Oct 2011



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