April 2006 Activities of Interest to Freethinkers

Sat., Apr. 1, 7pm
Movie Night at the Bradleys, 6705 E. 54th St. Featured film is Heart of the Beholder. The American Dream that became a holy nightmare. Prior to the running of the movie, the duo of Gail Storey and Dan Nerren will entertain at the piano.

Sun., Apr. 9, 2pm
Humanist Study Group at Border’s, 81st & Yale. Topic: Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel C. Dennett. See discussion questions distributed by e-mail.

Sun., Apr. 16, 1pm
HAT Monthly Membership Meeting at the Bradleys, 6705 E. 54th St. Due to the Hardesty Library being closed because of Easter, we have had to change the venue for this meeting.

Wed., Apr. 19, 11:30am
ALGAE (A Little Group of Atheists Eating), luncheon at White River Fish Market, 1708 N. Sheridan.

Sat., Apr. 22, 11:30am
Food & Fellowship at Tekei’s, 1616 S. Utica.

Sun., Apr. 23, 2pm
Tulsa Atheist Rendezvous. See www.tulsaar.blogspot.com closer to the date of meeting for venue and agenda.

Secular Singers will not meet in April.

Questions? Call Dan at 798-3629

Good TAR meeting today

At first I was thinking I was going to be the only one to show up for the TAR meeting at Barnes & Noble, but then Gail came in, soon followed by Harold, Howard, Richard, Julia, and Warren. Seven in all were there today. Should I call us The Magnificient Seven? Is that being a bit too vain?

Anyway, I'm glad for the attendance, especially in light of the poor showing we have made in recent months. I am encouraged now to keep on.

I read a poem by my favorite poet Philip Appleman. The poem was "Noah." The poem seemed to have been well-received by the group. At next month's TAR meeting I would like to read another Appleman poem. I also read a paragraph from an opinion piece from the newspaper pertaining to Kevin Phillips's new book American Theocracy.

I would also like to invite others to bring a freethought reading next month that you like.

There is a possibility that we might change the venue for the Rendezvous. Today, to be heard I had to talk louder than the nearby cappuccino machine. I might scout around for another place for us to meet. If anybody has a recommendation, let me know.

TAR Meeting

The Tulsa Atheist Rendezvous will meet tomorrow, Sunday, March 26, 2:00 PM, at Barnes & Noble Bookstore on 41st St. We will begin with Freethought Readings. I would like to read the poem "Noah" by Philip Appleman. If you have a reading you would like to share with the group, please bring it. Have any of you seen Kevin Phillips's new book American Theocracy? If so, you might like to read a selection from it to the group.

We will also talk about events in the news of interest to atheists. If you have been collecting clippings, bring them.

Luncheon today well attended

We had another great ALGAE luncheon today at White River Fish Market. How good it is to have a meal with friends! Wish more of you could have been there.

In attendance today were Keith, Dave, Gloria, Bea, Warren, Dan, Larry, Jan, and Sharon. Conversation was wide-ranging. In addition to the usual topics of religion and politics, we also heard about the dangers of underground natural gas pipelines and an upcoming production of Wagner's Ring Cycle in Paris, which one of our lucky members will soon take in.

I find it to be an uplifting experience to be with my fellow Humanists, whatever the occasion. If you are not yet attending HAT events, I would like to invite you to do so. Experience these highs for yourself.

There will soon be another event added to our monthly calendar. Randy told me that he will be having a monthly movie night at his house, probably on a Saturday night. We will watch a movie and talk about it, as we sip wine or whatever your beverage of choice happens to be. Randy says that if you drink so much wine that your driving ability is impaired, you are welcome to stay over. Now that's real hospitality.

I love you guys and gals and look forward to seeing you again this Sunday (3/19/06) at 1pm at Hardesty Library for our regular monthly HAT meeting.

Christianity -- Official religion of Missouri?

The following story comes from the web site christianaggression.org.

State bill proposes Christianity be Missouri’s official religion

Posted March 3, 2006
12:28 AM CST on Friday, March 3, 2006
By John Mills, News 4
KMOV.com

Missouri legislators in Jefferson City considered a bill that would name Christianity the state's official "majority" religion.

House Concurrent Resolution 13 has is pending in the state legislature.
Many Missouri residents had not heard about the bill until Thursday.

Karen Aroesty of the Anti-defamation league, along with other watch-groups, began a letter writing and email campaign to stop the resolution.

The resolution would recognize "a Christian god," and it would not protect minority religions, but "protect the majority's right to express their religious beliefs.

The resolution also recognizes that, "a greater power exists," and only Christianity receives what the resolution calls, "justified recognition."

State representative David Sater of Cassville in southwestern Missouri, sponsored the resolution, but he has refused to talk about it on camera or over the phone.

KMOV also contacted Gov. Matt Blunt's office to see where he stands on the resolution, but he has yet to respond.

Atheist Alliance convention to be in KC this April

The Atheist Alliance convention will be held in Kansas City, April 14-16. You can read the details on the HAT blog at www.tulsaha.blogspot.com. I would like to get up a group to attend this event. If you think you might like to go as a part of this group, please give me a call. -Dan, 798-3629