Humanist Society of Santa Barbara
Newsletter for April 2002
Secular Humanism is a philosphy of life guided by reason and science, free from religious dogma, motivated by an appreciation of life and the life of others, seeking to reach goals of human happiness, personal freedom and growth with responsibility and understanding on this earth, in this life, at this time.
We meet at 3pm on the 3rd Saturday of each month at Jefferson Hall, 1535 Santa Barbara St., Santa Barbara.
If you would like a copy of this bulletin mailed to a friend or someone you believe would be interested in our Society please drop a line to us with their name and address to P.O. Box 30232, Santa Barbara, CA 93130.
SOCIETY OF SANTA BARBARA
2001 - 2002
OFFICERS OF YOUR SOCIETY
Chairman: Roger Schlueter 962-6316 rogers@west.net
Secretary & Web Meister: Colin Gordon 682-0545 colin3@juno.com
Editor: Dick Cousineau 687-2371 rcous1geol@aol.com
Treasurer: Russ Boggie 564-6086 rusans@mac.com
Programs: Bea Duncan 964-3109 duddle4@home.com
Social Director: Anne Rojas 564-6086 rusans@mac.com
Membership: Mary Wilk 967-3045 wilk@electromatic.com
Archivist: Hope Smith 967-5143 hsmith1923@aol.com
Major Events Coordinator: James Kimberly 969-9686 drdoboy@home.com
Member At-Large: Art Brody 692-8898 brodybiz@silcom.com
Publicity: Mariette Risley 965-3866
Interviews: Lottie White 681-9863 lbwhite40@worldnet.att.net
SIGNS OF WEAR
OLD IS WHEN ...your sweetie says "Lets go upstairs and make love" and you answer, "Pick one, I can't do them both!"
OLD IS WHEN ...your friends compliment you on your new alligator shoes, and you're barefoot.
OLD IS WHEN ...a sexy babe catches your fancy and your pacemaker opens the garage door.
OLD IS WHEN ...going bra-less pulls all the wrinkles out of your face
OLD IS WHEN ..you don't care where your spouse goes. Just as long as you don't have to go along.
OLD IS WHEN ...you are cautioned to slow down by the doctor instead of by the police.
OLD IS WHEN ..."getting a little action" means you don't need to take any fiber today.
OLD IS WHEN ..."getting lucky" means you find your car in the parking lot.
We are pleased to acknowledge and welcome the following new members to our Society:
ROBERT JUDELL
DOROTHY PEARCE
MICKI STERN
INTEREST GROUP LEADERS
Book Discussion, Theater, Symphony
Anne Rojas, 564-6086 (rusans@mac.com)
Our last Dining Out at Josie's 4 Winds left much to be desired in the service department. The room is nice, the food and price are good, but they were seriously understaffed. Josie's promised to double their staff for our next visit. This month's Dining Out after our meeting at SBCC will be at Sizzler, where we will have our private room and tables of 4 and 6. We hope to have people from the talk {especially students) join us on that occasion.
The first film of the Film Festival Series which we are sponsoring at Wake Center, will be on April 12th at 1pm. We have arranged to have a private area at IHOP around the corner from the Center in which to meet after the film. Approximate time 4:15. Again, the persons attending the class are most welcome along with our regular members.
We continue to have our Brunches the last Sunday of each month at Sizzler. Everyone welcome. The North County Brunches are held the first Sunday of each month; check website calendar for time and location.
Parkie Parker and Diane Freeman still need sign ups for cookies and drinks. See them at the meeting, or call them. Many people have never brought anything and we don't want the same persons to keep doing so. If you need phone numbers, membership lists are available to members only for club business only. Mary Wilk will provide them for you.
I still have many T-shirts for sale in all sizes. Support your Society!
Announcing...
The inaugural film in our Humanist Film Series.
Film: Dave
Date: Friday April 12th, 1 p.m.
Adult Ed Registration begins at 12:40 p.m.
Location: Wake Center Auditorium
300 N. Turnpike Rd, one block north of HWY 101.
Cost: None
by
ROGER SCHLUETER
As I write, the Israel - Palestinian conflict is on the brink of full-scale, regional warfare. I believe the world is as close to war as it has been since that old "Doomsday Clock" was minutes before midnight during the height of the cold war.
But that conflict is only one of several that casts a pall on the world scene. Our "War on Terrorism" in Afghanistan threatens to spill into Pakistan and has already altered political and military alignments throughout the region. Bush seems intent on adding Iraq to the mix. The only good to come from this is that Pakistan is too preoccupied to engage in a border war with India with its own potential for nuclear mayhem. India, too, is riven with internal strife as Muslims and Hindus engage in mutually retaliatory massacres.
Of course, these conflicts are rooted in complex issues that belie simple solutions. And yet, in another sense, each is simply about disputed control of "hallowed ground." For example, a transforming event in the life of bin Laden was the granting of permission by Saudi Arabia for the American military to base operations in the Saudi peninsula. Bin Laden saw this as the incursion of the infidels onto Muslim holy ground.
One of the most contentious issues between Israel and Palestine is control of Jerusalem, since it contains "hallowed ground" for all three of the major religions in the area. Similarly, the core issue in India is who has control over a small plot of "hallowed ground" where the Hindus believe one of their gods was born but where an Islamic mosque had stood until about 10 years ago.
But "to hallow" means "to set aside as holy." It is paramount to observe that this is entirely a human action, not one undertaken by a god or gods. Jerusalem's importance is built upon myths for which there is no evidence about a man for whom there is no evidence who performed deeds, died, and was resurrected, for which there is no evidence. The very real potential for war arises out of wholly manmade conflicts.
Allah or Gabriel or the other mythical characters of Islam did not consecrate the Saudi Peninsula as sacred. Muhammad and his followers did - after centuries of bloody fighting to take control of it. No Hindu god was "born" in India and no Mosque site is made sacred by simply constructing a building on it.
In all these cases, the problems are manmade. So, then, are the solutions. Imagine for a moment a religion founded on the writings of a Joseph Campbell or a William Edelen. One where the religious myths are recognized as symbols for the universal wonder, longings and fears of all people. One where the story unfolds in the heart, not on ground "hallowed" by centuries of spilt blood. The story of peace might then have a chance of really being told.
by Lottie White
April 20: Victor Stenger, Physicist and Activist. "Has Science Found God?"
May 18: John Baldwin, Sociology, UCSB. "Win-Win Living"
June 15: Solstice Party
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Advanced features
set humans apart
from other
creatures of Earth What makes us different from other
animals?
A group of noted individuals have
come up with an answer that I found to
be intriguing.
I thought your readers would like to
hear about it. So here it is.
Homo Sapiens (wise man) is the
dominant creature on earth largely
because in his evolutionary climb he has
remained a "generalized" rather than a
"specialized" animal. Humans have
never developed, by natural selection,
any such cumbersome features as the
giraffe's exaggerated neck or the elephant's long nose.
Homo Sapiens has retained, with
wonderful improvements, the 10 fingers
and toes of his amphibian ancestors.
From the primates he inherited grasping hands and powerful shoulders,
which were developed by swinging from
branch to branch in trees. The lower primates also passed on to Homo Sapiens
the priceless faculty of binocular stereoscopic vision, enabling him to see the
world in sharp focus and three dimensions.
Homo Sapiens also has some
unique traits. Among them are these: his
erect posture, two legs for swift running,
and free arms and hands to hold and carry. His feet have marvelous
supporting arches and fused balancing pads at the base of his toes which permit him to
walk upright at all times. But it is
Homo Sapiens' dynamic brain that is his
most magnificent evolutionary acquisition!
The human brain is the most complex known in the universe. Besides
exhibiting abroad spectrum of ancient
instincts and their associated emotions it
is capable of using verbal languages,
written languages, conceptual thought,
transmission of knowledge, the invention and use of tools and machines,
detailed memory, imagination, perceive
alternatives, analyze past experiences,
deduce consequences, learn, teach, modify the environment,
create and appreciate art, and store more than 1 trillion bits of information in an average lifetime.
A.W. Lindholm
Terre Haute
HSSB Member
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A-memorable quote I'm submitting for the next BULLETIN, by David Gelernter in the 25 March WEEKLY STANDARD: "We now learn that suicide bombers are told to expect - a heaven-
full of comely virgins as their next assignment. To the suicide-murderers,
those waiting virgins are as real as dirt. The killers
call themselves "martyrs", but in their own minds they are the
next thing to sex criminals. "Pardon me, sir or madam; but do
you know why I plan to murder your child? Because the authorities
are offering me great sex - and, after all, I don't get
many opportunities."
People who think this way are shielded from view, up to a point,
by their own sheer evil. They are painful to contemplate. We
instinctively look away, as we do whenever we are confronted
with monstrous deformity. Nothing is harder or more frightening
to look at than a fellow human who is bent out of shape. And
moral deformity is the most frightening kind by far. How can
Muslims of good faith allow such people to call themselves Muslim?
But they do allow it. What does that mean? And is it possible
that we have located here, in this inspiring vision of heaven
as a whorehouse, THE most loathsome idea in the history of
human thought? This is the civilization that condemns "licentious"
America? (Emphasis added) BOB MICHAEL - Past President HSSB "How Tolerant is Islam? A few examples of Islamic tolerance:
"Saudi Arabia - Conversion by a Muslim to another reiigion is
punishable by death. Bibles are illegal.
"Yemen - Bans proselytizing by non-Muslims and forbids
conversions. The Government does not allow the building of new
non-Muslim places of worship.
"Kuwait - Registration and licensing of religious groups. Members
of religions not sanctioned in the Koran may not build places of worship.
Prohibits organized religious education for religions other than Islam.
"Egypt - Islam is the official state religion and primary source of
legislation. Accordingly, religious practices that conflict with Islamic law
are prohibited. Muslims may face legal problems if they convert to
another faith. Requires non-Muslims to obtain what is now a presidential
decree to build a place of worship.
"Algeria - The law prohibits public assembly for purposes of
practicing a faith other than Islam. Non-lslamic proselytizing is illegal,
and the Government restricts the importation of non-lslamic literature for
widespread distribution. - SOURCE: U.S. State Department."
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by
COLIN GORDON
Our last speaker, Harry Schwartzbart, who visited us on March 16 and gave a memorable talk on Church-State Separation, has an equally memorable website:
The Constitution mandates it. Most Americans believe in it. Separation guarantees you freedom to worship or not worship as you choose. But today, powerful religious leaders and misguided politicians have joined forces to undercut the First Amendment. Since 1947, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (known as AU) has worked to protect the constitutional principle of church-state separation, a vital cornerstone of religious liberty. Americans of many faiths and political viewpoints have come together to defend our freedoms. The San Fernando Valley Chapter of AU is one of the largest, and most active, chapters in the country.
This site is full of quotes, references and other good things related to Church-State Separation and is easy to navigate without getting lost. There are many horror stories of blatant disregard for the law in this area, for example:
According to the Fresno Bee, and Church and State magazine, Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson, without the approval of the Fresno City Council, used $75,000 of public funds for the rental of Bulldog Stadium for a Promise Keepers rally. Promise Keepers is a Christian religious organization which holds rallies all over the country, inviting only men to take part in the events. The Fresno rally was held on June 27 and 28, 1997.
Happy surfing.
Colin Gordon