Humanist Society of Santa Barbara
|
|
|
|
|
|
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 The Patio Room of Vista del Monte, 3775 Modoc Road, 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. |
|
|
BULLETIN OF THE HUMANIST SOCIETY OF SANTA BARBARA OFFICERS 2002 - 2003 Chairman - Roger Schlueter 962-6316 rogers@west.net Secretary - Colin Gordon 682-0545 colin3@juno.com Editor - Dick Cousineau 687-2371 rcous1geol@aol.com Treasurer - Russ Boggie 564-6086 russboggie@cox.net Programs - Bea Duncan 964-3109 bfarwellduncan@cox.net Social Director - Anne Rojas 564-6086 annehrojas@cox Membership - Mary Wilk 967-3045 mwilk@cox.net Archivist - Hope Smith 967-5143 hsmith1923@aol.com Major Events - James Kimberly 969-9686 dr.doboy@cox.net Publicity & Interviews - Bob Perry 968-1951 bob.perry3@verizon.net Member at Large - Art Brody 692-8898 brodybiz@silcom.com Please don't forget to bring canned foods and non-perishable goods to our regular Society meetings. These donations are given to the Crisis Shelter (Domestic Solutions) and they are well appreciated by the clients and staff. |
UPCOMING SOCIETY EVENTSNovember 16, -Our regular monthly
meeting will feature Loretta mdd,
local political commentator, speaking
on " The New Role of Organized
Religion: Bif! Business and Political
Influence". Ms Redd hails from Atlanta and
has had a varied career as clinical
psychologist, ( Ph.D.-Georgia State),
Adjunct Professor, Air Force Captain,
restaurateur, and non-profit director .
Her clinical work has been chiefly with
the terminally ill.
She will examine how religious
institutions are increasingly seeking
ways to influence the lives and liberties
of Americans and will discuss some of
their latest strategies for intrusions
into society while inquiring into their
real motives. Ms. Redd's columns have
periodically appeared on the op-ed
page of the SB News Press.
At our October meeting, attended by
about 70 members and friends, Peter
and Pauline Conn gave an informed
and detailed presentation of the
"Single Payer Health Care" proposal
for California.
Much information was transmitted in a lively discussion,
and a good time was had by all at the
reception for our many visitors from
Vista del Monte who were specially
invited for this program.
|
|
The Transcendental Meditationists are back! "Oh, good." you think, "Now George and Saddam will get along famously and we can get back to wondering what the secret ingredients are in Famous Amos cookies." If only it were so.
Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a practice originating in sixth century India but popularized in the USA in the 60's and 70's by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi abetted by the Beatles. You may have read the article about the latest Santa Barbara incarnation of this philosophy (by their own assertion, they are not a religion) in the October 19th SB News-Press. Basically, TM asserts that there is an underlying "Unified Field" that we can all connect with and, in doing so, can make wondrous things happen such as personal health and a reversal of the aging process, universal harmony, world peace, levitation, etc.
Yes, you read that right. Levitation. And there in the News-Press is a picture of two practioners actually doing it. The accompanying article wrote up this and other claims in a straightforward manner, much to my consternation. The fact is that nobody has EVER been able to demonstrate the ability to levitate. And, in spite of assertions by TMer's that there are hundreds of studies linking their practice with assorted personal and universal benefits, no replicated, scientific study backs up these claims. An extensive protest to the News-Press about this article elicited the response that I was "...being ridiculous."
Feeling both frustrated and morbidly fascinated, I attended one of the public meetings held by the TMer's to promote their practices. The many miraculous claims were repeated and were bolstered by personal testimonies by local practioners. A video tape was also shown in which several episodes of levitation were shown.
|
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. In all cases, the "levitators" were bouncing on a mattress with GREAT effort while sitting in the lotus position. In response to my request to repeat the demonstration in a scientific setting, I was told that the Maharishi had requested that such demonstrations not be done because they detract from the primary focus (world peace) and create a circus environment. Right - but apparently it's OK to get some free publicity in the local paper.
My interaction with the local TMer's both during and after this meeting made it clear that the people I talked to were not loopy nutcases but well meaning, well-intentioned people who had a technique - no matter how silly - to achieve a goal we all share, namely world peace. I must admit to a fascination with this phenomenon of the willful suspension of disbelief in the face overwhelming evidence to the contrary. This is not a matter of religious faith in the ineffable, but determined belief in a world view that is demonstrably untrue.
How does one know what is true? How would one go about ascertaining whether a set of beliefs is supported by science and real-world experience or is an unfortunate case of self-denial and/or self-delusion? How can good people with good intentions get so disconnected from reality? Now, the TMer's might ask this last question about Humanists. We are good people with good intentions but certainly we are not deluded. How, then, could we demonstrate that ours is the more grounded world view to an unbiased observer. I believe it could be done, but I suspect it might be harder than you might suppose and that a dedicated TMer might never accept the conclusion.
|
We are pleased to acknowledge and welcome the following new members to our Society:
Alex & Judi Hentelhoff
Joyce Bradley
Dr. Loretta Redd
Bob Bronfen & Joan Sullivan
Hi,
In case you need a brief filler for the next Humanist Bulletin: On a recent
drive through downtown San Luis Obispo, I was delighted and amazed to see
the wall of a commercial building say AGNOSTIC CENTER.
As we got closer, I was disappointed to see the the D and I were missing!
Accidental, or some progressive thinker doing some vandalism?????
Also, a recent Non Sequitur cartoon was well put:
Titled "THE DAWN OF CIVILIZATION", it shows two cave dwellers in their cave.
One is drawing a primitive wall painting of of people fighting. His
companion says, "No, No, No...., FIRST we invent religion to justify our
actions, THEN we invent war!
WATCH OUT FOR THESE NEW VIRUSES - NEITHER SYMANTEC OR MCAFEE HAVE SOLUTIONS FOR THEM YET
THE AL GORE VIRUS - Causes your computer to just keep counting and re-counting.
THE CLINTON VIRUS - Gives you a 7 inch hard drive with NO memory
THE BOB DOLE (aka VIAGRA) - Makes a new hard drive out of a old floppy
THE LEWINSKY VIRUS - Sucks all the memory out of your computer, then e-mails
THE RONALD REAGAN V!RUS - Saves your data, but forgets where it is stored
THE MIKE TYSON VIRUS - Quits after two bytes
THE OPRAH WINFREY VIRUS - Your 300Mb hard drive shrinks to 100Mb then slowly expands to re-stablize around 200Mb
THE JACK KERVORKIAN VIRUS - Deletes all old files
THE ELLEN DEGENERES VIRUS - Disks can no longer be inserted
THE PROZAC VIRUS - Totally screws up your RAM, but your processor does not care
1. It is important to find a man who works around the house, occasionally cooks and cleans and who has a job.
2. It is important to find a man who makes you laugh.
3. It is important to find a man who is dependable and doesn't lie.
4. It is important to find a man who's good in bed and who loves to make love with you.
5. It is important that these four men never meet.
It's an interesting layout, all on one very long page. The format is a mix of sarcasm, wit and humor, with many dialogs between the author and God, such as
"Me: It must have been difficult to let your only son die on the cross, especially for the sins of others.
God: Yes, but business decisions are seldom easy. The story of his dying for mankind's sins is not historically accurate though. It was something Moses came up with as spin control. You see, Jesus was a great marketer and worked his way up the ladder very quickly. I was so proud of him. But, when we put him in charge of the Northern Hemisphere it really went to his head, he just wasn't mature enough to handle the position yet."
Actually, once you get the idea, it can become a little repetitive, but there are a few good chuckles to be had. He advertises the site this way:
"When you find yourself wanting to questiongodTM the same way I do, send your questions to me directly at prophet@questiongod.com and I will make sure God responds in a prompt manner ... Tell a friend and send all sinners to this site." And that includes most HSSB members.
"The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries." -James Madison, 1803 letter
"I have found Christian dogma unintelligible. Early in life I absented myself from Christian assemblies." -B. Franklin
"I have examined all the known superstitions of the world, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike, founded on fables and mythology. Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity , have been burnt, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half of the world fools, and the other half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the earth." -Thomas Jefferson, "Notes , on Religion, passed in the Assembly of Virginia, in the Year 1786."
"The most detestable wickedness, the most horrid cruelties, and the greatest miseries that have afflicted the human race have had their origin in this thing called revelation, or revealed religion." -Thomas Paine
"The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion." -Treaty of Tripoli 1796, Signed by Pres. John Adams