Preston, thanks for this information. It helps me to grok the mission more. Some day I'd like the opportunity to question some of these listed purposes.
On Dec 5, 10:47 pm, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Taylor- > > Freethought is a term that has a historical context and is not simply > unfettered thought. It is characterized by "thought unrestrained by > deference to authority, esp. in matters of religion". Freethinker is defined > as "one who forms his opinion independently of authority or tradition, esp. > in matters concerning religion". I suggest reading Susan Jacoby's > Freethinkers to get a feel for the historical meaning which, by the way, is > replete with reason and rational thought. > > Virtually all the actual members that I know do use rational thought and > reason to find truth. Members pay dues and fill out a form that portrays the > group (see below) though they do not commit by signing a statement. This is > a very good point we should take up. > > The googlegroups discussion board and MFA Listserve are open to anyone who > signs up and is not necessarily representative of MFA's statement of purpose > as per our bylaws or our membership. That statement follows: > > The Memphis Freethought Alliance is composed of atheists, agnostics, > skeptics, non-theistic naturalists, secular humanists and others who share > our vision. We are joining together to defend the separation of church and > state, the need for freedom from religion, and to counter religious myths and > other supernatural beliefs with rational, scientific and other secular > philosophical concepts. Our purposes are as follows: > > a.. We foster an environment suitable for free speech and exchange of ideas. > > b.. We provide a forum for educational films and lectures. > > c.. We defend the constitutional separation of church and state as well as > oppose government sponsored religious events. > > d.. We defend the teaching of scientific theories over non-scientific > theories in public school science classes. > > e.. We oppose pseudoscience, flim-flam, fraud, myths, misleading > information, and hoaxes in the media. > > f.. We recognize the civil rights of atheists, agnostics, secular humanists > and others who do not believe in god(s) or other supernatural forces. > > g.. We seek to improve society through secular humanism, science and > critical thinking, and rational philosophical discourse. > > h.. We provide a fellowship for people who share these purposes listed > above. > > While this statement and associated points may include more than forming > opinions from reason and rational thought, none of it is particularly > contrary. Science, reason and rational thought are the pillars upon which > our small organization (not the discussion board) is based. > > I do think our mission statement should be tweaked and perhaps more focused > and this was precisely what our last meeting addressed. Being the stalwart > defender of science that you are, I would love for you to join us sometime, > that is, if you are still in the area. > > Preston > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Taylor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Memphis Freethought Alliance" > <[email protected]> > Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2008 11:32 AM > Subject: Re: MFA Feedback - Taglines > > > <<"A non-prophet association" >> > > > That's funny the first time you hear it, but not after that. I > > wouldn't use it. > > > Since you call the organization "free" thought rather than "rational" > > thought, I'm not sure you can legitimately use "reason" in any slogan, > > since your members have not precommitted themselves to valuing only > > reason to discover truth. Perhaps you should communicate something to > > the effect of being anti-dogma.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Memphis Freethought Alliance" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/memphisfreethoughtalliance?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
