"You should take a trip on down to see us. I think I speak for many of us when I say that we already feel we know you. liz "
Guessing this was directed toward Taylor, I'll merely say that when I get in that area of the country, I too will try to 'come on down!'. On Dec 7, 8:15 am, "Liz Purkrabek" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > You should take a trip on down to see us. I think I speak for many of us > when I say that we already feel we know you. > > liz > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of > ornamentalmind > Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2008 9:58 PM > To: Memphis Freethought Alliance > Subject: Re: MFA Feedback - Taglines > > 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 -- 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
