Reason, Science, Ethics, Compassion, and Community….no god required
Flathead Area Secular Humanist Association, or FASHA, is a grassroots, democratic, completely volunteer, member-driven association of Flathead Area Secularist Humanists.
More information regarding our Mission and Membership here.
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Secular Quotes
“Why are we [Humanists] trying? Because it would be disgraceful if we didn’t. We owe it to ourselves as respectable human beings to do what we can to make humanity (more)* rational. And having done this – or having tried to do this – we can respect ourselves.”
- Isaac Asimov (prolific writer and late president of the American Humanist Association)
*Added by FASHA in light of the latest research showing rational thought appears to REQUIRE emotional input.
“Just as the sun does not wait for prayers and incantations to persuade it to rise, but shines anyway and is univer sally loved, so you should not wait for applause and praise in order to do good; but be a voluntary benefactor and you will be beloved like the sun.”
– Epictetus, 1 st Century CE
“How dismal it is to see present day Americans yearning for the very orthodoxy that their country was founded to escape.”
― Christopher Hitchens (on church/state separation)
“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”
- Galileo
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Action Alerts & Volunteer Opportunities
- Volunteers to organize charitable events over the Winter Solstice
- Volunteer needed for FASHA Treasurer (maybe a couple of hours/month). Excel experience helpful but easy to learn.
- Volunteer needed to be Secretary – meeting notes, meeting minutes, manage “Member Contact List”.
- Volunteer(s) to be FASHA’s “Local Government Watch” – read upcoming agendas and past meeting minutes, and as able attend, meetings of School boards, City Council, County Commissioners, etc.. for issues important to secularists.
- We are running out of room! We need to find a larger meeting place in a more central location. Please let Ian know if you find something.
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Upcoming FASHA Events (Mark your calendars!)
12/22/12 - Winter Solstice Party! Invitations have gone out. Please email Ian if by oversight you did not receive one.
01/05/13 (1 pm MST) - Secular Coalition For America/Montana monthly organizing conference call. Newcomers always welcome. Visit the Secular Coalition for phone #/pass code, past agendas and audio files of calls.
01/06/13 - Next monthly FASHA meeting. New Location! Generally meets the 1st Sunday of every month. New to FASHA and wanting to join, please see membership page for details if interested in attending.
03/16/13 (tentative) - FASHA will host an “Ask-an-Atheist” event where a panel of local atheists/humanists will answer questions from the public (details to follow)
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Upcoming National Events (Mark your calendar….again!)
03/28/13 – American Atheists National Convention, Austin, Texas
05/04/13 – Freethought Alliance Conference, Anaheim, California
05/30/13 – American Humanist Association, Annual Conference, San Diego, California
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Top National News Items
FFRF solstice banner vandalized – FFRF
No need for “gods or devils” in Boston Common – FFRF
The Secular Coalition For America is calling on all nontheist groups to participate in the National Summit on Correcting Religious Privileging in the Tax Code.
FFRF sues IRS to enforce church electioneering ban
NEWLY ELECTED CONGRESS TOLD: DON’T JOIN PRAYER CAUCUS
Mass. Supreme Court to hear case against’under God’ in Pledge of Allegiance
Hallelujah! Reason prevails in Santa Monica
My Take: Stop using churches as polling places
FFRF asks Obama to drop religion in presidential oath
The American Humanist Association launched a new website, KidsWithoutGod.com—an interactive site for kids and teenagers to learn about science, critical thinking and humanist values.
Election blurring of church, state separation draws complaints
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Top Montana and Local News Items
11/17/12 - Montana Board of Medical Examiners won’t change assisted-suicide policy
10/23/12 - Council declines to accept Ten Commandments
10/04/12 - Prominent display sought for Ten Commandments
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Audio Spotlight
1) RSA Audio event – Love, Hate and Everything in Between
Man’s capacity for kindness and compassion is overshadowed only by his ability to be as cruel and destructive. Can empathy resolve issues of aggression and subjugation, where wars, politics and economic sanctions have failed?
New research in neuroscience, psychology, education and technology suggests it might.
Mary Gordon, founder of Roots of Empathy, a classroom programme for children, says: “The developmental health and wealth of nations rests on the breath of children. If we don’t help children develop empathy we’re in big trouble.”
Psychologist and autism expert Simon Baron Cohen explains: “A new way of looking at empathy is to think of it as a continuum…or a spectrum. The question scientists need to address is, what determines where you are on that spectrum.”
Trailer to Video – ‘Love, Hate and Everything In Between‘ explores the nature, role and relevance of empathy in society today.
2) Secular World podcast #113 – “no religious affiliation”
“No religious affiliation” raises to over 1/5th of people in the USA; Free birth control cuts abortion rates by 62%; Why liberals and atheists are more intelligent; Proof of heaven; Catholic church to have tax exemptions removed in Italy; Listener mail, and; our interview with Jacques Rousseau, South African skeptic and atheist.
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Video Spotlight
Jonathan Haidt on his studies into the roots of morality (18:40)
Psychologist Jonathan Haidt studies the five moral values that form the basis of our political choices, whether we’re left, right or center. In this eye-opening talk, he pinpoints the moral values that liberals and conservatives tend to honor most.Jonathan Haidt studies how — and why — we evolved to be moral. By understanding more about our moral roots, his hope is that we can learn to be civil and open-minded. His new book is “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion.”
Capuchin monkeys reject unequal pay - Evidence of evolutionary origins of morality? (1:00)
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Books Spotlight
Incarceration Nation – Michelle Alexander
The New Jim Crowe – Michelle Alexander
Answers for Aristotle: How Science and Philosophy Can Lead Us to A More Meaningful Life – Massimo Pigliucci
Non-Believer Nation: The Rise of Secular America - David Niose
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided By Politics and Religion – Jonathan Haidt
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Donation Thank You Gifts!
As a thank you gift for a donation of $35 or more to FASHA – a 11 x 3 bumper sticker and a 4.5 x 2.5 sticker. $7 and $3 separately (use “Contact Us” form to request to purchase separately).
