"Don't believe in God?" billboardInstallment 2

The ECS/Bergen Board gave me the okay to speak on behalf of The Society. So I emailed Freethought Action and the AHA.

Roy Speckhardt of the AHA, and Jan Meshon and Joseph Stewart of FTA were very receptive to the idea of referring and linking to us. Roy's comment was that they would be happy to mention us to reporters who contact them. Joseph, who runs the FTA blog, put a link to this blog and to the Society's webpage on the FTA blog (click the link and search for "ethical culture" to see it).

That's good. Hopefully some folks with humanistic leanings will see the billboard, surf to the FTA website, click through to us from FTA blog and walk through our door.

"Don't Believe in God? You are not alone."Bergen County billboard

Page 1 of today's Bergen Record trumpets God's Skeptics Get Comfort from Above and features the roadside billboard seen to the left. It's located on the NJ Turnpike in Ridgefield, about five miles away from the Ethical Culture Meeting House. Cool!

The Ethical Culture Society is a nontheistic organization (ref. AEU article, Wikipedia) and as such we do not explicitly espouse atheism or the denial of the existence of God or gods. I've always told friends who asked that our brand of nontheism means that we simply do not address the issue of god and that some of our members are, in fact, God-believers. If asked further, I say that we base our thinking and action on moral and ethical values that stem from humanity itself, as well as the natural world around us (an interesting reference in today's NY Times: The Moral Instinct by Steven Pinker).

Despite the self-applied nontheistic label, however, the fact is that the majority of our membership is atheistic or agnostic, or lean strongly in that direction. As a result, the freethoughtaction.org billboard on the NJ Turnpike in Ridgefield will appeal strongly to most of our membership. By the same token, many Turnpike drivers who view the billboard favorably would be sympathetic to Ethical Culture.

That is, if only they knew about it. If only those unsuspecting, God-questioning drivers knew that a humanistic society is a mere five miles from the billboard. How do we make the connection? One way is for the Ethical Culture Society to reach out to FTA and let them know we're here. That way, supportive inquiries coming to them as a result of the billboard can, in appropriate cases, be directed to us.

For example, say someone sends a supportive message to FTA that the billboard resonates with them but they need to keep going to church because they want their children in a Sunday school. Do they know that The Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County has a humanistic Sunday school? Maybe ... maybe not. If FTA is willing to refer such emails to us, a few of them might contact us and voila ... connection.

So I'm on a mission. I've volunteered to contact the FTA on behalf of The Society and discuss the matter to see if they can help those Turnpike drivers make a connection with Ethical Culture. Check back in this space to see how it goes. And in the meantime, honk for free thought.

(Click for Google map of billboard location.)

Humanist Network News (HNN) podcasts

Tons of humanist content are showing up on the web. Lately I've been listening to the award winning Humanist Network News (HNN). This collection's directory is as helpful as the podcasts themselves are informative. It's simple to browse two+ years of shows on a single screen (actually, two screens). Each entry contains a brief synopsis and photo, as well as links to both text details about the show and a full text transcript, and can be listened to online or downloaded as an .MP3 file for playing on a portable device.

The shows are diverse and include interviews with movement luminaries (Dawkins, Dennett, Harris, Hitchens) and other notables (Salmon Rushdie, Alan Dershowitz, Rabbi Sherwin Wine, E.O. Wilson, U.S. Representative Pete Stark). The hosts, Duncan Crary and Jes Constantine (see picture) , attend and report on conferences (Atheist Alliance International, International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organization (IHEYO), New Humanism) and other events. Some shows are cerebral, others report on arts, leisure and recreation, including, Rational Rap, Camp Quest for humanist youth and much more. The show's theme song, I Ain't Afraid by Holly Near, quickly grows on you.

The show is self described thus: "The Humanist Network News (HNN) Audio Podcast is a monthly one-hour talk show created by the Institute for Humanist Studies. Every episode of the HNN Audio Podcast explores a different area of humanist thought, from politics to pop culture."

Check it out and take it with you on the road.

Dr. Joseph Chuman interviewed by The Record

John Chadwick of the The Record interviewed (click here) Dr. Joseph Chuman, Leader of ECS/Bergen. Full text of the article appeared on the print edition of January 10, 2008.

The print version includes a photo of Dr. Chuman, which doesn't seem to be included with the online version. Too bad ... Joe is seen with his friend Yorick (I think).