Triangle children target of dark gospel message

No child, in any context, should ever be told, “You deserve to die.” But, that is the day‐in, day‐out message of the Good News Clubs. When I first heard about how the Good News Clubs entered public schools with an after‐school program for elementary school children which centers on the most shaming elements of the Christian message, I was shocked. Since then, my search for information led me to some very important, recent contributions to the subject. After realizing that elementary school children right here in the Triangle are on a weekly basis told they deserve to go to hell, I have been shocked into action. I hope you will be, too.

 

Many of you had the opportunity to hear Katherine Stewart talk about Good News Clubs at a recent TFS meeting. I was unable to attend, but I have read her book, The Good News Club: The Christian Right’s Stealth Assault on America’s Children, and I have seen her interview on the RDF website. I would also recommend to you a web resource that has been well researched and is in my mind among the best overall treatments of why Good News Clubs are such a threat: http://www.goodnewsclubs.info. The website’s author, Eric Cernyar, has firsthand experience with the psychological abuse tactics employed by CEF, and seeks to mobilize freethinkers to act. It is his assertion that, “however well‐intentioned the teachers are, the Good News Club curriculum which they tragically and submissively employ is psychologically and emotionally harmful.” (http://www.goodnewsclubs.info/bullying.htm)

 

In Attack of the Theocrats, author Sean Faircloth makes the following point: “We have a moral obligation to fulfill our humanist heritage, a heritage that America’s Constitution embodied first and most boldly. We Irish have a saying: we lost all the wars, but we had all the good songs. Well, the poets, the writers, the philosophers, and the greatest statesmen, they’re on our side – but that’s not sufficient.” (p. 141)  For decades, secularists have been known for opposing public symbols of religion: the ten commandments hanging in the courtroom; the cross in a public park; the manger scene in front of City Hall. Without taking away from the correctness of those legal fights, Faircloth calls us to a higher form of activism, one in which we challenge religious bias in current law for the sake of those who are suffering under it. Challenging symbols is important, but defending the defenseless much more so.

 

In Stewart’s book, she recounts how a CEF trainer instructed a group of volunteers on how to lead children into the message: “The Bible says our hearts are dark with sin…Anything you can think or say or do that goes against the laws of God that makes him unhappy. Even a little baby is a sinner. Within a few minutes of being born, he’s squalling and crying, because he wants it his way. Punishment for sin is to be separated from God forever.” (The Good News Club, p.235) And, there is no ambiguity about what separation from God means. The Good News Club curriculum contains 252 references to Hell, averaging two mentions per lesson. A typical group exercise from the curriculum involves using individual students to point out to the group that every child, even that individual, is a sinner who deserves death (see http://www.goodnewsclubs.info/abusiveshame.htm).

 

There is work to be done, both locally and nationally, if we are to see the successful expulsion of Good News Clubs from public schools. In August, a group of TFS volunteers with a 3‐camera film crew gained access to the Good News Spectacular in August. The footage, along with interviews with Stewart and Cernyar, will air in a documentary, with filmmaker Scott Burdick at the helm. Good work is being done in other fronts as well. There is a national effort underway to accurately assess the impact of CEF, and the work of educating the public is ongoing. There is much more work to be done, though, and the need for many volunteers. There is a need for people who are willing to do research, distribute flyers, post links to social media sites, and talk to school officials about policy decisions. What are you prepared to do to take a stand against Good News Clubs in the Triangle? In the US?

No child, in any context, should ever be told, “You deserve to die.” Join the effort to end this insidious practice within the Wake County Public School System and beyond.

I’m your friendly neighborhood, angry… what was that?

It was great discovery for me, the discovery that there were thousands of nonbelievers across the country being mobilized, though perhaps not easily, into a force – political, social, time will tell – the likes of which not seen before in this country.  I heard the clarion calls to action these past couple of years by the leaders of the modern atheist movement, and I continue to be stirred by the speeches from this year’s Reason Rally.  The continued flow of speeches, debates, books and conferences advances the battle lines in the cultural and academic war between reason and superstition, even as groups like the Secular Coalition are marshaling political forces for a more powerful nonfaith lobby.  Sometimes, it seems, the lines could not be drawn more sharply.  I must confess that I enjoy this trend quite a bit.  I was deluded by religion for many years, deluded others into religion.  I am rooting for the nonfaith movement, even as I am a part of it. 

At the same time, I don’t want my neighbors to think I am the “angry atheist,” right?  With Dawkins’ “mock them, ridicule them... in public…with contempt!” ringing in my ears, when I talk to religious people, I often nonetheless search for the least offensive answers so as to appear kind.  After several knock-down drag out debates on my Facebook page, debates during which I thought I had been rather polite, I was still called arrogant and a jerk (among other less printable names).  So, I would like to be your friendly neighborhood atheist, but I find it very hard to be so when confronted with people who become apoplectic at my denial of god.  When a personal stance against faulty logic is interpreted as a mean-spirited personal attack, horrible things are often accused.  Sometimes, there’s just no getting around the “angry atheist” label, even if you’re the nicest atheist on the block.

Anger can often be mistaken for passion, and passionate people can become justifiably angry.  If you haven’t heard it yet, drop what you’re doing and listen to Sean Faircloth’s talk, “Can Religion Justify Bullying Children?”  He doesn’t sound angry giving the speech, but he is certainly passionate about the safety of children.  And, check your own pulse after the talk; mine was way up!  There is a time and a place for anger, and if it pushes us to make it to that next action meeting, or send that email, attend that conference call, then maybe being angry is not so bad, after all.

So, hi there, everyone.  I’m your friendly neighborhood, sometimes angry, atheist.    Hope you don’t mind.

Special event! November 19!

                                 The Triangle Freethought Society

proudly presents

"Piety and the Placebo Effect:

How Religion Hijacks Our Capacity for Self Healing."

with

Dr. Andy Thomson

Monday November 19, 2012 at 6:30 pm

3313 Wade Ave.

Raleigh, NC 27607

J. Anderson Thomson, Jr., M.D.(Andy) is a psychiatrist in private practice in Charlottesville, Virginia.(Andy) is a psychiatrist in private practice in Charlottesville, Virginia.

He is also a staff psychiatrist for the Counseling and Psychological Services of the University of Virginia's Student Health Services, as well as the Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy.

He is the forensic psychiatrist for Region Ten Community Services.

 

Since 1992 Marilyn Minrath, Ph.D., M.S.N. and Dr. Thomson have conducted a private forensic practice. Their cases have encompassed the full range of legal issues including child custody, capital murder, competence, and mental state at the time of the offense.

Andy received his B.A. from Duke University (1970), his M.D. from the University of Virginia (1974) and did his adult psychiatry training at the University of Virginia (1974-77). His private practice is oriented toward individual psychoanalytic psychotherapy, forensic psychiatry, and medication consultation.

He served as the Assistant Director of the Center for the Study of Mind and Human Interaction at the University of Virginia, which involved interdisciplinary intervention and research in large group ethnic and political conflict.

Dr. Thomson has publications on narcissistic personality disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the psychology of racism, religion, psychobiographical essays on Robert E. Lee and Lee Harvey Oswald, depression, bipolar disorder, and forensic psychiatry. His current research interest is in the area of evolutionary psychology and using its principles to understand depression, suicide terrorism, and religious belief.

With Russ Federman he recently published Facing Bipolar: The Young Adult's Guide to Dealing with Bipolar Disorder.

In June 2011, with Clare Aukofer, he published Why We Believe in God(s): A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith.

Since 2008, he has had the privilege of serving as a trustee for the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science.

The Triangle Freethought Society (TFS) is a membership-based, nonprofit education and advocacy organization dedicated to issues surrounding nontheism. Our membership is made up of nontheists, post-theists, atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, skeptics and humanists living and working in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and surrounding areas. We are the local chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a national member-organization based in Madison, Wisconsin.

Our main purpose is to stand up for the separation of church and state as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Additionally, we work to:

• Ensure that non-religious people enjoy the same rights as religious citizens.
• Raise awareness and educate the general population about the concerns and issues facing the nontheist community.
• Protect reason-based and scientific education within our school systems.
• Engage in organized charitable and community improvement projects.
• Create a sense of community for the nontheist population in our geographical area and beyond.

TFS is also an affiliate organization of the American Humanist Association (AHA).

The military said I was spiritually unfit...

Sean Faircloth speaks to Soldiers about the military's Spiritual Fitness Test...

As a veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, I came home from the latter with the signature injuries of these conflicts: traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  Now, TBI is a purely physical problem.  I had brain scans, optometry therapy, physical therapy, and other medical interventions to help me overcome the physical damage from the IED which exploded underneath my vehicle in October of 2009.  PTSD is a different kind of beast, though, and calls for a multi-disciplinary approach. 

When the Army placed me into a Warrior Transition Battalion (WTB) to address my health care needs and figure out what to do with me administratively, they began a long, rather one-sided conversation during which I was told, time and again, that my spiritual goals were insufficient, my "spiritual domain" poorly defined, and that if I needed help there was a chaplain at the ready for any counseling needs I had.  During my time in the WTB I was placed under the supervision of a platoon sergeant who told me I needed to pray, read the Bible, and accept Jesus as my savior, and I was constantly being reminded that "spiritual fitness" was an important part of recovery.  The Army has really bought into that idea that spirituality is an important element in PTSD treatment.  With thousands of new cases presenting every new deployment rotation, that's going to be a lot of time spent toward checking up on injured Soldiers' religious pursuits. 

My actual medical care was less than stellar during my time at the WTB.  I had no less than six doctors in just over a year, and while I'd rather keep the details to myself, let's just say the care was less than consistent.  When I think about the millions the military spent on programs to assess Soldiers' spiritual fitness, I can't help but think that money couldn't have been better spent.  On September 25, I was medically retired from the Army.  I am happy to report that the VA Medical Center doesn't give a rip whether or not I'm spiritually fit.

What the Army never got was that if they fostered a climate where Soldiers of any faith or no faith could use Army facilities to hold meetings and gather, they could give Soldiers everything any study ever showed was valuable in PTSD recovery (social aspects, mostly) without forcing them to choose a religion.  Instead, the Army has a list of approved religions, a chaplaincy trained to minister to adherents to those approved religions, and absolutely no resources for nonfaith populations.  A typical military solution, the one-size-fits-all approach is counterproductive to a minority of Soldiers.  I was in the minority.  And, boy, did I know it. 

I'm trying to end on a positive note, and it's tough.  On balance, I'm better off than I was a few years ago.  I'm definitely getting better medical care now that I'm out of the Army's system, thanks largely I think to reforms within the VA.  What's the atheist perspective here?  Just, I think, that we should be mindful of the increased focus the federal government is placing on religion as it treats our nation's wounded.  PTSD is a mental illness, and most patients can live a full life with the recommended treatments.  Adding religion under the guise of spirituality to the mix just complicates the issue, and ought to be illegal under the First Amendment.  The military said I wasn't spiritually fit.  I say I don't need to be, and it was never any of their damned business, anyway.

Italy's bad - very bad, but we have our problems...

Earthquake Scientists Sentenced to Six Years

Welcome to Italy, the very last place on earth where the world's first working earthquake prediction machine will be installed, purely for liability reasons.  The 6 seismologists, who were convicted of multiple manslaughter for failing to predict the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that killed over 300 people in 2009.  Predicting earthquakes is impossible, by current scientific standards, but that didn't stop the Italian criminal justice system.

Atheists and other nonbelievers tend to have a healthy respect for science, and I hope that every one of us were offended at yesterdays ruling.  I was even a little incensed at the way it was reported.  "Seismologists were outraged," wrote several news outlets.  Seismologists?  All scientists everywhere are outraged, by my meager estimation, and I should hope even that is an understatement.  The activist in me wants to do something about this; then again, the activist in me is still pretty pissed about what the Catholic Church did to Galileo. 

Maybe one good takeaway from this, while we stand in solidarity with these scientists in however many ways possible, is to recognize that a staggering number of people believe an overwhelming amount of unscientific things.  The collective dearth of a scientific reference in Italy with respect to the science of seismology made this verdict possible.  In America, we have gaps in knowledge about all kinds of scientific areas: most people don't know what stem cells are; climate change is considered by many to be merely a political issue; there are wide gaps in knowledge about modern biology, modern physics, and yes, geology - I wonder what the man-on-the-street interviews in downtown Raleigh would yield with the question, "what causes an earthquake?" 

By doing what we can to promote a general awareness of science in the lives of those around us, maybe we can help close the gap. 

Attack of the Theocrats now in Paperback!

On October 15, this great, great book, Attack of the Theocrats by Sean Faircloth was released in paperback, and you should buy it if you have any interest at all in the removal of religious bias from law.  Sean Faircloth makes the case that there are a number of laws already on the books across the country that favor religions which preach hate against gays, teach the subjugation of women, and endanger children. 

Also in Attack of the Theocrats is a ten-point vision for a secular America, a model for getting our country back to the principles of Jefferson and Madison.  Faircloth also gives us the "Fundamentalist Fifty," a quick look at some of the worst theocrats in Washington today (I was both pleased and  disgusted to see that NC's own Renee Ellmers made the list - Steve Wilkins for Congress!!).

Attack of the Theocrats can be found nowhere in the dinky town where I live, but fortunately is available at Barnes and Noble and at Amazon.  Buy 2 copies, because if you are anything like me, you will read it quickly and immediately lend it to a friend (grumble). 

We do not walk alone

Coming Out: The Other Closet by Dave Silverman

I link to this great article by Dave Silverman on the American Atheists page not because I'm going to summarize it but because I really hope you'll stop here, go read it, and then come back.  See, I think that some of the audience reading this blog (thank you!) are nonbelievers who aren't out, but maybe have this fear that someone is going to try to push you out.  Let me be the first (or just one of many) to say that no one is trying to do that.  At the same time, there is a freedom to being out with your nonbelief, even if it's only to a few safe people.  And, that's what a community of nonbelief offers.

There's this great organization called Foundation Beyond Belief.  Founded in 2010, it has become a point around which local groups of nonbelievers can rally to bring humanitarian relief to disaster areas around the globe.  It's a national organization made up of local people coming together to do good, motivated by a personal sense of compassion and morality.  You can be a part of that next month (more on that to come).

What does that have to do with coming out?  Just this.  You can be out to the people you have this incredibly rewarding experience with on a quasi-regular basis - and no one else, if that's what you want.  Odds are, you'll meet people who aren't out to everyone in their lives.  But, meeting people is better than not meeting people, yes?  And, there are many other ways than Foundation Beyond Belief to meet other nonbelievers.  Part of the goal of this blog will be to get those opportunities out in the open for people.

I ran into an old friend of mine a few weeks ago.  He is the pastor of a medium-sized Methodist church, the conservative kind, and he knew I had left the ministry and had joined the Army.  He did not know I was an atheist.  I gave him the Cliff's notes on how that came to be, and he said a few things that didn't surprise me at all, but one thing that did - he said, "Jay, you've traded a community of faith for a solitary path."  Now, I'm really glad I didn't meet him a year ago, because a year ago those words may have given me pause.  As it was, I was able to draw strength from the memories of the many other nonbelievers I've met, and say to him, "We would rather walk alone by reason than together by myth - but we do not walk alone." 

We do not walk alone, my friends.