Orange County Atheists

June Meeting

The Next Orange County Atheists meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 13 at 7:30PM at the International House of Pancakes at 18542 MacArthur Blvd in Irvine, near John Wayne Airport.

A map to the location is available here. Please RSVP at this page to let us know you're coming!

Atheist Group Commends Huntington Beach School District In Not Pursuing 'Bible As Literature' Class

Santa Ana, Calif., May 9, 2007 - The Huntington Beach Union High School District made the correct choice in not supporting a proposal to start a "Bible as Literature" class, an Atheist civil rights organization said today.

The district, which had considered scheduling discussion on the topic after a proposal at their April 10 meeting, decided not to proceed, citing a general lack of interest and support.

Orange County Atheists president Michael Doss applauded the decision, saying "Huntington Beach Union chose wisely in not pursuing the matter. No one doubts the influence of the bible on much of western literature, but classes like this are too often used as an inroads for sectarian instruction in public schools."

"Bible as Literature" and similar classes are allowed in California public schools, provided they keep the discussion academic and don't teach one particular religious belief as true or superior to another. This is where the problem comes in, according to Doss.

"Many of the groups providing textbooks and coursework for these kinds of classes, such as the National Council On Bible Curriculum In Public Schools, have a very specific agenda, and that is to get the bible into the classroom, even in a secular manner," Doss said. "Without a level of oversight that's nearly impossible on the high school level, there's no way to know that the class isn't being taught with a 'Christians first' message."

Doss also played down the frequent calls of an "atheist" or "liberal" conspiracy to keep the bible out of schools, saying the bible and Christianity are welcome, as long as the influence is kept secular.

Contrary to the teachings of many mainstream Christian groups, there are no restrictions on mentioning God or the bible in public schools, as long as the message remains non-sectarian. Students are still allowed to discuss the bible with teachers and peers, and teachers can freely discuss a piece of literature's biblical influences.

"The only major restrictions on faith in schools are compulsory prayers and the school favoring one religion over another," Doss said, "and the courts have found this to be the correct course of action, time and time again."

ABOUT ORANGE COUNTY ATHEISTS

Orange County Atheists, founded in 2005, is a civil rights and social issues group headquartered in Santa Ana, California. The group exists to further the issue of church-state separation and as a social outlet for atheists, agnostics, humanists and freethinkers. The group's website is www.ocatheists.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS

For more information, please contact:
Travis Puderbaugh, Media Contact
travis@ocatheists.com

National Day of Prayer 2007

This piece appeared in my blog today. I thought I'd repost it here.

It's the the National Day of Reason, and therefore the National Day of Prayer. I totally forgot until I got a call this morning from USC's Annenberg Radio News for an interview on the topic (it's always been a dream of mine to be a "source" when people need to talk to someone about church/state issues or atheism - I hope the trend continues). The following contains some strong criticisms about prayer and Christianity. Easily offended readers may wish to stop reading now.

As for the "holiday", I'm not a fan. You should know that while it's organized by a third party, to conclude that it's not an official government event is wrong. It's a loophole so supporters can say "it's not government funded!" In my mind, it doesn't to be - the close connection between the NDPTF and the government is bad enough.

Second, here's what the bible has to say about public prayer, from Matthew, Chapter 6, verses 5-6:

"And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father in secret shall reward thee openly."

It's always fun to see how that's spun. There's also the issue the explicit Christianity of the event, but that's not surprising to me. Note how Bush always specifically mentions that there's a Rabbi or other Jewish representative - it's nice to have a token.

My larger issue is with why Christians pray at all - a topic that's been done to death here. Simply stated, if you believe your god has a plan (and that plan is perfect), and you believe your god is all powerful (can do anything), then there's no reason to pray for anything - not for strength, not for events to happen, not for health - your god has a plan and can enact it, doesn't he? Asking for anything is asking him to change that, and why would you consider doing that if you think he's perfect and already can do what needs to be done?

There's also the issue of Christians praying for themselves, when there are so many problems in the world much larger than yours. David Mann's quote says it well:

"I am often made sick when a rich person in a rich nation attributes some minor blessing to God on account of his faith and prayers when the same God allows thousands of orphaned, exploited, abused, malnourished, homeless, innocent children to die in filthy gutters around the world every single day."

Past the general issue of belief, it's these issues, along with Christian focus on political issues instead of helping the poor, that really get me worked up. You have scripture that specifically states what you should do (help the poor, spread the word of God), and the actions of a man to follow (who accepted all comers, loved everyone, and was generally peaceful), yet most Christians don't seem to follow this example, regardless of how many Thanksgiving and Christmas food drives they run, or how it makes them feel good a couple days a year. I know all Christians are not evangelical, conservative or literalist Christians - but that's what the rest of us see, good or bad. Regardless, I don't remember too many of you that I've met selling off your possessions, giving all you can to the poor, and leading a life like Christ's - not even close.

I don't hate you, Christians. You're my friends and my family. My words are strong because if you believe you're truly right in all of this, you have an almighty god on your side, and it doesn't matter what I say or do. If you're strong in your faith, why would my words or opinions matter? I just question why you do what you do if you truly believe like you say you do.

For more on the National Day of Reason, and what non-theists are doing to actually make a difference, click the link above.