Here’s a clever idea from a clever student.Hemant Mehta sold his time on Ebay — $10/hour to go to church. Check out this linkhttp://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5660982226From Mr. Metha:
When the bidding went over my highest expectations of $10, I decided to donate the money raised to the Secular Student Alliance. The bidding ended at $504. The winner was Jim Henderson of a Christian group called www.off-the-map.org. His website has written a lot of material on the auction (I am now posting there myself at http://www.off-the-map.org/atheist/)… they basically spent their entire year’s marketing budget on buying me. He says he is not interested in converting me; rather, he wants me to go to a variety of churches and fill out surveys on how I perceive them– does their choir draw me in? How are the rituals? Etc.
I do not go to church much but when i have do I kinda like it , especially Catholic Church because if you look at the people from outside thier Faith its creppy , The Priest says a KEY PHRASE and the ROBOTS have to answer with a SET ANSWER . It is so cult like its scarey , If the Priest says a KEY WORD they stand then another they sit , MAN THEY ARE GOOD LITTLE DOGGYS !!!! I should convert my dog to a catholic so he will listen better !!! SIT , STAND , ROLL OVER !!! funny stuff I love it though its like being in a cult and watching without joining .
Hey flanonblvr,
I have been dreaming of opening a sort of center for atheists and existentialists for the past to years. I wanted to call it….drumrol… the Society for Atheist Existentialists (SAE). (or Community or congregation of…) Basically a haven for Freethinkers, humanists, Atheists, Existentialists, Naturalists, Brights (those nerds) and you know, us.
I figured, it would be a multipurpose space with a little bookshop. Atheist and philosophical texts, FFRF stuff, nontracts, maybe some gimmicky t-shirts, a church of the flying spaghetti monster section. Then an open room for meetings, performances or whatever. It could even moonlight as a nightclub! then maybe some private meeting offices.
I just don’t wnt it to look or feel like a church because that it absolutely not what it is. i do admire the function the churches and synogogues hold for the community though. Especially knowing that there is a physical place one can go to. To meet with others. Wouldn’t it be neat? The local atheist chapter could meet there. There could be guest lectures, movie screenings. Book exchanges. The whole enchilada. Ahhh, my dream. Someday
I figure the lectures and performances could be open to the public for a small fee to keep the operation running, then maybe local bands could host their shows their some weekend evenings to really pull in a little dough (I am a musician, and in my experience, i have resorted to renting rooms in churches to many times for my own comfort).
Anybody else share my dream?
Zac:
Ummm…there are indeed such events. Although not quite as plush & utopic as you make them sound.
Went to an Atheist meeting last yr.
Nice folks.
I think there’s an S.F charter.
You’re in S.F, right?
Its not the events I want, its the central location I am dreaming of. A safe haven that is our own. I know these events are happening, but they take place in restaurants and rented rooms.
So my idea is to simply put those things in one place. NOT to organize it though! Please no, just secure it. Thats the difference
I guess I got the idea walkking around the intersection of Geary and Gough in San francisco. There are all these huge churches and cathedrals with yards, and gyms and auditoriums etc. So much for their community (and I suppose the whole community) to take advantage of.
I guess i wished for a little piece of that for us too. Somewhere we could call ours where we could breathe free and not look over our shoulders (not that I am paranoid, but being in big churches does make me a little squeamish). So much of our community only exists online. Admittedly, people are getting together in houses and bars etc. And that is cool too. I would never want to see that end, just add to it. Wouldn’t it be neat to have our own book store? We could do community service too!
Zac
I like the idea of the being an actual PLACE with the Atheist name in it, in public.
Meetings in rooms in libraries and office buildings are great, and I wish I even had something like that…
…but to have something PUBLIC, for all to see, to have our presence known, would be wonderful.
I even went so far as to design a logo and write a charter. I wish i had it on this machine, i would post it.
Oh yeah, i forgot to mention there should be some sort of reading room/library too.
I never thought of atheism as sad. The only part that is sad about it is that goodbye means goodbye… when you die, there’s no story about living forever. That part is a little bit sad, but I’d rather have a sad truth than a fairy tale to help me sleep.
I was talking with a good friend about this over new years and he had a good point. While we as atheists don’t have those feel-good fairy tales to keep us going, we do have much more motivation to treasure moments and loved ones to the fullest extent. There is no tomorrow. If you love someone, you must love them today. If there is something you have always wanted to do or see or learn about, you need to do it now. There are no second chances.
I think that’s pretty cool. I can tell you now that life is so much more significant than it used to be. Brought up as a theist, and following that until I was old enough to form my own ideas on the subject, I always used to subscribe to the ideas of heaven and eternal life– and this life seemed like a precursor. Like my time here on earth really doesn’t matter all that much. Now, knowing that there ARE no second chances, I will definitely lead a fuller life than I would have had I kept a belief in an afterlife.
zac,
seems like you have given this some careful thought. a charter? have you approach anyone,i.e., friends, acquaintences, co-workers, etc. about your ideas?
having your own place is agreat idea, but then you would need some income to maintain it. it would get like tithing unless one could find a way to generate capital by selling something we all needed at a profit to run the place.
that’s why i’m still in the thought process. i have discussed the general concept with one relative who is atheist. he thinks it is something that is needed in society and wants us to keep the dialogue open.
i have a name picked out for the society already and a “what we stand for” set of guidelines drafted up.
Dagny2,
where and when is the Objectivism gathering? and how expensive?
Ton SD,
thanks for the input and you can have Daffy Duck. i’ll take Roadrunner.
spanders,
i’m checking into the skype deal some more. i’m real particular about what programs i add to my computer. and especially careful when something seems too good to be true. that philosophy has saved my ass many times.
elliejay,
well said.
flanonblvr,
The conferences are held somewhere different every year. This year it’s in Boston. It’s about $1,000 a person. One of the tenets of Objectivism is seek, strive for, and enjoy the best, in people and in products, so the conferences are always held at five-star hotels, complete with a fancy banquet and a full conceirge (sp?). The high cost is for the fancy digs, and also for getting college-level lectures taught by PhDs. There is a small discount for students, and also for registering early.
flanonblvr,
In case you missed it, here is a link to a local individual you may want to contact regarding your conference:
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/02/17/Northoftampa/Ex_minister_walks_ath.shtml
The St. Pete Times has the story about an ex-Pentecostal minister who sets up a tent on the USF campus to show students that there is an alternative point of view to the religious groups who also set up there. He’s been doing this every Wednesday for almost ten years. He became an atheist in 1978 after questioning his church’s teachings that anyone who didn’t follow the Pentecostal approach to xianity were doomed. He joined a humanist group in Tampa. He’s very concerned about the RR and the foothold they’ve gained, especially locally.
Here is someone who not only is not afraid to stand up for what he believes, but is determined to do what he can to offset some of the propaganda being shoved at today’s young people. Some might call him a zealot. I call him a selfless hero.
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