Speaker – Page 10

Is Religion Really Evil? A Humanist Chaplain Reflects on Interfaith Work

Humanist Chaplain Ben Iten

11 a.m., October 16, 2022

Many humanists recognize the societal ills for which religion is often responsible. But is this all there is to religion? Humanist Chaplain Ben Iten will reflect on his work and what he’s learned working with people from a variety of religious backgrounds.

Ben is an endorsed Humanist Chaplain with the American Humanist Association. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Jewish Studies from The Ohio State University and his Masters of Divinity from the Methodist School of Ohio. Ben completed his CPE internship and residency with OhioHealth including a second-year residency in Palliative Care. He currently functions as a staff chaplain for OhioHealth as well as Certified Educator Candidate.

You can attend our forums in person with fellow humanists in the Maple Room at the Mountain View Community Center, 201 S Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View. Lunch will be served after the forum at a nominal fee.

Those of us attending in person will follow COVID protocols. We require vaccinations and masks, and if you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom (see below).

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Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, click here.
No password is needed — our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it’s not already installed), and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smart phone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

You can also call any of the following phone numbers and then enter the above Meeting ID and the Passcode in order to join the meeting by phone.
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
You can find international phone numbers to call here.

221016 Ben Iten.mp4 from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
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See videos of our past Forums here.
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Do your online shopping at https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-6173979, and Amazon donates to the Humanist Community every time you do.

History of Atheism

Werner Haag

11 a.m., September 18, 2022

Werner Haag will discuss the history of atheism, with information taken predominantly from the comprehensive book entitled “Doubt” by Jennifer Michael Hecht.
Skepticism is as old as religion and seems to occur in all religions, as far back as historical records go, some several hundred years BCE. Thus, doubt goes much farther back than the scientific revolutions of a few hundred years ago, and even before the famous ancient Greek philosophers. Join us through this journey of doubt from ancient times in India, through the dark ages of Christianity and Islam in Europe and the Middle East, through the Enlightenment era and the Neo-atheism of the 21st century.
Carneades, ca. 330 BCE:
“If Gods greatest gift to man is the gift of reason, why did he distribute it so unequally?”
Werner Haag is the current President of the ACSJ, has a Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry, and has presented many times at scientific conferences and to various Atheist and Humanist groups on topics such as the Biological Origins of Morality, and Examples of Real-time Evolution.

220918 Werner Haag.mp4 from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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Because of the coronavirus situation, this Forum will be held online.

To see the Forum, and to ask questions or make comments, if you wish, click here.
Our host will admit you from the waiting room. Joining the meeting via the above link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer, if it’s not already installed, and then take you to the meeting. You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smart phone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634

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RSVP on Meetup here.
Atheist Community of San Jose Meetup announcement here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.
Add this event to your Google Calendar

Do your online shopping at https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-6173979, and Amazon donates to the Humanist Community every time you do.

Dinner & Musical Evening with Dan Barker, FFRF Co-President

Dan Barker

6:30 p.m., September 9, 2022

Dan Barker is the co-president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), the nation’s largest freethought association with over 30,000 members. Dan will play the piano and sing many of his fine freethought songs to us and with us. He will also speak briefly on the topic “Losing Faith in Faith,” followed by Q&A, and will give us a quick update on FFRF’s important work.

After about 19 years as a minister and evangelist, Dan became a nontheist by 1984. He now leads FFRF with his equally legendary wife, freethought leader Annie Laurie Gaylor. FFRF is known as a prominent champion of the separation of church and state in the United States.
Dan has written numerous books and an astonishing array of nonreligious songs (see “Dan Barker music” on YouTube). He and Annie Laurie host Freethought Radio and Freethought Matters on TV.

This exciting event is free and will begin the evening with a simple dinner in the meeting room. ACSJ will provide lasagna, salad, vegetables, fruits, and snacks, plus a variety of drinks including beer and wine. Please let us know if you can help bring any of the above items or want to add something different to the potluck. Please arrive by 6:30 so that there is time to mingle and eat before the presentation begins at about 7:00-7:15.

Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to engage with Dan Barker in person. This joyous event is appropriate for people of all ages, including children of course.

Please be COVID-careful. If you are experiencing any symptoms that might be COVID, kindly skip this event for the sake of your fellow nonbelievers. We will have space to spread out in this large room. Wearing a mask is encouraged, when you are not eating, drinking, or singing.

The Atheist Community of San Jose invites members of other nonreligious groups to join us for this special event.

LOCATION: Sunnyvale Community Center, 550 E Remington Dr, Sunnyvale, CA 94087
BUILDING: Recreation Center
ROOM: Community Room
PARKING: There is plenty of free parking in the Community Center lots

If you want to see more of Dan Barker, he will also be presenting in the North Bay on Saturday Sept 10 and in Sacramento on Sunday Sept 11 (Come Meet Dan Barker!, Sun, Sep 11, 2022, 1:30 PM | https://www.meetup.com/sacfan/events/287745212/)

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RSVP on Meetup here.
Like the Atheist Community of San Jose on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.
Add this event to your Google Calendar

Do your online shopping at https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-6173979, and Amazon donates to the Humanist Community every time you do.

War and Democracy

Michael Eisenscher

11 a.m., August 7, 2022

Michael Eisenscher has spent the last few years focusing on the intersection of labor, environment, foreign policy, and militarism, as interconnected and mutually-interrelated features of 21st Century US capitalism.
He will put forward some thoughts about their interconnection, and pose some questions to discuss with us.
Reading the following articles may provide a preview of some of the issues he will address.
The memes he creates: https://bit.ly/SolidarityINFOServiceMemes.
Back issues of SolidarityINFOService News: https://bit.ly/SISNews
Sign up to receive SIS News: https://bit.ly/SISNews-Signup

Michael Eisenscher is now in his sixth decade of activism in the labor and progressive movements – in struggles for peace, civil rights, civil liberties, women’s rights, immigrant rights, and environmental justice.
From 1972 until 2003, he worked for unions as an organizer and negotiator.
In 2003, he joined with other labor activists to found US Labor Against the War (USLAW), and served as its National Coordinator for the next dozen years.
Since “retiring” in 2015, he has continued his labor activity as a delegate to the Alameda Labor Council, helping to found its Climate and Environmental Justice Caucus.
He also joined other Bay Area trade unionists to found Labor Rise for Climate, Jobs, Justice & Peace, and is a member of the national Labor Network for Sustainability.
His articles have appeared in a number of periodicals, journals and bulletins, and in chapters of three labor anthologies.
Along the way, he picked up a BA in Labor Studies from San Francisco State University and MA in Public Policy from University of Massachusetts-Boston.
For six years he taught a course in political economy in the Labor Studies Program at Laney College.
He also produces memes and a twice-weekly news bulletin for SolidarityINFOService, which he established during the historic Teamsters UPS Part-timers strike in 1997.

220804 Michael Eisenscher.mp4 from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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Because of the coronavirus situation, this Forum will be held online.

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RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.
Add this event to your Google Calendar

Do your online shopping at https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-6173979, and Amazon donates to the Humanist Community every time you do.

The Secular Coalition for America Advocates for Religious Freedom

Heather Rigby

11 a.m., July 31, 2022

This Sunday Heather Rigby will talk to us about the Secular Coalition for America. The Coalition advocates for religious freedom and works to defend the equal rights of nonreligious Americans. It represents 20 national secular organizations, hundreds of local secular communities, and works with allies in the faith community. It combines the power of grassroots activism with professional lobbying to make an impact on the laws and policies that govern separation of religion and government.

Heather Rigby, Communications Manager of the Secular Coalition of America, comes from a background in education and public/educational/government media. She has earned awards from the American Association of University Women and the Alliance for Community Media, presented at conferences on topics including social media engagement and volunteer programs for nonprofits, and served on committees for media organizations and a library. Her passion is a good story — hearing or telling. As a child, Heather spent time immersed in the stories told by elders and veterans at the senior center and VFW where her grandfather volunteered and was a member. This turned into an academic career dedicated to understanding how stories build community and shape society, with a desire to have people’s stories take the lead in advocacy.

220731 Heather Rigby.mp4 from Humanist Community-SiliconValley on Vimeo.

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Because of the coronavirus situation, this Forum will be held online.

———-

RSVP on Meetup here.
Like us on Facebook here.
Follow us on Twitter here.
See videos of our past Forums here.
Add this event to your Google Calendar

Do your online shopping at https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-6173979, and Amazon donates to the Humanist Community every time you do.