We'll be working out the tabling and details of our plans for Ask an Atheist Day!

The meeting details are below:

• Where: Smith 311
• When: 5:30pm, Monday, April 11th

First up we've got a parody of the (somehow) ever-popular Rebecca Black's "Friday", which you could probably guess is named "Sunday".  This was thanks to Hemant Mehta's post on his blog Friendly Atheist, where the lyrics to this fabulous wonder have been transcribed already.

After that we've got something that resembles a parody of NOM's "Gathering Storm" ad against homosexual marriage from a while back.  What's with all the dark ominous clouds in their videos?  They look rather fun actually.  We don't see many good storms in the Seattle area and as a result I get too excited when there's a possibility of one occurring up here.  This one was thanks to Dangerous Minds.

Enjoy!

Our meeting time for this week will be:

Tomorrow, Monday October 18th 5:30 PM
Smith Hall, Room 115

Unless there are any major objections (which is extremely unlikely) this will be our meeting time, place and day for the remainder of the quarter.

A major topic will be planning for our "Ask an Atheist Day" event which we have been working on for quite some time. Time permitting, general discussion topics will follow.

See you there,

-Anthony Castanza

Tomorrow, (Monday Oct. 11th) we will be holding our first *official* meeting of the new year. It will be held in Smith Hall, Room 115 at 5:30 PM.

All members (and prospective members)  are welcome to attend, this is going to be one of the most important meetings of the year as we are going to be electing brand new officers who will be deciding the clubs direction and setting the standard of activity for the year to come.

Once again:
Tomorrow, Monday October 11th 5:30 PM
Smith Hall, Room 115

-Anthony Castanza

(Hopefully someone will be elected to take over the site responsibility)

-Anthony Castanza

The event has set the bar as the single largest freethought event in the Pacific Northwest... ever!

Go us!

Members of the SSU pose with Prof. Dawkins

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If you have any thoughts or comments about Dawkins' speech, please post them in the comments. Try to be civil and respect the viewpoints of others in the comment section.

This October, Richard Dawkins will be coming to the University of Washington to discuss his latest book, "The Greatest Show on Earth: the Evidence for Evolution."

When is it? Thursday, October 8th at 7:30PM
Where is it? Bank of America Pavilion (Hec Edmunson) at the University of Washington (map)
Do I need to get tickets or reservations? No, the event is free, and there is no registration required. We'll have around 5,000 seats available.
Do I have to be a UW student? No, this event is free and open to the public
Can I help? Yes! We need volunteers! If you would like to volunteer, please send an email with your name and phone number to secular(at )u.washington.edu.
I have another question... Any questions regarding the event may be sent to secular(at )u.washington.edu as well.

More details are forthcoming.

(Meetup for this event)

Hope to see you there!

Being an atheist with many like-minded friends, I often detect great amounts of animosity toward the modern form of Christianity, and Evangelical sects in particular. Sometimes, this is directed at the Dominionists, as they attempt to override our laws in order to enforce Biblical law upon the rest of us. Other times, it stems from the frustration of being pre-judged as immoral, degenerate, foolish, or ignorant.

Today, however, I saw this animosity coming from the clear hypocrisy of purported "Christians," swirling around a recent news story:

Churchgoers more likely to back torture, survey finds

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new analysis.

More than half of people who attend services at least once a week — 54 percent — said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is “often” or “sometimes” justified. Only 42 percent of people who “seldom or never” go to services agreed, according the analysis released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

White evangelical Protestants were the religious group most likely to say torture is often or sometimes justified — more than 6 in 10 supported it. People unaffiliated with any religious organization were least likely to back it. Only 4 in 10 of them did.

http://cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/30/churchgoers-more-likely-to-back-torture-survey-finds/

These Christians claim to follow the man who has long been lauded for his pacifist philosophies which have affected Western thought for centuries.

I speak out of the frustration felt by many whom see these abhorrent policies sanctioned so, when I ask:

How is torture...

• Turning the other cheek (Matthew 5:38-42)?
• Loving thy neighbor (Leviticus 19:18)?
• Loving thine enemies (Matthew 5:44)?

To any who continue to sanction such acts, I quote your Christ (John 8:7), and say:

Let he who is without sin...

• Administer the first lethal injection
• Tie the first hanging rope
• Flip the first electric chair switch
• Waterboard the first suspect

The god of the Old Testament slaughtered mercilessly those who opposed him or his people. However, Jesus commands his followers to turn the other cheek, and leave the stone throwing to god himself. 

To the self-proclaimed Christians that support and sanction torture, I ask:

Why do you disobey the god you claim to worship so? Why are you not the first to stand up against those who commit these atrocities in your names?

How dare you condemn the non-religious as amoral, when we reject torture in greater numbers, and even without divine commandments. Take the beam out of thine own eye before condemning the mote in ours (Matthew 7:3).