2/12 - Darwin Day
Celebrations of Darwin Day are being coordinated by numerous groups on- and off-campus across the globe. See the Announcements section for more information, or visit www.darwinday.org

2/12 - MTSU, TN. Dr. Robert Price. Creationism and the Varieties of Religious Fundamentalism.
Campus Freethought Alliance at Middle Tennessee State University presents a lecture by Dr. Robert M. Price on creationism and the varieties of religious fundamentalism. Dr. Price is an instructor with the Center for Inquiry and the editor of The Journal of Higher Criticism. His books include Beyond Born Again (1993), The Widow-Traditions in Luke-Acts: A Feminist-Critical Scrutiny (1997) and Deconstructing Jesus (2000). He has written some seventy articles on religion, theology and the Bible for The Christian Century, The Evangelical Quarterly, Christian Scholars Review, The Journal for the Study of the NY, The Journal of Psychology and Theology, Religious Studies, The Reformed Journal, Religious Humanism, Playboy, American Rationalist and others. He occasionally appears on A&E Bible documentaries. Dr. Price holds a Ph.D. in Theology (Drew, 1981) as well as a Ph.D. in New Testament (Drew 1993). Free and open to the public. 5:30 p.m., exact location to be announced. For more information, contact: Matthew Pauley at 615-364-5320.

2/19 - College of St. Rose. Albany NY. Norm Allen. African American Humanists: A Legacy of Courage and Conviction.7-9pm, New Lally Education Bldg.
Campus Freethought Alliance presents a lecture by Norm Allen on African-American humanists. Norm Allen is the Executive Director of African Americans for Humanism (AAH), an educational organization at the Center for Inquiry primarily concerned with fostering critical thinking, ethical conduct, church-state separation, and skepticism toward untested claims to knowledge among African Americans. He is the editor of the ground-breaking book African-American Humanism: An Anthology and the AAH Examiner, and an Associate Editor of Free Inquiry magazine. Mr. Allen has traveled and lectured throughout North America, Europe, and Africa. His writings have been published in scores of newspapers throughout the US and have appeared in such books as Culture Wars and the National Center for Science Education's Voices for Evolution. He has appeared on numerous radio and television talk shows including The O'Reilley Factor, The Diane Rehm Show, and BBC Radio, and spoken at many institutions of higher learning including Harvard, Temple University, the University of Minnesota, and Ohio State University. For more information, contact Norm Allen at
nallen@centerforinquiry.net or call 716-636-7571.

2/23 - University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Massimo Pigliucci vs. Paul Nelson. Is Intelligent Design a Valid Scientific Alternative to Evolution?
The Center for the Advancement of Rational Solutions is pleased to present this debate between two leading figures in the controversy. Dr. Massimo Pigliucci is Associate Professor in the Departments of Botany and of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He has a Doctorate in genetics from the University of Ferrara (Italy), and a Ph.D. in botany from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Paul Nelson is a philosopher and senior fellow of the Seattle-based Discovery Institute. 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. at the Saint Paul United Methodist Church, 1144 M Street, Lincoln, NE. For more information, contact Clay Farris Naff at 402-477-0205 or cnaff@yahoo.com

2/26 - University of Chicago Divinity School. Pew Forum conference: Theology, Morality, and Public Life.
The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and the Pew Christian Scholars Program announce a conference that will question the role of religious and moral discourse in the public realm. Noted figures in the fields of political theory, moral philosophy, and theology will discuss such issues as the relationship between democratic pluralism and religious belief, the role of moral understanding in America's "civil conversation," and more. Free and open to the public. University of Chicago Divinity School, Swift Hall, 3rd Floor Lecture Hall, 1025 East 58th Street, Chicago. See www.pewforum.org for more information.

2/26-3/1 - Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee State University and others,  presenting Voltaire and the Challenge of the New Enlightenment.
Representatives of the Campus Freethought Alliance are meeting with activists and supporters on and off campus. For more information, email or call 716-636-7571 x314.

3/3 - SUNY Buffalo. DJ Grothe vs. Rev. John Rankin. Does Religion Offer Solutions to the Problems of the 21st Century?
In cooperation with the Mars Hill Forums, CFA presents this debate between DJ Grothe and John Rankin. As National Field Director for the Council for Secular Humanism, DJ Grothe serves as one of the coordinators of the Campus Freethought Alliance. Before pursuing graduate studies in philosophy and intellectual history at Washington University at St. Louis, Mr. Grothe worked as a corporate magical entertainer and public speaker for companies such as IBM, Southwestern Bell, Estee Lauder and Ralston Purina. Mr. Grothe has traveled and lectured throughout North America and abroad. His writings have been published in newspapers throughout the US, and he has spoken on radio and television programs. He is currently writing a book on the need for public argument in a democratic society. Rev. John C. Rankin, President, Theological Education Institute, was raised a secular humanist, an agnostic Unitarian, prior to his embrace of a biblical worldview at age 14 in 1967. He holds graduate degrees in theology from Gordon-Conwell and Harvard, is host of the Mars Hill Forum series on university campuses and in churches, and is author of the three-volume series, First the Gospel, Then Politics. He and his wife Nancy have been married nearly 25 years and have four children. For more information, call 716-636-7571 ext 314.

3/13 - New York Academy of Science. Paul Kurtz presents Science and Ethics.
To what extent can science help us to make wise moral judgments, as an alternative to religious or conventional morality? Paul Kurtz, founder of the Center for Inquiry and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at SUNY-Buffalo, will lead the discussion. New York Academy of Sciences, 2 East 63rd St., NY, NY 10021. For directions or more information, call 212-838-0230 or e-mail nyas@nyas.org

3/13-16 - Columbia University, New York University and others. DJ Grothe presenting Voltaire and the Challenge of the New Enlightenment.
Representatives of the Campus Freethought Alliance are meeting with activists and supporters on and off campus. For more information, email or call 716-636-7571 x314.

4/4-7 - Harvard University, Boston University, Tufts University and others. DJ Grothe presenting New Religious Threats to Academic Freedom and Battle for the Mind: Secular Humanism vs. The Christian Biblical Worldview.
Representatives of the Campus Freethought Alliance are meeting with activists and supporters on and off campus. For more information, email or call 716-636-7571 x314.

4/7 - Harvard University. DJ Grothe vs. Rich Halvorson. Battle for the Mind: Secular Humanism vs. The Christian Biblical Worldview?
Representatives of the Campus Freethought Alliance are meeting with activists and supporters on and off campus. For more information, email or call 716-636-7571 x314.

4/11-13 - Washington D.C. Council for Secular Humanism conference. One Nation Without God? Secularism, Society and Justice.
The Council for Secular Humanism, a sponsor of CFA, is holding its international conference in Washington, D.C. April 11-13, entitled One Nation Without God? Secularism, Society, and Justice. For registration, see www.secularhumanism.org or call 1-800-446-6198.

4/17 - University of Arkansas. Doug Krueger vs. Richard Howe. Does God Exist?
Douglas Krueger holds two degrees in philosophy and is currently teaching philosophy courses at the Northwest Arkansas Community College and at The University of Arkansas - Fort Smith. He is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Arkansas. Krueger is the author of What is Atheism?: A Short Introduction (1998, Prometheus Books), and he has participated in numerous formal debates onstage and on the radio on the subjects of atheism and morality. His articles have appeared in American Atheist magazine and on the Secular Web. Richard Howe received degrees from Mississippi College and the University of Mississippi and is currently an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Apologetics at Southern Evangelical Seminary. Howe is founder and president of the Ischar Institute, where he writes and publishes their newsletter and is an itinerant speaker. His publications include, Homosexuality in America: Exposing the Myths and The Case for Christianity. 7:30 p.m. in the Giffels Auditorium, 2nd floor of Old Main, University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. For more information, email thinknogod@aol.com

4/23 - Georgetown University. David Noebel and DJ Grothe. Clergy in the Classroom: Is Secular Humanism the Religion of the Public Schools?
CFA is pleased to present a discussion between David Noebel and DJ Grothe, entitled Clergy in the Classroom: Is Secular Humanism the Religion of the Public Schools?
David A. Noebel, president of Summit Ministries, has been a college professor, college president and candidate for the U.S. Congress. He is an author, editor, public speaker, and ordained minister. He is recognized as an expert on "worldview analysis" and the decline of morality and spirituality in Western Civilization. Summit Ministries, a Christian leadership training center was founded in 1962. Noebel also serves as editor  The Journal, his ministry's monthly review of the news. He travels worldwide lecturing in high schools, universities, and churches. He is a member of the Council for National Policy, the National Association of Scholars, the American Philosophical Association, and the Society of Christian Philosophers. Noebel has been a guest on numerous national radio and television programs, including The 700 Club, Focus on the Family, Truths that Transform, Point of View, Today’s Issues, the Moody Broadcasting Network, the AFA Network, and The Josh McDowell Program. Noebel has authored numerous books, including Understanding the Times: The Religious Worldviews of Our Day and the Search for Truth, a landmark guide to understanding the ideas and forces that are shaping our times. It is currently used, in either its unabridged or abridged formats, in over one thousand Christian high schools, churches and colleges. Noebel has also authored or co-authored numerous other books and articles, including Clergy in the Classroom: The Religion of Secular Humanism; The Marxist Minstrels; The Beatles: A Study in Drugs, Sex and Revolution; The Homosexual Revolution; The Legacy of John Lennon; War, Peace and the Nuclear Freeze: A Balanced Christian View; AIDS: A Special Report and The Battle for Truth. Noebel’s most recent work was The New York Times Best Seller Mind Siege with Tim LaHaye released in January 2001.
As National Field Director for the Council for Secular Humanism, DJ Grothe serves as one of the coordinators of the Campus Freethought Alliance. Before pursuing graduate studies in philosophy and intellectual history at Washington University at St. Louis, Mr. Grothe worked as a corporate magical entertainer and public speaker for companies such as IBM, Southwestern Bell, Estee Lauder and Ralston Purina. Mr. Grothe has traveled and lectured throughout North America and abroad. His writings have been published in newspapers throughout the US, and he has spoken on dozens of radio and television programs. He is currently writing a book on the need for public argument in a democratic society. For more information on this event, email adacey@centerforinquiry.net

4/23 - UCLA. Dr. Robert Price vs. Greg Boyd. Veritas Forum: The Historicity of Jesus.
Campus Freethought Alliance is pleased to announce the Veritas Forum debate between Dr. Robert Price, noted Biblical scholar and critic, and Greg Boyd, professor of theology and best-selling author. Dr. Price is an instructor at the Center for Inquiry and the editor of The Journal of Higher Criticism. His books include Beyond Born Again (1993), and author of Deconstructing Jesus (2000) among other books. He has written some seventy articles on religion, theology and the Bible for The Christian Century, The Evangelical Quarterly, Christian Scholars Review, and others. Greg Boyd is professor of theology at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota and Senior Pastor at Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul. He received his B.A. in philosophy from the University of Minnesota, his M.Div. from Yale Divinity School, and his Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. Mr. Boyd has written numerous articles and published seven books, including the bestseller Letters From a Skeptic (Victor, 1996) which has been translated into five languages. His other books are Trinity and Process (Peter Lang, 1992), Oneness Pentecostals and the Trinity (Baker, 1994), Cynic Sage or Son of God (Bridgepoint, 1995), Jesus Under Siege (Victor, 1995), God at War (InterVarsity, 1997), and The God of the Possible (Baker, 2000). For more information about the debate, email adacey@centerforinquiry.net


Freethought News

Biology Professor Accused of Religious Bigotry
Michael Dini, a biology teacher at Texas Tech University, is being sued for religious discrimination for refusing to write letters of recommendation for students if they don't believe in evolution, reported the Associated Press.

The suit was filed by a student and backed by the Liberty Legal Institute, a conservative Christian-based organization in Texas which accused Dini of "open religious bigotry."

Dini, who has his policies for letters of recommendation posted on his website, asks students to meet several criteria when requesting a letter, including answering the question, "How do you think the human species originated?"

"If you cannot truthfully and forthrightly affirm a scientific answer to this question, then you should not seek my recommendation for admittance to further education in the biomedical sciences," says Dini on the website. "How can someone who does not accept the most important theory in biology expect to properly practice in a field that is so heavily based on biology? . . . Good scientists would never throw out data that do not conform to their expectations or beliefs," he continued.

Dini's position was challenged by student Michael Spradling, who sought the letter for a medical school application. Spradling says that as a creationist he cannot truthfully claim to believe in evolution and therefore is being discriminated against.

"[Evolution is] a theory. You read about it in textbooks," Spradling said, according to the AP. "I really don't see how believing in the evolution of humanity has anything to do with patient care or studying science."

Texas Tech, which has been asked to respond to the allegations, has said that Dini's policies do not conflict with their own, and that they stand by him.

http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2003-01-30-4


Pressured by Pay Sites, Government Closes Down Free Web Research Site
A popular and free site run by the US Department of Energy that catalogued academic science and government research was shut down following intense pressure from corporations, reported the Washington Post.

PubScience, which began in the 1940's in paper form before going online, was a free service that searched available government and peer-reviewed journal literature in the physical sciences and other energy-related disciplines. The service provided brief summaries of the search topics and abstracts of the articles at no cost, along with links to the full texts. Energy Department officials decided to close down the site after being heavily lobbied by two database companies that offer free searching but charge for all access to articles.

"It's the heroin pusher's approach to marketing," said Martin Blume, editor in chief of the American Physical Society, according to the Post.

Some fear that such a move will lead to more expensive or restricted access to information and research in other areas that has already been paid for by taxpayers. Many of the academic studies and journals made available on PubScience stemmed from publicly-funded colleges and universities and were used by the general public and researchers at public libraries and other institutions.

"We believe there is a need to ensure open access for the public to information created by taxpayer dollars," said Kent A. Smith, deputy director of the National Library of Medicine, reported the Post. "We think that's essential."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17568-2002Nov20.html


Iranian Professor Charged with Apostasy, Spurring Student Protests
Iranian Professor Charged with Apostasy, Spurring Student Protests
The death sentence was issued in Iran against a reformist scholar for insulting the prophet Mohammed, which led to weeks of student protesting, reported the Associated Press.

Hashem Aghajari, a history professor at Tarbiat-e-Modarres University in Tehran who has been critical of the clerical regime in Iran, was charged with apostasy for saying in a speech that each generation of Muslims should re-interpret aspects of Islam and not blindly follow religious leaders like "monkeys."

The sentence sparked immediate waves of demonstrations against Iran's hard-line leadership by thousands of students in Tehran. The students took the opportunity to issue a range of criticisms, including some of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's supreme religious leader, and reformist president Mohammad Khatami.

The verdict was also heavily criticized by the reform-minded Iranian parliament, where nearly two-thirds of the members signed a letter urging a lifting of the death sentence. Several clerics also protested the ruling, saying that it portrays Iran's Islamic establishment as "a dictatorial, anti-human rights and anti-freedom," reported the Associated Press. Both the clerics and the parliament members urged the students to keep the protests peaceful, fearing retaliation and violence from the Ayatollah Khamenei, who has final say on all issues of state and controls the military. If the protests went too far, Khamenei could declare a state of emergency, and the hardliners could eliminate the reform movement.

The student demonstrations cooled down after two weeks, but were renewed on National Student Day on December 7 when 3,000 to 5,000 students gathered at Tehran University with demands including freeing all political prisoners and installing a separation of mosque and state. The protests deteriorated when some students threw rocks at Islamic hardliners, resulting in a violent dispersal of the off-campus crowd by more than 2,000 police and anti-riot forces and ending with about 70 arrests.

The recent student demonstrations and the prospect of further protests in the future put the government in a precarious position. "The authorities cannot allow the protests to continue, nor can it suppress them totally," said analyst Said Leylaz, according to AFP News. "But in both cases, the consequences for the [reformist] regime are not good."

http://www.iranmania.com/news/ArticleView/...


China Restricts Access to Internet, including University and News Sites
The government in China may be blocking as many as one-tenth of Internet sites, according to a recent study released from Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. The study, broader than earlier surveys of accessibility, concluded that a much wider range than just sexually-explicit content is being blocked.

". . .We found blocking of thousands of sites offering information about news, health, education, and entertainment, as well as some 3284 sites from Taiwan," said the report.

The blocked news sites include those of ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Time magazine, the New York Times, and the BBC News sites. A substantial number of sites with keywords such as "democracy", "equality", "Tibet", "hunger China", and "HIV" were also blocked. Only 13% of prominent pornography sites were blocked, compared with 88% in Saudi Arabia.

Virtually all religious sites were blocked, as were sites for the Atheist Network and the Atheist Alliance International.

The report revealed that a large number of university-related and higher learning sites were also blocked, including those for Columbia University, MIT, New York University, George Washington University, University of Michigan, The Daily Princetonian, The Kansas State Collegian, and the International Academy of Science.

Other news sites have reported that Chinese censors have also begun employing filtering technology to restrict and censor e-mail communication.

Several organizations have recently released other reports about Internet restrictions in China. Cyber café's in Beijing and other major cities often have police cameras mounted to read screen content. Chinese Labor Watch, a US-based organization, reported that a 22-year old student at Beijing University was recently arrested for posting articles on the Internet that were critical of the Communist government. Another man was detained several years ago for setting up China's first domestic human-rights Web site.

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/filtering/china/