HAT meeting, 10.16.10

The Saturday meeting of the Humanist Association of Tulsa for October began at 2 pm in the meeting room of the Genealogy Center, 2901 S. Harvard. There were 11 people present at the meeting.

Herb began the meeting by calling attention to “God in America,” a series currently running on PBS. Bill noted that everyone should view the series, especially if you have any lingering doubts that the Republican is not a wholly owned subsidiary of conservative religion.

The program is in six segments and can be viewed by clicking here: http://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/view/

Herb also mentioned that Facebook has some interesting information about the AHA. Someone mentioned that there are 38,000 Christian sects in the world. If you are a Christian, what is the chance that you are a part of the correct Christian sect?

The most religious people are often the least informed about their religion. Atheists rank high in their knowledge about religion.

Herb spoke some about the topic of the recent Humanist Discussion Group, which meets at his house. “”Humanism and the Law” was the subject of the most recent discussion. Herb noted that the Free Exercise and Establishment clauses of the First Amendment are often pitted against one another.

The Washington Ethical Society was talked about a bit. Bill noted that the Ethical Culture Groups grew out of the Jewish element within the AHA and are found mostly along the eastern seaboard.

Ron McDaniel gave a report on the amount of taxes that go uncollected in Tulsa County due to religious exemptions. He did a case study of Asbury United Methodist Church, studying the property surrounding the church and found that the exemption for this one church amounted to several thousands of dollars annually. If the citizens of Tulsa County were aware of how much more they have to pay to make up for those who feeeload due to their religious exemption, they would be up in arms.

I am to check on t-shirts from a place offering the shirts for $2.95 each. Bill called me a couple of days later to say that the first shirt is $2.95 but subsequent shirts are sold at a higher price.

Bill spoke about “Secular Celebrants” and said he would like to see us issue our own credentials.

Bill will be going to Paris for a month soon and wanted to remind us that we will be having a FFRF Tulsa meeting at Randy’s next Sunday afternoon.

On December 17, Annie Laurie Gaylor will be in Tulsa for a visit.

In the spring of 2011, Rob Boston of Americans United will be in Tulsa.

Bill also noted that the United Way contributed nothing to Planned Parenthood and urged us not to give to United Way. Bill also noted that a new book Inside C Street is being published shortly. Another book mentioned was Inside Job.

Black Elk Speaks was recommended by Herb as a worthwhile read.

I have just touched upon the highlights of this meeting. There are several things that I eliminated due to length. Please feel free to add anything you found to be interesting by clicking on “Comment” below.