Send an Atheist to Church
Raise money for charity AND save our souls!
Where:UNION ground floor tables (by Zia Juice & Starbucks)
When: Thursday 2/18 & Friday 2/19 9:00 am to 4:30 pm
(Flyer here)

The main goal of this event is to come up with a creative idea to raise money for a charity that everyone can agree is very important in our community. We also want to show that non-theists are open minded about religious ideas, and that we're willing to learn more about other people's faith. The way it works is as follows:

1. Make a cash donation - ALL proceeds go to Food Finders Food Bank of Tippecanoe County (http://www.food-finders.org/).
2. Choose what denomination of religious services you want us atheists to attend.
3. The more money donated in a denomination's name, the more visits it receives.

Currently participating denominations:
Baptist (Faith Baptist Church)
Episcopalian (Chapel of the Good Shepard)
Orthodox (Saint Alexis Orthodox Church)
Church of the Latter-Day Saints (Purdue LDS ward)
Non-denominational Christian (City of God Church)
United Methodist (Wesley Foundation)
Judaism (Purdue Hillel)
Buddhists (Purdue Buddhist Society)

IF YOU SEE CERTAIN RELIGIONS MISSING FROM OUR LIST and you know a place of worship that would like to participate, PLEASE let us know before Thursday and we will add them to the list! The more, the merrier! It doesn't have to be a Christian denomination - "Church" is used just for a catchy title.

ANYONE can donate, regardless if they're a Purdue student, a member of a participating church, etc. If you can't physically come to make a donation during the listed times, you can also make a check out to Food Finders Food Bank (be sure to note what denomination it's going toward!) and mail it to:

The Society of Non-Theists
Stewart Center, Box #566
128 Memorial Mall
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2034

Sponsored by the Society of Non-Theists
http://www.purduenontheists.com/

Inspired by Hemant Mehta's book, I Sold My Soul on eBay http://www.amazon.com/Sold-My-Soul-eBay-Atheists/dp/1400073472

Posted by Lauren Stuart on 2010-02-16 20:55:54.

Darwin Fish Sale
Where: LILY lobby
When: February 12th, 2010 9:00am-4:00pm

Our yearly fundraiser sale, and in celebration of Darwin Day! Purchase bumper stickers, metallic Darwin fish for your car, earrings, and more. All proceeds go to the club so we can continue to provide you with bi-weekly (and more frequently) doses of non-theisty stuff with great props (those piratical posters don't make themselves) and the occasional pizza and movie party.

Have a great Darwin Day!

Posted by Lauren Stuart on 2010-02-11 21:37:43.

Atheist Bible Study
Where: PHYS 203
When: February 10th, 2009 6:30pm-7:30pm

Bryan Ehrlich, one of our club members, has been undertaking the daunting task of reading the entire Bible in one year and blogging about the process. Because it's always good to know what you're actually debating against, he's being nice enough to share some of what he's learned with the rest of us in an "Atheist Bible Study."

"I’m going to be focusing on Leviticus, and what Leviticus reveals about biblical infallibility. I’ll do a book summary (a lot like my blog), point out some of the major points of stupidity (ie insects have four legs), and some of the major points of Godly hatred (ie God is going to make you eat babies if you don’t obey). I can pretty much guarantee it’s going to be the greatest bible study ever (though that’s not saying much)."

There will be time for Q&A and discussion.

Secondly, videos of the events "Atheism and Sexuality" (Greta Christina), "A Few Things I've Learned from Creationists" (PZ Myers), and "When Dinosaurs Walk with God" (President Jen McCreight), and the WLFI report on our Pastafarian Preaching Day are now linked on the Events page, thanks very much to Jen for putting them together. If you know of any other event footage/coverage, use the Contact page to email me (Lauren).

Posted by Lauren Stuart on 2010-02-09 08:28:32.

Greta Christina on Atheism and Sexuality
Where: WTHR 172
When: February 5th, 2009 5:30pm - 7:00pm

The sexual morality of traditional religion tends to be based, not on solid ethical principles, but on a set of taboos about what kinds of sex God does and doesn't want people to have. And while the sex-positive community offers a more thoughtful view of sexual morality, it still often frames sexuality as positive by seeing it as a spiritual experience. What are some atheist alternatives to these views? How can atheists view sexual ethics without a belief in God? And how can atheists view sexual transcendence without a belief in the supernatural?

The talk will be one hour, followed by a Q&A.

Greta Christina is one of the most widely- read and well- respected bloggers in the atheist blogosphere. She has been writing about atheism and skepticism for her own cleverly-named Greta Christina's Blog since 2005, and is currently the regular atheism correspondent for the online political magazine, AlterNet. She has been writing professionally since 1989, on topics including sexuality and sex-positivity, LGBT issues, politics, culture, and whatever crosses her mind. Her writing has appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, and anthologies, including Ms., Skeptical Inquirer, the Chicago Sun-Times, three volumes of Best American Erotica, and the anthologies The Philosophy of Sex, PoMoSexuals, Looking Queer, Bisexual Politics, and Everything You Know About God Is Wrong. She is currently editor of the annual Best Erotic Comics series. She lives in San Francisco with her wife, Ingrid.

Parking is available at the Grant Street Parking Garage free after 5 pm.

Sponsored by the Society of Non-Theists and the Queer Student Union

Correction: On the previous site announcement for the Discussion Day on nontheist labels, the location was listed wrongly. The meeting will be in PHYS 203 as always. Don't forget to come to that, too!

Posted by Lauren Stuart on 2010-01-19 21:42:00.

Our first "official" meeting of the semester!

Discussion Day: Pros and Cons of Nontheist Labels
Where: PHYS 203
When: January 27th, 2009 6:30pm - 7:30pm

Strong atheist, weak atheist, agnostic, non-theist, humanist, etc. We may label ourselves with more than one of these descriptors, or maybe avoid a label altogether. Why do you call yourself what you do? Do you think agnosticism is a better position than atheism, or vice versa? Do you use certain labels because of the actual philosophy behind them, or for social reasons?

Come ready to talk, listen, and ask questions! Sometimes we spend too much time harping on religion - time for some internal conflict! Stop by CL50 on Wednesday to check out what others have contributed and add your own!

Posted by Lauren Stuart on 2010-01-13 16:50:19.

Firstly: We have one of our bi-weekly meetings tomorrow, November 4th, same time and place as always (6:30 - 7:30 in PHYS 203). We'll be watching the episode "Signs from Heaven" from Penn and Teller's Bullsh*t and having a discussion afterward.

Secondly: Throughout November we're participating in the Fall Harvest Food Drive -- bring canned or nonperishable food items to any of our events until November 21st. Last year we raised over 100 pounds of food -- this year we're shooting for more!

Finally:

A Few Things I've Learned from Creationists
PZ Myers presents a biting and entertaining survey of bad ideas from those who oppose evolution.
Where: Class of 1950 Rm 224
When: November 12th, 2009 6:00pm-7:45pm

PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris. He writes about science and atheism at an extremely popular blog, Pharyngula (http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/). He's known for unabashedly dealing with religion and creationism, and has ruffled more than a few feathers by speaking out against the Creation Museum, mocking the movie Expelled, and desecrating a Eucharist (just to name a few things).

There's a Facebook page for this event. Invite everyone you know who might be interested!

Posted by Lauren Stuart on 2009-11-03 19:58:57.