5/22/03 - Suggested topics will include:

• What is "family"? How has our idea of what "family" changed in recent years? There has been an increase in the number of adults staying single, gays entering into relationships, married couples staying childless, and other individuals seeking "alternative lifestyles". How do these change our view of "family"?
• Last night an earthquake in Algeria resulted in over 1,000 deaths and nearly 10,000 injuries. Can the existence of an omnipotent and omnibenevolent deity be compatible with such tragic events such as this?
• How reliable are our moral intuitions? If our moral intuitions to more and less "personal" ways of killing vary because they derive from our evolutionary past, how can they justify the decisions we make today? How do you respond the classic "trolley" moral dilemma question?
• LAST WEEK'S TOPICS
• Are non-theists adequately represented in today's hollywood produced movies and television shows? How about religious diversity? Or religious tolerance? With various polls showing that non-religious individuals make up between 7 to 14 percent of the U.S. population, why do we still see so few atheist characters and themes in movies and television? Do shows that contain freethinking characters, such as Law and Order, provide a good representation of the majority of freethinking views?
• Does intelligent life exist elsewhere in the universe? Is the Drake equation a valid estimation tool in our search for extraterrestrial intelligence?
• Humanistic Judaism and Secular Judaism seem to be a popular alternative to religious judaism. What is their appeal? Is a humanistic/secular alternative of other world views possible? Would these secular versions be able to survive and prosper?
• A new hotel casino in Atlantic City has opted to do away with the tradition of having a bible in every hotel room. Instead there will be a “library” of several different religious texts in the lobby. Isn't this a more tolerant approach? What are the pros and cons of this being done? Will other hotels follow their lead?
• The word FEAR is used extensively these days to describe the state of the American public. What fears are felt by each of you? To what extent do you feel these fears, if any, interfere with your ability to think clearly about these issues? What is the basis for believing that the fears you hold are based on valid perceptions of the world? What do you DO to deal with any of your fears?
• Send your topic suggestions to: info@freeinquiryforum.com

Quote of the week: "Fear paralyzes the brain. Progress is born of courage. Fear believes --courage doubts. Fear falls upon the earth and prays -- courage stands erect and thinks. Fear retreats -- courage advances. Fear is barbarism -- courage is civilization. Fear believes in witchcraft, in devils and in ghosts. Fear is religion -- courage is science." [Robert G. Ingersoll, "The Ghosts", 1877]

Last week's Topics