Up@dawn 2.0

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Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Up next: Susan Jacoby

“That so many manage to accommodate belief systems encompassing both the natural and the supernatural is a testament not to the compatibility of science and religion but to the flexibility, in both the physical and metaphysical senses, of the human brain.” 

 “We do want our fellow citizens to respect our deeply held conviction that the absence of an afterlife lends a greater, not a lesser, moral importance to our actions on earth.”

 “I am approached with the most opposite opinions and advice, and that by religious men, who are equally certain that they represent the Divine will.” 
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2 comments:

  1. Don EnssFebruary 22, 2018 at 11:59 AM

    Dr. Oliver,

    Thank you for sharing Bill Moyers interview with Susan Jacoby. I look forward to reading her book on Robert Ingersoll. I was a little familiar with him because of his support for woman's suffrage, but listening to her comments and some of his quotes, he is a role model for freethinkers.

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  2. Skye I.March 1, 2018 at 2:43 PM

    I finally took the time to sit down and watch some of this, and I really enjoyed the ending segment on Vashti McCollum and her fight for religious freedom.

    Last semester I took a course in Religion and the Law with Dr. Jenna, and It was genuinely one of my favorite courses. During the course, we actually discussed The Lord Is Not On Trial Here. Looking at the school system today, it is unfortunately not very hard to believe that Jim was put out in the hall like a kid being punished, and bullied for by his peers for not taking the religious class.

    I went to high school in a very Southern, very Christian area. I told my class one time that I didn't believe in God and I swear I thought my teacher would have a heart attack. I constantly got in debates with my classmates about how nonsensical religion seemed to me. Often times, I think people forget that freedom of religion is also freedom FROM religion.

    While McCollum's court case was the landmark decision that created separation of church and state, many schools have found ways to sneak religion in. Many students can attest to quiet periods of contemplation that are meant to be for praying. Other students have teachers who display religious symbols over their walls. While religion’s presence still has a firm grasp on many Southern schools, our society has began to improve.
    People used to call Mrs. McCollum “the devil woman” and “evil incarnate” . Today, it is rare to find someone who speaks that way on atheist. It still happens, but it is often frowned upon. Due to her three year journey to the Supreme Court we have been able to progress as a society.

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