Quizzes Mar 13-15

SJ 5-6 (My ch6 questions are from the first half of the chapter, please add some from the 2d half)

1. Who was the first important American scientist to insist there need be no conflict between science and religion?

2. What would have been unimaginable to the 19th century heirs of the Enlightenment?

3. What was Mark Twain's reaction to Darwin?

4. What "impression" really mattered for freethinkers ("agnostics") , in the absence of a scientific explanation for the origin of life?

5. Herbert Spencer was a favorite for those who wanted to "have their God and evolution too" because of what he called the _____.

6. When for Darwin did natural selection become "subordinate" to other factors?

7. Who did Vanderbilt fire in 1878 for disputing literal readings of the Bible with respect to the age of life on earth?

8. What was Robert Ingersoll's "larger and nobler faith"?
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9. Who were some of Philo Beckwith's heroes?

10. How did freethought lecturers have to appeal to their audiences?

11. What was the intellectual turning point in Ingersoll's life?

12. What does it say about 19th century America that Ingersoll was in demand to speak on behalf of both Republicans and Democrats?

DQ

• Which forms of religion are not in conflict with evolutionary science? Buddhism maybe, given the Dalai Lama's statement of deference. Any others?
• What do you think of Stephen Jay Gould's "non-overlapping magisteria"?
• Were you given a religious education in school? What should public schools be teaching about religion?
• Are we "insignficant," in the light of evolution?
• How confident are you that science might someday explain the origin of life?
• If it turns out not to be possible even in principle to know how life began, or answer "the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything," will religion be vindicated?
• Does the advance of civilization represent a later stage of evolution?
• What do you think of T.H. Huxley's comments in reply to Charles Kingsley? (146-7)
• What do you think of Ingersoll's 1882 oration at the burial service for a friend's child? (148)
• Who would you include in your personal pantheon of heroes? (150)
• Will there be another golden age of freethought, when separation of church and state is affirmed across the political spectrum? (152)
• What do you consider the most important concerns for freethinkers today? 154
• How would you define "secular"? 155
• What's freethinking about a concern for asceticism and hostility to "white bread"? 156
• Will we achieve full freedom for religion in America sooner than we achieve freedom from religion? 158
• Are freethinkers more likely to be formed by an excess or a deficiency of "hellfire" in childhood? 158-9
• What do you think of Calvinist assumptions about newborns and childrearing? 160
• What do you think of John Dewey's educational ideas? 160 
• What do you think of Ingersoll's ideas about corporal and capital punishment? 161
• Is it important to you that the people you love be free of superstition? 163
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Quiz Mar 15, SJ 7-8 (My questions are from the first halves of these chapters, add yours from the second... don't overlook the photos after p.212.)

1. What did all freethinkers strongly support, in the embryonic culture wars?

2. What Augustinian idea did Elizabeth Cady Stanton deplore as antagonistic towards women's dignity and self-respect?

3. What prayer did Stanton recommend for Jewish men?

4. What did Ingersoll say censors applying the Comstock laws should take a close look at?
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5. What forged the bond between freethinkers and leftists?

6. What were freethinkers consistent in upholding?

7. What should the first world war have taught Americans?

8. What was the consistent message of freethinkers in the late 19th century?

9. How did William Jennings Bryan's witness stand concessions at the Scopes Trial make him appear?

DQ

• Has the alliance between freethinkers and women's advocacy frayed in our day?
•  What current religious ideas/practices are supportive and unsupportive of women's interests? Are any particular religious movements exemplary (or not) in this regard?
• Is it weird to think of the deity is favoring (let alone being) one gender or another?
• Comment on the W.E.B. DuBois' quote on 192.
• Is political isolation or anti-globalism something contemporary freethinkers should oppose?

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There’s a Problem With Your Religion When It Targets Children Ages 4-14
What is one of the most important aspects of church ministry today? Evangelizing kids during the “4 to 14” window, according to Steve S. Chang of The Gospel Coalition. That window contains the ages when evangelists believe they have the best chance of reaching (or indoctrinating) children. They start asking too many tough questions after age 14, I suppose.

That’s why we’ve seen a proliferation of Good News Clubs — Christian clubs that form in elementary schools. Those kids will do whatever you tell them. And if they’re too young to think critically, the thinking goes, it’s the perfect time to teach them about religion.
(continues)