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Veronica
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Posts by Veronica
No Skipping Religion Class!
Feb 20th
The hot topic on CTV’s National Affairs on February 17 was the Supreme Court of Canada ruling supporting Quebec’s mandatory Ethics and Religious Culture course. When Scott Reid introduces the topic by saying “Let’s go from the controversy of marriage to the controversy of religion,” Tasha Kheiriddin responds, “Religion’s always fun.” Kheiriddin’s comment is particularly cutesy when used to describe such a contentious topic: “the controversy of religion.”
The religion topic starts at 2:30 in the video, and George Buscemi with the Quebec Life Coalition and Justin Trottier with the Canadian Secular Alliance are special guests invited discuss each group’s reaction to the ruling.
Buscemi explains that parents making the appeal “were opposed to [their children] being exposed to what this course contains in terms of moral relativism.”
Justin Trottier neither agrees nor disagrees when Reid says “your organization is happy with the ruling.” However, Trottier’s personal concern is the course “doesn’t deal with atheism or humanism or other kinds of secular ethics,” but he supports the teaching of religion in “a factual, comparative way.”
Please note: Where I have used quotation marks, I have tried to record to Buscemi’s and Trottier ‘s exact words. If I have quoted them inaccurately, please let me know.
Jesus and Mo Wednesday
Feb 15th
A new Jesus and Mo comic is posted every Wednesday. Here is the comic for today: “Costs”
Charles Darwin: 203
Feb 12th
Larry Moran and Jerry Coyne have posted reminders that today is Charles Darwin’s birthday. The comments under Coyne’s post are a treasure trove of information and links. I contributed a comment, but even better is Leslie Brunetta’s comment and link to her article, “The Darwin connection: Anti-evolution bills put my health at risk.”
For those of you in states or who have friends or relatives in states where legislators still think they can score points by attacking Darwin and his ideas, maybe the following short essay I wrote about how much we owe him in practical medical terms will be of some use:
When I was a child in the 1960s, cancer was usually a death sentence. Today, most of us know cancer survivors. The treatment breakthroughs we patients now turn to for help are products of the scientific method. And the most recent treatment breakthroughs rely on knowledge of the DNA of cancer cells. What most non-biologists don’t realize is this: If the theory of evolution hadn’t predicted the existence of genes, we might never have understood the importance of DNA. Benefiting from such gene-based cancer treatments as Herceptin or Gleevec but rejecting Darwin’s theory of evolution is like jetting from Iowa to New Hampshire but rejecting Newton’s theory of gravity.
While Brunetta’s message is directed to Americans, Canadians also need to be reminded of the monumental importance of Charles Darwin’s contribution to science.
My contribution to the celebration of Darwin’s birthday is this site
Darwin Correspondence Project: http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/charles-darwin-and-john-murray
Enjoy!
“The Fireplace Delusion”
Feb 10th
Sam Harris’ “The Fireplace Delusion” is, much to my discomfort, speaking directly to me. I own a woodstove and use it whenever possible to heat my house. Harris says I shouldn’t be doing this and should be using a cleaner, albeit more expensive, fuel to heat my house. Harris provides evidence for why using a fireplace or a woodstove is dangerous and tries to convince me that my reluctance to believe him is irrational,
If you care about your family’s health and that of your neighbors, the sight of a glowing hearth should be about as comforting as the sight of a diesel engine idling in your living room. It is time to break the spell and burn gas—or burn nothing at all.
and is similar to the attitudes of religious believers:
It seems to me that many nonbelievers have forgotten—or never knew—what it is like to suffer an unhappy collision with scientific rationality. We are open to good evidence and sound argument as a matter of principle, and are generally willing to follow wherever they may lead. Certain of us have made careers out of bemoaning the failure of religious people to adopt this same attitude.
However, I recently stumbled upon an example of secular intransigence that may give readers a sense of how religious people feel when their beliefs are criticized. . . .We can call the phenomenon “the fireplace delusion.”
On a cold night, most people consider a well-tended fire to be one of the more wholesome pleasures that humanity has produced. A fire, burning safely within the confines of a fireplace or a woodstove, is a visible and tangible source of comfort to us. We love everything about it: the warmth, the beauty of its flames, and—unless one is allergic to smoke—the smell that it imparts to the surrounding air.
I am sorry to say that if you feel this way about a wood fire, you are not only wrong but dangerously misguided. I mean to seriously convince you of this . . . but please keep in mind that I am drawing an analogy. I want you to be sensitive to how you feel, and to notice the resistance you begin to muster as you consider what I have to say.
Because wood is among the most natural substances on earth . . . most people imagine that burning wood must be a perfectly benign thing to do. Breathing winter air scented by wood smoke seems utterly unlike puffing on a cigarette or inhaling the exhaust from a passing truck. But this is an illusion.
Harris goes on to provide scientific proof that burning wood is dangerous and concludes,
The unhappy truth about burning wood has been scientifically established to a moral certainty: That nice, cozy fire in your fireplace is bad for you. It is bad for your children. It is bad for your neighbors and their children.
Of course, if you are anything like my friends, you will refuse to believe this. And that should give you some sense of what we are up against whenever we confront religion.
Sam Harris is correct. Discarding my religious beliefs was easy; however, despite the evidence, discarding my woodstove will not be easy or immediate.
Science and Pseudoscience
Feb 9th
Sir Issac Newton
A comment by SLC on a Sandwalk post provides a link to this article: “Israel National Library uploads trove of Newton’s theological tracts.”
The end of the world will be coming in just another 48 years, in 2060, according to the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, who died in 1727. His calculations were not based on mathematical principles or the laws of physics, but instead on the Christian Bible and the Book of Daniel from the Hebrew Bible.
Contrary to his public image, most of Newton’s work was not devoted to science but rather to theology, mysticism and alchemy.
Anyone interested in delving further into Newton’s calculations will now be able to find it on the website of the National Library of Israel, which owns Newton’s manuscripts on theological topics.
CFI Canada Seeks New National Executive Director
Feb 4th
I received this email from Michael Payton, today, Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 6:28 PM
Dear Members,
As you are no doubt aware my term as Interim National Executive Director is quickly coming to a close. While it has been an honour and a pleasure to serve in this position, it is also the time to begin seeking my successor. Please distribute this newsletter as widely as possible to all those who would be interested in taking up this position.
Transparently Yours,
Michael Payton
—————————————————————————————————————–
Responsible to:
Board of Directors
Summary of primary job functions
The National Executive Director is responsible for establishing and executing major goals and objectives for the organization. Implements policies established by the board of directors. Provides leadership, direction, and guidance in CFI-Canada’s activities to volunteers and branches. Analyzes and evaluates the effectiveness of all organization operations. Develops and maintains organizational structure and effective personnel. Coordinates major activities through subordinates and appraises assigned personnel. Represents the Organization to regulatory bodies, community and civic organizations, donors, volunteers and supporters, and the general public.
Duties and responsibilities
General
• Executes board-approved policies
• Directs and oversees short and long term strategic plans
• Attends Board Meetings and prepares reports on financial and resource management of the organization
• Provides leadership to organization personnel and volunteers through effective objective setting, delegation, and communication
• Is ultimately responsible for financial performance of the organization
• Oversees hiring of staff. Hiring subject to board approval.
• Conducts branch leader meetings to disseminate pertinent information
• Ensures that appropriate salary and wage structures are maintained
• Delegates authority and responsibility to branch leaders
• Oversees the preparation of office procedure manuals, outlining specific duties and area responsibilities
• Ensures that job descriptions are current
• Conducts performance appraisals as required
• Formulates and implements corrective action as needed
• Develops and implements programs, policies, and goals that further strategic objectives
Administration
• Ensures administrative staff and volunteers remain current to organization business and Board directives/approvals that affect their functions and areas of responsibility
• Works with the Board of Directors on governance policy issues by providing support and by initiating approved recommendations or actions
• Ensures compliance to minimum standards in accordance with all government legislation, regulations and guidelines pertinent to the organization’s role as an employer and non-profit agency
• Recommends to the Board changes to policies and procedures that would improve the organization
• Maintains an effective and cost efficient office environment
• Develops, maintains, and up-dates job descriptions pertinent to the organization
• Determines staff training and/or equipment needs of clerical and administrative employees, taking into account annual budget allocations
• Submits all information, reports and records as requested or required by law to appropriate government officials or the board of directors
• Develops and implements operational plans, policies, and goals that further strategic objectives
Financial
• Maintains full awareness of the complete financial, statistical, and accounting records of the organization
• Ensures that operating results established in the annual budget are achieved and the control of operating expenses within budget
• Ensures the accuracy, integrity, and timeliness of all financial accounting and reporting • Signatory to all checks for the national and local offices
• Ensures the preparation of the annual budget for board approval
•Oversees record keeping and collection of records from branch leaders
• Ensures that branch leaders are aware of and compliant with financial reporting standards
• Prepares financial reports regularly for Board of Directors • In conjunction with the accountant, oversees the annual government filings.
Qualifications
• Experience in non profit administration.
• Familiarity in and experience with the Secular/Skeptical movement.
• Experience in volunteer management.
• Experience in strategic planning, marketing, and financial management in the nonprofit sector
• Basic Microsoft Office Skills including Word, Excel and Powerpoint Experience using and maintaining SQL databases (eg. MySQL) or similar technology
• Knowledge of basic accounting standards and quickbooks
• Knowledge of personnel tracking software such as MS Access
• Knowledge of Volunteer Management and experience in Donor Relations and Fundraising
• Experience in Project Management
• Working Knowledge of Online Marketing, including Youtube, Analytics and Social Media
TO APPLY
Please send all applications (cover letter+resume) to mpayton@cficanada.ca.
Letters to the Editor
Feb 4th
A resident of Sydney, Nova Scotia, who is a faithful reader of the Cape Breton Post, called my attention to two very different letters to the editor that, I suspect, are responses to this article: “Three Roman Catholic churches to close by July.” The headline made my day, and this statement made me even happier:
In a document released Sunday, the pastoral planning committee said the declining number of priests, church attendance and financial support, as well as increases in the cost of operating and upgrading aging structures, have forced the diocese to do something.
The fact that the number of priests, church attendance and financial support are declining is good news, and Robert Morley, the writer of this letter to the editor, agrees:
Perhaps part of the reason local churches are closing is that people are beginning to realize that the underpinnings of these edifices are based on falsehoods, myths and fairy tales, if you will.
Today ever-increasing numbers of people are at least exploring in earnest the doctrines and foundations of these various faiths that respectively ask us to suspend any objective analysis of fact and to instead place blind obedience in the belief that this vast universe was created by a being who supposedly knows our every thought and has ordained a divine plan for all of our actions.
Of course, there are those, like John Lyons, who disagree and want to make the broader argument: “All evil isn’t found in churches.” However, Robert Morley is not addressing evil; he is attacking the “falsehoods, myths and fairy tales” that are “the underpinnings” of churches:
Were these churches merely left solely for benign pursuits — such as suppers, festivals, concerts, and places for people to share celebration, grief, education and recreation — they would likely be better populated.
But when church leaders also insist on perpetuating myth as fact, exercising unjustifiable power over the weak and children, and telling all of us how to live with a retinue of ridiculous man-made rules dressed up to appear as divine direction, we should empty their pews and shed their authority as fast as would a mighty river flow down a mountainside. (My emphasis)
Why Adults are Experts at Self-delusion
Jan 29th
A short article entitled “High Anxiety: Why adults are experts at self-delusion” in YorkU magazine claims
adults who are uncertain or anxious about one or more areas of their life will often find another domain that acts as a certainty, and will exhibit “irrational conviction’ about that area. Relationships are a popular outlet for such irrational convictions, as are religious beliefs. (My emphasis)
and
recent studies suggest the tantalizing possibility that goals may be managed so people could be shielded from anxiety . . . thereby removing the need for extreme beliefs. (My Emphasis)
While it is indeed “tantalizing” to believe that if uncertainty and anxiety are eliminated, the need for extreme beliefs, especially religious beliefs, would disappear, I fear the study’s findings are too optimistic. Unfortunately, people use religion for more than “a balm to ease their anxiety.”
“Delusional Logic”
Jan 28th
Do you have trouble indentifying exactly which fallacious argument is being used? I do, and usually, I resort to Wikipedia to clear up my confusion. However, the website Something Surprising has posted a useful crib sheet entitled “Delusional Logic” as a guide to the most common fallacies:
Do you spot logical fallacies everywhere you go? Download this unique new pdf file free and start to enjoy the fun.
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