Comments on The Sacred Page: An Atheist at the Cajun Catholic Bible Conference:...

I was the atheist at the Cajun Catholic Bible Conf...

2009-10-21T13:33:50.091-07:00

I was the atheist at the Cajun Catholic Bible Conference. I attended because of the use of the word “conference”. To me the definition is a meeting for consultation or discussion. Also, as the “conference” advertised a Question and Answer session, that further wet my appetite.

Unfortunately, the “conference” turned out to be just the typical indoctrination that you’d find at any church service and the Q&A format required the questions to be written down so they could be screened beforehand. So, typical of all religious authorities, there was only the illusion of free speech.

Secondly, why would anyone want to fund Brian Brown’s organization that actively promotes bigotry and hatred to minorities due to their sexual orientation? I did pay the entry fee for the “conference” but donated double that amount to the New Orleans Secular Humanist Association to compensate for the $45 being spent on the persecution of homosexuals, the murder by HIV of people, especially Africans, due to the inhumane anti-condom dogma, (not to mention the myriad of unwanted pregnancies and unnecessary abortions due to the condemnation of other forms of birth control), the child sexual abuse by Catholic priests (and it’s associated cover up), and child mental abuse with the threat of ‘hell’, the right to die with dignity, and the revered ignorance of rejecting science, specifically evolution and stem cell research. (Did I miss anything?)

Alternatively, I’ve held Atheist vs. Theist debates at the University of New Orleans, and have one scheduled for South Eastern Louisiana University on November 17th, all at NO CHARGE. With all due respect, Brian Brown does not compare to any of the New Atheists.

OK, cheap and closed-minded. I stand by my stereo...

2009-10-06T19:26:11.608-07:00

OK, cheap and closed-minded. I stand by my stereotypes, and apparently so do they!

This is definitely the modern version of "shake the dust from your shoes."

The info I got from Brian was that not only was th...

2009-10-06T17:59:00.643-07:00

The info I got from Brian was that not only was there no honorarium--which is etiquette to provide--but they wouldn't cover expenses. Plane fare right now is super cheap--I got to N.O. for $150. One night in a hotel is about $100. So were talking about $300 to get Brian down there. NOSHA isn't big or rich, but I think the guy that showed up alone could have footed the $300 bill, based on the kind of clothes he was wearing. Further, they could have said, sorry, we don't have enough money--but the message to Brian was, we're not going to foot expenses for someone from your organization.

When I wrote my first comment, it was (mostly) ton...

2009-10-06T06:12:44.530-07:00

When I wrote my first comment, it was (mostly) tongue in cheek, but in my experience, people value what they pay for. There are two parts of human nature at work here. The first would be that the SecHums really do want a valuable debate. They are all about ideas and development of the human vista, after all. So why wouldn't they want to bring in someone noteworthy for a real discussion? In this case, it would be easy to say, "We'd love to have you, but we can't afford to bring you here. Can you recommend someone close by who would like to participate in a friendly debate?" That would show their sincerity in the enterprise on principle, and mitigate any perceptions of niggardliness.

The other point is that many people expect various religious entities and individuals to perform services for nothing. I ran into this a lot with a parochial school that was staffed primarily by nuns. Despite the fact that the quality of their teaching was superb, parents complained every time there was a tuition increase (I'm sorry to say, it was mostly nostalgic Catholics who had the expectation that nuns should work for "free.")

I do believe that the SecHum organization here isn't awash with money, but that speaks volumes about the spirit of their enterprise as well, doesn't it?

Would travel expenses be required even if there wa...

2009-10-06T05:10:33.733-07:00

Would travel expenses be required even if there was an opportunity to evangelize?

Maybe he didn't have the money to pay for the expe...

2009-10-04T21:38:52.890-07:00

Maybe he didn't have the money to pay for the expenses? Just trying to be understanding.

With all the data about religious people being mor...

2009-10-04T16:53:36.110-07:00

With all the data about religious people being more generous, you would have thought that NOSHA would use this opportunity to combat perceptions that SecHums are cheap. Oh well-