FreeThought
Open Forum Friday: Freethought Fort Wayne in the future
This Week’s Topic
I was going to talk about atheism and skepticism, and if one requires another, but I think I’ll wait until next week. It is a good topic, and I want to cite a few more articles before I open it to the floor. This week’s topic is one we’ve discussed before, but is definitely worthy of being discussed again. We started the conversation at Wednesday’s meeting, and now want our internet constituents to chime in.
Where do you see Freethought Fort Wayne in three years? What do you want out of the group? What can we provide for you that is not being met? What are we providing already that you like? Do you think we should align ourselves to eventually become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, or stay an unofficial group like we are now? Should we primarily focus on providing support, haven, and community for freethinkers, skeptics, non-theists, etc, or should we focus on outreach, lobbying, activism, etc?
Please take some time to let us know what you want to see from this group. We’ve had amazing momentum and success in the past two years, and especially in the last year after gaining some structure (with officers, a constitution, etc.).
And thank you!
Open Forum Friday Ground Rules
- Anything goes, as long as you do not become verbally abusive, or start trolling. Getting off topic is one thing, but doing so to provoke an irrational or emotional response is another.
- We’ll provide a topic to begin with, but if you have something else to say, please say it. We’re all ears.
- Theists and Non-theists alike are welcome.
- If you’re trying to reply to someone, use the ol’ Twitter standard, and start your comment with an “@” in front of their username. If you are addressing the general public, no need.
- This blog is not a democracy. Please observe the comments policy when posting. I (and other FFW Admins) reserve the right to disemvowel and ban those who we deem are trolling.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by an individual contributor to this blog are not necessarily shared by all members of FreeThought Fort Wayne. That is what makes this organization so interesting. Commenters on the FreeThought Fort Wayne blog are expected to abide by our comment policy. About the author: Andy Welfle is a marketing professional in a non-profit arts organization by day, and a net junkie, an Apple fanboy, and a freethinker by night. Follow him on twitter: twitter.com/awelfle. | Read more from this author
The Open Forum Friday: Freethought Fort Wayne in the future by Andy Welfle, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
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2 comments for “Open Forum Friday: Freethought Fort Wayne in the future”
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My first thought was that rigorous skepicism necessarily leads to atheism, but then I remembered I just finished Martin Gardner’s “When I Was a Tadpole and You Were a Fish,” in which he asserts his belief in a god and an afterlife, even while admitting he can produce no evidence in favor of those beliefs. He seems to be seeking a chance to make up for the inequities of this life in a later one. You know, bad things happening to good people, etc.
It’s the only thing about Gardner I really don’t admire.
I think providing haven, support is quite good for now. Stay away from the 501-c3 thing until you have a good solid need for it. There is so much less work and you can do much more with a more flexible structure. And it is a bit safer legally. I think there is a big education job to be done. You could do a huge service by spreading the word on the historical development of this movement and the underlying philosophies. That’s what I think as a newcomer here. For whatever that is worth.