Comment

Comment by Rick on August 6, 2009 at 12:12pm

I live in Plano and I've been thinking about going to one of the meetings, but I figured I'd say this...

Wouldn't it be better to be inclusive in regards to the meeting? I'd prefer religious people to be there. They just have to understand that their in the midst of atheists and thus they can't demand reverence for their superstition.

I think it would be better as it would likely add a bit of fire to the discussion (rather than being in an echo chamber) and best case scenario the religious individual begins to see how flawed the arguments for their belief are.

Plus I think it says something about a group when they welcome everyone from all walks of life.

Just my two cents.

Comment by Josh Murray on August 6, 2009 at 12:01pm

As for how the meetings will be handles, I think both should be what they are - atheist meetings. We can have a the meet the pastor or whatever once a month and that should be more than enough interaction between the groups. Considering that we are supposedly tring to get some stuff together for community efforts and to get out there, we really don't need much more interaction with them if everything gets off the ground, do we? I know that I don't.

Comment by Josh Murray on August 6, 2009 at 11:59am

On the last Sunday meeting there was another guy there, also a xtian and a bit more annoying than Lisa. Regardless of how nice and such, they can come to meet the pastor and ask away, but I don't go to these things to feel the need to answer stupid questions from believers or even be around them. I get enough in everyday life without having to answer the same stupid questions from stupid people that I don't respect or really want to converse with during a time I have supposedly set aside for time with other atheists and to get away from the normal BS.

Comment by katy lavallee on August 6, 2009 at 11:46am

To be fair, Lisa just asks questions. I've never heard her present her point of view as fact, and I like the way she helps me express myself. Aside from her, the other christians came because it was Meet the Pastor and such, right?

Comment by fegary on August 6, 2009 at 11:41am

I think that at least one of the regular monthly meetings should strictly be atheists only. It would be nice if both were, but it seems a different precedent has already been set.

Comment by Mark Johnston on August 6, 2009 at 7:17am

Josh is right, Jason. There are no longer any atheist-only nights but I do think they're important. Again, I think we should decide as a group how often we want to meet as atheists only and how often we want to have an open house. I cannot organize both sides though - my involvement so far has got me fairly well-drained. I will happily attend as many of the atheist only events as I can, though. And if everyone wants the existing 2nd and 4th Sundays to be atheist only, then I'll be glad to start a new open meeting on a different night. Anyone who organizes the atheist-only night will have access to the mailing list and if that event is the one that strikes a chord with the bulk of atheists in Frisco then I'd be thrilled to see it succeed.

BTW - we still need to get a movie night organized - hint hint. And if anyone feels brave enough to organize a lecture...

Comment by Josh Murray on August 5, 2009 at 11:32pm

Jason, lately every meeting is an open one. We always have the catholic lady and the last meeting there was also an ex-atheist now xtian there talking about historicity of his mythical god-man and other stuff I'd rather not listen to in our meetings, unless we choose to discuss the topics ourselves, rather than being told as though they are "fact" by a believer, even though history bears just the opposite. Anyway, that's how I feel about it and if this really is going to be an atheist meeting, it should be for atheists.

Comment by Jason G on August 5, 2009 at 6:40pm

Having not yet been to one of these 'open' ones, I'd go just out of curiosity at first. If they're kept with at least a modicum of mutual respect, I'd probably return for follow-ups. It's good to hear the logic they use (or lack thereof) in times where I'm asked by believers why I don't believe. At least I'll have formulated a response to some of the typical reasons that they use for why they believe.

Comment by Mark Johnston on August 5, 2009 at 6:16pm

You've made a great point, Josh. What you're asking for is actually how I promoted the meetings early on. My first goal in promoting the group was to create a hub where all atheists could find something of interest. But things kind of crept in a different direction toward a different goal which is probably a close second - dialog with believers. This secondary goal, though, is clearly a spoke, not a hub.

I would love to hear from other folks about what we should do. My first impulse is to make one meeting open and the other closed. The "meet the pastor" meetings are too irregular to depend on so I think we need a regularly scheduled time where believers can come. I also think that we need to emphasize that when believers are invited, it is not an invitation to preach - it's a time to ask questions and try to understand the other point of view. And we should gently let people know when they overstep that boundary.

Input from the gang is more than welcome. What do y'all think?

Comment by Josh Murray on August 5, 2009 at 3:12pm

I know we are going to have a meeting coming up, but I am not sure how much more I am going to participate. Honestly, I don't go to an "atheist" gathering to have to listen to nonsense out of religious people who decide to come or are invited. It gets old and I thought the idea was for like minded individuals to get together and that the occasional pastor meetings were for including the religious dolts. I have to deal with stupid people enough on an every day basis and am really not inclined to do it on my free time. Let me know what the plans are for future meetings and I will make my decision from there.

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