We often hear testimony of individuals who have left Evangelical Christianity or Roman Catholicism to become atheists. But rarely do we get to hear the story of those who have retained a share of their faith, yet moved it to a more "progressive" view. Dr. Young, who describes himself as a Christian agnostic, brings us one such story. His journey involves an evolving view of scripture and a general distrust of human language as an effective communication tool, especially when the language is centuries old, and/or is considered only in a logocentric approach (ignoring phonocentric considerations). 

Dr. Shawn Young is Director of Music Management Studies at Clayton State University, Morrow, Georgia. 

Schedule:

11 am social hour
12 noon potluck lunch
1 pm program

The praise (and applause) following Ms. Brooks's talk at the 2011 AFA Annual 4th of July Freethought Advance seemed unending. We are very pleased that she is willing to come back to Lake Hypatia and speak at our May 2013 meeting.  

Schedule:

11 am social hour
12 noon potluck lunch
1 pm program

Jon Paolone is the advisor for the Secular Student Alliance at UAB. 

The organization's website describes it as follows:

"The Secular Student Alliance at UAB is a sanctuary for people who, while they may not have religion or currently believe in any religion, consider themselves lucky enough to be living, breathing human beings with consciences and a personal state of mind."

Mr. Paolone hopes to have some students from the Alliance available to speak and answer questions. 

Schedule:

11 am social hour
12 noon potluck lunch
1 pm program

The month of March brings another familiar face to the Alabama Freethought Association. Bob Truett has spoken many times at AFA and other freethought organizations in the southeast. Bob is a regular attendee at AFA monthly meetings. Bob is retired Director of the Birmingham Zoo. 

Bob encourages parents to bring children six years and older. He promises that the talk will be unorthodox, surprising, and will involve considerable audience participation. Expect to learn something!

Schedule:

11 am social hour
12 noon potluck lunch
1 pm program

Ed Buckner and his wife Diane are old friends of the Alabama Freethought Association and the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Many of our members know Ed from our annual 4th of July Freethought Advance, in which he has graciously served as emcee on many occasions. Ed is also a former president of American Atheists and Executive Director of the Council for Secular Humanism.

Ed and his son Michael have recently published their well-researched book In Freedom We Trust: An Atheist Guide to Religious Liberty with Prometheus Books. This book contains a wealth of well-supported arguments to refute the often-heard myths such as the United States "is a Christian nation" and "it is not possible to be moral without a god". Those of us who have heard Ed's eloquent speaking style will be happy to know that he and Michael have taken that same entertaining approach to the pages of In Freedom We Trust. Still, the book is packed with fascinating facts about our founding fathers and other Americans who have worked to ensure that our government stays neutral toward religion.

Schedule:

11 am social hour
12 noon potluck lunch
1 pm program

Dr. annalise fonza holds a PhD from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. During her time as a Methodist minister, she pastored six congregations. An alumna the Clergy Project, Dr. fonza has appeared on Freethought Radio and contributed to Black Skeptics on FreethoughtBlogs.com. Her professional interests lie in city and urban planning, particularly as they have affected black and female population components.

Dr. fonza brings us her insight into the intersection of freethought and race as she addresses common questions. Why do black atheists tend to be invisible, and, why have they created their own atheist organizations? In this talk, Dr. fonza will discuss how various racial, social and even political dynamics have converged to inform the development of openly black and atheist and free-thought communities. During this talk she will also explain why she is personally and politically willing to self-identify as an atheist, despite the tremendous impact that it has upon her racially, socially and economically.

SCHEDULE
11 a.m. social hour
Noon potluck lunch
1 p.m. program

Ms. Carruthers is an officer in the Atlanta Astronomy Club. In her talk, she will detail various doomsday scenarios that have been divined from observation of the stars and planets. In an effort to help us smoke out the flaws in these scenarios, Ms. Carruthers will introduce us to the "Seven Signs of Bogus Science". 

Schedule:
11:00 am Social hour
12:00 noon Potluck lunch
1:00 pm Program