2nd Saturday Potluck Social Nov. 9 at 5 pm

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Our Freethinkers Potluck Social will be Saturday Nov 9 from 5pm to 8-ish pm at a members home near Academy Blvd and Dublin Road in northern Colorado Springs. This is a monthly gathering ( 2nd Saturday each month) for rational, religiously doubting, Freethinking individuals to gather with like-minded people and share their liberal, progressive outlooks toward our world.
We ask everyone to bring a food dish or drink to share, but if you would rather NOT join that practice, feel free to eat before you come and just enjoy the conversation.

Freethinkers Pot Luck Social Sat. Oct 12 5pm

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Our Freethinkers' Social on October 12, 2024 will take place at the Manitou Art Center. Our long time member, Lisa Midknight (Murphy) … has been an ”artist in residence” there for years and has the privilege of hosting our group,in the gallery at 513 Manitou Ave. There is a large sign bearing those numbers high up on the building on your left, and it is just after Villa Motel.

Freethought Views July 31, 2024: Blast from the Past - What happened to US? by Groff Schroeder

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What happened to US?

by Groff Schroeder

More than two hundred years ago, We the People created a democratic republic, the United States of America (US), founded upon the Enlightenment ideas of separation of powers, democracy and human freedom. Thousands of Americans fought, suffered and died in the Revolutionary War – and many wars thereafter – establishing and protecting the US Constitution and the civil, human and political freedoms its Amendments define.

Freethought Views June 30, 2024: Why Not America’s Secular Decalogue? By Groff Schroeder

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Why Not America’s Secular Decalogue?

By Groff Schroeder

Imagine your child, children, or grandchildren in their public school, looking up at permanent displays they have seen on every kindergarten through state college classroom wall throughout their entire lives that displays a list of Biblical “commandments” that begins, “I am the Lord thy God, thou shall have no other God before Me.”

Evolutionary Milestones on the Path to Human, by William Wolf Ph.D.

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Evolutionary Milestones on the Path to Human: The Evolutionary Input of Various Species into Homo sapiens       

by Colorado State University Pueblo visiting professor of Biology William Wolf Ph.D.

Please join us for a Freethinkers of Colorado Springs lecture program, many of which have been presented off and on over the 32 year history of the Freethinkers of Colorado Springs.

SUMMARY:

Freethought Views Memorial: An Atheist’s Foxhole in the Sky, by Louis E. Guzman, Ph.D. (1921-2013).

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An Atheist’s Foxhole in the Sky

by Louis E. Guzman, Ph.D.

 

Unlike the legendary battlefield foxhole, mine was in the sky - the rear seat of a Navy carrier based dive-bomber with my cockpit canopy opened for action. In it aerial combat never frightened me, never caused me to call for succor by man or spirit.

Recusal Refusal: Dilemmas of Faith and Law for Amy Coney Barrett, by Ken Burrows: Freethought Views, April 2024

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Recusal Refusal: Dilemmas of Faith and Law for Amy Coney Barrett

By Ken Burrows

 

Around the same time Amy Coney Barrett was rushed through a confirmation process in 2020 and hastily sworn in as a new Supreme Court justice, she sought to assure her impartiality with this remark: “A judge declares independence not only from Congress and the president but also from the private beliefs that might otherwise move her.” Taken literally, this is exactly as things should be for a SCOTUS justice. But is this how things are for Amy Coney Barrett? Does she judge independently of “private beliefs that might otherwise move her?

CHRISTIAN RECONSTRUCTIONISM: Threat to Liberty, by Jan Brazill: Freethought Views, March 2024 (originally published in the Colorado Springs Independent, November 2001)

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CHRISTIAN RECONSTRUCTIONISM: Threat to Liberty

by Jan Brazill

After the all-too-vivid tragedy of September 11, and the further threats from anthrax, Americans now recognize that our country is under attack. Most citizens want to stand together, supporting each other regardless of differing religious or philosophical beliefs. Displaying the unity of pluralism expressed in our country’s original motto, E Pluribus Unum (out of the many, one), some non-Muslim citizens of Colorado Springs went to the defense of our Muslim community against the threat of religious prejudice.

Kid Addicts? By Groff Schroeder: Freethinkers of Colorado Springs Freethought Views column January 2024

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Kid Addicts?

By Groff Schroeder

If you tell people you devoutly live your life in a certain way because you are in direct telepathic communication with supernatural beings in the sky who wear flowing robes, sandals, and long beards who grant your telepathic requests with the same supernatural powers they used to create the universe - people often conclude you are religious. But if you tell people you devoutly live your life in a certain way because you are in direct telepathic communication with powerful beings in the sky who have gray skin, big eyes, and three fingers who use high technology to grant your telepathic requests and travel the universe in interstellar space ships – people often conclude you are insane.

Scrutinizing Judicial Scrutiny, by Ken Burrows: Freethought Views, February 2024

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Scrutinizing Judicial Scrutiny

By Ken Burrows

In 2023 the Colorado General Assembly passed a bill (SB 190) that sought to ban what is called “abortion reversal” treatment, describing it as an unproven and unsafe medical procedure. The state’s board of medicine agreed it constitutes “unprofessional conduct.”

The Problem with Blind Faith, by Ken Burrows:Freethought Views October 2023

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The Problem with Blind Faith

By Ken Burrows

When people operate on blind faith, sometimes that can end up being . . . too blind. Especially when it does not consider countervailing evidence. Case in point is an assertion made by a noted Christian author at a recent Colorado Springs suicide prevention event. While both professional and lay people suggest varied solutions to rising suicide rates in the state, this author held that people thinking of ending their life need to turn to the church “because it’s the only place the answers are going to come from.”

Blast from the Past: Detecting Reality by Groff Schroeder: Freethought Views January 2018

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Detecting Reality

by Groff Schroeder

What is real, and how can we know? Do unidentified flying objects (UFOs) prove aliens exist? Do "EMF spikes" or garbled audio clips prove ghosts exist? Does the survival of a loved one after helicopter airlift, emergency surgery, and extended intensive care prove the power of prayer? Virtually no one wants to spread false information, so it is important to determine whether we are deceiving others – or ourselves.

The Other Separation, by Ken Burrows: Freethought Views, August 2023

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The Other Separation

By Ken Burrows

 

In his autobiography, Founder Thomas Jefferson looked back with pride on his Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom but lamented the attempts delegates had made to amend the Statute prior to passing it. He singled out one amendment in particular—the suggestion to modify the phrase “the holy author of our religion” by adding the words “Jesus Christ.” He had been relieved when that amendment was soundly rejected because he intended his Statute to protect, as he put it, “the Gentile, the Christian and Mehometan, the Hindoo, and Infidel of every denomination.” In other words, the law was never meant to enshrine the beliefs of any one religion, and it was written to protect the irreligious as well.

Freethinkers of Colorado Springs Formal Response to the United States Supreme Court’s Creative LLC v. Elenis Decision of June 30, 2023

Freethinkers of Colorado Springs Formal Response to the United States Supreme Court’s Creative LLC v. Elenis Decision of June 30, 2023

The United States Supreme Court Creative LLC v. Elenis decision of June 30, 2023 appears to violate countless ideals of American freedom by: apparently violating American citizen’s hard won civil right, human freedom, and everyday expectation not to be discriminated against in public accommodation; appears to invalidate many states’ laws prohibiting discrimination in public accommodation; appears to violate the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws; and appears to violate at least the intent of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Liberty Enlightening the World, by Groff Schroeder: Freethought Views, July 2023

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Liberty Enlightening the World

By Groff Schroeder

 

The 1886 statue of Liberty Enlightening the World on Liberty Island in New York City serves as an enduring symbol of the freedoms and liberty guaranteed by the United States Constitution, which founds the United States of America. America is a brilliant experiment in which freedom (personal autonomy) and liberty (freedom for all) sprouted, evolved, and flourished based upon the statement, “all men are created equal” published in the 1776 Declaration of Independence.

Unmasking Moms for Liberty: A Trojan Horse for Christian Nationalism, by Rob Rogers: Freethought Views, June 2023

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Unmasking Moms for Liberty: A Trojan Horse for Christian Nationalism
by Rob Rogers

Underneath the facade of parental concern and advocacy lies a movement with an insidious agenda: the establishment of Christian Nationalist ideology within our  public education system. Moms for Liberty, an organization gaining significant traction, presents itself as a grassroots assembly of conscientious parents. In reality, however, it is part of a broader Christian Nationalist movement that threatens to infuse our policy-making with hard-line Christian beliefs.

A “Creative” Loophole, by Ken Burrows: Freethought Views, April 2023

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A “Creative” Loophole

By Ken Burrows

 

Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, and Lorie Smith, owner of 303 Creative, have thrust Colorado prominently into the news — and into the courts as well — due to their shared refusal to serve LGBTQ customers. The two business proprietors say the lifestyles of such customers violate their religious beliefs. More specifically, they claim a right to decline offering “creative” services (cake decorating; wedding website design) to such clients because, they contend, this is equivalent to “speech” for them and they cannot be forced to speak in a way that contradicts their faith.

Conclusion Jumping by Groff Schroeder: Freethought Views, March 2023

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Conclusion Jumping

by Groff Schroeder

When you do not believe in or worship supernatural beings, others sometimes jump to conclusions. If a believer finds out you do not have faith in their Abrahamic god, they often jump to the conclusion that you worship some other god. They may offer reassurance of their reserved acceptance of differing religious beliefs, at times with direct or implied reference to well known but less popular Abrahamic belief systems. If you tell them you do not believe in god(s) of any kind, some folks jump to the conclusion that you must therefore surely worship “the devil.” But why would those who don’t believe in allegedly beneficial supernatural beings believe in or worship allegedly malevolent supernatural beings?

Was democracy saved?, by Ken Burrows: Freethought Views, February 2023

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Was democracy saved? by Ken Burrows

Elections have consequences, goes the venerable saying. Many said the 2022 midterms were putting democracy itself on the line. There was a widespread feeling, especially after the January 6th insurrection, that democracy is not guaranteed as we might have long thought was the case. When the Democrats held onto the Senate and the Republican red wave sputtered, there was something of a collective sigh of relief.

Vote Freedom! by Groff Schroeder: Freethought Views, November 2022

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Vote Freedom!

by Groff Schroeder
 

Americans fought the Revolutionary War to win independence from state-sponsored “Christianity” and a dictatorial monarch, leading to the June 21, 1788 ratification of the original United States Constitution. On December 15, 1791, ten amendments to the Constitution were ratified (the Bill of Rights), separating church and state, and guaranteeing the American people numerous civil rights and human freedoms. Over 231 years, other Constitutional amendments expanded the rights and freedoms of the American people including the 13th, 14th, and 19th Amendments, which prohibited states from denying citizens’ Constitutional rights, prohibited involuntary servitude, and allowed women to vote, respectively. In 1973, influential “Christian” R.J. Rushdoony proposed establishing an Old Testament theocracy in the United States.

Correcting the “anti-” myths by Ken Burrows: Freethought Views, October 2022

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Correcting the “anti-” myths

By Ken Burrows

 

A favorite canard of those who oppose separation of church and state is that such separation is anti-religion. Christian nationalists—those who seek to fully merge church and state—go one step further. They say church-state separation is also anti-American. Because, they erroneously insist, our Founders created a specifically “Christian nation.”

We Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, by Groff Schroeder: Freethought Views, September 2022

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We Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet

by Groff Schroeder

US Presidents, members of Congress, Supreme Court members, and many others in American law enforcement and government swear a solemn oath to support and defend the United States Constitution. Yet in 1991, George H.W. Bush (41) and right wing politicians in Congress replaced the legendary civil rights lawyer Justice Thurgood Marshall on the Supreme Court with Clarence Thomas - who was both poorly qualified to be a Supreme Court Justice, and deeply hostile to the Constitutional civil rights and human freedoms Thurgood Marshall and countless others literally fought and died to obtain.

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