Back to that neat picture I saw

I said I'd say more about my post about the neat picture I saw and then I vanished.  I do vanish often.  Health problems, ya know?

So here it is.  I was raised by a Presbyterian, a Catholic, a Christian Scientist and a man who wasn't exactly sure what he believed but he was so nice about it, it didn't matter.  And then I went to a very private school for gifted girls (the boys' school was right across the lake) run by Jesuit priests.

So, do you suppose I got confused?  No.  I was never confused.  I was just quiet.  Sort of in the closet.  Because I didn't believe what any of them did, but there is a time when one may speak and it isn't in childhood.

I do not believe that the birth of a child is the proof of God's existence.  I do not believe that violent weather represents God's rage.  I do not believe most of what I was taught and expected to believe.

I believe there is this life, here, today.  I believe it is my duty to live every day to the fullest of my ability.  This means not only finding the joy, but respecting others and their beliefs, respecting others who were not made the way I was, and having no regard whatsoever for gender lines or anyone else trying to control me.  I figure if I can control myself in a given day, that's a big job.  There isn't enough of me left over to try to control anyone else, and I want everyone to feel that way.

So, what that means is, I am not offended by your beliefs and I expect that you will not be offended by mine.  We are, I hope, all adults here.  We have, I hope, had enough life experience to teach us that we cannot change others and we should not try.

Should, though I use it, has nasty connotations when others use it about still more others.  So, if you are forever saying, you should ... knock it off. Control yourself. Leave control of others to them.

And where is all this going?  Well, they gave me permission to use it, and so here it is. This is who I am, always have been, and always will be:

Atheist Alliance International (AAI) is a global federation of atheist and freethought groups and individuals, committed to educating its members and the public about atheism, secularism and related issues.

  

A positive global voice for atheism and secularism, Atheist Alliance International:

• Strengthens co-operation between atheist and freethought organisations around the world;

• Supports the establishment of new atheist/freethought organisations, particularly in developing countries; and

• Facilitates and supports projects/events that promote atheism, critical thinking and empiricism, while combating discrimination against atheists and freethinkers around the world.

Vision and Mission

Atheist Alliance International's vision is a secular world where public policy, scientific inquiry and education are not influenced by religious beliefs, but based upon sound reasoning, rationality and evidence.  

Atheist Alliance International's mission is to challenge and confront religious faith, to strengthen global atheism by promoting the growth and interaction of atheist/freethought organisations around the world and to undertake international educational and advocacy projects. 

Education

Education is the core approach of Atheist Alliance International.  AAI supports its members and the public in the acquisition of new knowledge by:

• Providing news on atheist/secular issues and campaigns through the AAI website and social media channels

• Publishing Secular World magazine and the periodic Imagine! newsletter

• Hosting atheist conventions with local groups around the world, to provide the opportunity for communities to hear from established and new atheist speakers

• Supporting the establishment of new atheist/freethought groups, particularly in developing countries

• Supporting educational projects, such as the Kasese Humanist Primary School in Uganda

Advocacy

Basic rights, justice and social responsibility form the foundation of what it means to be human.  AAI works to defend and protect the rights of atheists and like-minded people by publicising relevant issues, distributing media releases, developing policy statements and cooperating with other groups to bring issues and injustices to the attention of media and government.

Community-Building

AAI recognises the value of social communities and the importance of providing a strong and protective foundation for individuals, families and groups.  In addition to promoting and encouraging the formation of new atheist organisations around the world, AAI supports international outreach and community-building programs such as the atheist "OUT" campaign.  Such programs raise general awareness of the atheist community, help new communities to become established and counter the bias and discrimination directed at atheists.  Some of these activities are operated through the AAI Foundation.

Atheist Alliance International is run by a volunteer international Board of Directors and relies on membership fees and donations to fund its activities.  If you support atheism and secularism please join us!

History

Atheist Alliance International was founded in the United States as the Atheist Alliance in 1991 by four local US atheist organisations: Atheists United (Los Angeles, California), Atheist Coalition (San Diego, California), Atheists of San Francisco Region (California) and the Atheist Network (Houston, Texas).  Atheist Alliance quickly added additional affiliates. Within a year, it had eight US organisations as members and by the end of 1992, its first international affiliate.

Atheist Alliance began publishing its magazine, Secular Nation, in the second half of 1994.

Atheist Alliance began hosting US conventions in 1995, with the first one held in Los Angeles, California. The Atheist Alliance website went on-line in 1997.

By 2001, the organisation had a half-dozen affiliates outside the US, and so changed its name to Atheist Alliance International (AAI).

In 2006, AAI held its first international conference, in Reykjavik, Iceland.  In 2010, it began its current program of co-hosting conventions with Affiliate and Associate Members, starting with the extremely successful 2010 Global Atheist Convention held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

In 2010 AAI determined that it could more effectively pursue its goals by separating its US-focused activities from its global activities.  The US-focused group, Atheist Alliance of America, became an Affiliate Member of AAI.

Values

1. Reason and rational thought.   Reason and rational thought are the basis of logical decision making and essential to address the issues faced by humanity.

2. Science and empiricism.  The scientific method is the best tool we have for seeking truth and understanding our world.  We make conclusions based on the best available evidence and change our conclusions accordingly as new evidence becomes known.

3. Compassion.  Human compassion and empathy are the basis of a cooperative social structure that benefits all people.

4. Purpose.  This life is the only life we know we will have and it is up to each of us to utilise it meaningfully.

5. Freedom.  All people are entitled to freedom from discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity and disability.  All people are entitled to freedom of conscience.    AAI supports the values outlined in the International Convention of Human Rights.

6. Responsibility.  Each person is part of a global society and is responsible for humane interaction with other people and animals and for the preservation of our habitable planet.

Read those 6 items.  It doesn't get any closer to perfect than that. Those are the things I have believed most of my rational life.  Of all of the preachers and priests and most reverend folk I knew, those who influenced me the most were the Jesuits, who taught us to wonder why.  They taught us to use reason and logic to solve our problems.  Granted, they also taught us about God, and they taught us the academics, and they taught us sports and drama and all manner of well-rounded child stuff.  But mostly, what I heard from them was, use your mind.  Use reason.  Apply logic.  Gather facts.  Stand on your conclusions.  I took the long way round but I figured out by the time I was about 13 that I am an atheist.   Thirteen in my sheltered world was still a little girl.  It was not expected that, aside from academic successes, I would be a grown up at that age.  I didn’t think I was, either, but I knew I didn’t belong in church.

I was 15 before my beloved custodians noted that I no longer attended church, largely from the reports of the Jesuits that I was not attending church.  My Gram asked me why.  I said they don’t say anything that I believe in.

She thought about that and then she said in her normal loving voice, “How about a deal?  You don’t have to believe what they say or even listen.  But it’s a Jesuit school; you have to go to church.  So you go, and while the priest is saying his bit, work on your homework mentally, or think about what we’re going to do for the next weekend.  Now, how many services have you missed at school?”

I shrugged. “About two years.”

She gawked.  She said, “How is it they just noticed?”

“Well, most of the time I’m not at school on weekends and we get back well after the last Sunday service, so they probably assumed I was going to church at home or abroad.  But the last few weeks, I’ve been staying at school on the weekends because Becky’s Mom died and she stays at school.”

She nodded. ‘That’s very kind you.  So that’s how they caught you.  On campus but not in church.”

“Right.”

“What’s the shortest session?”

“That’s the noon one.  It’s only half an hour.”

“Why?”

“People from the community come for it, and they’re welcome, but they have other things to do, too, so the fathers worked out a really short session for them.”

“Are the girls welcome?”

I nodded. “We are.”

“Then what about our deal?  You go to the noon one and calm the fathers down, and I’ll see about that horse.”

“I’ll see about that horse,” meant that the horse I’d had my heart set on for about a year was going to be mine.  And I did figure out things to do during the short noon session.  My face was pointed forward and my mouth knew the responses.  I was training my horse.  I trained; I didn’t break and that made great horses.  The grooms teased me that nobody else could tame a horse with just love and apples.  I said anyone could, if they tried.

So I was 13 when I realized that I was sitting in a Jesuit church, listening to a Jesuit sermon, and not believing a word of it.  But just as I dislike having Christianity shoved down my throat, I have not shoved my lack of faith down anyone’s throat.  It just is.  And that’s my way.  When a thing can’t be changed, it just is.  I have been an atheist since I was about 13. A group of dedicated German men opened a small school and taught hundreds of gifted girls to, before all else, think.  I thank them for that.  I’m sure they would not like where my thoughts took me, but they taught me to gather my facts, consider them dispassionately, determine what they had taught me, and engage it.  I did.  I am an atheist.