The Tulsa Coalition of Reason is working on ideas for future projects.

Listed below are some ideas being considered.

• Clarence Darrow Statue (fund raiser) to be located in Dayton Tennessee (where the Scopes Trial was held, and where there is a statue of William J. Bryan)
• Certification for freethinkers to perform marriages
• De-baptisms and de-confirmations ceremonies
• More billboards and bus signs
• Humanist Calendar (a work in progress)
• God, Heaven and Hell questionnaires *(a work in progress)
• De-certification (teacher) of fundamentalist university and college graduates
• “Cosmos” (or the like) for a “freethinkers” book of reference (aka, Bible or Koran)
• Sponsor a play (for example: Following courtroom “rules of evidence” is there any evidence that an actual historical Jesus ever existed?
• Library Project: Tulsa Public Library sponsorship of Freethought program
• Campaign to marginalize Tulsa’s League of Women Voters (for not being concerned about our issues; though they have publicly stated they should)
• Person(s) of the year – for each of our member groups
• Support a candidate (hopefully, one of us) for public office. Even though we’ll probably loose, we’ll learn and benefit from the process.

 

A work in progress: the Secular Vocabulary

 

Our vocabulary is determined, to a great degree, by the dominant (most powerful) segment of a society. And the words we decide to use can have a profound influence on the goals, objectives and effectiveness of our respective groups.

Therefore, this site is going to solicit words which should be used, by TCOR coalition members, in the in the following ways. These will be “suggestions” only, a direction in which we should all “try” to move, if you will.

“Faith” for example, should be used, by the freethinking community, to describe “the acceptance of something without any evidence.” The dictionary will give you many other uses for “faith”, but we don’t have to comply with the watering–down of the original intent of this word. You, for example, should not say: “I have faith in my doctor.” Instead, you should say “I have confidence in my doctor.”

If you use any of the following words, pause, and explain why – it will provide you with an opportunity to make your point more effectively.

The following words will give you some examples of the types of words we are collecting. Please add to them by contacting Bill Dusenberry.

Eventually these words will be put in alphabetical order.

Amen; faith; believe; belief; soul; psychic; prophet; saint; holy; spirit; devil; heaven; hell; AD; BC; angel; baptism; biblical authority; blasphemy; witchcraft; celebrant; witch; miracle; Satan; creed; heresy; rapture; trinity; demon(ize); doctrine; paradise; indulgence; Easter; Christmas; ghetto; incarnation; Good Friday; penance; dogma; fasting; free will; sacrilege;.

Don’t take this responsibility too seriously – just try your best – at every opportunity – to have some fun with it. As long as we continue to use the vocabulary of the faithful, we will continue to be at a disadvantage.

 

*Note that God, heaven and hell questionnaires are works in progress , and expect coalition involvement and participation.