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February 23 , 2008

March Forum_______________________________________

Monthly Forum

Sunday, March 9, 2008 - 10:30 a.m.

Red Bank Charter School - 58 Oakland St. / Red Bank, NJ 07701

TOPIC #1

Screening and discussion of the R.B.H. Video Project

1. What is Humanism?

2. Journeys to Humanism

3. About Red Bank Humanists

These videos are on the Press Room page of our web site, Google Video,

YouTube, and will soon play from Brookdale TV over their Comcast

and Cablevision channels.

(DVD now available the best way to share

with your friends - see below)

_________________

TOPIC #2

A discussion of the Institute For Humanist Studies Course:

"Introduction to Humanism"

I invite you all to join me in taking the first-level course on

Humanism at the Institute For Humanist Studies online: http://humanisteducation.com/demo.html

It's free! Plus, you may start and stop at your convenience.

There's no need to complete the course in one sitting.

Through "The Continuum of Humanist Education" at I.H.S.

(now funded by a generous donor so that all the courses are free),

you may take various courses on aspects of Humanism.

I encourage you all to take the 2-hour introductory course

with me and we will discuss it at our March Forum.

- Steelman

DVD For Sale! ______________________________________

AVAILABLE ON DVD

Purchase a copy for yourself or for

family, friends, and the curious.

View the videos

Nine of our members comment on their understanding of Humanism, how

they came to adopt the philosophyof Humanism, and describe what happens

at the monthly Forums. The creation and distribution of this DVD is an

educational project of Red Bank Humanists, a not-for-profit, tax-exempt,

educational organization. R.B.H. conducts a variety of educational

programs about secular humanism, including our monthly Forum, a

monthly “Camaraderie” dinner, and frequent offerings at local libraries

of our “Humanism 101” presentation.

To receive a DVD of

JOURNEYS TO HUMANISM

send a tax-deductible gift of

$15 or more - made payable to:

Red Bank Humanists, Inc.

P.O. Box 8153

Red Bank, NJ 07701

Please include your name and complete mailing

address, and allow two weeks for delivery.

Download Order Form

(plays as full-screen on your television or

in various sizes on your computer DVD player)

<<>>

Or, you may order your DVD online by making a contribution HERE

Camaraderie_______________________________________

Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 7 - 9 p.m.

Front St.Trattoria
31 W. Front St.Red Bank, NJ 07701

A dinner among friends - and a chance to make new friends - while discussing Humanism! Topic: Humanist Show And Tell -- bring something to share (no more than two minutes). Freethinkers - Skeptics - anyone who is Post-theological - all interested in Humanism are welcome. BYOB. Please RSVP

to Steelman by 5pm on the day-of so he can make the initial reservation.

email: president@redbankhumanists.org or call: 732-939-6507.

SO WHO ARE WE SECULARISTS?_______________________

(By Tom Flynn from article in Council For Secular Humanism’s FREE INQUIRY)

"Picture the set of all atheists—those who at least lack belief in God or the supernatural. They’re a diverse lot. Some are nihilists, rejecting not only God but the very idea of the good; set them aside. Ditto for relativists who believe that with God gone, anything goes; subjectivists who believe one person’s idea of the good as good as any other’s; diehard Marxist atheists wedded to a fundamentally inhumane dogmatic system; and so on. Eventually, you’ll isolate the subset of atheists who disbelieve in God and the supernatural but do believe that right and excellence can be identified objectively, and believe further that reason, compassion, and scientific methods are uniquely powerful tools for building the good life in this life. Welcome home: you’ve found the secular humanists—the minority within the atheist minority that has the most vivid cognitive and affective program for forging good lives in a universe that happens to be unencumbered by a deity."

EARTH HOUR 2008____________________________________

Earth Hour, run by WWF, the conservation organisation, is a global climate change initiative which calls on individuals and businesses around the world, to turn off their lights for one hour on Saturday March 29 2008 between 8 pm and 9pm.

The event itself will clearly demonstrate in participating cities, the connection between energy usage and climate change, showing that we as broader community can address the biggest threat our planet has ever faced.

It started with a question: How can we inspire people to take action on climate change?

The answer: Ask the people of Sydney to turn off their lights for one hour.

On 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney's energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for one hour.

With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off, and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.

The aim of the campaign is to express that individual action on a mass scale can help change our planet for the better.