Next HOH Main City-Wide Gathering

May 2011 Citywide Main Gathering

2011-04-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

Our May 21 speaker will be Joe Zamecki, who is the Texas State Director for American Atheists and one of the three co-founders of Atheists Helping the Homeless, and has been an Atheist activist in Austin since 2006.

Joe's talk will be about protests of an annual National Day of Prayer event in Austin, expanding Atheists Helping the Homeless, and gathering ideas and help for future Atheist activist events in Texas.

Joe grew up in Houston and attended Holy Ghost School in Bellaire, and wrote a book about it, "Leaving the Quiet Room." Join us to take advantage of the chance to meet the author and purchase a signed copy!

Next HOH City-wide Main Gathering

2011-03-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

Join us March 19, 2011 at Bayland Community Center for our main gathering beginning at 1:00. The address is 6400 Bissonnet, Houston, Texas.

Our speaker will be Anthony Pinn, the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University. His topic will be "The Impact of Atheism on African American Religion."

Stop in a little early for refreshments and good conversation. We look forward to seeing you!

January 15 2011, Main Gathering

2011-01-06T18:07:00.000-08:00

Join us January 15, 2011 at Bayland Community Center for our main gathering beginning at 1:00. The address is 6400 Bissonnet, Houston, Texas.

Our newly elected Vice-President, Don Wright, will be making a presentation entitled "The State of the Union is not Great". He will also be discussing religion in the African American community.

Stop in a little early for refreshments and good conversation. We look forward to seeing you!

August city-wide Gathering

2010-08-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

Please join Humanists of Houston for a presentation by Dr. Ed Uthman, who will be discussing Quackery. Ed has presented this information at the Houston Church of Freethought and is a very engaging and informed speaker - bring your questions, and be ready to learn about a fascinating topic!

Main Gathering Saturday, July 17

2010-07-14T07:10:00.000-07:00

What would it be like to live in a truly secular country? A country where nonbelief is “normal, regular, mainstream, and common?” Does such a society create chaos and evil or does it succeed in spite of its godliness? These are the topics of sociologist Phil Zuckerman’s book Society without God in which he describes the year that he spent in Scandinavia seeking to understand how Denmark and Sweden became probably the least religious countries in the world, and possibly in the history of the world. Our fellow humanist and former HOH vice-president Dianne Vitaska will give a detailed report on Zuckerman’s book and lead a discussion afterwards.

HOH Main Gathering June 19 Saturday

2010-06-16T18:01:00.001-07:00

This Saturday, we will be celebrating World Humanist Day. Please bring your favorite finger food or cookies and join us for fun, good food, and good conversation.

RSVP for this time only to whd-2010@hotmail.com due to limited space.

I hope to see you there!

Topic for the January 23 meeting is "Seven Common Misconceptions about Atheism.”

2010-01-06T14:57:00.000-08:00

Please join us for a presentation on the topic of "Seven Common Misconceptions about Atheism" by Dr Keith Parsons, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. (Dr. Parsons also did a well-received presentation for us last June.)

Critics of atheism have seldom treated it with anything approaching Christian charity--or even good manners. Probably no other doctrine has been so maliciously maligned. In this talk Dr. Parsons will consider and rebut seven of the most common charges against atheism and expose the prejudices lying behind them.

If you wish, read Keith Parsons's essay before the meeting at this web site: http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/keith_parsons/misconceptions.html This may lead to a more lively discussion.

We look forward to seeing you at 1:00 at the Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet.Also, don't forget about our ongoing canned food drive. For more information, go to http://www.humanistsofhouston.org/cans.htm

Topic for the November 21st meeting is "Long Life - Thank You Margaret Sanger"

2009-11-18T15:23:00.000-08:00

Please join us for a presentation by Peter Durkin, CEO of Planned Parenthood, whose presentation, "Long Life - Thank You Margaret Sanger," is about the role of family planning and increased life expectancy.

We look forward to seeing you at 1:00 at the Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet.

Also, don't forget about our ongoing canned food drive. For more information, go to http://www.humanistsofhouston.org/cans.htm

Topic for the October 17th Gathering is Darwin, Downe House and the Missing Link

2009-10-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

Our own Bob Finch will make a presentation entitled Darwin, Downe House and the Missing Link.

He will describe Downe House where Charles Darwin and his wife Emma lived for forty years - the house is now a museum which tells the story of Darwin's life. During his lifetime many people were concerned about the missing links: the absence of creatures intermediate between apes and man. Now these gaps are being filled in and Bob's talk will recollect how this work is progressing.

Topic for the September 19 meeting is “The Whats and Whys of Butterflies”

2009-09-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

Please join us for a presentation on the topic of “The Whats and Whys of Butterflies” presented by Dr. Nancy Greig. Nancy has been the director of the Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science since 1994; and since 2005, she has served as Curator of Entomology for the museum.

Butterflies are almost universally liked, even by people who “hate” other insects. What’s so special about butterflies? Nancy will discuss details of their life cycle, some fascinating aspects of both larval and adult stages, and unusual adaptations such as the pollen-feeding tropical longwing butterflies and the unique migration of monarchs.

We look forward to seeing you at 1:00 at the Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet.

Topic for the August 15 meeting is "Active Non-violence as Conflict Resolution"

2009-08-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

Please join us for a presentation on the topic of "Active Non-violence as Conflict Resolution" presented by Susan Giesecke.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said: "The Universe bends toward justice."

During the last century, with the elevation of science and technology, we have witnessed unbelievable rates of death and destruction.

Is there another way? What is meant by "respect" ? Are words important?

Where fear might lead us to repress our anger, and frustration might lead us to express it as such, the non-violent response means to channel that anger into constructive action.

Non-violence is a positive force generated by self-sacrifice in the cause of Truth.

In our time together in August, we will examine two aspects of the Nonviolent movement: Non-violent communication and the Steps of Nonviolence.

We look forward to seeing you at 1:00 at the Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet.

Topic for the July 18 meeting is "What Humanists Can Learn from Buddhism"

2009-07-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

Please join us for a presentation on the topic of "What Humanists Can Learn from Buddhism" presented by Daniel Strain

Daniel Strain, former president of HOH, has written for the AHA journal Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism. He currently writes as the Houston Humanist Examiner for Examiner.com.
Daniel will present an overview of Buddhist philosophy. Specific focus will be given to the Humanist perspective and what those with a naturalistic and scientific worldview can take from Buddhism, as well as how the Humanist movement can benefit. Buddhist conception of the world will be compared to modern scientific understandings. Buddhist ethics will be considered, and the operation of Buddhist practices will be addressed.

We look forward to seeing you at 1:00 at the Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet.

Topic for the June 20 meeting is "Atheism: Twilight or Dawn"

2009-06-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

Please join us for a presentation on the topic of "Atheism: Twilight or Dawn" by Dr Keith Parsons, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

Oxford theologian and Christian apologist Alister McGrath argues that we are in the age of the “twilight of atheism.” Atheism was once a potent and flourishing movement, he says, but it allied itself with the falling stars of Freud and Marx, and so has been discredited. Meanwhile, religion, despite atheism’s predictions of its eminent demise, is back in full flourish. In his talk Dr. Parsons argues that McGrath’s “guilt by association” arguments fail resoundingly, and that, if anything, atheism’s sun is rising not setting.

If you wish, read Keith Parsons's essay before the meeting at this web site: http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/keith_parsons/twilight.html This may lead to a more lively discussion.

We look forward to seeing you at 1:00 at the Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet.

The Life and Legacy of Michael Servetus : Theologian, Philosopher, Scientist, and Humanist

2009-05-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

Please join us for a presentation on the topic of Michael Servetus by Marian Hillar.

There are few figures in the history of ideas that would match the breadth and scope of Michael Servetus's outlook and importance for the evolution of culture in Western Europe. Servetus demanded a radical evaluation of the entire ideological religious system of assertions and dogmas imposed on Western Europe since the fourth century. He was a prominent Renaissance scholar and reformer. He emphasized human natural capabilities of recognizing moral values and making moral judgment. This trait of Servetus's thought unites him with the ancient optimistic humanism as well as with the modern outlook on the human condition supported by modern studies in the history of ethics and its rational and natural origin. By his writings and circumstances of his death he set into motion an intellectual movement that eventually led to the development of modern ideas about freedom of conscience.

We look forward to seeing you!

March 21 Gathering

2009-03-09T16:48:00.000-07:00

Please join us March 21 at Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet, for our regular monthly meeting. We are going to watch the movie "Steambath", which is adapted from Jay Friedman's off-Broadway play by the same name. The movie is an allegory for Purgatory, where you go to have your sins burned away from you before becoming eligible to enter paradise. It deals with the question of what happens when someone can't let go of their sins and move on...but it's funny (How is that even possible?)

We'll also be introduced to a new group, the SECULAR Center, that will be involved with coordinating volunteer opportunities in our area for people who lack a belief in the supernatural!

We'll open the doors at 12:30 and start promptly at 1:00. I hope you'll be there!

February 21 Gathering - What Were They Thinking?

2009-01-29T15:47:00.000-08:00

At the February gathering Dr. Casas will be examining eight works of art - each was extraordinarily new, and astonishingly original when it appeared. These eight works span from megalithic times to postmodernism. They are works about which we cannot but wonder at their novelty and ask ourselves, "What was the artist thinking?" We shall raise this question attempting to understand their originality and also attempting to understand the forces that brought them into existence.

Please join us at 1:00 at the Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet, to join in this fascinating discussion.

September Gathering cancelled

2008-09-19T06:50:00.000-07:00

The gathering scheduled for September 20 is canceled due to Ike-related issues. The Bayland Community Center has power, but has no air conditioning. Additionally, there are traffic signals out in that area and people don’t know how to behave at a 4-way stop.

I am considering looking for some volunteer opportunities related to hurricane relief. If you would be interested in participating, please let me know.

Thanks and take care of yourselves. See you in October!

Music and the Brain

2008-07-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

Coming Saturday, July 19th, 1:00pm
Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet St, Houston 77074

Music and the Brain
presentation by C.J. Renzi

Inspired by Oliver Sacks' Musicophilia and Daniel Levitin's This is Your Brain on Music, CJ Renzi will give a presentation about the human response to music. He will also be performing a few pieces during the presentation. Please come out and join us for CJ's wonderful performance and presentation, and to see old and new friends!

Welcome

2008-07-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

This page will be where you can find a description of the topic for the next HOH Main City-Wide Gathering.