Nontheist Friends » Zach Alexander

Nontheism among Friends at Powell House – report

Zach Alexander — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:50:58 +0000

"If you think Richard Dawkins is too easy on religion, go down to that end of the room," I said, indicating the steps up to the bookstore. "And if you..." "Careful..." someone said. And I was. There were several believers-in-God present – the exact number depending on your definition – and I didn't want to make a joke that might be taken the wrong way. "If you're, uh... very theistic, go down to the other end," I finished, indicating the fireplace. "And if you're somewhere in between, go somewhere in between."

A poem

Zach Alexander — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 03:37:48 +0000

In the Secular Night

In the secular night you wander around alone in your house. It's two-thirty. Everyone has deserted you, or this is your story; you remember it from being sixteen, when the others were out somewhere, having a good time, or so you suspected, and you had to baby-sit. [...]

The Theist-Nontheist Conversational Smackdown of 2008

Zach Alexander — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:04:33 +0000

At Friends General Conference earlier this month, in addition to Robin Alpern and David Boulton's workshop on nontheist Friends and discernment (previously posted here), there were a number of one-off scheduled events at the "Nontheist Friends Center," on topics like nontheistic spirituality and theological diversity. And in addition to those, three or four more events were arranged on-site to meet what seemed like a demand for them. I might be forgetting any that happened earlier in the week before I arrived, but Wednesday afternoon there was a meeting for worship, followed by a screening of a film about Gerrard Winstanley, who according to some was the first Quaker nontheist. And on Thursday, Chuck Fager arranged the following ~~debate~~ conversation between himself and David Boulton, complete with lurid posters billing it "The Theist-Nontheist Conversational Smackdown of 2008" and promising "thrills, chills and (nonviolent) spills," if memory serves. The questions they discussed were "Are Quakers a chosen people?" and "Is David Boulton a closet theist?" Thanks perhaps to the posters, it took place before a packed-out room of about 110 people, with a number of (un-chosen?) people listening in the hall. Click the green "play" arrow below to hear my recording of the event, or click here to download the mp3 file, and look under the cut for another photo and a thought.

(By the way, David's opening joke refers to the poster, which described the participants as Chuck "Without Apology" Fager and David "The Trouble with God" Boulton.)

Report on the Nontheist Friends interest group at New England Yearly Meeting

Zach Alexander — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:03:02 +0000

There was a moment at one point where the "interested theist" Friend expressed some misgivings about his certainty of God's existence, but then said that he was in his nineties, and without much time to engage in speculation -- and he won't have to wait long to find out firsthand anyway. He ended by saying, "I wouldn't be surprised either way." "One way it's hard to be surprised," joked another, and we had a little laugh. ...