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..In This Issue. At the March Meeting: Science Fiction and Religion by Dave Silva. Quote of the Month: Judith Hayes. Humcon 2001 - The War on Drugs Panel with Ernst Gherman. "Is the Bible the Word of God?" by Charles L. Rulon. "Hear Ye! HearYe!" by Frank Farsad. Humor - "Missing the Obvious." Science Fiction Stories With Religious Themes. Locus List of the Best Science Fiction Novels.
At the March 18th Meeting: "Science Fiction and Religion" By Dave Silva There is a large subculture, in America and around the world, devoted to science fiction. This group is one of the least religious and most science oriented segments of society. Some 18 years ago I was a founding member of the Orange County Science Fiction Club. As a long time member of this group I have found that many of them are either Humanists, or share humanistic values. In my presentation I will give a short history of science fiction and the Fandom movement. That will be followed by how science fiction effects people's view of themselves and their religious outlook. Finally, I will talk about, provide a list of, science fiction in books and media that have religious themes.
Quote of the Month: "If ever there have been giants among us, Carl Sagan was one of them. Almost single-handedly, and with considerable resistance from his on peers, he changed the face of science. He rescued the wonders of science from their obscure, arcane, fiercely defended citadels, and presented them to the whole world, for us to examine and admire. He gave us back the magic." ....Judith Hayes, from "The Happy Heretic". HUMCON 2001 - WAR ON DRUGS PANEL By Dave Silva Sometimes a social problem cries out for a sane solution that reasonable people can agree on, yet remains intractable. Usually such problems that blind people to reason are religious, racial or nationalistic in nature. While the war on drugs, in America, is to some degree religious and racial it has degenerated into a political battle of wills where being right has become more important than finding practical solutions. At Humcon 2001, Ernst Ghermann did a panel entitled, "The War on Drugs and its Consequences". Ernst is an engineer and is active in the "Ethical Culture Society of Los Angeles", and is also active in the Libertarian Party. The following reasons to end the war on drugs are selected comments by Harry Browne, presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party. Progressive people across the political spectrum are coming to share these views on why we should end the "War on Drugs". Here are seven ways to bring peace and security to your neighborhood. 1. End the War on Drugs -- to release from prison the marijuana smokers and other non-violent drug offenders serving 15-year and 50-year sentences. They fill up the prisons -- allowing the murderers, rapists, and other violent criminals to go free on early release or plea-bargains, free to terrorize your neighborhood. 2. End the War on Drugs -- to free up law-enforcement resources to fight violent crime, instead of chasing people who may harm themselves but are no threat to us. 3. End the War on Drugs -- to end gang warfare. The Drug War has taken the drug business away from pharmaceutical companies and turned it over to gangs operating in a huge black market, providing untold riches for anyone who will flout the law. This money finances criminal gangs who would be powerless without drug money. Legal drug, tobacco, or alcohol companies don't conduct gang warfare and drive-by shootings, but criminal gangs will do anything to secure a rich monopoly territory. 4. End the War on Drugs -- to reduce police corruption. With so much black-market money and confiscated drugs floating around, it's too easy for weak policemen to become rich by breaking the law themselves. 5. End the War on Drugs -- to make our schools safer. Brewers and distillers don't recruit children to run drugs or hook other kids on liquor; nor do they give them guns to take to school. Neither would legal drug companies. Before the War on Drugs, the worst schools in Los Angeles were safer than L.A.'s best schools are today. 6. End the War on Drugs -- to end muggings and burglaries by addicts. If Prohibition were ended, illegal drugs selling today for $100 might cost as little as $2, because legal competition -- with no need to circumvent the law -- would drive drug prices down. So addicts would no longer need to steal to support their habits.
A major problem in even having a rational discussion about drugs is the lack of information on alternative programs to our current policy. You have to go back to 1919 and prohibition of alcohol to draw parallels to legalization or de-criminalization of drugs. Even in Europe there have been few pilot programs in dealing with drugs. In Holland marijuana use is about half of what it is here. We know that marijuana can be a social problem but it doesn't compare to alcohol and tobacco in the amount of harm done. After all these years they are just starting a three year study to determine the medical benefits of marijuana. The drug czar's plan to pay television programs for anti-drug messages doesn't help to promote a rational discourse. We need open minds, not propaganda in dealing with serious social problems.
Is the Bible the Word of God? By Charles L. Rulon Numerous, well-documented, scientific findings, plus rigorous archaeological, historical, linguistic and literary analyses accumulated over the last 200 years support the following conclusion: The Bible is a very human book. It was written long ago and over a period of a thousand years by males who lived in patriarchal cultures far away and different from our own. These males knew no more concerning the nature of the cosmos, the world, or life than did any other ancient peoples. If all of the scientific, historical, linguistic and literary evidence counts, the Bible can have no more claim to divine status or as a moral guide for all than can any other ancient book on ethics written by humans. Thus, accepting without question all its moral pronouncements would be taking a giant step back into the Dark Ages of superstition and ignorance. With supernatural answers, anything goes Science, by its very nature, is limited to natural explanations. Whether or not non-material souls exist, or if there is an Ultimate, God-given Design behind all of nature is not a question science can answer. Nor can science claim that evolution is ultimately purposeless. If there is an omnipotent being, this being could have had humans and horses, dinosaurs and tapeworms in mind all along. Science can neither demonstrate nor refute this. The problem, of course, with all such religious answers is that once we allow ourselves to go beyond the scientific evidence, then we're only limited by our imaginations. Once we accept supernatural answers to scientific questions, then anything becomes possible. Anything goes. For example, even if there is an "Intelligent Designer" behind all of nature, that still doesn't mean that this Designer is the all-good, all-wise New Testament god. Instead, this Designer might be gremlins in telepathic communication with each other. And maybe these gremlins decided to evolve insects and dinosaurs on Earth, not humans. But then some evil gremlins sent an asteroid to destroy the dinosaurs;...and the rest is history. Or perhaps all Earth life, including us, is merely "fast food" for God's truly favorite species, an extremely advanced life form now touring our galaxy. The possibilities are endless. Take your pick. That's why supernatural explanations are useless in science. They provide no direction for research, suggest no testable hypotheses and give no reason to expect one result over another from any observation or experiment. Hear Ye! Hear Ye! By Frank Farsad Our new public address system has a 250watt amplifier which can fill any meeting room (much larger than the one we meet in) with very high frequency sounds. Has 2 powerful detachable speakers and 3 microphone outputs for 3 simultaneous speakers. We can also plug in other sound systems such as tape or laser disc players for playback with excellent clarity. It includes a 25 feet long speaker and a speaker stand. Cost about $565.00 includes tax. WE WILL NO LONGER BE IGNORED OR ADMONISHED FOR NOT SPEAKING UP!! Humor - Missing the Obvious. Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal and a bottle of wine they lay down for the night, and went to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudging his faithful friend, said: "Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see." Watson said: "I see millions and millions of stars." Holmes: "And what does that tell you?" Watson: "Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Theologically, it tells me that God is great and that we are small. Meteorologically, it tells me that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you?" Holmes: "Watson, you idiot. Somebody stole our tent." SCIENCE FICTION WITH RELIGIOUS THEMES HUGO WINNERS: 1953 James Blish "A Case of Conscious" 1961 Walter Miller Jr. "A Canticle for Leibowitz" 1962 Robert Heinlein "Stranger in a Strange Land" 1966 Frank Herbert "Dune" 1968 Roger Zelazny "Lord of Light" 1972 Philip Jose Farmer "To Your Scattered Bodies Go" 1990 Dan Simmons "Hyperion" Nebula Winner: 1976 Frederick Pohl "Man Plus" OTHERS: "The Eleventh Commandment" Lester Del Rey "The Nine Billion Names of God" Arthur C. Clarke (short story) "Parable of the Sower" Octavia Butler "The Handmaiden's Tale" Margaret Atwood "Logan's Run" George Clayton Johnson More Science Fiction With Religious Themes "Jurgen" by James Branch Cabell "Revolt in 2100" by Robert Heinlein "Behold the Man" by Michael Moorcock "Son of Man" by Robert Silverberg "The World Inside" by Robert Silverberg The list of books voted on by Locus readers in 1997 only include Books written before 1990. Here are a few I recommend. "Untouched by Human Hands" by Robert Sheckley "Can You Feel Anything When I Do This?" by Robert Sheckley "Song Master" by Orson Scott Card "The Persistence of Vision" by John Varley "The Diamond Age" and "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson
BEST SF NOVEL (BEFORE 1990) 1987 1975 Pts votes 1sts 1) Dune, Frank Herbert (1965) 1 1 1067 156 73
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