WHICH GODS DO NOT EXIST?
SELECTIVE ATHEISM

short course description:

    This series of discussions is for people
questioning traditional religious beliefs.

    In 6 weeks, we will discuss 6 dimensions of belief in Gods:
(1) creation, (2) scripture, (3) morality,
(4) power, (5) immortality, & (6) spirituality.
Participants will read a discussion-starter of 3-4 pages
(available free of charge on the Internet)
before each meeting.
Here is the index page for these on-line essays:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CY-GODS.html


one-page course description:
WHICH GODS DO NOT EXIST?
SELECTIVE ATHEISM

    Atheism has become an important theme of public discussion,
as seen in the publication of several books against religion.

    If you question or reject traditional religious beliefs,
this series of discussions might help you to focus the issues.
Were you raised in some form of religious faith
that affirmed the following beliefs?
(1) creation of the universe, (2) holy scripture, (3) God-given morality,
(4) omnipotent God, (5) life after death, & (6) spiritual growth.

    This series of discussions will enable you
to meet with a wide variety of other people
who are questioning their childhood religions.

    Perhaps you will discover that you are really a selective atheist:
You can more clearly articulate what you do NOT believe
than what forms of spirituality still remain meaningful for you.

    Let's engage in an open-minded spiritual quest.
If we reject each traditional belief about God or Gods,
what spiritual possibilities still remain open for us?

    We will discuss the following 6 themes, one each week:
Each subject is introduced in an on-line essay:

WHICH GODS DO NOT EXIST? 

    No Gods Created the Universe.

    No Gods Wrote Holy Books .

    No Gods Are Watching Our Behavior .

    No Gods Are All-Powerful.
   
    No Gods Can Save Us from Death.

WHICH GODS MIGHT EXIST?

    God-Talk Might Be a Way of Expressing Our Spiritual Dynamics .

    James Park, the facilitator of these discussions,
is also the author of the above on-line essays.
He used to be a Christian but no longer believes
in any of the powers or capacities of the Gods mentioned above.
Nevertheless, he has written 5 books on existential spirituality.
And the 6 themes of this series of discussions
will become 6 chapters in his 6th book on spirituality to be called:
Spirituality without Gods: Developing Our Capacities of Spirit:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/SWG.html

distant-learning option:

WHICH GODS DO NOT EXIST?
SELECTIVE ATHEISM

    For people who cannot attend a face-to-face exploration
of which Gods do not exist,
it is still possible to read the on-line essays
and to communicate with the author.

    And because all of the discussion-starters are available on the Internet,
it is possible for other facilitators to create classes
using these 6 essays as the basic resource.

    The explanation of the series is found here:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CY-GODS.html

    And here are the 6 basic essays,
which can be read in any order:

WHICH GODS DO NOT EXIST? 

    No Gods Created the Universe.

    No Gods Wrote Holy Books .

    No Gods Are Watching Our Behavior .

    No Gods Are All-Powerful.
   
    No Gods Can Save Us from Death.

WHICH GODS MIGHT EXIST?

    God-Talk Might Be a Way of Expressing Our Spiritual Dynamics .


    Distant learners might want to read other resources,
such as the books reviewed in the Atheism Bibliography:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/B-ATHE.html

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FACILITATOR:

    James Park is an independent existential philosopher,
living and writing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

   During his long career in alternative adult education,
he has led about 200 different discussion groups.
Most of these were in the Minnesota Free University.
See more information about his interest in adult education:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/JP-AL-ED.html


Created October 16, 2008; Revised 10-17-2008; 12-4-2008; 12-6-2008; 2-7-2009; 3-27-2009; 7-16-2009

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