John Loftus and Dinesh D’sousa debate audio is now available.

Give it a listen and post your comments.

Date:          Thursday – February 18, 2010
What:           Skeptics in the Pub / Spirits for Spirits              

This will be a very special night!  It will be the first Spirits for Spirits.  You place your hand on the bible and deny the holey spirit and I will buy you a $2 draft beer of your choice.  Offer good for the first 50 people!  Must be 21 to drink!

Time:          7PM -
Location:    
Murphy’s Pub – (217) 352-0533
UIUC Campus
604 E Green St
Champaign, IL 61820

Parking is available in Champaign parking Lot J.  On 6th street (one way – south) between Green and Healey. (this is a pay lot)  You may also find a spot in the U of I lot just north of Murphy’s.  you can park there after 5.  It is free but space is limited.
On the third Thursday of each month we will meet at Murphy’s Pub on campus to hang and drink with skeptic students. This is an opportunity to have a few beverages, food, relax, and have some stimulating conversation.

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Date:          Sunday – February 28, 2010
What:          Monthly Meeting
Time:          1:30 – 4:30PM (dinner at ~5PM at Jupiters 2)
Location:    
Champaign Public Library                  
200 W. Green St.
Champaign, Illinois 61820

This is our regular Monthly meeting.  Some funny videos and maybe a presentation or two.  If you would like to do one – let me know.

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Date:          Wednesday – March 3, 2010
What:          Skeptics at the pub
Time:          7PM -
Location:    
Esquire Lounge
106 North Walnut
Champaign Illinois
217-398-5858

Skeptics at the Pub – We have two meetings per month.

First Wednesday of every month in Champaign or Urbana (location may vary and all students are welcome)

Third Thursday of every month, we will join in with the student group AAF at Murphy’s Pub on corner of 6th and Green near the U of I campus.

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Date:          Friday – March 12, 2010
What:         Hemant Mehta
Time:          7PM – 8PM
Location:   
100 Noyes Lab
University of Illinois Campus

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Date:          Thursday – March 18, 2010
What:          Skeptics at the pub
Time:          7PM -
Location:    Murphy’s Pub

Skeptics at the Pub - We have two meetings per month.

First Wednesday of every month in Champaign or Urbana (location may vary and all students are welcome)

Third Thursday of every month, we will join in with the student group at Murphy’s Pub on corner of 6th and Green near the U of I campus.

Do you ever wish there was a Church like place you could go that did not involve all the gOd stuff?  I think the closest place I have ever found is the UU church.  I went to a service recently in Urbana, IL and it was quite nice.  They had a small 18 person choir but…WOW.  I was impressed.  I don’t think i ever heard a small group sound so big.  They had candle lighting, wonderful music and many people read from different books.  It was thoughtful, caring and focused on how as humans we need to take care of those around us.  As far a church like service I actually enjoyed it.  I may have to go again some time.

Much better than the reaction you may get at a big church….

Spirits for Spirits is February 18th 7PM at Murphy’s Pub in Champaign Illinois.

We are going to try this one time and see how it goes.

Here are the rules….

Place you hand on the bible and deny the holy spirit.  Then you get a free $2.00 draft beer.  If you wish you and 3 friends can all go at once and get a whole pitcher of beer.  You are only allowed to do this once and you must be 21 – It’s the law.  You must be one of the first 50 people to get a free drink.  If you don’t like beer (or you are under 21) you can get a soda.

My hope is that it is just a little something extra that will get everyone to come out at the same time and have a lot of fun.  Visit with your friends and meet some new ones.  As one last extra incentive, I will bring a copy of a book by Richard Dawkins and it is signed by him.  Everyone can put their name in a hat and we will draw a winner – you must be present to win.  If you leave – we will pick another winner.

The fun starts at 7PM.  I will show up at 6PM to eat dinner.  You are welcome to come early and join me.

Date:           Wednesday – February 3, 2010
What:            Skeptics at the Pub
Time:            7:00 PM
Location:    Esquire Lounge Inc
                       106 N Walnut St
                       Champaign, IL 61820

This is an opportunity to eat, drink, relax, and have some stimulating conversation with local skeptics and non-believers. Just look for the bright yellow shirt. Beth will also put something on the table to indicate where the group is.

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Date:           Monday – February 8, 2010
What:            Dinner and Drinks with John W. Loftus
                        “One on one” time with a famous Atheist.   1 day before the big debate.
Time:            6PM – ???
Location:    Murphy’s Pub
                        UIUC Campus
                        604 E Green St
                        Champaign, IL 61820

Parking is available in Champaign parking Lot J.  On 6th street (one way – south) between Green and Healey. (this is a pay lot)  You may also find a spot in the U of I lot just north of Murphy’s.  you can park there after 5.  It is free but space is limited.

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Date:          Tuesday - February 9, 2010
What:           The Great gOd Debate.
                       John W. Loftus and Dinesh D’sousa
TIME:          7PM -  8:30PM
Location:   Foellinger Auditorium (South end of Quad on U of I campus)

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Date:          Thursday – February 18, 2010
What:           Skeptics in the Pub / Spirits for Spirits              

This will be a very special night!  It will be the first Spirits for Spirits.  You place your hand on the bible and deny the holey spirit and I will buy you a $2 draft beer of your choice.  Offer good for the first 50 people!  Must be 21 to drink!

TIME:          7PM
Location:    Murphy’s Pub – (217) 352-0533
                    UIUC Campus
                    604 E Green St
                    Champaign, IL 61820

Parking is available in Champaign parking Lot J.  On 6th street (one way – south) between Green and Healey. (this is a pay lot)  You may also find a spot in the U of I lot just north of Murphy’s.  you can park there after 5.  It is free but space is limited.
On the third Thursday of each month we will meet at Murphy’s Pub on campus to hang and drink with skeptic students. This is an opportunity to have a few beverages, food, relax, and have some stimulating conversation. Just look for the bright yellow shirt.

Next Meeting of CUFREE (Champaign Urbana Freethinkers) is Jan 24th at the Urbana Free Library. 

Next Next Meeting… we will go the “The Great God Debate!”  See the details below.

The Great God Debate Comes to U of I:
Authors Dinesh D’Souza and John W. Loftus to Tackle Questions of Faith and Reason

CHAMPAIGN,IL—On February 9, 2010 at 7:00pm on the University of Illinois campus, authors Dinesh D’Souza and John W. Loftus will debate the question “Does the Christian God exist?”  The event will be held in Foellinger Auditorium on the south end of the main Quad and is open to the public.  After the formal portion of the debate, D’Souza and Loftus will field questions from the audience.

Mr. D’Souza will be responding in the affirmative. He is the author of What’s So Great About Christianity? and has appeared on a number of popular news programs. He has previously debated Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, Peter Singer, and a number of others.

Mr. Loftus will be responding in the negative. He is a former Christian minister and the author of the recently published Why I Became an Atheist, which has been acclaimed as one of the most effective defenses of atheism in recent times.  Mr. Loftus is also a contributing author of the forthcoming The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails.

Moderating the debate will be Kenneth J. Howell, the director of the Institute of Catholic Thought at St. John’s Catholic Newman Center on the Illinois campus.  “This debate should be a great opportunity for different worldviews to have a healthy exchange of ideas, which is the essence of what a university is about,” said Prof. Howell. “D’Souza and Loftus are both articulate spokespersons for their worldviews and their presence promises an enlightening evening.”

The event is being co-sponsored by the Champaign-Urbana Freethinkers, the Atheists, Agnostics, and Freethinkers student organization, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, and the St. John Institute of Catholic Thought. 

I hope to see you there!

NOTE:  This information is about an event that is planned for Champaign Urbana Freethinkers in central Illinois.  The public is welcome, provided they can behave like an adult and not proselytize.

Next meeting for Champaign Urbana Freethinkers is January 24th 1:30PM to 4:30 PM at the Urbana Free Library in the Auditorium. (Next to children’s department).

Not only will have some funny videos but, we will have a very special guest speaker.

Adam Slagell, CISSP

He is a computer security researcher and analyst at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. He is the author of “Collaborative Computer Security and Trust Management” and the security architect of the world’s largest supercomputer for open science research. He is also developing the security program for GENI, the National Science Foundation’s test bed for the next generation of Internet technologies. His recent research has focused on privacy and anonymization to enable data sharing and collaboration.
Just 6 month ago he gave a presentation at TAM 7; you can see the paper here. (#2 on the list)
A revised version of this paper will be in the Mar/Apr issue of Skeptical Inquirer.  Adam is a local star in the Skeptical movement.

I will also give a presentation on Investment rip offs.

Mr. Slagell and I will also be presenting at