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As you already know, we can’t fund ourselves the usual way because no corporate sponsor would want their brand associated with a bunch of baby eaters. So to fund projects like the film fest the rest of the year, we’ll ask you guys for donations. (No, we won’t sell you stuff, that’s cheap).

And in exchange for your donations (a minimum of P300 and a maximum of P200M), we’ll be giving each donor a plain white shirt with an FF logo on it. Wait, that doesn’t sound special enough. We’ll give each of our platinum donors an Official 2010 edition FF iShirt pro 3G — absolutely FREE! There.

Anyway, we’re having the shirts printed soon, but before we place the order, we need to know how many are interested and how many to make of each size. (Last year we forgot to take into consideration the fact that most of our male members are scrawny).

So please fill up the form below, and thanks for your support.

*Cue choir music*

Lord, teach me to be generous / teach me to serve you as I should . . .

Hello fellow freethinkers! If you’re just lurking on the facebook page or just following the blog feed, you might not be aware of the the book sharing program that’s being organized in the forum. As people who treasure real knowledge of the world I’m sure quite a few of us have a small library of great books, be it non-fiction or fiction, that we find relevant for sharpening our minds and widening our breadth of knowledge, the very things that started us down the path of becoming freethinkers.

As books do tend to be quite expensive, it would be great if we could circulate these tomes of knowledge throughout the group instead of just sitting around on our bookshelves gathering dust. A great decentralized library of freethinking if you will. To me this would do two great things for the group:

1. Enrich the group as a whole intellectually and perhaps spiritually (in the secular sense!)
2. Build a greater sense of community and fellowship amongst the FF members.

To facilitate this, I’ve started a Filipino Freethinker’s community on the Unlibrary website. Unlibrary handles the logistics of collating the list of books that members have  and presenting it as a lending library as well as the requests for books between members of the community.

The Rough Rules of Sharing

As we’re just starting out on this, I’d like to keep the rules for the book sharing pretty loose. Here are  3 uncommandments of the FF unlibrary:

1. This goes without saying but take good care of the books. These are books someone is personally entrusting you with! It may be a good idea to exchange phone numbers so there’s a way to contact each other,  just in case.
2. The default pickup/drop-off for books are on the FF meetups – this gives a default book loan period of 2 weeks. Do feel free to make arrangements outside the FF meetups though if it’s more convenient.
3. As an indicator that you’re going to be at the meetups regularly (and thus able to return books), borrowers should have attended at least 3 other FF meetups on a roughly regular schedule.

If you have any other suggestions or refinements to these rules, please bring it up on the forum thread or the comments section.

Getting Involved in the Unlibrary

Make an account on Unlibrary and follow these steps! Unfortunately I can’t seem to link directly to the FF unlibrary community page so please bear with me:

Step 1:  Add your books to the library

1. On the left navigation bar, click on My Library then Add Books
2. Search for a book you want to add to the library by title, author or ISBN.
3. Hover over the book you own and click Add book to Library
4. Tag and rate the book and save
5. Repeat for other books you want to share!
6. You can now see your books by going to My Library and Bookshelf. While you’re over there you might want to add reviews of the books!

Step 2:  Join the FF community

1. Go to the left navigation bar, click on Communities and then Find new Ones
2. At the search box type “Filipino Freethinkers“
3. Click on Join on the right side of the search results

Step 3:  Browsing and borrowing

1. Click on Borrowing and then on Find Books
2. The books from the people you can borrow from should show up. Most likely this will only be books from the FF community.
3. To ask to borrow, look at the right side under the stars.
4. These are the people who have a copy of the book, click on their avatar to request to borrow from them.

Once again if you have any other questions about the book sharing, please feel free to ask away on the forum thread or in the comments section.

As of writing, the FF community library has 27 copies of 25 books ranging from intellectual pleasures such as Breaking the Spell (Daniel Dennet) and Uncommon Sense (Alan Cromer) to the intriguing stories that facts can tell such as Microtrends (E. Kinney Zalesne, Mark Penn) and Freakonomics (Stephen J. Dubner, Steven D. Levitt). Also, big thanks to Terrence for making the first loan to me on the January 24 meetup of What the Dog Saw!

_{Post photograph by Or Hiltch}

Sunday, January 24, 2010
1:00pm – 4:00pm
Starbucks (near cinemas) at Shangrila Mall

Agenda:

* FF Podcast 2010 Episode 1

* Brainstorming for new FF contest

* Coordination meeting

** FF Film Fest on Feb 27
** FF Anniversary Party on Feb 28
** FF UP chapter and other university/college orgs

Congratulations Igme, on winning our first ever Essay Writing Contest!

For those who were unable to attend the last meet-up, Igme was awarded for his article Children’s Choice. The decision was reached after factoring in the votes garnered, the original contest criteria and the fact that it was an actual essay (sorry, poets).

The prize, Dawkins’ The Greatest Show On Earth – The Evidence For Evolution, was awarded last Sunday, the 10th of January, in the year of His Noodliness, two thousand and ten.

Also handed out last Sunday was a surprise prize, for most valuable blogger, awarded to PinoyAtheist with 42 (forty two?!) posts! The purpose of this contest was to get members writing more about what it means to be a Filipino Freethinker, and for well after the contest period ended, John has been consistently writing about just that.

Two prizes awarded, two winners well deserved, one contest finally over. We can now start work on a second contest, in time for the first year anniversary of FF.

What contest would you join? What prize would you like to win?

With Mikong’s winter solstice visit to Davao kicking off our first ever regional meetup, I figured I could do the same when I go home to Cebu later this December. And if you’re going home to your province this season as well, why not do the same too?

This is a challenge to FF members going home for the holidays — meet at least one other Filipino freethinker in your area. Whether reaching existing members who haven’t been to our Manila meet-ups or spreading the good news that is FF to Filipino freethinkers who had no idea we exist, the goal is to get in touch with at least one other disbeliever.

And this isn’t just a challenge for members visiting the provinces either. If you’re not from Manila and have been looking for a local meet-up, get one organized yourself!

I’m sure there will be tons to talk about. The state of freethought in the country or in your province, personal stories about living in a Catholic nation where separation of Church and State is almost nonexistent, surviving Christmas among religions friends and family, plans and projects of FF and ideas of what more can be done.

And, of course, the possibility of setting up an actual regional chapter of FF.

We can provide an FF tabletop logo for members who are up to the challenge, which you can set up on your coffee table or on the bar, wherever you choose to organize, but filling up the seats will be up to you. Post a query on our forums, mailing list or in the comments below. Look up old classmates who once questioned their religion. Google your town for existing freethought circles, or send meet-up invites to mailing lists of friends and family. It doesn’t take much to organize a regional meet-up, and this challenge hopes to demonstrate that. Just you and one other person, and FF will have taken that first step in your province.

Oh, and take pictures. We do love pictures.

Okay, so last meet-up it was brought to my attention that members did not realize that they had 15 votes to give away for this contest, which would probably explain the low vote count.

So, due to popular demand, voting has been reopened for a second round. Note that the votes made during the first round still count, and you’re still allowed to vote for a particular post just once. (But you can vote for up to 15 posts!)

Fifteen, if you didn’t catch that. 15. Labinlima. Quince. 十五. 열다섯. δεκαπέντε. חמשעסר.

As usual, you can find the list of entries here. The Vote link can be found in the author box at the bottom of each post. The time limit this time is two weeks, to give everyone enough time to read through everything.

On a separate note, what do you think our next contest should be?

Top 5 votes as of 11 am, Nov 18. 25 hours until voting ends.

Tomorrow is the last day of voting and turnout thus far has been quite low. And since we’re eager to get our other contests started, voting with not be extended for this one. If we don’t have enough votes by 24:00 tomorrow, the decision will be left entirely to the judges.

You can find the list of entries here, and you can vote for the entries you like by clicking the Vote link at the bottom.

Remember, prayers don’t win contests, votes do.

Well I finally got around to finalizing the entries to our very extended Essay Writing Contest, and the judges sure have their work cut out for them. We have 66 entries, listed in alphabetical order below, and while they’re an absolute delight to read through, the sheer volume of them is enough to make me wish I had made this a haiku writing contest.

But just who are these poor judges who have to read through each of them again and vote, you ask? Why, you of course!

That’s right folks, elections have come early and you get to help choose the winner of our first Essay Writing Contest. Here are the mechanics:

• Each of the articles below will display a “Vote” link at the bottom of the page. Click this link to cast a vote for the post.
• Registered users can vote for up to 15 articles, but must vote only once for each. Be honest; His Noodliness is watching.
• You have one week to vote, after which the top articles will be shortlisted for our first FF magazine publication.
• Editors will then vote for the winning article from the shortlist.

You are free to vote any way you feel, but we recommend the following criteria:

• Subject and Relevance (35 points) – subject matter must be of interest to readers, and must be relevant to freethought (optional: in the Philippine setting)
• Organization and Accuracy (25) – work must follow a central idea, and all facts stated must be accurate. i.e. avoid ranting, and cite sources when possible.
• Style and Soundness of reasoning (25) – work must be written in a manner that makes readers want to read on, and hopefully agree with your sentiment
• Overall coolness (15) – bonus points for blowing our minds.

Now get voting. There are no lesser evils here.

1. A Scientific Bible? by pinoyatheist
2. A Valuable Lesson by Ryan Tani
3. According to Bacon by pinoyatheist
4. An atheist learns from a dog by pinoyatheist
5. Angels and Demons by igme
6. Ashes to Ashes…dust to dust. by pinoyatheist
7. Atheistic Spirituality by pinoyatheist
8. Belief, non-belief, and homosexuality by f241vc15
9. Book Review : The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by wes
10. Brainwashing with consent by pinoyatheist
11. Can you justify by mere faith? by pinoyatheist
12. Children’s Choice by igme
13. Chiz’s “pasang awa” project gets failing grade by Ryan Tani
14. Congressmen Contra-RH Bill by Geri Villas
15. Cory’s Legacy by wes
16. Couple’s Choice by igme
17. Creating “Creations” by pinoyatheist
18. Devastated by Ondoy? Congrats: You just passed Calculus! by Ryan Tani
19. Diet for Christians: Less Spam, More Meat by Ryan Tani
20. Does God Exist? Video Campaign — Refuted by Geri Villas
21. Elizabeth Cady Stanton by Wella
22. Faithful Dad, Faithless Dad by Ryan Tani
23. Falling In Love: The Physics Of Attraction by f241vc15
24. Fear of Meeting ff Folks by AnnThrop
25. Forsaken by Sathepine
26. Free Thinkers Political Watch Out by justinaquino
27. Freethinkers in the Philippines? by pinoyatheist
28. Freethought Poetry: Mothers by f241vc15
29. Ghosts by Tania Arpa
30. How to Oppose the RH Bill by Geri Villas
31. I Just Want Him Safe by Sathepine
32. I Killed My Guardian Angel – Is That OK? by yodz
33. Is Writing Rationally Irrational? by wes
34. Jesus and the Fig Tree by pinoyatheist
35. Judas, the Traitor? by igme
36. Just Like Rabbits by pinoyatheist
37. L2MF Post #02: On Courage, Industry, and Honesty by InfoLibertarian
38. L2MF Post #03: On Church Offerings and Charitable Donations by InfoLibertarian
39. Letters to My Father, Post #01 by InfoLibertarian
40. Liars and Friars by Ryan Tani
41. Of things concerning rock, paper, scissors, and other weapons by f241vc15
42. On Religion and Tolerance by pinoyatheist
43. On the Church’s NFP-only stance: The case of Texas by Twin-Skies
44. Philippine Historians’ Dilemma: What is Philippine Culture? by justinaquino
45. Review: Spring Awakening by wes
46. Sacrifice by igme
47. Sina B1 at B2: A conversation on contraception by Ryan Tani
48. Societal Health: the More Heathenly, the More Heavenly by Ryan Tani
49. Sorry guys, I’m reconverting… by f241vc15
50. Spare the Rod and SAVE the Child by Ryan Tani
51. Spiritual Enlightenment by Gerard Baula
52. The Birds and the Bees and the Hymens and the Mens by Ryan Tani
53. The Boss by innerminds
54. The Flaws of Science (?) by Harmless
55. The Problem with Superstitions. by pinoyatheist
56. The Theocracy Of Ed Panlilio by Geri Villas
57. Time and Life by innerminds
58. Towards healthier skepticism: Correlation does not imply causation by f241vc15
59. Viral Religion by Archer
60. We need more Catholics like this… by Twin-Skies
61. What The Faith — The Baldy, the Babes, and the Bears by Ryan Tani
62. When Death Hangs Above Your Head by pinoyatheist
63. Why People Worship Money by innerminds
64. Why volunteer? by Tania Arpa
65. Will to be Whole by Sathepine
66. Would You Like A Secular Philippines? by Benj

Note: A few of them might not be essays, but have been included as entries nontheless. If you have submissions that are not listed, please leave a comment and we will update the list.

image by Gary Bridgman

Here are a few guidelines for posting:

1. Revise and proofread. Use the built-in Word spell- and grammar-check functions. Or try this free online tool.
2. Add a picture. Don’t link to an image. Upload one and insert it into your post.
3. Categorize and tag. Be frugal with categories, but go wild with tags. Do not create new categories. You can create new tags, but be sure there isn’t a close enough equivalent — use the Choose from the most used tags in Post Tags link, or wait for auto-complete to suggest possible tags.

Follow them and we’ll feature you on the that slide thing on the home page. But more importantly, readers will enjoy your stuff even more. (Ok, the picture on the slide thing is actually more important. It really looks bad when the post doesn’t have a picture, plus you can’t click on them to go to the post.)

P.S. We are working on a better review process, but for now, these guidelines will do. And thanks to our prolific authors for making it worth the effort to post about posting guidelines

I hope this addresses some questions about freethinking and membership on the mailing list.

*

When you try to use reason and science to reach your own conclusion about something, you are freethinking.

A person can be a freethinker about some things and a superstitious nutjob about others, in the same way that you can speak one language at work and another at home.

Freethinking is this group’s native language.

Some are fluent (logical, better at critical thinking, etc.) Others have bad grammar or a weird accent (pseudoscience, logical fallacies, etc.). But it’s easy to see when someone is speaking a different language.

So anyone can come here. But unless they speak the language, they’ll either leave, learn the language, or have a bad time (and give others a bad time).

Anyway, we’re not a formal group, so membership is informal. You are a member by participating in any way (except praying).

But the more active members do have some goals, and if there’s some way you can help, please let us know. Enjoy your stay.

Vision:

Long-term: Freethinkers can live in a Philippines free from all forms of violence, discrimination, and prejudice, their rights and freedoms fully protected by a government in which their opinions are fairly and adequately represented.

Short-term: Freethinkers can easily get in touch with fellow freethinkers to enjoy online and offline activities wherever they live and whatever their cultural or socioeconomic background.

Mission:

1. PROMOTION: Promote freethought, science, and reason online (websites, blogs, wikis, and forums) and offline (magazine, radio, and TV) with a positive, non-adversarial approach.
2. PUBLISHING: Publish materials for freethinkers such as newsletters (monthly), magazines (quarterly), and books (yearly).
3. EDUCATION: Create a freethought library where freethinkers can donate, lend, and borrow books, movies, and other freethought media.
4. EVENTS: Sponsor and organize events for freethinkers such as meetups, forums, talks, workshops, and film showings.
5. FINANCE: Raise money for the above purposes through donations, grants, membership fees (maybe when we’re formal), and merchandise sales.

If you have comments about our mission and vision, please join the discussion on our forum.