Title	Excerpt	Author	Date	Total Comments	Recent Comment
Opposing School Vouchers in Indiana	On Tuesday, March 19, members of CFI-Indiana joined Indiana Coalition for Public Education and other organizations for a rally against school vouchers at the Indiana State House.  The following day, I sat through nearly 4 hours of testimony supporting the bill to expand the already problematic voucher program in Indiana…	Reba Boyd Wooden	03/25/13	0
Indiana General Assembly Declares War on Public Education and Women	Under the guise of protecting women’s health and providing better education for children, the Indiana General Assembly is waging a war against public education and women. In an effort to make terminating a pregnancy even more difficult than it already is in Indiana, the Senate Health and Provider Services committee passed SB 371 requiring…	Reba Boyd Wooden	02/23/13	5	02/27/13
Cafe Inquiry	Café Inquiry-Thursday, January 17, 7:00 pm, Center for Inquiry-Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. Topic: The Detection of Cosmic Rays or Neutrinos from Deep Space and Their Experimental Significance. Speaker: Prof. Stuart Mufson, Astronomy Department, Indiana University, Bloomington Campus. Andrew Olson is the coordinator of the Café Inquiry programs.…	Reba Boyd Wooden	01/17/13	0
Can Religion Provide Answers in Time of Tragedy?	As the mother of two and grandmother of seven, I can identify with the parents and grandparents of the children at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. My grandchildren are kindergarten, second grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, sixth grade, ninth grade, and twelfth grade. They are in five different…	Reba Boyd Wooden	12/15/12	1	12/15/12
Why is CFI Challenging the Indiana Statute Which Specifies Who Can Solemnize Marriages?	Why is CFI challenging the Indiana statute which specifies who can solemnize marriages? The most important reason for bringing this case is that it has wider implications. It, in the big picture, is standing up for equal rights for nonbelievers. It is not just about who can solemnize a marriage.…	Reba Boyd Wooden	12/05/12	0
Change We Can Believe In Takes Time	This is a blog that I posted in January, 2010. I thought it was worth reposting. As Americans we are in a hurry. We don’t have the patience to wait for delayed gratification. We grab and eat the first marshmallow instead of waiting for the second one. We are accustomed…	Reba Boyd Wooden	08/31/12	0
White House Judicial Vacancy Briefing	More than 250 million Americans—80 percent of the U.S. population—live in a community today with a courtroom vacancy.  And 150 million live in districts awaiting a Senate confirmation vote. Courts matter to all Americans regardless of where they live, what issues they care about, and what their income is. Americans…	Reba Boyd Wooden	05/08/12	0
Church|State Separation Advocates Gather at Indiana Statehouse	On Saturday, February 11, the first Indiana Civic Day sponsored by Center for Inquiry-Indiana and the Indiana Chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State was held at the Indiana State House in Indianapolis. Over 100 people came together to hear Ron Lindsay, CEO of Center for Inquiry…	Reba Boyd Wooden	02/16/12	0
Indiana Senator Kruse Seeks to Erode Indiana Science Standards	Indiana’s Senator Dennis Kruse has introduced a bill (SB 89) in the Indiana General Assembly to allow the teaching of “creation science” in Indiana public schools. In a report just released by the Fordham Foundation, Indiana is listed as one of just seven states that earned an “A” for its science…	Reba Boyd Wooden	02/01/12	1	02/03/12
When Lawmakers Don’t Listen to Reason	Wednesday, January 25,2012 was a very frustrating day. Beginning at 8:30 am and again at 1:30 pm, I sat in on Indiana Senate committee hearings. Among the bills being discussed were SB 72 in the Health and Provider Services Committee and SB 89 in the Education and Career Development Committee.…	Reba Boyd Wooden	01/27/12	0
Secular Organizations for Sobriety	Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS) --Tuesday, October 4, 6:30 pm at Center for Inquiry-Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis. SOS is a secular alternative to AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). If you or someone you know is struggling with an addiction of any kind and would like to be a part…	Reba Boyd Wooden	05/31/11	0
The Importance of Voting	“The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing.”—Edmund Burke (1729-1797) Tuesday, November 2 is Election Day—the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even numbered years. This election (as most are) is very important for the future of our country…	Reba Boyd Wooden	10/21/10	4	10/23/10
Operation Unity: Opposition Through Action	On Friday evening August 20, I attended a rally at the   City Market in downtown Indianapolis—Indiana Believes: Operation Unity—Opposition Through Action.  This rally was organized as a protest against anti-immigration activities and a celebration of the diversity that makes Indiana a vibrant state.  At the same time about 20…	Reba Boyd Wooden	08/21/10	0
Tribute to a True Humanist	On July 26, a fellow Humanist and friend, Bob Dayle, died suddenly and unexpectedly.  About a week before his death, he was enjoying Game Night at CFI Indiana.  He volunteered to staff the center on Wednesday mornings where he helped with anything he could including fixing anything that was…	Reba Boyd Wooden	08/10/10	0
Comments About Atheists Put Off Non Religious Voters	CFI Indiana Executive Director’s   Letter to Editor of Indianapolis Star published July 6, 2010. For more information about this issue see   Freethought from the Heartland ,   December 30, 2009 and   January 13, 2010 .	Reba Boyd Wooden	07/06/10	2	07/07/10
More Science and Reason Needed in the African American Community	In preparation for our July 10 conference,   “Making Humanism Relevant to African Americans,” I decided to set my car radio dial to   WTLC-AM .  This station seems to have religious programming the majority of the day and evening which is of the highly hypnotic and emotional variety of sermons…	Reba Boyd Wooden	06/16/10	6	06/22/10
Serving the Underserved	In recent Free Thinking blogs, Justin Trottier and Ron Lindsay have both looked at charitable giving by the non religious.  For their comments and the discussion that follows, go to Justin’s blog, “Do Atheists Care Less? Yes, says MacLean’s Magazine”  and Ron’s blog,  “Should We Support SHARE?” While I agree…	Reba Boyd Wooden	05/28/10	0
Church or Fitness Center???	According to the website of Community Church of Greenwood , the main purpose or mission of the church is: Loving God. Loving each other. Loving the Lost. However, from the signage out front one would think that it is a Sports and Fitness center.  A very large lighted sign which…	Reba Boyd Wooden	05/19/10	5	05/23/10
Greeting Cards and Decoration Day	I always tear up when I browse the greeting card aisles.   It brings back memories of relatives who are no longer alive.    No grandmas and grandpas, no mom or dad to remember with a card on special occasions.   As one grows older there are less relatives from…	Reba Boyd Wooden	05/12/10	0
Funerals	Having grown up in rural southern Indiana, I have attended funerals from a very young age.   Some of these were held at homes where chairs were set in various rooms of the house or in warm weather out on the lawns.   Some were in churches and then later in, what…	Reba Boyd Wooden	04/21/10	3	05/18/10
Not Enough Marthas	In my years of attending church services, I heard this story many times: Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to…	Reba Boyd Wooden	03/31/10	2	04/01/10
Putting Love of God above Love of Neighbor	Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul…	Reba Boyd Wooden	03/24/10	5	03/29/10
Majority Vote vs Church/State Separation	ACLU of Indiana today filed a case in the U.S. District Court in Indianapolis challenging the decision of Greenwood High School to allow a student led prayer at this year's graduation ceremonies because a majority of the senior class voted in favor of it.  The plaintiff is Eric Workman who…	Reba Boyd Wooden	03/11/10	3	03/31/10
Confusing Serendipity and God	This past Saturday, I was at IRT (Indiana Repertory Theatre).  I had just walked there from CFI Indiana and was very thirsty.  I went up to the refreshment counter to get a coke but then remembered that I only had one dollar in my purse.  I asked the price of…	Reba Boyd Wooden	03/10/10	15	03/12/10
Our Country’s Future Depends on Educated Citizens	“In this kind of knowledge economy, giving up on your education and dropping out of school means not only giving up on your future, but it’s also giving up on your family’s future and giving up on your country’s future.”-- President Barack Obama President Obama plans to invest $900 million…	Reba Boyd Wooden	03/03/10	3	03/04/10
Assault on Public Education	I spent 37 years of my life "in the trenches" and would be the first to admit that there are problems in public education.  However, assaults from people who have never set foot in a public school classroom, and probably wouldn't last two days if they did, are infuriating to…	Reba Boyd Wooden	02/17/10	5	03/04/10
Promoting CFI at HASTI	On February 4 and 5, CFI Indiana had a booth at the HASTI Conference (Hoosier Association of Science Teachers, Inc.) at the Indiana Convention Center .   HASTI is the Indiana affiliate of the National Science Teachers Association .   CFI Indiana's Craig Gosling designed and planned the booth and he and…	Reba Boyd Wooden	02/11/10	1	02/16/10
George W Bush Celebrates Life in Indy	A week or so ago I found a very colorful 11 x 6 postcard in my mail with the following message: You're Invited To A Celebration of Life with George W. Bush and Sandi Patti to benefit Life Centers Thursday, April 14, 7:00 PM Conseco Fieldhouse Indianapolis and on the back side…	Reba Boyd Wooden	02/06/10	5	03/02/10
Change We Can Believe In Takes Time	As Americans we are in a hurry.  We don't have the patience to wait for delayed gratification.  We grab and eat the first marshmallow instead of waiting for the second one.  We are accustomed to having every dilemma, every problem solved in the space of an hour--which includes commercial breaks.…	Reba Boyd Wooden	01/28/10	6	02/10/10
Letter to Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels Concerning Atheist Bashing	The following letter has been sent to Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels in response to his interview in which he bashed atheists.  Indianapolis Star  Religion Editor, Bobby King , said in an email to me "... your numbers and influence are still small enough that I don't feel the need to call you…	Reba Boyd Wooden	01/13/10	2	01/14/10
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels Bashes Atheists	In an interview with a Fort Wayne, IN television station posted on December 24, 2009, Mitch Daniels, Governor of Indiana, stated: Our country was founded--this is just an historic fact; some people today may resist this notion but it is absolutely true--it was founded by people of faith. It was…	Reba Boyd Wooden	12/30/09	15	01/15/10
Should Parents Encourage Children to Believe in Santa Claus?	On Christmas Eve when I was probably 5-years-old, my father told me there was no Santa Claus and that I could stay up with the adults and help put the presents out but I was not to tell my younger brother the truth about Santa.  Christmas was never quite the…	Reba Boyd Wooden	12/21/09	17	12/28/09
To Celebrate or Not to Celebrate	To Celebrate or not to celebrate, that is the question.  Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to partake of the season's celebrations or to sit idly by while others rejoice in the season.  Some, such as Tom Flynn , think that we should take a stand and refuse to participate…	Reba Boyd Wooden	12/16/09	6	12/20/09
Today’s Family Values	Has anyone missed me on the Freethinking blog ?   John Shook politely told me that he had.   After being gone from CFI Indiana for ten days on the CFI Cruise , I came home to plunge into planning and helping conduct the first training session for the new CFI Secular…	Reba Boyd Wooden	12/09/09	0
Cruising with Paul Kurtz, Laurence Krauss, Pat Schroeder, Ken and Ruth Frazier, and Emily Kingsley	By the time most of you read this blog,  I will be on my way to Ft Lauderdale to board the cruise ship Miracle and a great time with the Center for Inquiry Travel Club .   The cruise features many great speakers along with socializing and stimulating conversations. Featured speakers include…	Reba Boyd Wooden	11/10/09	0
A Magnificent Victory Monument for a Rational Outlook on Life	In his book, Fifty Years of Unrelenting German Aspirations in Indianapolis , Theodore Stempfel hails Das Dutsches Haus as “a magnificent victory monument for a rational outlook on life.”  Das Deutsche Haus was built as a German American Turnverein, clubhouse & community center between 1894 and 1898.  It is a…	Reba Boyd Wooden	11/04/09	0
The Confluence of Religion and Politics	The Fall conference of the International Interfaith Initiative which I attended October 8 & 9, featured a keynote conversation with the Hamilton brothers-- Richard and Lee .  Richard has had a long career as a Methodist minister and social activist in the Indianpolis area. Lee was a member of the…	Reba Boyd Wooden	10/29/09	1	10/30/09
Promoting CFI Indiana as a Respectable, Cooperating Member of the Local Community	On October 8 and 9, I attended a conference at the Indiana War Memorial titled, "The Confluence of Religion and Politics ."  This was sponsored by International Interfaith Initiative .  Local sponsors were The Church Federation of Greater Indianapolis , Jewish Community Relations Council , and the Muslim Alliance of…	Reba Boyd Wooden	10/22/09	5	10/26/09
Dawkins Inspires Us to Be More Visible in the Community	On Monday evening, October 12, I attended a lecture by Richard Dawkins on his new book The Greatest Show on Earth--The Evidence for Evolution which was held on the main campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, IN.   It was a very inspiring experience.   Yes, Dawkins was Dawkins--knowledgeable, articulate, sharp, and to…	Reba Boyd Wooden	10/14/09	5	10/19/09
Charlie Sitzes Requests Listing on Adopt a Liberal Roster—Wants to Follow the Money	A Christian conservative group, fearing a liberal drift in the country's leadership, has put 11 prominent politicians and activists on an "Adopt a Liberal" roster. They're asking God to help their targets change their stances on a variety of social issues. So, CFI Indiana Friend of the Center, Charlie Sitzes,…	Reba Boyd Wooden	10/06/09	0
Robert Green Ingersoll—The Most Remarkable American Most People Never Heard Of	On October 25, Center for Inquiry Indiana will host Tom Flynn ,  Executive Director of The Council for Secular Humanism , Editor of Free Inquiry magazine, and Director of the Robert Green Ingersoll Birthplace Museum .  Hearing Tom Flynn speak about Ingersoll is the next best thing to hearing Ingersoll himself. …	Reba Boyd Wooden	10/01/09	2	10/01/09
The Exuberant Life	Paul Kurtz, founder and chairman emeritus of Center for Inquiry and its affiliate organizations, is well known for talking about "exuberance."  His little book, Affirmations: Joyful and Creative Exuberance is an inspiration to me and I have given this book to many other people including the couples whose marriage/commitment ceremonies…	Reba Boyd Wooden	09/23/09	1	09/25/09
Movie Night	Come to a free movie at CFI Indiana and then go out on the town with your friends or stay and visit with friends at the center.   Bring your favorite food/drink and/or enjoy the popcorn and beverages provided at CFI Indiana. For more information email: indy@centerforinquiry.net or call 317-797-5892.	Reba Boyd Wooden	09/18/09	0
Commision for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health	Scientific Examination of Medicine and Mental Health —Thursday, September 17, 6:30 pm, Center for Inquiry Indiana, 350 Canal Walk, Suite A, Indianapolis.    Topic:   Vestigial Organs   Craig Gosling is the coordinator of this group. Are vestigial organs evidence of evolution or evidence of Unintelligent Design?   You be…	Reba Boyd Wooden	09/17/09	0
Putting the Secular Humanist Chair at the Table of Opinion in the Media	Why is it that when articles about religious skeptics appear in the newspapers they engender so many negative comments? Why is it that reporters feel a need to have "balance" in an article about secular humanists but not about churches?  Our Indiana Institute: Religion Under Examination provided a stimulus for…	Reba Boyd Wooden	09/17/09	1	09/23/09
A Unitarian Univeralist Minister Speaks Out Re: Obama’s Speech to Students	An Account of My Conversation with the Danville School Superintendent by Andy Burnette, Minister, Unitarian Universalist Community Church , Danville, IN  I was pleased to hear early this week that the president would be addressing the nation’s school-aged children. Via a live national broadcast, President Obama would be talking about…	Reba Boyd Wooden	09/05/09	3	09/08/09
A Secular Humanist’s Perspective on Health Care Reform	This evening I listened to the National Faith Community’s Call to Action discussion which featured representatives from different faith communities , Melody Barnes ( the President’s Domestic Policy Adviser), and President Obama himself.  I liked the things I heard and I was glad to see that elements of the faith…	Reba Boyd Wooden	08/19/09	11	09/19/09
CFI Civic Days—On the Hill and In the Halls	July 18-21, I attended CFI Civic Days at the Capitol organized by the   CFI Office of Public Policy led by Toni Van Pelt, Director of Public Policy.  The   Center for Inquiry Office of Public Policy asks U.S. Congressional members to base law and policy on empirical evidence and…	Reba Boyd Wooden	07/25/09	0
A Tribute to My Father on Father’s Day	I grew up on a farm in   Southern Indiana , the oldest of four children.  My father was from a family of 10 children.  Of the 8 who lived to adulthood, he and one brother were the only ones who did not get a college education.   He stayed at home…	Reba Boyd Wooden	06/21/09	1	07/13/09
From Martin Luther King, Jr and Robert F. Kennedy to Barack Obama	Yesterday, June 5, 2009, at about 6:00 pm as I was getting ready to close up at   CFI Indiana , a lady wearing a straw hat walked in the door.   I greeted her and asked if she would like to hear about our organization and our center.   I then…	Reba Boyd Wooden	06/06/09	4	06/12/09