The Great American God-Out presented by Atheists United for a Rational America

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THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! Find us on YouTube and Facebook.

"Begotten's sister struggles with a water-logged cello and the meaninglessness of slavery."

PLAY LOUD. THINK A LOT.

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheGodOutChannel

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THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT!

Live without god--if only for one day.

NOVEMBER 12, 2009.

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2009

THE GREAT AMERICAN

GOD-OUT!

The Higher Power is YOU!!

Nov. 12, 2009

A YouTube Special.

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What is the GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT!?

THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! (GAGO) is a newly demarcated holiday wherein like The Great American Smokeout people are encouraged to combine their supportive efforts to help prevent and cure disease. Even if just for one day--people will live as if their is no god--as if there only exists the goodness of self and others to sustain healthy living. (See Play The Game.)

THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! will also provide people the opportunity to lobby for genuine separation of church and state and live--even if just for one day--as if there are no barriers to accessing to our Constitutional rights.

Join in the efforts to educate, organize, celebrate and spread the word about THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! Get the facts--get evolved!

What is the history of The Great American God-Out!?

Novmeber 15th, 2007 marked the first ever Great American God-Out! lecture series with a central celebration in New York City. Other "God-Out!" festivites were scheduled around the country on the same day. Dr. Michael Shermer of Skeptic Magazine, Ellen Johnson of American Atheist, Margaret Downey of Atheist Alliance International, Fred Edwords of American Humanist, prominent members of Secular Coalition for America and the brilliant musical musings of rapper Greydon Square all took the stage at Metro 53 in NYC.

http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/i-new-york/24247/losing-our-religion

see also Archives: http://www.godout.org/2008_06_01_archive.html

November 15th, 2008 marked the second annual GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! in San Fransisco. Former Air Force Officer and attorney, Mikey Weinstein, founder of Military Religious Freedom Foundation was the featured speaker along with Dan Barker, author and co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The genius of 'The Comic Jesus' (Troy Conrad) was also featured.

http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=6282

What is THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! doing this year? BREAKING NEWS!!

November 15th, 2009 THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! will take place in a more unusual setting--in a number of undisclosed locations and on YouTube. Visit TheGodOutChannel on YouTube and also on Facebook for updates and clues. Coming to a city near you?

http://www.facebook.com/pages/TheGodOutChannel/140179674099

Is THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! affiliated with The Great American Smokeout?

No. There is no affiliation between GAGO and The Great American Smokeout sponsored by the American Cancer Society. For information on the latter visit www.cancer.org.

2008: GAGO ticket and venue information:

Tickets for the program with Mikey Weinstein, Dan Barker, and special guests are on sale now. The ticket price of $35 includes access to all events, the speaker, and a catered wine reception with hors d'oeuvres provided by Bristol Farms. Schedule and venue details are found below.

2:00 - 2:30 PM: Dan Barker, author of Godless, and Co-president of Freedom From Religion Foundation.

2:40 - 3:30 PM: Mikey Weinstein founder of Military Religious Freedom Foundation.

3:30 - 4:45 PM: Wine reception catered by Bristol Farms. Book signing with Dan Barker and opportunity for Q&A with featured guests. --Participants are also welcome to join in the evening festivities which will be announced at the event.--

THE VENUE:
THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! takes place in beautiful downtown San Francisco inside the Westfield shopping center in a SFSU conference room.

Directions: Use the Market St. entrance between Walgreens and BeBe. (There is a SFU banner hanging outside the entrance.) Take elevator to 6th floor and follow signs to double rooms 675 and 676. Signs will be posted and bags will be checked at the door.

Contact @ <rationality.rules@gmail.com>.

The GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! is proudly sponsored by Atheists United for a Rational America (A.U.R.A.--"Nothing mysterious about it!) a Non Profit 501(c)3 corporation.

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God-Out T-Shirts

Official God-Out t-shirts are available at Order of St. Nick's Cafepress store.

You may freely post and distribute these God-Out banners and posters to spread the cause.

For the Web:

For printing:

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111 PARTICIPATE! 111

THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT encourages all people--people of faith and those who are godless--to join in acknowledgment and celebration of 'a day without god.'

This year THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! (GAGO) will be marked by a YouTube video to be uploaded on November 12th, 2009.

The following is a list of ideas you might engage in to honor THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT!

Ways to Participate:

1. Plan ahead to to make time for friendly conversation with others about God and religion. Make a breakfast, lunch or dinner date with people from work, your friends and/or acquaintances (include new people!) Play the "Say There Is No God Game" and discuss your results with others. Laugh! Love! Learn!

2. Be cashless for one day and do not exchange any currency stamped with "In God We Trust." Write personal checks or use debit/credit cards for purchases. Ask yourself whether "God" should be included in economic gains and losses and stamped on economic tokens. Discuss your views with friends, family, church members or experts in the field.

3. Visit the following website: www.ehow.com/how_5054254_secular-drug-rehab.html. Learn the various ways addictive behavior can be treated without reliance on religious ideology. Keep track of your thoughts and emotions and make time or plan for a day when you can discuss your views with others.

4. Visit www.howstuffworks.com and read about a scientific topic you might think is related to religion and keep track of what you learn. Make time or plan for a day when you can discuss your feelings and questions with others.

5. Visit the Scientific American website and read the latest news. (http://www.sciam.com/) Make time or plan for a day when you can discuss your feelings and questions about what you learn with others.

6. Learn how to identify and correct at least one logical fallacy for the day. Visit :http://atheism.about.com/od/logicalfallacies/a/overview.htm to learn your fallacy for the day!

BE CREATIVE! LIVE! LOVE! LEARN! BE HAPPY AND GODLESS--EVEN IF JUST FOR ONE DAY!

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ABOUT MIKEY WEINSTEIN:
Mikey Weinstein is the undisputed leader of the national movement to restore the obliterated wall separating church and state in the most technologically lethal organization ever created by humankind; the United States armed forces. Mikey's family has a long and distinguished U.S. military history spanning three consecutive generations of military academy graduates and over 130 years of combined active duty military service in every major combat engagement our country has been in from World War I to the current Global War on Terror.

Mikey is a 1977 Honor Graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. Mikey has been married for 31 years to his wife, Bonnie. He is the proud parent of two sons and one daughter. His oldest son and daughter-in-law are 2004 Graduates, and Mikey's youngest son recently graduated in the Class of 2007 from the Air Force Academy and is the sixth member of Mikey's family to attend the Academy. His father is a distinguished graduate of the United States Naval Academy. Mikey spent 10 years in the Air force as a "JAG" or military attorney serving as both a Federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney.

A registered Republican, he also spent over three years in the West Wing of the Reagan Administration as legal counsel in the White House. In his final position there, Mikey was named the Committee Management Officer of the much-publicized Iran-Contra Investigation in his capacity as Assistant General Counsel of The White House Office of Administration, Executive Office of the President of the United States. Mikey has held numerous positions in corporate America as a senior executive businessman and attorney.

After stints at prominent law firms in both New York City and Washington D.C., he served as the first General Counsel to Texas billionaire and two-time Presidential candidate H. Ross Perot and Perot Systems Corporation and left Mr. Perot's employ in 2006 to focus his fulltime attention on the nonprofit foundation he founded to directly battle the evangelical, fundamentalist religious right; The Military Religious Freedom Foundation.

Mikey has appeared innumerable times on all of the major cable and terrestrial TV news networks and is a frequent guest on national radio networks as well.? His constitutional activism has been covered and profiled extensively in the print media including the Associated Press, The New York Times, the Washington Post, the L.A. Times, the Denver Post, The Guardian and many other national and international newspapers and periodicals including Time magazine.
St. Martins Press in New York released Mikey's book, "With God On Our Side: One Man's War Against an Evangelical Coup in America's Military" in October 2006. The paperback version was released in February 2008 with the Forward being written by Ambassador Joseph Wilson IV. The book is an expose on the systemic problem of religious intolerance throughout the United States armed forces. Mikey recently made his international film debut in the Hollywood adaptation of James Carroll's New York Times best selling book detailing the 2,000 year bloody history between the Church and the Jews, entitled "Constantine's Sword", and directed by Oscar nominee Oren Jacoby.

Mikey was just named one of the 50 most influential Jews in America by the Forward, one of the nation's preeminent Jewish publications. He also has received nomination for the JFK's Profile in Courage Award and received the Buzzflash Wings of Justice Award.

Reviled by the fundamentalist Christian right, Mikey has been given many names by his evangelical enemies including Satan, Satan's lawyer, the Antichrist, That Godless, Secular Leftist, The Antagonizer of All Christians, The Most Dangerous Man in America and, most recently and perhaps most colorfully, The Field General of the Godless Armies of Satan.

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A.U.R.A. is pleased to announce that the Great American God-Out!, a newly established annual festivity, will take place this year in San Francisco, CA, on November 15, 2008. It is with distinct honor that we also announce Mikey Weinstein, President and Founder of Military Religious Freedom Foundation , will be the guest speaker.

The purpose of the the Great American God-Out! (GAGO) is to encourage people to think about the possibility of morality existing independently of theology and to abide by humanistic principles–live as if there is no god–even if only for one day.

The purpose is also to lobby for genuine separation of church and state and encourage people to acknowledge the proper role of religion in the private sphere.

Tickets will for GAGO 2008 are on sale now!

Inquiries can be directed to rationality (dot) rules @ gmail (dot) com. Subject heading: “GAGO 2008″

THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT!–THE ULTIMATE AMERICAN EXPERIMENT!

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The Village Voice Advertisment for the First Ever Great American God-Out! held in New York City, 2007. The event featured speakers Dr. Michael Shermer and Margaret Downey, with live music by Greydon Square. This year, we are pleased to announce that Mikey Weinstein will be our featured speaker! The event will be held in San Francisco, 2008.

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PRESS ROOM:

"Event Calls for Day without God" - The Institute for Humanist Studies (10/17/07)

Joey Reynolds interview with Michael Shermer and Lydia Hartunian - The Joey Reynolds Show (11/14/07)

"Losing our Religion" - Time Out New York Article (11/15/07)
"The Great American God-Out!" BeyondChron: San Francisco Alternative Daily, (11/12/08)

"Saluting Darwin" - The Daily Iowan (2/17/08)

The Des Moines Register (11/14/07) - Part of paid archive

For press inquiries, please contact Dr. Lydia Hartunian at rationality.rules@gmail.com

2007 God-Out Recap

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POST-PARTY ANALYSIS
THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! Nov. 15th, 2007
Location: METRO 53, NYC, NY
Help Make Reason a Reality!!

Come together!

The GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! is pleased to announce that the first ever GAGO was a huge success. Our biggest gains were in terms of fun, friendship and future. Hence, all goals were achieved.

Oh, do tell, who was there??

Naturally, we could begin by dropping the names of all the fabulous famed and influential who were in attendance (and we will!) but we'd like to begin by thanking people who's names many may not know but without whom an event like this could never have happened.

We're talking about the people behind the scenes, people in the movement, young and old, whose dedication and drive makes it possible for large scale organizations to exist.

Take for example, "cultural maven", Eddie Goldman. For over 30 years Eddie has committed his life to reason, to ridding the world of delusion and to fighting for our rights--no holds barred! Eddie Goldman was responsible for getting Dr. Lydia Hartunian (Director), Dr. Michael Shermer (Speaker) and his own witty self booked on the syndicated Joey Reynolds radio show in NYC to promo the event to hundreds of thousands of people!

Then there are people like college student, Courtney Clair, who's tireless commitment to overcoming challenges in her own life have spilled over to a tireless commitment to helping others thinking critically. Without the help of Courtney and her friend, Derrick, invitations would not have gone out, myspace bulletins would not have been posted, and people would not have had the great pleasure of meeting her gorgeous, smiling face at the door!

The same can be said for college student, Gabe Hagen, who, like Courtney, is an Iowa native although now spreading his godless wings in San Diego. Gabe has pledged every wave of his energy to help make next year's party an even bigger success and this year was able to greet people at the door, make them feel welcome and comfortable in a way only a genuinely thoughtful human can.

And what about “Alexa”? While she, like many, prefer to remain a bit more anonymous, her ability to make quick decisions, her disarming wit and her artistic talents are what allowed THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT! to have some of the most fantastic advertisements published in Reason magazine and the Village Voice!

Thank you to these people and to so many more who pitched their support in any way!

Young and old, atheist and agnostic, even people of faith, from all over the globe (e.g., Iowa, Montana, Florida, New York, Washington D.C., Australia, Holland, Germany) were able to come together under one roof to celebrate the fact that we are not one nation under god.

The names! The names!

First, it is with great pleasure we report Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheist, was in attendance and, serendipitously, was on the Glenn Beck show that evening! With large TV screens everywhere we were literally able to stop the show and pump CNN through the sound system to watch Ellen joust with the notoriously irrational Glenn Beck.

President of American Humanist, Fred Edwords, Lori Lipman Brown, the only godless lobbyist on the planet, members of Students for Secular Alliance and the Secular Coalition for Americagraciously took the stage for a round of applause as we all had the opportunity to thank them for their relentless efforts to fight for a reason-based world!

They were followed up by the President of Atheist Alliance International, Margaret Downey, who took the stage to remind us why we are not a “Christian Nation” and why “God” should not be on our money.

And we were only getting started!

Before the distinguished and witty guest of honor, Dr. Michael Shermer, founder of Skeptic magazine and regular contributor to Scientific American took the stage to emphasize the importance of reason and surprise some by reminding not all godless are political liberals, we were introduced to the “Singing Darwinian,” Dr. Richard Milner. With tunes like "Blues for Scopes" and a song that took us inside the mind of “Darwin's nightmare”, the crowd was able to learn yet more ways in which this good fight for reason can be fought. A godless song and dance, anyone?

And how about the funny side of atheism? With yet another ‘godless trick’ up our sleeve, comedian Joe Dixon took the stage making us laugh with tales of being a godless, African American who may find himself out of favor with some of his peers, but most definitely not is not out of favor with the committedly rational.

Finally; Greydon Square. What can one say about a man who grew up in Compton, found his ticket out of a violent and crime-ridden community via the United States military, served two tours of duty in Iraq and now studies physics at a college in Arizona in addition to boosting his music career, except: “Wow!” and “Thank you!” The beats, the lyrics, the poignancy of it all, may bring tears to the eye, but will also leave you in awe of his brilliant insights, and make you want to dance!!

So how did it all end? Well, there was an open bar…The speakers, the entertainment, the excitement of it all—knowing that we were the ones to participate in the first ever GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT!—we're still spinning from all the fun!

So where were you?

And where will you be next year on Saturday, Nov.15, 2008 as THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD OUT! takes the world, again, by rational storm?!

THE GREAT AMERICAN GOD-OUT!, 2008.

Coming to a town near you?

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PLAY THE GAME: "Say There Is No God..."

GAME RULES: All one need do is answer the following questions honestly and if one chooses, play the game with others and discuss your answers thoughtfully and with care. IT'S ONLY A GAME!! A thought game. Laugh! Learn! Be Happy!

GAME QUESTIONS: (Print this page to play with others!)

1. Say there is no god, would you no longer love your family, friends, children, pets or significant others? Why or why not?

2. Say there is no god, would you stop hoping for a cure for cancer? Why or why not?

3. Say there is no god, would you stop caring about the health of the environment? Why or why not?

4. Say there is no god, would you want orphaned children to find loving homes? Why or why not?

5. Say there is no god, would you want auto-engineers to design a safe car that gets great gas mileage? Why or why not?

6. Say there is no god, would you want Osama Bin Laden to be captured? Why or why not?

7. Say there is no god, would you want child-abusers to be punished by law? Why or why not?

8. Say there is no god, would you teach children to be selfish? Why or why not?

9. Say there is no god, would you steal money from an unattended purse? Why or why not?

10. Say there is no god, would you choose to act out violently? Why or why not?

FINALLY: Say there is no god, identify at least one reason you would still have to keep on living, be happy and that would bring meaning to your life. (Think hard--you can do this!)

ANALYZE YOUR ANSWERS: How is your world different without god than it is with god? Have fun discussing your answers with others!