Every year the Science Undergraduate Society of the University of British Columbia (UBC), hosts an annual event, “Science Week,” that kicks off with a keynote speach. This year the University has obtained James Randi, a well-known magician and escape artist, who promotes skepticism of pseudoscience and the supernatural. Mr. Randi has dedicated his life to debunking and exposing well known faith-healers such as Peter Popoff and psychics such as Uri Geller. He has won the McArther Foundation “Genius” award for his work and has received numerous other awards and recognitions.

On October 19, 1993, the PBS-TV “NOVA” program broadcast a one-hour special dealing with Randi’s life work, particularly with his investigations of Uri Geller and various occult and healing claims being made by scientists in Russia. In 1996, the James Randi Education Foundation was established to further Randi’s work. Randi’s long-standing challenge to psychics now stands as a $1,000,000 prize administered by the Foundation. It remains unclaimed.

The Keynote Address from James Randi will occur on Monday January 26th and will be attended by students as well as the public. Mr. Randi will be speaking on the importance of maintaining skepticism when investigating the supernatural.

I feel that there is great value and importance in James Randi’s work and am thrilled that he is being entertained by one of the top Educational Institutions in Canada. I will be attending the event and subsequently relaying the highlights of the address on this blog and to the JWR community (www.jehovahswitnessrecovery.com), which I founded earlier this year. While the readership of this blog no doubt has a diverse set of beliefs I think it’s fair to say that we are all open minded and interested in this subject. The subject of the supernatural and faith-healing has comparative relevancy to Watchtower doctrine, which we have all been exposed and conditioned to at some point in our lives. I believe that taking a close look at this side of the argument will be helpful in the overall recovery process.

I am of the understanding that Mr. Randi will not be speaking in terms of religious philosophy, but will rather be presenting rational arguments in opposition the concept of the supernatural and how that is abused by religion. The fact that Mr. Randi has focused much of his life’s work on debunking so called faith-healers means that he is fighting the manipulative and false practices of various religions.

For those of you who share my sentiments and are happy to see these kinds of educational presentations occur in main-stream society, I invite you to help support the University in hosting this speaker. We know that nothing is free and if we want to see these presentations continue, there must be financial support. I will be making a personal contribution of $150 (Canadian) in order to attend the event and meet with Mr. Randi personally.

I have also spoken the lead event organizer who has asked if the exJW community would be interesting in supporting their efforts. I feel that this particular event is synergistic with the ideals of many of us. That said, if we can meet a donation goal of $500 (CAD) he has offered to list JWR as a co-sponsor of the event, which would entail display of the JWR logo on T-shirts and their website (also including a small writeup). They will allow us to distribute flyers/pamphlets at the event and will verbally acknowledge JWR throughout all of Science Week as well as during the Keynote Address.

I think this is an excellent opportunity not only to support a very worth-while endeavor, but to promote the exJW community and the plight of disfellowshipped Jehovah’s Witnesses to the broader community. This kind of sponsorship activity will create exposure to students and other members of the public who will be sympathetic to our cause.

If you are able to make a donation, please use the Paypal donation button found near the bottom of the page at http://jehovahswitnessrecovery.com/donations.html. All donations will be processed securely through the Paypal system. You can make a donation in any amount of your choosing. You do not need to have a paypal account, you may choose to use any major credit card in the Paypal checkout.

We are able to accept donations until January 20th, in order to process in time for the event.

Full transparent reporting will be made available online as of January 27th. I will list all donations, including the date of donation and the amount, and will provide a copy of the receipt in the total amount from the University of British Columbia.

If you are unable to make a donation but would still like to show your support, feel free to email me your letters. They can be addressed either to the Science Undergraduate Society of UBC or to Mr. Randi himself.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me. My direct email is moxie [@] jehovahswitnessrecovery.com

Please visit this link to make a donation (the donation button is at the bottom of the page)
http://jehovahswitnessrecovery.com/donations.html

Once again, my sincerest thanks for your support.

Yours,

Moxie.