Sand dollar shell: Other names for nontheist friends / Nontheist Friends, "Evolutionary biological f/Friends," "Atheist Quakers," "Relaxation response, email, nontheist f/Friends," other names for NTFs from an unfolding, NTF email conversation?

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Hi Nontheist Friends,

I'm quite interested in the name "Evolutionary biological f/Friends," since that seems to be a main context out of which humans, and all species, stem, and would be interested in furthering a discussion of this in our Quakerly email groups (both general and planning NTFs), as well as at FGC (to which I think I'm also heading).  Evolutionary biology, as an interest of some nontheist Friends, has been written about in the "Nontheist Friend" entry in Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nontheist_Friend - for some years now, for example, - and as an open, wiki definition.

But I also think the term "Atheist Quaker," without the question mark, more closely parallels the term "Nontheist Friend" than almost any other, for me, and logically, and has also long been part of this other, wiki, subject name of the "Nontheist Friend (Atheist Quaker?)" page - http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Nontheist_Friends_%28atheist_Quakers%3F%29 - at open, free, wiki World University and School, - also for years now.

With both terms, - "Evolutionary biological f/Friends" and "Atheist Quakers,"  - I see kinds of "if not, then ... " and "if ... then" logics that ring true for me in this process of (nontheistic) F/friendly truth-seeking, with long historical precedents (that is, seeking the truth) among Friends, and in Quaker thinking. This linguistic logic goes: if not theist Quakers, then nontheist f/Friends. And, if nontheist Quakers, then atheist f/Friends, as well as, if atheist f/Friends, then evolutionary biological Quakers (especially from 'origin' / ontological / naturalist perspectives).

So I too am glad there is great diversity in these names we are currently exploring here in our NTF email lists, as well as some tolerance/appreciation among us for this process as well as for these NTF names (which hasn't always been the case historically among religious identities, Quakers, or even nontheistic (I assume) species' engagement, unfriendly or not, with each other (as among common chimpanzees, which 'do' war, aggression and team violence, but not among Bonobo chimpanzees, which are egalitarian, matriarchal, very sexual and with no known fatalities per primatologists, since their discovery in the 1920s and 1930s)), in my reading of religious history. I hope we NTFs can learn richly from the natural / biological world, also, and especially from other higher primate species, in our seeking of 'truths' in these unfolding NTF naming conversations, hence my interest in the name "Evolutionary Biological (nontheist) f/Friends." 

I'm very curious to learn of other possible names for NTFs from this unfolding conversation. The diversity of our names for ourselves and NTFs thus far is far-reaching, and engaging. For example, "Human primate Quakers / s/Friends" interests me.

One further name that I would entertain for NTFs in "Relaxation response, email, nontheist f/Friends" engaging my reading of the effects of 350 years of Quaker Meeting - sitting together / gathering in silence, and sharing - now in our unfolding digital conversations. (Here's WUaS's relaxation response wiki subject - http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/Relaxation_Response).

Looking forward to meeting some of you/us further in Rhode Island; and yea for NTFs and our unfolding Quaker-informed conversations.

Nontheistically f/Friendly regards,
Scott




(... interesting, unfolding discussion about names for nontheist Friends e.g. atheist Quakers / humanist Quakers, in the NTF email lists under multiple subject headings).




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