Congrats to Sam, Richard and all on a successful camp and especially for having a thorough understanding of what makes a CQ and pulling it off perfectly.

Now on to CQ Michigan. And yes, I’m still the camp director there.

Best,

-Z

http://crispian-jago.blogspot.com/2009/07/overwhelming-support-for-camp-quest-uk.html

Links to lots more articles, blogs, videos and radio interviews on my blog if you’re interested.

Hi David,

I just had another look at your website – the song Mr Darwin is really fantastic.
Do you have any other songs we could teach them around the camp fire? I think it would be good if the workshop songs were evolution based, but we are open to all suggestions (Just no John Lennon songs, please! )

We are really looking forward to having you at camp.

Samantha

My business partner Sue Blake and I visited today and spent a wonderful few hours there, teaching the kids a few songs (Mr Darwin, Stargazing, Planets and Mutate) then chatting to Camp Quest founder Edwin Kagin, the UK Camp leaders Sam Stein and Richard Craig and other members of the counselling team, especially the delightful Jens Christensen.

The idea that this is some sort of atheism indoctrination camp is so wide of the mark it’s laughable. It is simply a secular summer camp that – alongside all the usual physical activities and challenges – is offering campers the chance to develop their critical thinking. I witnessed a conversation between Edwin Kagin and a young camper about the invisible unicorns and was amazed at the degree of sophistication that young Esmee employed (I would guess she was maybe 10 or 12 at most) in her scepticism over Edwin’s declared faith in the mythical beast.

In the UK we attempt to pump our kids full of facts and – paradoxically – quite a lot of unproved and unprovable dogma through our bizarre insistence on religious education in schools. We do so little to develop the ability of children to think for themselves. At some point some kids (thank goodness) do go on to develop the faculty of independent thought (though the mindless output of the popular press and television would imply that many adults never attain this degree of sophistication). They then realise we’ve been pumping them full of undigested data combined with religious nonsense. No wonder they get disillusioned with the educational process!

Camp Quest is a tiny chink of light – trying to stimulate a bit of rational, analytical thought in our youngsters. I wish them every luck this year and into the future.

Turkish TV gameshow looks to convert atheists
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – What happens when you put a Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk in a room with 10 atheists?

Turkish television station Kanal T hopes the answer is a ratings success as it prepares to launch a gameshow where spiritual guides from the four faiths will seek to convert a group of non-believers.

The prize for converts will be a pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen religion — Mecca for Muslims, the Vatican for Christians, Jerusalem for Jews and Tibet for Buddhists.

But religious authorities in Muslim but secular Turkey are not amused by the twist on the popular reality game show format and the Religious Affairs Directorate is refusing to provide an imam for the show.

“Doing something like this for the sake of ratings is disrespectful to all religions. Religion should not be a subject for entertainment programs,” High Board of Religious Affairs Chairman Hamza Aktan told state news agency Anatolian after news of the planned program emerged.

The makers of “Penitents Compete” are unrepentant and reject claims that the show, scheduled to begin broadcasting in September, will cheapen religion.

Vatican should learn from Galileo mess, prelate says

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Catholic Church should not fear scientific progress and possibly repeat the mistake it made when it condemned astronomer Galileo in the 17th century, a Vatican official said on Thursday in a rare self-criticism.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090702/sc_nm/us_pope_science_1