Here’s the latest Suffolk Humanist newsletter in glorious colour – it has information on our February meeting where Nathan Nelson will be talking about Cambodia and the voluntary projects he is involved with there, as well as food for thought on free speech, the Burston Strike School, Christmas with kids, how you heard about God and more. Aren’t we good to you? Download the February newsletter (pdf)

BBC Radio Suffolk on 12 February 2008 Today is Darwin Day, the 199th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, the man who first described biological evolution via natural selection. On Darwin Day we celebrate the enormous benefits that scientific knowledge, acquired through human curiosity and ingenuity, has contributed to the advancement of humanity, and in particular we celebrate the achievements of a great man. If he were alive today, Im sure Darwin would be fascinated by the current BBC TV series, Life in Cold Blood, with Sir David Attenborough, some of which was filmed on the Galapagos Isles, where he made the discoveries that sowed the seeds of doubt about the conventional biblical explanation for the origin of life.

Excellent resource from the Guardian to mark Darwin Day. 150 years ago, Charles Darwin unveiled his theory of natural selection. To mark this anniversary we bring you the definitive guide to the naturalist’s great book, with extracts from key chapters and essays from leading scientists and thinkers On the Origin of Species | Science | guardian.co.uk. Tags: Darwin, Darwin+Day, Science, Evolution

E-mail: mail@suffolkhumanists.org.uk Event description: A special SIFRE Forum of Faiths Meeting at the Unitarian Meeting House, Friars Street, Ipswich, IP1 1TD. A Debate on the reaction to the Archbishop of Canterburys Lecture Civil and Religious Law in England: a religious perspective delivered by the Archbishop at the Royal Courts of Justice on Thursday 7th February. SIFRE says, Speakers from the Christian and Muslim Faiths will debate Rowan Williams thoughts on the accommodation of some aspects of Sharia Law by the English legal system and the misunderstandings and misrepresentations of his proposals by the media and politicians.

Suffolk Inter-Faith Resource is having a debate at the Unitarian Meeting house on Thursday 14 February, starting at 6pm. See our events calendar for details. SIFRE says, Speakers from the Christian and Muslim Faiths will debate Rowan William’s thoughts on the accommodation of some aspects of Sharia Law by the English legal system and the misunderstandings and misrepresentations of his proposals by the media and politicians. Tags: SIFRE, Debate, Archbishop+of+Canterbury, Sharia

UK scouts must be prepared to make the Scout Promise: On My Honour, I promise that I will do my best To do my duty to God and to the Queen, To help other people And to keep the Scout Law. The Scout Association’s website claims that, Scouting is open to all young people aged 6 to 25 of every faith and background. There are also plenty of opportunities for adults to become involved as Leaders, Assistants or Administrators.

If you’re the romantic type and want to give flowers to your beloved on Valentine’s Day, consider an alternative to expensive flowers flown from abroad and do your bit for conservation by adopting a British wild flower on his or her behalf. Adopt-a-flower is a simple way to support a serious issue. The way we look after our countryside has changed enormously over the last sixty years, particularly with the introduction of modern agricultural methods.

An extraordinary — one might almost say unbelievable — industrial tribunal case in Manchester in March gave a rare insight into how attempts to accommodate “multicultural” religious needs at work actually appear only to apply to Muslims. It developed around a spat between Muslim employees at the Royal Mail and a member of the Odinist Fellowship (a group that apparently worships the old Nordic gods). National Secular Society – The Extraordinary Case Of The Pagan And The Multicultural Prayer Room.

From the official Richard Dawkins website: SCIENCE is useful but that is not all it is. Science can be uplifting, thrilling, life-enhancing. Originally broadcast on Britain’s Channel 4 in 1996, Break the Science Barrier follows the Oxford Biologist Richard Dawkins as he meets with people who have experienced the wonders of science first-hand. We meet the astronomer who first discovered pulsars, the geneticist who invented DNA fingerprinting, a scientist who discovered a protein that causes cancer, and others.

The Archbishop of Canterbury provoked a chorus of criticism yesterday by predicting that it was “unavoidable” that elements of Islamic sharia law would be introduced in Britain. Christian and secular groups joined senior politicians to condemn Rowan Williams’ view that there was a place for a “constructive accommodation with some aspects of Muslim law” over such issues as marriage. Archbishop of Canterbury warns sharia law in Britain is inevitable – Home News, UK – Independent.