By BOB REEVES / Lincoln Journal Star - Sat, Aug 04, 2007

Brian Ellis doesn't believe in God, and he doesn't want any of the dogmas, rituals or other trappings of religion.

But he and several like-minded friends felt they were missing something by not belonging to a church.

"As non-religious people, we were missing out on the community aspect of the church," he said. So they got together last fall and formed Lincoln Secular Humanists, an organization that gives nonbelievers an opportunity to meet and socialize with others who don't believe in God but do believe in trying to make the world a better place.

The group meets from 7 to 9 p.m. every Friday at The Coffee House, 1324 P St. On a recent Friday, more than a dozen people showed up to talk about politics, science, moral issues and anything else they felt like bringing up in a relaxed, nonjudgmental atmosphere.

To some extent, the organization offers the type of support group that religious people find in their church, mosque or synagogue, said Jackson Meredith, another of the founding members.

"Religious groups are defined by what they are; we're defined by what we aren't," he said.

The men and women seated around the table had widely differing opinions on topics all the way from the merits of socialism versus capitalism to the weird subject of how to explain the recent news story about a nursing home cat that seemed to intuit which patient was about to die.

They traded jokes and anecdotes, often making fun of organized religion, but there was no pressure to espouse any "correct" beliefs, opinions or doctrines, except a general agreement that people should tolerate one another and that individuals acting without God's help can make a difference in the world.

"I don't want to sit around with people who agree with everything I say," said Miguel Picanco, another of the founding members. "I can't learn anything that way."

The group's mission statement, posted on its Web page, defines a humanist as someone who bases ethical decisions on compassion and scientific reasoning rather than dogma or tradition.

Lincoln Secular Humanists seeks to defend the separation of church and state, fight intolerance and educate the public about the importance of secular society and encourage rational discussion, the mission statement says.

"In a secular society, the government is neutral," said Joseth Moore, another regular attendee. "The Soviet Union tried to ban religion, and it doesn't work. The government shouldn't stop people when they want to believe (but) shouldn't impose any beliefs on people."

"I feel religion has done some bad things but also a lot of good in the world," Ellis said. "Christians, Muslims (and other religious people) have done a lot of humanitarian work, but religions have also inspired hate."

Picanco quoted an adage of unknown origin: "Good people do good things and bad people do bad things, but for good people to do bad things, it takes religion."

Ellis, who grew up nonreligious, noted that non-belief in God and an afterlife carries certain ethical obligations. "We (secular humanists) view this life as all we have, and therefore it's up to us to create meaning out of that life."

Meredith agreed. "We can't sit back and wait for the pearly gates," he said. "This is all we get. That's what drives us to make the world a better place."

Growing up as a nonbeliever, Ellis said he experienced few conflicts with his friends until he was in high school. "When I started having more in-depth discussions about the `big questions,' I lost some friends because I said I didn't believe in God."

Others in the group have religious backgrounds but came to reject religion as teenagers or adults.

Moore described himself as the son of a fundamentalist African-American preacher. He accepted the Pentecostal faith he had been taught until he was in college at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he was exposed to many other viewpoints and worldviews.

"It took me years to get to where I am, from where I first started to question to becoming a full-fledged agnostic or atheist."

One thing that caused him to seriously question his childhood religion was learning that there are more than 2,000 different religious sects in the world, most of which claim to be right and the others wrong. "How can all of them say they are the only way? That just doesn't make sense," said Moore.

Ellis said he considers himself an agnostic — a person who believes it's impossible to know whether or not there is a God. "I never try to proselytize, but I want to be honest with myself and other people," he said.

Picanco, whose stepmother was a Jehovah's Witness, said he began at an early age to see the inconsistencies in religious belief. Seeing the prejudices of one group against those of another religion helped move him to a position of non-belief.

"I don't tell people I'm an atheist; I say I'm a non-practicing Catholic," said Diego Chavez, another group member. He once lost a job when his boss discovered he wasn't a Christian, and he told about making the mistake of telling a girl on the first date that he was an atheist. "She ran for the hills," he said.

The organization includes some college students, but most of the members are from throughout the Lincoln community, Ellis said. He works as a veterinary technician, Moore writes science fiction books, and Picanco is a professional musician and Web designer. Meredith described himself as a "once and future student" currently employed as a dishwasher. About 15 people attend each Friday, and 30 to 40 receive an e-mail newsletter.

Besides the Friday evenings at The Coffee House, Lincoln Secular Humanists have occasional movie nights, discussing films with religious or ethical themes. Trekkies for Humanism meets on the last Saturday of each month to watch and discuss "Star Trek" videos. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of "Star Trek," was a secular humanist who believed in rationality and tolerance, Meredith said.

The organization will host a showing of the public television documentary "A Brief History of Disbelief" in three segments on Sept. 17, 18 and 19 at the Unitarian Church, 6300 A St. Each showing will last from 7 to 8 p.m., followed by an hour of discussion.

They also are planning special events for Winter Solstice (Dec. 23), Darwin Day (Feb. 12) and World Humanist Day (June 21).

Members of the group speak twice each year to students in a religious studies class at Doane College. They discuss the reasons they don't believe in gods, the meaning of secular ethics and the value of keeping America a secular society. Last fall the group co-hosted a public discussion at St. Mark's on the Campus Episcopal Church about religion and politics.

Following their Friday meeting at The Coffee House, several from the group go to a downtown street corner across from The Grand movie theater, where they stage a counter-protest to the man they call the "Cross Guy."

The "Cross Guy" is actually two different preachers, Brian Hammer and John Bilka, both members of Glad Tidings Assembly of God Church, who stand in front of the theater with a big cross, calling on people to repent of their sins.

On a recent Friday, Bilka was there, loudly preaching. "God does not play games," he intoned. "You cannot win against God. God could throw everybody into hell right now."

Meanwhile, on the other side of 12th Street, the Lincoln Secular Humanists carried signs with messages such as "Beware of Dogma!" and "Honk for Tolerance."

One young woman who had just come over from the street preacher's side gave encouragement to the humanists. "Good for you guys; stick it to the man," she said.

The humanists usually stand there for about an hour every Friday to demonstrate that many people in Lincoln disagree with the "Cross Guy's" message. Usually there's no confrontation, but once some people who supported the street preachers ripped up the humanists' signs and threw pop cans and rocks at them, Ellis said.

"It's a ritual we do. Then after this we hit the bars," Chavez said.

"We're trying to deflate his (the preacher's) negative message," Picanco said.

Bilka said he has no objection to the counter-protest. "They have every right to be over there," he said, adding that "one of the greatest things about America" is freedom of speech.

"I don't support their message," he added. "Humanism is for tolerance, but it seems the thing they are intolerant of is Christians."

Reach Bob Reeves at 473-7212 or breeves@journalstar .com.