This weekend could be a busy one for the freethinkers of Tucson. FreeThought Arizona is sponsoring three individual events. On Saturday and Sunday, we’ll be at the Tucson Festival of Books. Our double booth (#335 & #336) will be in a similar location as last year, just in front of the Library on the south side of the U. of A. Mall. The circus area is right behind our booth. This year we’ll have volunteers standing by to answer your questions along with literature to hand out. Last year, our booth was very popular with a wide variety of visitors. We’re hoping to have a similar experience this year.

On Sunday, at the U. of A. University Medical Center in the DuVal Auditorium at 10:30 AM, Dr. Hector Avalos will present A Historical or Mythic Jesus? An Agnostic Viewpoint. Scholars of Jesus usually divide themselves into Jesus historicists and Jesus mythicists. Historicists believe that there was a real historical person behind the Jesus of the Gospels, even if there are many legendary additions to his biography.

From his Wikipedia article, “Dr. Avalos is an internationally recognized opponent of neo-creationism and the intelligent design movement, and is frequently linked to Guillermo Gonzalez, an astrophysicist and proponent of intelligent design who was denied tenure at Iowa State University in 2007. Avalos co-authored a statement against intelligent design in 2005, which was eventually signed by over 130 faculty members at Iowa State University. That faculty statement became a model for other statements at the University of Northern Iowa and at the University of Iowa.
Gonzalez and Avalos are both featured in the movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008). Avalos is an atheist activist and advocate of secular humanist ethics.”

In addition to Dr. Avalos’s presentation, at 8:15 AM, Café FreeThought Get-together for a lively discussion of issues dealing with the intersection of religion, politics and culture. Bring Your Own Coffee. Dr. Gil Shapiro is the moderator. Announcements and Music follow before Dr. Avalos’s presentation. Lunch is available in the UMC cafeteria followed by a movie in the DuVal auditorium.

Tucson is part of Roy Zimmerman’s “Blue Dot Tour.”

On Sunday, at 6:00 PM in the UU Church of Tucson, Roy Zimmerman will be giving a concert. Roy Zimmerman sings satirical songs – original songs about class warfare, creationism, same-sex marriage, guns, marijuana, abstinence, Republicans (a lot of songs about Republicans), ignorance, war and greed.

People who grew up with Tom Lehrer will enjoy Roy’s performance.