PZ Myers and Rev. Jon Weyer Join SSA Speakers Bureau

The Secular Student Alliance is pleased to announce that we have added popular blogger PZ Myers (Pharyngula) and Rev. Jonathan Weyer to our Speakers Bureau. The Speakers Bureau consists of freethought speakers who have graciously offered to speak / present / debate on your campus for free, provided you are an official affiliate of the Secular Student Alliance. Learn more about the Bureau at www.secularstudents.org/speakers.

Dr. PZ Myers
PZ Myers is an Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Minnesota - Morris, author of the popular and award-winning blog Pharyngula, a founding member of The Panda's Thumb and an outspoken critic of intelligent design and creationism.

An outspoken atheist, PZ Myers is a vocal skeptic of all forms of religion, superstition, spirituality and pseudoscience. He is quoted as having "nothing but contempt for ID," arguing that it is "fundamentally dishonest." His blog has received awards and critical acclaim, its topics ranging from criticism of intelligent design to elements of his biological research, politics, superstition, and popular culture.

In August 2009, Myers was the guest of honor at the Secular Student Alliance trip to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY, where nearly 300 freethinkers met to view the creationist ideas first-hand. He then gave the keynote presentation at the Secular Student Alliance 2009 Conference, where he discussed hands-on ways to counter creationism and other nonscientific silliness.

Rev. Jonathan Weyer
While Rev. Weyer is an ordained orthodox minister, he has an uncommon penchant for fostering dialogue and cooperation between the religious and the nonreligious.

Rev. Jonathan Weyer is a self-described religious nutjob who lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife Wendy, three kids and a cat. He is a campus minister at The Ohio State University with the CCO-The Cloister and is an ordained minister with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Along with Ashley Paramore, board member of the SSA, he planned a discussion with Hemant Mehta that won a Multicultural award from the Ohio State University. He loves bringing together believers, nonbelievers, skeptics, atheists, and doubters to discuss why God calls people to a lifestyle of doubt. In his spare time, he loves to write, read and drink hard cider. He also maintains a blog for the Thomas Society at www.thomas2026.wordpress.com.

Rev. Weyer is available to speak on the following topics.

• How to cooperate with religious groups
• A Chaplain to Pirates: My life among the Pastafarians (the story of how Ashley and I started working together)
• Creating a blogging world for Christians and Atheists
• Understanding how Christians view the world
• Atheist "Bible Studies"
• Addressing objections to God's existence from a Christian point of view
• Understanding American Christianity
• Why God calls us to be Doubters and Skeptics

If you are interested in having either of these speakers come present at your campus, please contact the campus organizer at organizer@secularstudents.org, or fill out our online Speaker Request form.