Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2008 08:26:43 -0800

From: Joanne Matheson <jmmatheson@YAHOO.COM>

Subject: Please remove me from the listserv

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#112

Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:48:10 -0600

From: James Teufel <teufel@SIU.EDU>

Subject: I am staying on the HEDIR

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The response received from the HEDIRites overwhelmingly supported critical thought and freedom of speech. As a result, I am staying on the HEDIR.

This also helps to set precedent for those who wish to act as censors on the HEDIR. Critical examination and freedom are more valued constructs on the HEDIR than censoring and people's feelings.

Thank you.

James

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#113

Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:31:43 -0800

From: "Lawrence W. Green" <lwgreen@COMCAST.NET>

Subject: FW: [CCPH_Board] Check out Larry "live" on the web!

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Webcast of LW Green presentation in the monthly NIH Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series:

-----Original Message-----

From: ccph_board-bounces@mailman1.u.washington.edu

Sent: Thursday, January 10, 2008 11:14 PM

To: ccph_board@u.washington.edu

Subject: [CCPH_Board] Check out Larry "live" on the web!

Dear CCPH board members and staff,

Thought you'd be interested in seeing this - Larry will be speaking next week at NIH - the session will be videocast on the web - details below!

If We Want More Evidence-Based Practice, We Need More Practice-Based Evidence

Larry Green, DrPH

Adjunct Professor

Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Medicine University of California at San Francisco Co-Leader of the Society, Diversity and Disparities Program of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCSF

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

3:00 - 4:00 PM

Reception with light refreshments

Masur Auditorium

Building 10

NIH

Event will be videocast LIVE on the Web

Event will be available in the videocast ARCHIVE

Dr. Green's work seeks to find ways to bridge the gap between research and professional practice, and between research and policy. One strategy he has pursued over the past decade is participatory research, making research more relevant to practitioners or policy makers by engaging them in developing the research questions, data collection, and interpretation. Another is in practice-based research networks and other strategies of assuring that the research we seek to disseminate has some grounding in the realities of clinical, organizational, community and population health circumstances. He has also worked most recently on promoting a greater emphasis on external validity in peer review and research reporting, to balance the current emphasis on internal validity.

****************************************************************************

**

Community-Campus Partnerships for Health promotes health (broadly defined) through partnerships between communities and higher educational institutions.

Celebrating a Decade of Transforming Communities & Higher Education,

1997-2007

****************************************************************************

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#114

Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:17:20 -0800

From: Mark Fulop <markfulop@YAHOO.COM>

Subject: religion and public health

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James,

I better understand your point but wonder if we need to think about religion and health in two separate buckets. One is personal and one societal.

1. In the religion and personal health bucket, both the Judeo Christian writings and Islamic writings (I know little detail of other religions) describe health protective behaviors that made sense at the time. One could argue dietary prescriptions, cleanliness standards, and the isolation of sick people, were crude public health measures that likely improved personal health of "ancient" societies. In America's "religious awakening" back in the late 1800 and early 1900's, several "modern" denominations began to blend religious thought with medical thoughts. As Bill pointed out the 7th-day Adventists (SDA) were best known (but not alone) in speaking out in favor of health protective diets, prohibitions against tobacco and encouraging the "science" of medicine. As a graduate of Loma Linda University (and SDA institution), recognized for the ongoing longitudinal health studies, related to religion and diet, I think there is evidence that religion can

2. In the societal bucket, which is what I posted on earlier, I think we need to zoom out to the broader themes of the Judeo Christian and Islamic writings. These same writings discuss clearly the issues of peacemaking, justice, equity, Health care and care for the environment. So from a societal public health perspective, at least the Judeo Christian and Islamic disciplines (under a liberal interpretation) support a clear and solid pro-health societal agenda (note the medical procedure of abortion was not part of the ancient writings). Fast forward in history to America's religious awakening and this social agenda was used by groups like the SDA church to support social causes such as the abolition (covertly) , anti-poverty work (overtly), and indigent medical care. Again, the groups I referenced in my last post are modern day advocates for a pro public health agenda supported by religion.

In short, I do believe that there is some power to the social underpinnings of religion as connected to public health and that there is also a separate and entirely passionate other discussion of the distortion of Christianity that results in the denial of science, and the undermining of public health (i.e., abortion). I would underscore that I see the two as separate discussions that do not hinge on each other.

As always I appreciate pushing discussions further and further towards clarity. It is all good.

===

M

Mark Fulop, MA, MPH

Portland, OR

I am asking each of my friends and colleagues who has a vote in a primary election or caucus to consider joining me in supporting John Edwards by clicking on my personal fundraising page below and reading a little more of my thoughts about why I support his presidential candidacy:

____________________________________________________________________________________

Looking for last minute shopping deals?

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#115

Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2008 21:03:26 -0600

From: "teufel@siu.edu" <teufel@SIU.EDU>

Subject: Re: religion and public health

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Mark,

As we zoom out from a societal perspective, the overall view points to a more harmful effect of religion than positive regarding health. The aggregate data at the level of the states and nations supports this claim, if one looks solely at religion and health. Religion has also driven most of the controllable "horrendous death". War has taken place more in the name of religion than any other cause-- a factual truth, at least for the last 2100 years. Monotheistic religions are particularly problematic because they are inherently exclusionary. One must also note that one can be religious and atheist. Theism and religion are different constructs. I position that theism and monotheism in particular are the most dangerous forms of religion. We must not focus solely on the positive aspects of theism but weigh the positive and the negative. As I have posted in prior emails the social gospel has helped people through time, but the social gospel is an aberration in the history of contemporary forms of theism. For example, Jefferson Davis used the Bible to support the practice of slavery. In the Dark Ages, Christians oppressed any form of individual thought or expression, even individual interpretations of the Bible.

Religion supported serfdom in Europe. George Bush equated the Iraq War to the Crusades--the Crusades of course was a Holy War over hundreds of years. The death in Jerusalem is primarily because of religion. Religion suppressed science and reason and executed many people across. Religion supported witch hunts that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people (mainly older women). Religion has supported the construction that women are/were second class citizens. Religion has also support culturalism and racism. Religion supports genocide, such as the Holocaust. Genocide is a legitimate and godly coping mechanism of God in the Bible (see the story of Noah as well as the Rapture). Research also shows that most Christians do not read and have not read the Bible. As a person who has read the Bible, even if the average person tried to read the Bible they would not be able to comprehend the words. Furthermore, if they could read the words, they still would not be able to comprehend the "Bible"

due to the reading level and word content and structure.

Additionally, the book has changed across time. There are currently over 20 versions of the Bible written in English.

Ridiculous readings of the Bible also support homophobia. One must recognize again that the Bible has changed across time (e.g., slaves are turned to servants or lamb changes to seal when marketing the Bible to Inuits). Religion has been used to cause more human suffering than any other paradigm of thought. As another example in the contemporary world, abstinence programs instead of risk reduction, harm thousands of people every year-- much of abstinence is driven by religious rhetoric. People also position that the 10 Commandments set the moral foundation of the United States. The problem is that people have not either read the actual 10 Commandments or maybe do not comprehend them if they read them. One must also know that their are three to five overall versions of the 10 Commandments, but the vary as well across the dozens of versions of the Bible so there are dozen of interpretations in English alone; the Protestant version is the most troubling but also most realistic in interpretation. The Catholic 10 Commandments are the most well known but also the most heavily edited and simplified, which great for people like me who attended Roman-Catholic school. The 10 Commandments promote intolerance, unquestioning subservience, sexism, humanocentrism, insecurity, threat, and jealousy. The 10 Commandments did not establish the morality of the United States; the Founding Fathers were primarily Deists. If one were going to read a version of the Bible, I would say the Jefferson Bible is the best. Religion exiled Roger Williams who established Rhode Island. Religion exiled the Mormons who established Utah.

Catholics (the Pope) do not support birth control, which disempowers women and does not fit in the modern world given world population problems.

And so on and so on.

I question the positive impact of theism in particular, which is in the end not grounded in the natural world.

James

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