Hi Everyone! 
First Monday is on November 4th, 8pm ET -- Remember that USA ends daylight savings time by turning the clocks one hour back on November 3rd.
Agenda: Introductions and "meet-and-greet", discuss latest forum threads and the evening's discussion topic, with time for any questions on Epicurean philosophy. Meeting is open to all forum members.
The following is from the front page of the forum (and wiki) in which there are 11 Key Points on Epicurean Philosophy. This is the overview for the first point, "Nothing Can Be Created From Nothing" (our discussion topic for the evening):
Working solely with the science available two thousand years ago, Epicurus observed that nothing ever arises from nothing, and nothing is ever completely destroyed to nothing. From this Epicurus deduced the existence of atoms - elemental particles moving through empty space from which over time all things are made and return. Given that nothing we observe ever comes into existence except through pre-existing atoms, Epicurus concluded that the universe as a whole has always existed, and that while bodies come and go, there was never a time before the universe as a whole came into being.
Given that the universe has always existed, we can firmly reject the contention that the universe was created at some point in time by supernatural forces. All that we see around us is a result of the natural movement of atoms through void over time. This does not mean that only the atoms are real, however, because Nature tells us that bodies made from atoms are also real . More than anything else, this commitment to the true reality of Nature, and the rejection of all notions of the supernatural, is the starting point for everything else in the Epicurean worldview.
As Epicurus wrote to Herodotus: "Nothing is created out of that which does not exist: for if it were, everything would be created out of everything with no need of seeds." (Bailey - line 38) This is the way Epicurus teaches us to reason - always stating the evidence behind our conclusions, and never accepting any possibilities based on pure speculation or wishful thinking. The atomic basis of the universe explains how all that we see around us came into existence neither randomly or chaotically, but naturally as a result of elemental particles moving through space. The properties of atoms, and not the dictates of any supernatural forces, determines what can, and what cannot, come into being.
Link to Nothing Can Be Created From Nothing Sub-forum / Link to the front page with list of 11 Key Points
Hope to see you there!