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ANOTHER STUDY CONFIRMS: ATHEISTS “JUST AS ETHICAL AS CHURCHGOERS” he old canard that people who do not believe Both perceptions are incorrect. “At least a few TV in a “Supreme Being” are untrustworthy, with- preachers and other demagogues almost certainly and know- out morals, and unethical has received yet an- ingly encourage these misunderstandings, intentionally lying other rebuke. to shore up their own power and prestige. Atheists are al- According to a new study published in the ready serving in government, the armed forces, and the pro- journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Atheists are “just as fessions (even in the clergy); most just don't openly advertise ethicalT as churchgoers,” and religion is only one way through the fact that they have no religious beliefs,” added Buckner. which people can manifest a moral code. Dr. Marc Hauser Dave Silverman, Vice President and Communications of Harvard University reported that his research team was Director for American Atheists added that the study dis- investigating the foundations of moral behavior and religion. cussed whether religion was an evolutionary adaptation “The research suggests that intuitive judgments of right which contributed to group solidarity and social cohesion. and wrong seem to operate independently of explicit reli- “It's a fascinating question that may never be resolved,” said gious commitments,” said Hauser. Silverman. “The point remains, though, that you can indeed, Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, said be good without a god. In fact, you can be excellent! The that the study should help dispel one of the many great lies ethical actions of millions of Atheists, Freethinkers, Secular about non-religious Americans. “Nearly 13% of the U.S. Humanists and other non-religious people are proof of that.” population, according to surveys, have no religion; that's about 40 million people,” said Buckner. Surveys indicate, however, that a near-majority of people would not support an otherwise qualified Atheist candidate for public office and The study is available at falsely believe that there are no Atheists in foxholes. http://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences April 2010 American Atheist Vol 48, No.3

ISSN 0516-9623 (Print) ISSN 1935-8369 (Online)

AMERICAN ATHEIST PRESS

Managing Editor Frank R. Zindler [email protected]

AMERICAN ATHEIST ‘A Journal of Atheist News and Thought’

Editor, Cover Art, & Magazine Design David Smalley Helen Kagin [email protected]

Staff Writers & Journalists Kate Sirls Edwin Kagin Blair Scott 4 James MacIver Keith Lowell Jensen Jim Haught Samuel Johnson Conrad Goeringer also in this edition...

Staff Cartoonist April Pedersen 6 Alleged Atheist Hoax Reincarnates

Staff Photographer Kiny McCarrick 7 One of Our Own—The Anti-Christ? www.kinymccarrick.com

Published monthly 8 Plowing Naked For Jesus by American Atheists, Inc.

Mailing Address: 9 Atheists Don’t Know What True Love Is P.O. Box 158 Cranford, NJ 07016 908.276.7300 P 10 Peace, Love, & Discrimination 908.276.7402 F www.atheists.org 12 Atheist Joy: The Best Kept Secret

13 Blessed Be...

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Discount for libraries and institutions: 50% on all magazine subscriptions 25 Bible Crossed America: Verses Revisted and book purchases elen Kagin, my wife, my best friend, and More important to her than all of her years as a co-founder of Camp Quest, was pronounced physician were the years she spent in helping to create dead at 6:55 PM Wednesday, February 17, Camp Quest, which she saw as the most important thing H2010, at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. she had ever done. Helen underwent surgery for lung cancer on Janu- She died on Ash Wednesday, and the anniversary of ary 7, 2010 and never left the Intensive Care Unit. In the death of Freethought hero Giordano Bruno in 1600. Hconformity with her Living Will, and the opinions ex- Helen never did Ash Wednesday, and her death was far pressed to us by six physicians who strongly concurred, more gentle than that of Bruno. her daughter, Caroline Good and I agreed that dialysis Helen’s body is now an empty shell, and it will be not be started when she went into renal failure. Helen treated as such. The body was picked up by a funeral had been on oxygen for some time, her lungs leaked home and immediately cremated. The ashes were given air, she had developed fungal pneumonia, and systemic to her daughter Caroline, who has proved her very sub- sepsis, her body had stopped making red blood cells, stantial character during these past few weeks. By the and she had suffered multiple systems failures that were time you read this, a celebration of Helen’s remarkable incompatible with life. She had been unconscious for life will have taken place. days. I know for a certainty that if she had decision mak- And what a life it was! I am honored to have shared ing capacity, Helen would not have wanted to live on a it with her for twenty-five years. She will be missed be- ventilator and dialysis. Surrounded by family members, yond my ability to say. She was the finest human being the ventilator was withdrawn and the life force that had I have ever known. been Helen departed within minutes. And she was dead. If you would honor her accomplishments and mem- Helen was born Helen McGregor Smith in Regina, ory, do not send flowers; do not send money to some Saskatchewan, Canada on January 31, 1934. She at- charity. Help send a kid to Camp Quest. tended medical school at the University of Saskatche- wan and came to Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio as —Edwin Kagin an Intern. She did her residence there, was employed as an anesthesiologist there, worked there until she retired, and she died there. She was 76 years old. We celebrated her 76th Birthday in the ICU, but we do not know if she was aware of the signs, the cards, and the well wishers. Helen was an accomplished athlete. She was a fig- ure skater, an ice dancer, a hockey player, a softball player, a swimmer, a fencer, and a superb human being. She loved the Winter Olympics, and it is fitting indeed that she died during the Winter Olympics now being held in Canada.

4 American Atheist - April 2010 ree-thinking children of the world have lost a dear Madalyn Murray O’Hair never tired to claim that had it not friend. I have lost a dear friend. American Atheists been for the Catholic Church’s suppression of all the sciences, have lost a dear friend. All who value liberty have Columbus would have landed on the moon, not some Carib- Flost a dear friend. After weeks of suffering in a hospi- bean island. It is true. Moreover, a cure for cancer would have tal intensive care unit, Dr. Helen Kagin is no more. been known before 1900 and a way to prevent it would have Well known as co-founder of Camp Quest, the summer been developed quickly thereafter. Had it not been for Chris- Frespite for children of the Freethought community, Helen tianity, Helen surely would not have developed lung cancer at was a well-known figure at conventions of American Atheists this late date in the history of medicine. and other Freethought organizations. To her husband Edwin, In the same train of reveries my mind also fastened upon American Atheists National Legal Director, she was “Helen, George “Dubbyah” Bush and his eight-year war against sci- the one who must be obeyed.” All joking aside, Helen was ence. Just a week earlier I had analyzed a medical patent de- the perfect foil for her one-of-a-kind husband. All joking not scribing the use of amniotic stem cells to replace damaged aside, humor and merriment were defining components of her lung tissue. As I read the patent my mind wandered to Helen personality. No one who attended the Atlanta convention will whose lung tissues had been badly damaged long before she ever forget the zany performance of a seventy-five-year-old developed the lung cancer. I reflected upon the fact that it usu- woman in the blasphemous “Dance of the Vestal Vegans,” a ally takes about five years for the medical patents that cross sharp-edged spoof of the condition of women in Islamic so- my desk to make it into medical practice. Now that Helen has cieties. Almost no one knew that the body-stockinged female succumbed to lung diseases that could have been cured by the leprechaun before them was in fact a retired medical doctor. techniques disclosed in that patent, I can only imagine what As the piper playing the tune to which she danced, of course would be the case today if George Bush had not blocked stem I knew and I could only marvel at her exuberance and energy. cell research for eight years. If he had not been under the con- The deep sadness I felt after receiving Edwin’s poignant trol of churches that believe in the existence of single-celled announcement of Helen’s death was rapidly replaced by anger. people, this patent might have been published in 2002! Helen Edwin mentioned the burning of Bruno. On and off through could have been saved. the night after hearing the awful news, I too thought about the The death of Helen Kagin leaves me as angry as I am sor- Catholic Church’s long war against science. I reflected on rowful. I am bitter. I mourn the murder of a dear friend. Just the fact that for centuries it prohibited the dissection of hu- as surely as Giordano Bruno was murdered by religion, so too man bodies and effectively blocked the progress of scientific was Helen. medicine. It opposed vaccinations that thwarted the just wrath of a deity. It opposed the lightning rod for the same reason. —Frank Zindler

elen, a Canadian of Scottish descent, was proud anything else, Edwin made Helen laugh. Many of us will hear and happy to live in the USA but prouder still of her laughter over and over as we remember her, which most of her Canadian roots. She was retired from medicine us will for as long as we live. H(anesthesiology); she co-founded (with Edwin) “Back in Their Burkas Again,” one of Edwin Kagin’s most Camp Quest, now spread over much of the USA and in other famous poems, was based on an idea by Helen Kagin and com- countries as a camp for the children of freethinkers. posed by Edwin in collaboration with her. She delighted in HHelen died 410 years to the day after another freethought participating in performing a dance set to the poem/song that hero, Giordano Bruno, burned at the stake for his courageous has now been seen on YouTube many thousands of times. See opposition to dogma. (Helen and her husband, Edwin Kagin, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmVxswvuJZI . National Legal Director of American Atheists and an Atheist Edwin, like all fine poets, knows the right line of poetry for hero as well, named their dog Bruno in Giordano’s honor.) any emotional moment. He quoted from “Lament,” by Edna St. Edwin and Helen are Life Members of American Atheists and Vincent Millay: “Life must go on; I forget just why.” former honorees as Atheists of the Year (2005). Helen will be painfully missed. When you see or e-mail Helen Kagin’s courage and intelligence, her easygo- Edwin ([email protected]), please remind him that we ing, almost invariably upbeat nature, and her patient support need him and that Helen would want him to keep fighting to for Edwin will be sorely missed throughout the Atheist and help us win the American Religious Civil War. freethought community. The standard, running joke, usually There will be no droning, mournful funeral. A celebration instigated by Edwin himself, was that Helen and Edwin made of Helen McGregor Kagin’s life, complete perhaps with a per- a wonderful couple—if it weren’t for Edwin. All of us went formance of “Back in Their Burkas Again” and other reasons along with this joke, because it’s great fun to tweak Edwin Ka- to laugh—and with many tears as well—is in order. gin and we all loved Helen dearly. But we all knew—Helen especially knew and told everyone—that in fact Edwin was the core reason for Helen’s happiness, that they both depended —Ed Buckner heavily on each other, and that, maybe more important than April 2010 - American Atheist 5 ALLEGED ATHEIST HOAX REINCARNATES TOM MORTON | Star-Tribune Staff Writer | http://trib.com/news merica’s most notorious Atheist has gained a semblance of immortality if not eternal life with the local reincarnation of a media hoax attributed to her more than 14 years after her murder. AOnce again, people are being asked to sign a petition objecting to a request—falsely attributed to Madalyn Murray O’Hair in 1975—before the Federal Communication Com- mission to ban religious programming. O’Hair and the FCC denied any such plan existed. Even so, a counter-petition campaign inundated the FCC with more mail about this than anything in the agency’s history. In 1995, O’Hair went missing, with rumors ranging from her absconding with her organization’s money to foul play. In 2001, the man who murdered and dismembered O’Hair, her younger son and her granddaughter led authori- ties to their shallow grave on a Texas ranch. Despite their deaths, the urban legend lives on. Last fall, an e-mail was sent to some Casper-area resi- dents stating in part: “Their petition, Number 2493, would ultimately pave the way to stop the reading of the gospel of our Lord and Savior, on the airwaves of America. They got 287,000 signatures to back their stand! If this attempt is successful, all Sunday worship services being broadcast Madalyn Murray O’Hair, Founder of American Atheists, Inc. on the radio or by television will be stopped. This group is also campaigning to remove all Christmas programs and those on her e-mail list. On Thursday, Pierce acknowledged Christmas carols from public schools! You as a Christian can he’d been duped. But the spiritual issue underlying the hoax help!” Recipients were urged to sign the petition and send it remains, he said. “Not to sound like I’m preaching, but the to an e-mail address when 1,000 signatures were gathered. devil is trying to stop the word of God.” The e-mail petition sent to the Casper residents already had The incident taught him for the need for vigilance when more than 850 signatures. someone asks him to support a cause, Pierce said. “Any The Rev. William Pierce, pastor of Imitate the Image claims along those lines, we need to do more investigation Ministries church, received the e-mail petition, signed it, and before getting any deeper.” forwarded it to more than 60 people. One of those people University of Wyoming Religious Studies professor was Risa Petrie at the Central Wyoming Rescue Mission. Paul Flesher views the urban legend as a political issue, he Petrie had been a victim of this hoax in the past by signing said. “The government never has and never will remove reli- the petition, and she double-checked it at truthorfiction.com, gious programming from the air,” Flesher said. “Instead, the she said. That Web-site states: “No such petition has ever advent of new media has multiplied religious programming been presented to the FCC by Madalyn Murray O’Hair or a hundredfold in recent years,” he said. her organization of American Atheists.” Yet the hoax won’t die. The New York Times a few years But the hoax gained credibility in part because of ago reported defamatory rumors persist because those ma- O’Hair’s participating in the Murray v. Curlett lawsuit that ligned by them must repeat the false allegations even when resulted in the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled they deny them. Over time, the allegation remains and the compulsory, state-sponsored religious activities violated denial fades. the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. She also “The urban legend persists for another reason,” Flesher founded the Austin, Texas-based American Atheists and said. “This is politics. It’s a cynical manipulation of honest made frequent media appearances denouncing all things re- believers.” ligious. Petrie sent her findings about the hoax to Pierce and 6 American Atheist - April 2010 fter interviewing me on his radio show, Live from ACriswell, on KCBI 90.9 FM Dallas/Ft.Worth, Dr. Barry From the Editor Creamer received the following listener response on his Web- David Smalley | [email protected] site. With the permission of Dr. Creamer, I’ve copied the text and pasted it here (unedited) to issue my own response. My children should not have to go to a public school and be ridiculed for David Hardt writes: not believing. Families should not be separated with members ostracized due to Hi Dr. Creamer, religious convictions. Qualified applicants should not be turned down for government jobs due to a lack of belief. A Approximately how much “air time” do you think Jesus person should not be considered “unethical” until they identify would allow Mr. Smalley to have in order to spread his mes- with a religion. sage against his Father? It wasn’t your interview with Mr. But why do we debate? The whole point here is, the Athe- Smalley that completely saddended me. It was your comments ist says to all religions, “Before you will control my govern- that Mr. Smalley was actually a “very nice guy” and you en- ment, my family, or my career, you need to supply more proof joyed your time with him. The face of God is against Mr. Smal- than just faith.” ley and the spirit of the anti-christ is in him. I must also point out that the ‘A’ in Atheist does not repre- As a teacher of the Truth, you are held to a higher stan- sent ‘Anti’ or ‘Against,’ but rather ‘without.’ The theist holds a dard by God…as you know. Satan is the master of deception. belief in a deity, while the a-theist is without that belief. It’s re- Under the cover of “tolerance,” Satan made his way into the ally that simple. Saying that an Atheist is the opposite (or anti) studios of Criswell College and got a huge platform at the any particular religion is like saying a doctor is the opposite hands of KCBI. of a disease. He studies it, and fights it from time to time, but Mr. Smalley is a fool. He can bow down now, or he can also respects its power, while questioning its intent. We stand bow down later…but he will bow down. aside from all belief systems, (including Satanic ones) saying One more thing, I cannot believe that so-called “believ- each is without sufficient proof. As Dr. David Eller confirms ing” churches in our area are inviting this anti-christ to sit in his book Atheism Advanced, the Atheist is more of one that down amongst them and have a conversation concering his discredits religions than opposes them directly (2007). anti-christ message. Makes you think…who exactly is the fool Mr. Hardt, people can be nice without religions. Adults here… can debate without hate. Opening the educational views on the Rebuke Mr. Smalley in the name of Jesus and allow God to airwaves of 90.9 KCBI allows Christian listeners to better deal turn him towards repentance and complete trust in the atoning with Atheists they encounter, and vice-versa for Atheists en- sacrifice of His son…or not. God is sovereign. Step out of the countering Christians. More than anything, it was important way before Satan pulls everybody in with “nice” Mr. Smalley. for listeners to hear an educated conversation between two men that disagreed without anger. If we had more of that, I MY RESPONSE honestly think the world would be a better place. I’m not sure what you did last night, but I took my children Mr. Hardt, out to eat at Logan’s Roadhouse, where we threw peanut shells on the floor, and ate desert out of tiny peanut buckets. I tucked Let me start by saying that I understand your concern, and my 5-year-old daughter into bed at 9, and realized that I for- realize that scripturally, you have valid points. After all, it is got a permission slip for my son to play basketball at school, Matthew 12:30 that says, “He who is not with me is against resulting in an email to his teacher begging for forgiveness. I me…” and Mark 9:40 that says, “for whoever is not against us managed to have 2 solid hours of phone conversations with is for us.” I do not take your animosity personally, as I under- Christian preachers that are very good friends of mine, one stand it is your religious convictions and faith that lead you to of which I am debating in March. Once the kids were asleep, believe the way you do. I will not hold that against you, as I I continued my research into various PhD programs, one of understand how powerful that can be. which I plan to enter very soon. What I stand for, is more of a civil rights issue than a reli- My life isn’t much different from yours, aside from what gious one. You should know; if the U.S. President announced we consider to be proof of a religion. I just don’t trust that today that Christianity was no longer allowed to be practiced what those men wrote as scriptures was inspired by something in this country, I’d be on the picket lines with you, fighting for powerful, other than their own hopes and beliefs. I assure you, your constitutional rights, and freedom of religion. I don’t have time to be the Anti-Christ—and I can’t imagine it I do not wish to see a complete banishment of Christian- paying very well at all. ity. I do, however, want to stand for the freedom of all citizens in this country, and prevent the discrimination of all people, regardless of their religious views. This was intended to be a REFERENCE free country, not a Christian nation. Eller, D. (2007) Atheism Advanced., American Atheist Press

April 2010 - American Atheist 7 ccording to the U.S. Drought Monitor for July India is not much help on this count, but let’s assume for 21, 2009, south Texas was in a condition of the moment that we can extrapolate from the farm. After D4 or “exceptional drought,” and much of the all, what is good for rural Texas is good for urban Texas, Aneighboring region was “abnormally dry” or in I reckon. So, let’s have all the coeds and working women “moderate drought.” The fact that this area is also deep in and housewives go about their daily lives naked for as long the Bible Belt raises both a conundrum and a solution. The as it takes, vowing to continue until “it rains very heavily.” Plowing Naked For Jesus Dr. David Eller

conundrum is why their god would deprive them of the es- And no quitting when the first raindrops fall: we know that sential rain for their fields and reservoirs. If he is good and if you stop your course of treatment too soon, the god can knowing and powerful, you’d think this would not happen. backslide to his lazy and inattentive condition. So, ladies of Fortunately, there is a solution, if we take the advice of the the Lone Star State, off with your clothes until you get a real farmers in eastern India, good god(s)-fearing people who soaker down there, one that ends the drought once and for are also in desperate need of rain and know what to do about all. Besides, since this god is obviously not paying too close it. attention, and is probably not easily embarrassed, it is going The local theists in Bihar, India have figured out how to take a sustained effort to get the water flowing. to induce the weather gods to give them precipitation. The Then again, given what happened the last time their god gods must be “embarrassed” into releasing their watery showed off his hydraulic prowess and unleashed a mighty bounty on humanity, since presumably these sleepy gods ei- flood on his followers, maybe they don’t want to attract his ther do not realize that they are withholding rain or that this attention too much. stinginess causes difficulties for us people below. But the gods are at least apparently watchful, so they will not miss a good shaming when it is aimed at them. REFERENCE And how do you embarrass the weather gods of eastern Reuters. 2009. “Naked Girls Plow Fields for Rain.” Http:// India, you ask? Simple: you put your daughters to work www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE56M3G020090723, ac- plowing the fields, naked: cessed January 9, 2010. Witnesses said the naked girls of Bihar state plowed the fields and chanted ancient hymns after sunset to invoke the gods... “[Villagers] believe their acts would get the weather gods badly embarrassed, who in turn would ensure bumper crops by sending rains... This is the most trusted social cus- tom in the area and the villagers have vowed to continue this practice until it rains very heavily” (Reuters 2009). So there, we have a workable solution for the parched Texans and other true believers. They too have a god with the power to control the weather (again, why he is not al- ready shedding his grace on them is a mystery, but then that is how this god allegedly works—mysteriously). The Texan god is also supposedly observing humans carefully, even peeking in their bedroom windows, and generally prefers clothed bodies over nude ones. Then put the belles of the South to work in the fields sans garments; that should hu- miliate the selfish old man in the sky into sharing the pool of water we know he hoards in the heavens. I don’t know if these young girls have ever pulled a plow before, but for rain, god, and country surely they will take up the harness. Fine for the farmers, you say. They have fields to plow. What do the city folk have to offer in this divine enterprise? 8 American Atheist - April 2010 Atheists Don’t Know What Love Is Priyank Chandra theists are evil. There, I said it. I have been one of beliefs and speak up against the self-proclaimed authori- ever I since was born, but I can’t hide it any- ties of morality. more. I have to come clean as this is the only This was our greatest sin—to think for ourselves and to Away I can seek redemption. The urge to speak reject the illogical, to refuse the existence of an omniscient out is overwhelming and no force in the world can stop me yet eccentric entity that seems to be the cause of all that from speaking the truth today. is supernatural. We chose to dislike religion, its practitio- The other day I read an article which talked about Athe- ners and all the different ways that it was screwing up the ists, and how we vehemently hate the religious, and world. We have always differed from the religious. The how wrong it was, and it struck me in a moment of religious have always been known to feel uncon- Atheistic brilliance that—this was it. The cause ditional love even towards those who disagreed of all the existentialist angst I felt was that I with them, with absolutely no regard for race, did not know how to love people who didn’t I have been gender, sexuality or religion. It has been a agree with me. As an Atheist, I guess I have destroying special kind of love that only the religious felt a little too passionately about freeing the love in the can feel, one that gave them the freedom to myself from the madness I have thought has wage wars and live a life without the free- inflicted everyone else. As a result I have world with my dom of thought and expression. We could been destroying the love in the world with hatred for all never show the same kind of love. We just my hatred for all that is imaginary. weren’t capable of it. We also couldn’t bring It is ironic that I hate imaginary things. that is ourselves to fear any of the fictional gods It does seem to explain why I probably hate imaginary around. They just didn’t seem real enough— love too. Love, after all, is a social construct, and this is why we are evil. perpetrated by the media, or so I believe. So “ Heretics we are, because we think for our- here you have me, unable to love because I may selves instead of blindly believing in holy men not believe in it. I know and accept philos, born out and ancient texts. We attempt to be logical, but I of kinship, and eros, born out of lust, because they can have been told that religion and love know no logic, and be explained in evolutionary terms, but I refuse to believe by being logical we are only destroying the very fabric of in agape, the true love that transcends the soul and spirit traditional society. And having incurred the wrath of all the (which I also don’t believe in) and is unconditional. gods and evangelists, from what I understand, our punish- I’ll be honest here. I don’t actually hate all imaginary ment is to live an eternity of pain in an after-life we do not things. I hate only those which affect me profoundly. And believe in, because an imaginary entity we do not believe in, love and religion, intertwined as they may be, were multi- wishes it. The irony is overwhelming. billion dollar industries which seemed to affect every decision people made all over the world. They were too over- whelming for me to ignore, unlike all the crazy kids who believed in Santa Claus or fairies. And I joined my fellow Atheists to speak out, like everyone else out there who dares to speak out in a free country. We reasoned and debated. We got our intellectuals to write books in a desperate attempt to combat the in- doctrination of many centuries. While the rest of the world lived in harmony with bigotry and superstition, we chose otherwise. We made an audacious at- tempt to challenge thousands of years

April 2010 - American Atheist 9 ames (surname) recently went In the military, soldiers are re- believe in the necessity of seeing cer- to Branson, Missouri for the quired to wear dog tags that specify tain strangers as full-on “others,” if for same quality entertainment that certain information about him or her no other reason than to trust that it’s Jso many others flocked to see: (usually for identification purposes for okay—even obligatory on a national the array of music, comedians, and the deceased), and one of these clas- and spiritual level—to kill them? This even acrobatic tumblers that was sure sifying facts is religious preference. dissonance created in James the need to satisfy a variety of tastes. He wasn’t James’ particular dog tag read “No to take a closer look at the religion he disappointed, either, in the overall Preference” under religion, and even associated with. quality of the performances. though he hoped this would mean no- At one time, James did identify He was disappointed, however, body would give his religious beliefs himself as a protestant, conservative in the religious current that seemed to a second thought, what happened was Christian. Even though he didn’t see weave its way through the event. that most people he talked to assumed himself as radical in any way, he did The majority of the audience usu- he was an Atheist. This resulted in a attend college to study theology before ally responded with the same round of few peculiar stares from people, but entering the military. After his experi- applause each time a perform- ence in Vietnam, however, he began er felt the need to relay to the thinking about the fundamentals and spectators the importance of core beliefs associated with his reli- Jesus Christ in his or her life, gion, and so he started studying it on or include the Christian god in a deeper level than he ever had be- a series of thank-you’s and ap- Peace, fore. What he came to realize was that preciation speeches. stories consisting of talking snakes, “God bless the USA,” they would that wasn’t what exasperated James declare from the stage, causing the ap- about the situation—as far as he was plause to repeatedly return in a seem- concerned, religious belief shouldn’t ingly common tendency to link to- make that much of a difference. “In gether the love for one’s country to the the end,” he pointed out, “if you’re Love, love for one’s deity. shot and dead, what difference does At one point, briefly setting aside it make?” Even on the battlefield, worldwide floods, and a man who his views as an Atheist, James called though, it seemed as though such came back from the dead originated out in frustration, “God bless the rest things were taken very seriously, and from myth, and the bible was a book of the world!” myriad soldiers (Christian and non- “written by men.” Faced with disso- It was this perspective—that the Christian alike) were killed and killed nance over his religion’s beliefs and & Discrimination United States is somehow set apart others. values (concerning war and death), from the rest of the world as prover- Witnessing war first-hand, James James began to embrace Atheism. bial “good guys,” and is therefore able quickly came to the understanding that As he put it, “When you get into to claim a monopoly on any blessing, even those whom he was supposed to the fundamentals, you start to look at miracle, or good fortune from a god— be fighting against were “human be- everything objectively, and you have that served as a catalyst for James’ ings, too,” and no less deserving of life to be honest with yourself. [You can’t] conversion to Atheism while he was than any American. Once he returned blindly accept everything you’re serving the military in Vietnam. Many home from the war, he had a new per- spoon-fed as a child.” of the people he knew there were spective, one that valued all human James finally came to a point Christians, and James found their at- life. He disposed of all of the firearms when he realized that he didn’t believe titudes towards war to be “one-sided” he had previously owned, as he no lon- in the tenets and myths associated with and biased. ger cared to be around anything that Christianity. Like most people first “Christianity,” he says, “is sup- was specifically designed to destroy coming to know themselves as Athe- posed to be all about love and peace, others. Through it all, though, he re- ists, he became excited and eager to and loving your neighbor. But when it mained perplexed at the hypocrisy know more about freethought and life comes to war, they think they’re do- he experienced while in the military: without religion. What he wasn’t pre- ing a spiritual duty by killing others. how could one believe in the sancti- pared for was the hardship he would Religion uses war to justify [killing].” ty of human life and the principle of face as a non-believer. love over hate, and at the same time 10 American Atheist - April 2010 James first experienced real reli- as [they] under[stand] him” (Alcohol- thought,” and that he “did not believe gious discrimination when he suffered ics Anonymous). But does that mean in AA.” James questioned the validity an unfortunate bout of alcoholism. As a that those without such a belief sys- of denying someone based on spiritual war veteran, he turned to the Veteran’s tem cannot benefit from the compan- beliefs, asking how someone could be Administration for help and guidance, ionship and support that comes with considered hopeless based on the fact and was ultimately referred to Alco- such programs as AA? According to that they did not believe in a higher holics Anonymous, an organization the consult that James met with, they power. He pointed out that the separa- run by the federal government. James absolutely cannot. He told James that tion of church and state forbade a fed- was hopeful about this, but during his people are “helpless” without a higher eral program from denying someone initial evaluation found that his Athe- power in their lives and that, as such, on the basis of religious beliefs. Again, ism barred him from receiving help there was nothing they could do for he was told that he could not benefit from AA. According to the Alcoholics him. As an Atheist he was, in their from AA if he did not believe in the Anonymous Web-site, they claim they opinion, a “hopeless” case. foundation of the recovery program. are “not allied with any sect, denomi- Bewildered, James asked, “Isn’t The consult then proceeded to write nation, politics, organization or insti- there any secular treatment?” Seeing that James went on “a tangential tirade tution; does not wish to engage in any as how AA is a federal program, it was about the separation of church and controversy, [and] neither endorses completely rational for James to ex- state within the federal health care sys- nor opposes any causes” (Alcoholics pect that there would be—or, at least, tem,” and that he “need[ed] to be sta- Anonymous). If this is true—that AA that there should be. bilized” before help could be sought. is “not allied” with a particular organi- The answer, though, was a firm and Although the disappointment and zation or institution, and indeed “does resounding “no.” Being told that there frustration he felt was acute, James did not wish to engage in any controver- was nothing this organization could do not take his case to a higher authority, sy”—then its services should be open for him made him wonder, did being nor did he try to fight the system. But to anyone and everyone who needs it, an Atheist mean to these people that he he was cynically reflective about the including Atheists. was doomed to be an alcoholic forev- entire system, thinking about the fact & Discrimination Kate Sirls—Staff Writer, American Atheist

What James discovered, however, er—that it wasn’t possible to recover that “a higher power is supposed to be was that this was not the case. When without the help of a god? This was the everywhere.” If there was one, why he met with a chemical dependency message that was certainly being sent, wouldn’t this deity help him, regard- consult from AA, he was asked if he as if they believed any differently they less of his beliefs, thought processes, believed in a higher power. When might have, in fact, been able to offer or where he chose to go for help? It James answered that he did not, he a secular program for James (and other seemed as though he was supposed to was promptly told that Alcoholics non-believers). succumb to the belief that forcing him- Anonymous could not help him. The The discouragement evident in his self to believe in a god again would as- consult maintained that AA is based on voice, James relayed his frustration at sist him in overcoming alcoholism— twelve steps, and following those steps the fact that “government is supposed and that by not believing, he was ren- is reliant upon believing in a god. to be there to help, regardless of reli- dering himself “hopeless.” It is indeed true that the steps as- gion.” James, though, has held firmly to sociates with AA involve participants He still has in his possession the his opinion that there is no god, and coming “to believe that a power great- notes that the consult took describ- despite what he was told by the AA er than [them]selves could restore ing the experience. It was written that representative, has taken control of [them] to sanity,” as well as making James was “in a hypo-manic mood, his own struggle and is doing much “a decision to turn [their] will and exhibiting pressured thought, rapid better. In bold defiance of the notion [their] lives over to the care of God speech, liable mood, and grandiose that he was helpless without a god by

April 2010 - American Atheist 11 his side, James used “common sense equal grounds without delving into the tury, and in the modern world of medi- and personal choices” to turn his life realm of religion. cine, most of us hope that the world around and claim his own recovery. Although James doesn’t often has grown beyond faith in miracle As such, his experience with the Vet- think about the times when he was healings and reliance on supernatural erans Administration and Alcoholics a Christian, he does think about his forces to keep us well. Stories such Anonymous planted firmer roots into close friends and family members who as James’, though, remind us that our his Atheism: not only were they wrong still are. Rather than being envious or world has not fully passed this mode about religion being a necessity, but he resentful, though, as some who are re- of thinking, nor has it moved beyond had proved them wrong. ligious might think, he often reflects judging those who don’t believe such Living in the South, James has with a certain amount of sadness. tales. Hopefully, though, we can see since become used to issues surround- “They get so upset,” he says, speak- James’ story as the ray of hope that he ing his Atheism. It seems as though ing of the ways in which religion can does—that one day experiences such whenever he talks to someone who dominate a person’s life. “Religion is as his can open more eyes to the reality doesn’t know his religious beliefs, or everything to them. They can’t enjoy of what is happening. when he meets someone knew, one life, and it doesn’t have to be that way.” That future world can hopefully of the first things they ask is, “What Despite the recent hardship James has be one with acceptance of Atheists church do you attend?” The question experienced, he still maintains that we into all federal organizations. isn’t even about what religion he is, cannot “hide behind religion.” He sees One where we are not judged on but specifically what church he be- his Atheism as a fresh start, a start that what church we attend, or whether we longs to. “People like to assume,” he he hopes the world will someday bet- attend—where the value of one’s life says, “because it feels safe. They like ter understand and value. is not based on religion or country of to narrow you down, because if people James was told that he was hope- origin. And perhaps one day James can narrow you down, they think they less. He was told that all of us are help- will be able to fully witness the peace can understand you, categorize you.” less without the assistance of a higher and love that the world of religion al- If only we could all be understood on being. Living in the twenty-first cen- ways promised, but never delivered.

ATHEIST JOY Stephen F. Uhl, Ph.D THE BEST KEPT SECRET Clear, clean, logical minds uncorrupted by promises of the improbable and impossible; we embrace facts. Logical consistency of our thinking makes us skeptics of snake oil salesmen (natural and supernatural). Without fear of a supernatural punisher, we go wherever the microscope and telescope lead us. Scientific advances far beyond outdated popular beliefs and prejudices result. So we have cars, microwaves, computers, hybrid foods to feed the hungry, condoms to limit their number, etc. We recognize that quality of life is more valuable than mere quantity of life. We care for others compassionately, because our logical minds tell us this improves this planetary life for us all. We support individual freedom and personal responsibility for everyone. Believers in fairy tales don’t need to fear us; we respect fellow humans above ideology. We enjoy reasonable amounts of learning, sex, love, eating, etc., without guilt or fear. We offer a wisely selfish morality that uses anything from tradition to science to improve our planet. So we help our neighbors get more out of life even when the press is not looking; this helps our planet. We Atheists guarantee that anyone embracing Atheism will never suffer for a moment after death. After death Atheists get exactly the same amount of happiness as any believer; we guarantee it!

12 American Atheist - April 2010 Blessed Be Tony Matias

The words are the same And the lyrics continue on. Save us from poverty, famine, disease And take us into your womb. Blessed be God. Adversity gives us strength; It’s a test for all men. Love thy neighbor, You shalt not commit adultery. Blessed be God. Children die each day. Fathers weeping, mothers screaming. We believe in you Lord, You shalt do us no harm. Blessed be God. Mother dies of leukemia, Father dies of stomach cancer. Their wishes are not granted, Drugs keep them from pain of death. Blessed be God. Continuously we see no sign, But the lyrics continue on. You have saved us from nothing. Your words are just that. Blessed be Man who sees… There is no god.

April 2010 - American Atheist 13 SEPARATION OF ARMAGEDDON STATE FREETHOUGHT AT THE POLLS Michael B. Paulk ondoleeza Rice famously had to explain why the Bush ings selected by deluded demagogues, murdering thousands. administration ignored the President’s Daily Brief of They killed Muslims, Christians, Jews, Atheists, all sorts. The CAugust 6, 2001 entitled “Bin Laden to Strike in U.S.” suicidal murderers did not know, nor care: dozens of virgins Beyond that Daily Brief lies a menace far more ominous and awaited them on the other side of the life/death curtain. Those globally encompassing than the September 11 attacks of 2001. arrogant men (yes, men; as you know, all the 9/11 terrorists Bin Laden has stated in interviews that it is the “religious sported a Y chromosome) were absolutely positive that in the duty” of all Muslims to acquire and use weapons of any type, next moment they would leave this life, and be transported to including those of mass destruction—chemical and nuclear.1 paradise for all eternity, replete with throngs of virgin concu- One cannot overstate the importance and gravity of bin Lad- bines. You will find in the Qur’an, Hadith, and Sunan abso- en’s edict against non-Muslim “infidels.” Still out there lurk lutely no mention of whether those women are intelligent, in- stalwart Al-Qaeda operatives striving to please their depraved teresting, or even attractive: clearly, the interest of the would- and pious overlords by procuring devices as globally destruc- be martyr is that all 72 would possess vaginas unadulterated. tive as can be. We know from Bin Laden’s adjuncts that they Yet the evening before their murderous rampage, several are delighted to use any weapon or means against innocent of bin Laden’s underlings critically crossed Muhammad’s re- people, against any nationality or religion, and to die for their ligious laws, and sinned in Allah’s eyes (see Qur’an 5:90), illogical, inhuman, “holy” cause. drinking beer after beer in a Florida strip club, and bragging This brings to my mind the scripture in Qur’an 2:191, about their impending Jihadist act of religiocide.3 Did they re- commanding all Muslims to slay non-Muslims “wherever ye ally believe in the Qur’an, then? I have to think they must find them.” Yet radical Islam is not alone in such abject delu- have: they followed up the next day with their satanic Al-Qae- sion. The vast majority— billions of people on this Earth— da terrorist plan, and killed themselves for their god. hold a numinous belief that their current life has little if any I hope Allah appreciated the human sacrifice! I have to meaning, and only the next, “eternal” life has any importance. wonder why they thought that their omniscient god was look- So, most go to church or temple now and then as an insur- ing the other way on September 10th as they swilled the im- ance policy. One friend, explaining why she went to Catholic moral elixir called “beer” at a sinful American entertainment mass on (most) Sundays told me “I want to make sure I get into station called a “topless bar.” heaven!” This is the perennial racketeer church, attendance I am thoroughly convinced, as no doubt you are, that no (and donations) being the weekly “protection payments” to such supernatural transportation occurred. They sincerely be- their god. It seems a rather pitiful way to live one’s life. lieved they had their god on their side, but the nineteen frus- Several verses of the New Testament predicted (falsely of trated and brainwashed boy-terrorists simply died that morn- course) the end of the world, claiming it would come within ing, as did almost 3,000 victims of their religious poison. No a generation of Jesus’ death—e.g. Matthew 23:35-6, Mark virgins for them— just a premature end to their lives. 13:25-31. So far, the Bible has been wrong by several millen- You will never turn on the news and hear a story claiming nia. Reality and the heady flow of space-time have been, to “Yesterday, another Atheist suicide scientist blew himself up, date, immune to religious superstitions of “End Times.” killing dozens and injuring more.” The Jehovah’s Witnesses have been kind and diligent Any group armed with a nuclear weapon, whether enough to compute the exact year of the Parousia. They know Muslim Jihadist or Occidental Head of State, who believes exactly when it will occur! Their Watchtower Society’s first in either martyrdom or the Parousia or a “glorious Rapture” calculation was slightly off, computing it to be 1874. That clearly presents a threat a million times more dangerous than year came and went without the glorious Rapture they so sin- Bin Laden’s 9/11 minions. The Nuclear Genie has been out of cerely desired. They tried again, coming up with 1914, a 365- his plumbum bottle for over half a century and he pervades day time period that remained intact until midnight Dec 31 the globe in the form of tens of thousands of plutonium-armed arrived, proving them wrong again. The Jehovah’s Witnesses salvos, some protected by dubious security. remained undaunted, their next prediction being 1915. Neither In fact many potential weapons of mass destruction re- Yahweh nor Jesus showed up that year to end the world, as far quire little or no radioactive substance; just a wacko religious as I know. extremist willing to abuse a dirty bomb or biological weapon. Then the JWs regrouped and re-computed: 1918 seemed Steven Weinberg said “good people will do good things, right at first, but that didn’t work out. Next they predicted and bad people will do bad things. But for good people to do 1920 (failure, obviously). Next 1925, then 1941, then 1975, bad things—that takes religion.” This perfectly describes the all clearly miscalculations.2 Perhaps they’ll get it right for us new fascist Islam, as well as the centuries of genocide per- one of these centuries. Kudos on the effort, Witnesses! petrated by Christians, with “legal” support from the Papacy. Back to serious considerations. The morning of September Most religious fundamentalists and deranged armageddo- 11, 2001 saw nineteen Muslim men fly airplanes into build- nists believe that the sooner we all die, the better. Next stop:

14 American Atheist - April 2010 SEPARATION OF ARMAGEDDON STATE ...the evening before their & murderous rampage, several of bin “Laden’s underlings critically crossed You will never turn on the news Muhammad’s religious laws... and hear a story claiming “Yesterday, another Atheist ” “suicide scientist blew himself up... ”

© 2010 Photos.com, a division of Getty Images. All rights reserved.

heaven— hallelujah! Those who have “chosen rightly” be- The Next Polling Cycle lieve their god will embrace his faithful sheep, and will leave Having “faith” has forever been presented as being some- all others to go straight to hell. Consider the loving, Christian thing good and virtuous; but it is not a positive attribute, and wish of Pope Gregory I who said: “The bliss of the elect in nothing to be proud of. It equates to being merely gullible, heaven would not be perfect unless they were able to look superstitious, unquestioning. across the abyss and enjoy the agonies of their brethren in No matter where you live on this globe, the next time you eternal fire”4 — that Pope is guilty of schadenfreude of infi- go to the polls, remember that the best candidates for high of- nite breadth! The same sadistic Gregory “the Great” had the fices are the least faithful. We desperately need freethinking library of Palatine Apollo burned, lest its secular literature leaders, not brainwashed believers. distract the faithful men from the contemplation of heaven. Any world leader who sincerely believes he has a “god on Gregory condemned all books but the “Holy Bible”; then he his side” is capable of bringing about—and is not afraid— of forbade everyone but the clergy from reading the Bible.5 Pope Armageddon. Gregory should consider himself lucky that the Christian my- thologies and superstitions are in fact not true, lest he’d be in a hell of a bad place for all eternity. REFERENCES These facts underscore the many reasons that Church and State must remain separated like matter from antimatter. The 1. Kimberly McCloud, et al. CNS Reports, “WMD Terrorism “L” component in the Drake equation, essentially the number and Usama Bin Laden,” 7 March 2001. of years an advanced society can hope to last before it de- 2. Jason Boyett, Pocket Guide to the Apocalypse, 54. stroys itself, clearly is inversely proportional to the religiosity 3. Associated Press, “Manager: Men spewed anti-American of that society—the more religious (and less freethinking), the sentiments,” 14 September 2001 faster a society will devolve and destroy itself. 4. James Paterson, Curiosities of Christian History, 378. 5. Homer W. Smith, Man and His Gods, 228–9, 253.

April 2010 - American Atheist 15 Amalgamation The Racist Doctrine Seventh-Day Adventists Don’t Want You to Know Carol Putnam can’t really blame my mother for what she did. My father dearly loved his morning pork chops or bacon.) Even worse, was an abusive alcoholic. I had seen him hit her on nu- she began bringing home “SDA approved” non-meat, pseu- I merous occasions; once hard enough to make her mouth do-food products packaged and promoted by the corporate bleed. My sister and I were punished with a belt or back- church. The term “god-awful” was never more apropos than handed. Yet despite what happened during the week, we still in reference to these vegetable by-product manifestations of made it to church every Sunday morning. On that particular malnutrition. day we were all “good Christians.” But gastrointestinal peculiarities and Sabbath swapping Life for my mother was a living hell. (It was no picnic are not the reasons why I wrote this article. There is another for us kids either.) But like I said, I can’t blame her. She Seventh-Day Adventist doctrine whose message is so vile, was born in a small, backwater town in the North Dakota so racially and sexually perverted that the church has gone to badlands during the Depression. Hardship was just a way of great political and social lengths to deny that it ever existed. life, and a “good Christian woman” had to endure without But it did exist. It does exist. It’s called “amalgamation.” complaining. The nuptial phrase “for better or worse” meant This is the twisted belief, invented and publicly endorsed by literally that. Divorce was viewed as a one-way ticket to hell. so-called SDA prophetess Ellen G. White, that “Negroes” At the very least, it was a scandal no decent woman could (actually any human beings of darker skin tone) are the result abide. of Jehovah’s “perfect” people having sex with apes or other Over the course of our lives my mother tried desperately animals. to find spiritual comfort in a variety of religious sources. My Some background: White was born in Maine in 1827. sister and I got dragged to more different churches than I can Though slavery had been outlawed there since the late recall: Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist. (Since, 1700s, rum manufacturers in Maine made a financial killing in my mother’s small-town estimation, Jews and Catholics trading their “liquid gold” in African ports in exchange for were destined for damnation, she eschewed their doctrines.) Negro slaves, which were then sold for a handsome profit in She even indulged in the wacky writings of Edgar Casey, the West Indies or the southern American states where slav- Scientology, and the Church of Religious Science. All this in ery continued to thrive. Thus, the good—presumably Chris- the name of finding inner-peace and some greater meaning tian—merchants of Maine could “keep their hands clean” to life’s adversities. and still reap some hefty rewards. Even so, pro-slavery agi- Then one day some new neighbors moved in next door. tators in Maine continued to press for the re-legalization of They were an elderly couple who had been missionaries in slavery. And while White herself did denounce slavery as an Africa for nearly 50 years. Their home was a veritable muse- institution, her language regarding “colored people” is far um of cultural artifacts. (I was very much into the “Daktari” from egalitarian. TV show back then, so of course I was instantly enchanted She wrote, “God cannot take the slave to heaven, who with their tales of life in the Congo.) In addition to being has been kept in ignorance and degradation, knowing noth- very kind and hospitable people, they were also Seventh- ing of God, or the Bible, fearing nothing but his master’s Day Adventists. This was a faith my mother had not yet ex- lash, and not holding so elevated a position as his master’s plored, so she of course became enchanted for an entirely brute beasts. But He does the best thing for him that a com- different reason. passionate God can do. He lets him be as though he had not From the time I was eleven until I was nearly fourteen I been.” Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts, vol. 1, p. 193. was compelled to attend Bible study in their home and Sat- So basically, she is contending that the uneducated black urday service at their church. (SDAs hold Saturday as their man (or woman) isn’t even as good as a “brute beast.” There- Sabbath as part of their adherence to Old Testament law. Ad- fore, the “compassionate god” will simply let him rot in his ditionally, they subscribe to the ancient Hebrew belief that grave in the same manner as a beast. (Note, it is no small certain kinds of food are “unclean,” e.g. pork, shellfish and coincidence that White frequently equated “colored people” anything not having a cloven hoof.) This was a difficult with beasts. In fact, this comparison lies at the very core of teaching for my mother to swallow, figuratively speaking. her amalgamation theory.) So, what is it? White herself Still, she did her best to comply with this oddball, supersti- gave the definition: tion-riddled culinary requisite, refusing to serve her family “But if there was one sin above another which called for many of the foods we had grown up loving. (This certainly the destruction of the race by the flood, it was the base crime did not help matters between her and my father, a man who of amalgamation of man and beast which defaced the image

16 American Atheist - April 2010 of God, and caused confusion everywhere.” -Spiritual Gifts, In truth, superstitions the world over are rife with many Vol. 3, p. 64, 1864. colorful examples of “amalgamations.” “Every species of animal which God had created, were Now let’s get to the ugly heart of the matter: Racism. preserved in the ark. The confused species which God did The modern SDA can deny it all they like, but I vividly recall not create, which were the result of amalgamation, were de- listening to that kindly old couple tell us how there was “sci- stroyed by the flood. Since the flood there has been amal- entific proof” that the black man’s brain was considerably gamation of man and beast, as may be seen in the endless smaller than a white man’s. Then too, the shape of his skull, varieties of species of animals and certain races of men.”- nose, lips and jaw—similar to that of the gorilla—clearly Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 3, p.75, 1864. indicated his primate ancestry. White herself stated that the In essence, humans had sex with animals, thus creating results of amalgamation are evidenced in “certain races of whole new “confused” species. Even in White’s day, this men.” Her crony and co-leader of the SDA movement, Uri- was known in scientific circles to be a genetic impossibility. ah Smith, went so far as to name them specifically: African Still, the SDA church then as now stanchly contends that Sis- Bushmen, Hottentots and even the American Digger Indian. ter White spoke nothing that did not come directly from Je- Perhaps White’s ignorance—and that’s a mighty big hovah . (Not surprisingly, these very passages were removed “perhaps”—can be forgiven considering the racist period in from later revised publications, presumably because they which she lived or her own medically unbalanced psyche. caused the church considerable political embarrassment.) However, this perverted doctrine was still being preached But wait, doesn’t the Bible itself speak of such creatures? during my childhood. And that was the year 1966! If you The books of Deuteronomy, Numbers, Job, and Psalms all visit the official SDA website today, you will see they claim speak of unicorns. In Isaiah and Jeremiah we read about to abhor all forms of prejudice. How convenient. And how the cockatrice, a creature half-snake and half-chicken. And very politically correct for an institution that wishes to keep the satyr, the famous half-man, half-goat, which appears in enjoying its tax-free status. If you ask rank-and-file SDA Greek and Roman mythologies as well, is featured in Isaiah. members about amalgamation, many of them won’t know what you’re talking about. That still doesn’t belie the fact that this “reli- gion” supported and promoted one of the most despicable and degrading concepts known to humankind. As I stated earlier, I can’t blame my mother for what she did, exposing me to all this nonsense. If anything, I owe her a debt of gratitude! Her cu- riosity, doubt and desperate thirst for answers inspired my own quest for truth. The pain of an abusive child- hood taught me the meaning of hy- pocrisy and gave me the audacity to ask “why?” The latter has proven to be my most powerful tool in tearing asunder the ultimate “amalgamation” of lies, superstition, bigotry and intol- erance that define the parameters of all religions.

Author’s Note: My mother never did join the SDA church. Despite her personal trials and restrictive upbringing, she was still a woman of considerable intelligence, and I’m certain she saw right through their hogwash. After divorcing my father, she found her own form of “spiritual peace” in painting beautiful land- scapes.

April 2010 - American Atheist 17 COEXIST Keith Lowell Jensen Staff Writer, American Atheist atheistcomedian.com Do Atheists have a role to play in the “Interfaith Movement?”

friend of mine, who also hap- of Coexist written in bombs, missiles One, no pretending that all pens to be a minister at one and barbed wire. religions worship the same god. I Aof those large, freeway side I asked the minister why there mean, this is an insult to them. If it’s mega-churches, sat across from me was no Atheist symbol. Then I asked all the same god he is a sycophant sipping his mint tea. He was telling myself. Did I want to coexist? I find going about telling everyone he me about how much he loves U2, a the interfaith movement distaste- comes across that they’re his band who, when I was still in high ful in it’s tendency to want to water favorites, his chosen. I will admit that school, somehow won huge support down the beliefs of the various faiths I would welcome religion going away from Christians by admitting they facilitating a universalist fantasy in completely and welcome them to weren’t Christians but were “search- which the various holy books do not admit that they’d love to see everyone ing.” “Oh they’re so honest, I’m sure instruct their “chosen” to shun if not accept that which they see as truth. they’ll find Jesus,” my old youth kill the others. But here I was, sitting Two, a strong stance in favor of group pals and I once swooned when at a Cafe with a friend who did a lot separation of church and state. After Bono appeared on the cover of Cam- to help the needy, who cared about all, we can’t coexist if one group has pus Crusade Magazine or some such the environment and who was sin- unfair influence and advantage over rag. That was a couple of decades cerely trying to be the best person he the others. back. The Christians are still waiting could be. I would be happy to stand Three, a strong stance against for Bono to state definitively that he side by side with him in these efforts. those who advocate violence and ex- is one of them, but after waiting over So where do I as an Atheist fit in the tremism. You can’t have it both ways, two thousand years for Jesus to return interfaith movement? attending your Coexist Town Hall on I’ve no doubt their patience will en- By it’s very title the answer would Saturday and supporting a homopho- dure. seem to be that I don’t fit. I mean, it’s bic, holy war mongering, kook (like But back to my minister pal. The interfaith, and faith is the thing I detest Pat Robertson for example) on Sun- thing that had excited him most was most. But if they’re sincere in want- day. Bono’s embracing of the interfaith ing to bring people together, to com- So long as these are adhered to I movement. In the lobby of the giant bat religious segregation, then Athe- can happily work within a group that arena where he’d gone to see U2, ists and other non-religious people welcomes any and all peaceful peo- were many items for sale, but the one would have to be welcomed into the ple to come and enjoy each other’s that earned a spot on his bumper was fold, for while we are not a religion company, as humans, no matter how a “Coexist” sticker, the letters made we are victim to religious segregation crazy, disillusioned, irrational, stub- up of various religious symbols. The and we are a growing demographic on born, morally inconsistent, unscien- C was an Islamic Crescent, the O a the playing field. tific, damned, doomed or just plain wheel of Dharma, the X a star of Da- I can see myself working within goofy we may find each other. So yes, vid and the T a Christian cross. I’ve the coexist mindset, but for it to work, please, by all means, let’s coexist. seen many varieties of this since, but for me, there would have to be some luckily nobody has stolen my idea yet carefully adhered to guidelines:

18 American Atheist - April 2010 a book review by Ben Edward Akerley

nly a prodigiously gifted writer can capture the es- for a Creator) did exist, the naturalist gives numerous exam- sence of the evolutionary argument with the un- ples of such poor design that those defects strongly suggest Ocanny ability to distill it and make the scientifically Unintelligent Designer as a much more appropriate moniker. complex so easy for lay readers to grasp. Richard Dawkins Another favorite ploy of the ID school argues that the has accomplished that and much more in this splendid vol- theory of evolution contradicts the Second Law of Thermo- ume, replete with plentiful, full-color pictures, the latest in dynamics, but that charge, says Dawkins, only reveals that his ten-book output. the ID people comprehend the Second Law even more dimly He abbreviated the title from a slogan on a gift T-shirt: than Darwin’s greatest discovery. In one of his most mem- THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, THE ONLY GAME orable analogies, he portrays antievolutionists as history- IN TOWN. The original work- deniers notoriously comparable ing title “Only a Theory?” then with Holocaust deniers. And served to head his first chapter, because of poorly taught sci- but as the author wryly com- ence, creationists can blatantly ments, followed by a cautionary propound the fallacy that we de- question mark to guard against scended from monkeys whereas creationist quote mining. His the historical record clearly primary purpose in this under- shows that the only link between taking confirms unhesitatingly monkeys and humans is our the veracity of the fact of evo- sharing of a common ancestor. lution—as incontrovertible as With regard to the tired and any in the whole field of sci- tiresome creationist argument: ence. And he coins the term “Teach children that they are an- “theorum”—adapted from the imals and they will behave like mathematical term ‘theorem’— animals!” he insists that even if to mean an obviously supported such an unfounded accusation fact. were true, it would not and could The researcher cites some not negate or nullify the truth of exceptional examples of evolu- the scientific record. tion occurring during one hu- The former Oxford profes- man lifetime—the change in the sor fittingly titles his last chapter size of elephant tusks, the en- “There is grandeur in this view larged head in a certain species of life.” Since belief in an af- of lizard and the remarkable feat terlife with guaranteed survival of creating 45,000 generations beyond the grave goes hand in of E. coli bacteria under labo- glove with belief in creationism, ratory conditions during only he underscores the inescapable two decades. However, in the fact that our very existence is normal course of events, scien- almost too surprising to bear. tists resemble detectives who arrive on the scene of a crime As we contemplate and focus on the staggering complexity, but didn’t witness the event and must reconstruct what must the ineffable elegance, the splendiferous forms most beauti- have happened based only on the surviving clues. ful and wonderful and the breathtaking beauty of our planet He tackles head-on the creationist argument that there Earth, the fantasy of another life in the hereafter would be are gaps in the fossil record—aka missing links—despite tantamount to complete denial of the rationalist-humanist the abundant evidence for the seamless march of natural philosophy that this world is all we can ever possibly be history so overwhelmingly present and entirely secure that certain about. And a nice, neat, succinct, three-word sum- any fossils—gaps included—only provide an evidentiary mation of that outlook which Dawkins so eloquently paints bonus. Adaptation and natural selection are the watchwords for us, comes to us from the title of American poet Edward for evolution because it cannot peer into the future and an- Markham’s exquisite gem: “Earth is Enough.” ticipate needed change. However, if an Intelligent Designer (a shameless and religiously-motivated specious euphemism Free Press (hardback) 9/09. 470 pages. $30.00 April 2010 - American Atheist 19 rom Phineas Thrumford Christian Throstleottom, a round and spherical form, yet it does not follow that the slave of Christ, to all who sojourn in Babylon until other side of the earth is bare of water; nor even, though it the consummation of the age: Greetings, Blessings, be bare, does it immediately follow that it is peopled. (De Fand Consolation! Civitate Dei, Bk. XVI, Ch. 9: “Whether We are to Believe We are exceeding troubled by the ubiquitous heresy that in the Antipodes”) unbiblically asserts that the earth is a sphere. We wish, there- fore, to inform you of the history of this pernicious lie and Now of course, St. Augustine was just showing that even to give you strength with which to resist the seductive, pseu- if one accepted the hateful doctrine of the sphericity of the doscientific arguments that are used to advance it. Although earth, it would not follow that there were people living on the the round-earth heresy actually began with ancient Greek bottom side. He did not really see a need to prove the obvious, pseudoscientists such as Pythagoras, Aristotle, Eratosthenes, FPliny the Elder, and Strabo, it wasn’t until Copernicus that the heresy gained any traction. Periodic application of fire to pa- per had kept the sacred truth about the world safe from Pagan The Earth misinformation and damnable falsehood. It is true, alas, that even some of the Church Fathers had succumbed to the ex- ecrable doctrine of the sphericity of a moving earth. However, the heresy did not really captivate the Church of God until its Is Flat / failure to burn Galileo for blasphemously slandering our Holy Faith. The Roman Catholic Church is forever to be condemned for its laxity and failure to guard a fundamental truth: not only does the earth not go around the sun, the earth is not a sphere! This Much The Romish Catholic Church thus opened the floodgates to the geospheric heresy that now has completely seduced all the world except for some Lutherans such as me and a few creationists who are biblically worthy of that name. Before I I Know / pass into Glory, though, I hope I can restore the Christian Faith to its pristine geoflaticity. That is the task before me in this epistle. Although the Catholics clearly are too depraved to receive For the Bible veritous geographic truth this late in history, I fervently hope that I can at least convince conservative Lutherans to return to the faith of the saint I like to think of as ‘the first Lutheran’ — St. Augustine. Although he never thought it necessary to say Tells Me So! flat-out that the earth isn’t a sphere, he did make it clear that there could not be ‘Antipodes,’ i.e., people living opposite our An Epistle from Phineas Thrumford feet at the other side of the world. He clearly saw the evil im- Christian Throstlebottom plications of a spherical earth—an idea many pseudoscientists of his day accepted without question. In his great treatise The viz., that the earth is flat and roundly shaped like a pancake. City of God, he wrote: Some wicked historians have lately claimed that St. Augustine actually accepted the sphericity of the earth; he just didn’t be- But as to the fable that there are Antipodes, that is to say, lieve the other side was inhabited. But this is impossible for men on the opposite side of the earth, where the sun rises one important reason: St. Augustine believed the Bible was when it sets to us, men who walk with their feet opposite true! Anyone who believes the Bible is true knows that the ours, that is on no ground credible. And, indeed, it is not earth has to be flat. affirmed that this has been learned by historical knowl- Everywhere, the Bible trumpets the fundamental truth of edge, but by scientific conjecture, on the ground that the geography: the earth is flat. The dry land is circular and is sur- earth is suspended within the concavity of the sky, and that rounded by ocean (well, duh!), and at the four corners of the it has as much room on the one side of it as on the other: circle there are pillars that support the firmament, the solid hence they say that the part which is beneath must also be support on which the sun, moon, and stars are mounted and inhabited. But they do not remark that, although it be sup- above which are the blue-colored “waters above the firma- posed or scientifically demonstrated that the world is of a ment” (Genesis 1: 6–8).

20 American Atheist - April 2010 It is well to begin my proof of the flaticity of the earth by sun, moon, and stars stay up there? From what would they be reminding my readers of the scriptural foundation of all of suspended? astronomy, Genesis 1:6–8: The absurdity of the geospheric heresy is obvious when we recall the Genesis verses quoted (from memory) above: 6 And God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst “And there was evening and there was morning, a second of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the wa- day.” Now think about this. Being “a second day,” it obvi- ters.” 7 And God made the firmament and separated the ously was a single day—twenty-four hours long. The fact that waters which were under the firmament from the waters it was a single day absolutely rules out the possibility of the which were above the firmament. And it was so. 8 And world being a sphere. It was a single day all over the earth. If God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening the earth were a ball, there would be two days playing out at and there was morning, a second day. the same time. You see, what to people on the one side of the earth would appear as evening (the ending of a day) would It must be noted that the existence of the solid firmament appear to people on the other side as morning—the beginning absolutely rules out the possibility that the earth is a sphere of a day! For people on one part of the earth it could be March hanging in nothing — the so-called ‘outer space’ touted by 31st, and for others it could be April Fool’s Day! the back-sliding, would-be creationists at NASA. If the earth Now one might argue that daylight was made to go all were a ball, there would be nothing for the firmament to rest around a spherical earth and periodically it was replaced by upon. Unless, of course, the firmament rested only on a part of darkness. But Genesis 1:3–5 tells us: the earth. But of course, that would be completely unbiblical. We know that the entire earth is beneath the sky. 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light: and there was light. The Devil, of course, knew that someday I would make 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divid- this argument and so he seduced modern Bible translators ed the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light, to deliberately mistranslate the He- Day, and the darkness he called Night: and the evening brew word raqia‘ (‘firmament’) as and the morning were the first day. “The truths ‘expanse’ or ‘space,’ or something else that would hide the fact that the You see, God separated darkness out of the light—per- of the Bible firmament is firm! One of the most haps as we might strain out black-eyed peas from tapioca pud- — especially pernicious things about the perva- ding. Light and darkness are clearly kept in separate places sive apostasy that has resulted from and pass over the earth in eternal succession as the sun rises, the flaticity the triumph of the geosphericity her- sets, disappears, and then rises again. That’s what day and of the earth esy has been the way it has let liberal night are all about. It’s not like God is painting a ball white, so-called Bible scholars to ignore then painting it black, then painting it white again! — can all be the true meanings of many Hebrew The Bible is the greatest science textbook there ever was. verified...” and Greek words in Holy Scripture. The truths of the Bible — especially the flaticity of the earth Now I have just mentioned the delib- — can all be verified experimentally, as I shall demonstrate erate mistranslation of the Hebrew scientifically. word raqia‘ as ‘expanse’ or something insubstantial. But God will not be mocked! The word raqia‘ was always translated EXPERIMENT #1 in ancient times into words (in Greek, Latin, and other lan- guages) that meant something firm, something solid. I have INTRODUCTION looked it up, and I can tell you that the Hebrew root of the We have already proven that if the earth were a ball there word is also the base for a smithing term that means to ham- would be two days going on at the same time, and that that is mer out into thin sheets, as for example copper or gold foil. flatly incompatible with the Genesis account of creation. But In Exodus 39:3 we are told that “The gold [of the ephod] was there is a further problem with the earth being a ball: not only beaten (raqa‘) into thin plates, cut and twisted into braid…” would there be a front and a back to the ball, there would be Although no further proof is really needed, nevertheless it a top and a bottom! For someone at the top or the bottom of may be well to clinch the argument that the firmament is firm. the world, full-fledged day and completely dark night would In Job 37:18 God asks Job, “Can you beat out (raqa‘) the cease to exist. This can be proven experimentally as follows: vault of the skies, as he does, hard as a mirror of cast metal?” Is this not as clear as the nose upon one’s face? God ham- MATERIALS NEEDED mered out the sky as a firmament—a thin, hard sheet of mate- 1 basketball | 1 large flashlight |1 dark closet rial, not a void! If the firmament weren’t hard, how would the

April 2010 - American Atheist 21 PROCEDURE PROCEDURE Go into a dark closet with the basketball and the flash- Halfway down from the top of the basketball, stick the light. Close the door tightly so that no light from outside can hatpin into the ball until exactly one inch of the pin remains get in. Then turn on the flashlight. Shine it on the center of the outside the ball. Pretend that the ball is a spherical earth and basketball. Notice the effect on the side of the ball on which the head of the hatpin is the top of the highest mountain on the the light is shining. Then notice the appearance of the side of earth. Then, carefully bring the ball closer and closer to your the ball on which the light is not shining. Can’t see anything face until the head of the hatpin is about 1/16th of an inch from at all? Good! the pupil of your right eye. With the magic marker make dots Now, hold the basketball up in front of your face, say, at on the ball as far out on it as you can see under these condi- a distance of about six inches. Then, with your arm holding tions. the flashlight and fully extended, shine the light backwards toward you onto the center of the back side of the ball. Then, RESULTS try to sight over the top of the ball. Repeat this observation Are there any dots on the backside of the basketball? under the bottom of the ball. Were you able to see anything on the other side? Why or why not? Do you think Jesus could have? (That is, with his human RESULTS eyes; of course we know he can see everything in the world When you shine the light onto the ball, the side hit by the without using any eyes at all!) light is bright as daylight. The other side is dark. When you sighted over the top and bottom of the ball, however, it was CONCLUSION neither day nor night; it was a sort of twilight. It was evening The earth has to be flat, because Jesus could not have and dawn at the same time — as though such a thing could be seen kingdoms on the other side of the ball if the earth were a possible! sphere. Q.E.D.

CONCLUSION This second experiment is truly a soul-saving demonstra- The earth cannot be a sphere because if it were there tion, as it illuminates the profound truth of the Gospel accord- would be a top and a bottom part where there would be nei- ing to St. Matthew [24:29–31]: ther day nor night. It would be in contradiction to the divine scientific fact that all the world is subject to alternating day 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days, and night, and that there is only one day at a time on the earth. shall the Sun be darkened, and the Moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the EXPERIMENT #2 powers of the heavens shall be shaken. 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then INTRODUCTION shall all the Tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see It is a Biblical fact that the Devil took Jesus up to the top the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with pow- of a tall mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the er and great glory. 31 And he shall send his Angels with earth [Matthew 4:8]: “Again the Devil taketh him up into an a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms his Elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to of the world, and the glory of them.” the other. Now for Jesus to be able to see all the kingdoms of the earth from the top of a high mountain in Israel the earth has First of all, notice that heaven (the firmament) has ends to to be flat, and Jerusalem has to be at the center of it. If the it. If the firmament were a sphere surrounding the earth you earth were ball-shaped, Jesus could not see kingdoms (if there couldn’t find any ends to it. But if, as is the case, the firma- were any!) on the other side of the ball from the mountain. ment is like a great inverted bowl covering over the land, you Now, you don’t have to simply take my word for this. This could eventually find the ends of it if you traveled far enough is scientifically and experimentally provable. You can do the over the earth’s flat surface. following simple, scientific experiment to see this. Some day — who knows? — we may actually be able to do that. Job 26:10 tells us that “[God] has fixed the horizon on MATERIALS NEEDED the surface of the waters at the farthest limit of light and dark- 1 basketball | 1 hatpin | 1 non-metric, Christian ruler ness.” It does not seem likely, however, that we could travel 1 so-called magic marker (There aren’t really such things as in rockets to do this, because when we reached the horizon at magic markers; what looks like magic is actually a trick of the great speed we wouldn’t be able to stop and would crash into Devil.) it and kill ourselves.

22 American Atheist - April 2010 The logic of this epistle, of course, is straightforward. We him. The flaticity of the earth follows as a necessary conclu- know from the Holy Bible that all the tribes of the earth— sion. Q.E.D. be they in New Jersey or Cameroon—will see Jesus when he comes again. We know also that human beings—tribal or civi- About the Author lized—if they are on one side of a ball cannot see what is on Phineas Thrumford Christian Throstlebottom is an alter ego the other side of the ball without a mirror. If the earth were a (perhaps altar ego?) of Frank R. Zindler, the managing editor sphere and Jesus came down on a cloud on just one side of it, of American Atheist Press. only people on the same side of the ball would be able to see

WHY I AM A HUMANIST ell, I was asked to speak five Some of us cub reporters attended a minutes on Why I Am a Hu- Great Books course in the old library A speech delivered manist. But I really can’t ex- on Hale Street—and it blew my young plainW why, because nobody quite knows brain to discover, for the first time, that by James A. Haught, where beliefs come from. People never thinkers through the centuries had tried fully understand what made them lib- to fathom why the universe exists, and to Charleston UU on erals or conservatives—or conformists whether there’s any cosmic purpose. I or nonconformists—or military hawks had been unaware of philosophy. It was 2/21/10, the day after or doves—or believers or doubters. an exciting, mind-opening time for me. Mindsets are rooted in unfathomable Our city editor—a brilliant clone his 78th birthday. subconscious crevices. Studies find that of H.L. Mencken—was my mentor. women tend to be more churchy than He laughed at “hillbilly preachers” killed 200,000 people. Before it, the men, so perhaps biology is a factor. (Or and pompous pastors. I told him: “OK, Indian Ocean tsunami killed the same maybe women are trying to keep men you’re right that gods and devils and number, mostly children. And nature— from tomcatting around.) heavens and hells are just fairy tales— “red in tooth and claw,” as Tennyson All I know is my own life. I was but what’s the real truth? Why are we said—involves predators ripping help- born in 1932 in a little West Virginia here? Why is the world here? Why do less animals apart. And terrible diseases farm town that had no electricity or we live and die? What answer can an inflict suffering and death, while people paved streets. I grew up with gaslights. honest, sincere, thinking person give?” pray for relief. If an all-powerful deity We were rural folks who said “boosh” He eyed me and replied: “You can created everything and does nothing and “poosh” and “weesh” and “feesh.” say: I don’t know.” Bingo. That rang a to ease the pain, he cannot be merci- Our neighbors gave their daughter a bell in my psyche. Admitting that you ful. He would be a monster. The best fancy French name, WYE-vonne. We don’t know is truthful. Honesty is the conclusion is that he’s just a fantasy, a didn’t know our language was quaint. key. It’s dishonest for believers to claim figment of people’s imagination. Despite our isolation and quaint- supernatural knowledge, with no evi- Magical religion gives people ness, country people are as smart as dence whatever. But it’s mentally hon- hope. Believers think they will “tri- city dwellers. My dad was a postmaster. est to confess that you cannot answer. umph over death” in the Great Beyond. Mom was a teacher and conservatory- Being truthful is moral and honorable. But it’s false hope, self-deception, I trained violinist who published chil- Back in those days, the 1950s, the think. Our minds and personalities are dren’s stories. A great-uncle somehow Charleston Unitarian congregation was created by our brains, and when the got to Harvard and became dean of filled with chemists, professors, and brain dies, so does the self. There is no West Virginia Wesleyan College. other highly educated, science-minded hope in a future mystical realm. This My immediate family never at- people who shared my skeptical, ag- deduction is somewhat grim—but at tended church. It was alien to us—al- nostic, secular humanist worldview. So least it’s honest. though an uncle-in-law was a Methodist I was drawn to the group like a magnet. Humanism means wanting to help preacher. Holy-rollers were laughable. Through many decades of reading humanity. Secular humanism means After I came to Charleston and lucked and learning, I solidified my freethinker doing it without the involvement of su- into a newspaper job, just by accident, mentality. For example, I saw that sim- pernatural faith. This worldview grew I thought supernatural religion was ab- ple logic proves that the loving Father in me a half-century ago, and it never surd. (Bizarrely, I was assigned to write Creator of standard churches cannot left. a church column in the 1950s.) possibly exist. The Haiti earthquake

April 2010 - American Atheist 23 American Atheists Essential Reading List

Enjoy the introductory information provided in these books, which are of topics of interests to Atheists. These titles represent only a fraction of the books available from American Atheist Press, yet collectively they provide a broad overview of Atheist thought. Stock # Price Pages Book Style © 2010 Photos.com

STOCK# PRICE PAGES STYLE Atheism Advanced: Further Thoughts of a Free Thinker by David Eller 16010 $22.00 490 Paperback An anthropologist advances Atheists and Atheism beyond belief!

Christianity before Christ by John G. Jackson 5200 $14.00 237 Paperback Christian doctrines are traced to their origins in older religions.

The Case Against Religion by Albert Ellis 5096 $6.00 57 Stapled A psychotherapist’s view of the harmful aspects of religious belief.

Living in the Light by Anne R. Stone 5588 $12.00 157 Paperback Subtitled “Freeing Your Child from the Dark Ages” This book serves as a manual for Atheist parents.

Our Constitution: The Way It Was by Madalyn O’Hair 5400 $6.00 70 Stapled American Atheist Radio Series episodes about the myth that our founding fathers created a Christian nation.

What on Earth is an Atheist! by Madalyn O’Hair 5412 $18.00 288 Paperback American Atheist Radio Series episodes on various topics of Atheist philosophy and history.

The Bible Handbook by G. W. Foote, W. P. Ball, et al. 5008 $17.00 372 Paperback A compilation of biblical absurdities, contradictions, atrocities, immoralities and obscenities.

An Atheist Epic by Madalyn O’Hair 5376 $18.00 302 Paperback The personal story of the battle to end mandatory prayer and bible recitation in schools in the United States.

65 Press Interviews by Robert G. Ingersoll 5589 $15.00 262 Paperback Ingersoll’s 19th-century newspaper interviews as a Freethinker and opponent of superstition.

An Atheist Looks at Women & Religion by Madalyn O’Hair 5419 $10.00 42 Paperback Why attempts to reconcile religion with civil rights for women are self-defeating.

The Jesus the Jews Never Knew by Frank R. Zindler 7026 $20.00 544 Paperback A search of ancient Jewish literature yields no evidence for the existence of any historical Jesus.

The Great Infidels by Robert G. Ingersoll 5197 $7.00 80 Paperback How nonbelievers and Atheists have contributed to civilization and enriched our lives.

The Myth of Nazareth: The Invented Town of Jesus by René Salm 16014 $20.00 401 Paperback Jesus couldn’t have come from Nazareth because no one was living there at the time.

Illustrated Stories From The Bible by Paul Farrell 16000 $16.00 172 Paperback You can bet this book won’t ever be used In Sunday Schools!

Jesus is Dead by Robert M. Price 16005 $18.00 291 Paperback Not only is there no reason to believe Jesus rose from the dead, there is no reason to think he ever lived or died at all!

Please see the order form enclosed with this magazine for member discounts and shipping details, or consult www.atheists.org. 24 American Atheist - April 2010 BIBLE CROSSED AMERICA Nick Farrantello

eginning in 2008, America’s largest bible publishing company, Zondervan, began a project to rewrite the holy bible—sort of. They sentB a bus across the United States to get ordinary people to transcribe Atheism Advanced: Further Thoughts of a Free Thinker by David Eller 16010 $22.00 490 Paperback An anthropologist advances Atheists and their favorite lines from the Old and New Testament, verse for verse, Atheism beyond belief! all by hand. (So much for Gutenberg and movable type) The project, promoted as “Bible Across America,” took nine months to complete. Christianity before Christ by John G. Jackson 5200 $14.00 237 Paperback Christian doctrines are traced to their The bible bus made 104 stops at churches and strip malls in 90 cities. origins in older religions. According to the publisher’s website, over 30 thousand people got the opportunity to contribute their individual handwritten style to this new- The Case Against Religion by Albert Ellis 5096 $6.00 57 Stapled A psychotherapist’s view of the harmful est version of the good book. aspects of religious belief. It is now being offered on line for a whopping $99 plus shipping and handling. I learned of this project too late to offer my own contributions. Living in the Light by Anne R. Stone 5588 $12.00 157 Paperback Subtitled “Freeing Your Child from the Dark Ages” Nevertheless, here’s how I would liked to have seen some of the bible’s This book serves as a manual for Atheist parents. best verses represented.

Our Constitution: The Way It Was by Madalyn O’Hair 5400 $6.00 70 Stapled American Atheist Radio Series episodes about the myth that our founding fathers created a Christian nation.

What on Earth is an Atheist! by Madalyn O’Hair 5412 $18.00 288 Paperback American Atheist Radio Series episodes on various topics of Atheist philosophy and history.

The Bible Handbook by G. W. Foote, W. P. Ball, et al. 5008 $17.00 372 Paperback A compilation of biblical absurdities, contradictions, atrocities, immoralities and obscenities.

An Atheist Epic by Madalyn O’Hair 5376 $18.00 302 Paperback The personal story of the battle to end mandatory prayer and bible recitation in schools in the United States. Colossians 3:22

65 Press Interviews by Robert G. Ingersoll 5589 $15.00 262 Paperback Ingersoll’s 19th-century newspaper interviews as a Freethinker and opponent of superstition.

An Atheist Looks at Women & Religion by Madalyn O’Hair 5419 $10.00 42 Paperback Why attempts to reconcile religion with civil rights for women are self-defeating.

The Jesus the Jews Never Knew by Frank R. Zindler 7026 $20.00 544 Paperback A search of ancient Jewish literature yields no evidence for the existence of any historical Jesus.

The Great Infidels by Robert G. Ingersoll 5197 $7.00 80 Paperback How nonbelievers and Atheists have contributed to civilization and enriched our lives.

The Myth of Nazareth: The Invented Town of Jesus by René Salm 16014 $20.00 401 Paperback Jesus couldn’t have come from Nazareth because no one was living there at the time.

Illustrated Stories From The Bible by Paul Farrell 16000 $16.00 172 Paperback You can bet this book won’t ever be used In Sunday Schools!

Jesus is Dead by Robert M. Price 16005 $18.00 291 Paperback Not only is there no reason to believe Jesus rose from the dead, there is no reason to think he ever lived or died at all!

Please see the order form enclosed with this magazine for member discounts and shipping details, or consult www.atheists.org. April 2010 - American Atheist 25 State Directors

MILITARY DIRECTOR IDAHO STATE DIRECTOR OHIO STATE DIRECTOR Kathleen Johnson Susan Harrington Michael Allen 411 E. Hwy 190 Ste. 105 PMB66 P.O. Box 204 PMB289 Copperas Cove, TX 76522 Boise, ID 83701-0204 1933 E. Dublin-Granville Rd (318) 542-1019 (208) 631-5012 Columbus, OH 43229 [email protected] [email protected] (614) 678-6470 http://www.atheists.org/mil http://www.atheists.org/id/ [email protected] http://www.atheists.org/oh ALABAMA STATE DIRECTOR KENTUCKY STATE DIRECTOR Blair Scott Edwin Kagin OKLAHOMA STATE DIRECTOR P.O. Box 41 P.O. Box 48 Ron Pittser Ryland, AL 35767-2000 Union, KY 41091 P.O. Box 2174 (256) 701-6265 (859) 384-7000 Oklahoma City, OK 73101-2174 [email protected] [email protected] (405) 205-8447 http://www.atheists.org/al/ http://www.atheists.org/ky/ [email protected] http://www.atheists.org/ok/ ARIZONA STATE DIRECTOR [NEW] MICHIGAN STATE DIRECTOR Don Lacey Arlene-Marie TEXAS STATE DIRECTOR P.O. Box 1161 George Shiffer (Asst. Dir.) Joe Zamecki Tucson, AZ 85641-1161 Both can be reached at: (512) 758-0894 (520) 370-8420 P.O. Box 0025 [email protected] [email protected] Allen Park, MI 48101-9998 http://www.atheists.org/tx/ http://www.atheists.org/az/ (313) 938-5960 Dick Hogan (TX Reg. Dir., Dallas/Ft. [email protected] Worth) CALIFORNIA STATE DIRECTOR [email protected] [email protected] Michael Doss http://www.atheists.org/mi/ http://www.atheists.org/dfw/ P.O. Box 10541 Santa Ana, CA 92711 MINNESOTA STATE DIRECTOR UTAH STATE DIRECTOR (714) 478-8457 Randall Tigue Rich Andrews [email protected] 201 Golden Valley Office Center P.O. Box 165103 Mark W. Thomas (Asst. Dir.) 810 North Lilac Drive Salt Lake City, UT 84116-5103 472 Lotus Lane Golden Valley, MN 55422 (801) 718-7930 Mountain View, CA 94043-4533 (763) 529-9211 [email protected] (650) 969-5314 [email protected] http://www.atheists.org/ut/ [email protected] http://www.atheists.org/mn/ http://www.atheists.org/ca/ VIRGINIA STATE DIRECTOR MISSOURI STATE DIRECTOR Rick Wingrove CONNECTICUT STATE DIRECTOR Greg Lammers P.O. Box 774 Dennis Paul Himes P.O. Box 1352 Leesburg, VA 20178 P.O. Box 9203 Columbia, MO 65205 (703) 433-2464 Bolton, CT 06043 (573) 289-7633 [email protected] (860) 454-8301 [email protected] http://www.atheists.org/va/ [email protected] http://www.atheists.org/mo/ http://www.atheists.org/ct/ WASHINGTON STATE DIRECTOR NEW JERSEY STATE DIRECTOR Wendy Britton FLORIDA STATE DIRECTOR David Silverman 12819 SE 38th St., Suite 485 Greg McDowell 1308 Centennial Ave., Box 101 Bellevue, WA 98006 P.O. Box 680741 Piscataway, NJ 08854 (425) 269-9108 Orlando, FL 32868-0741 (732) 648-9333 [email protected] (352) 217-3470 [email protected] http://www.atheists.org/wa/ [email protected] http://www.atheists.org/nj/ Ken Loukinen (So. FL Reg. Dir.) WEST VIRGINIA STATE DIRECTOR 7972 Pines Blvd., #246743 NORTH CAROLINA STATE DIRECTOR Charles Pique Pembroke Pines, FL 33024 Wayne Aiken P.O. Box 7444 (954) 381-5240 P.O. Box 30904 Charleston, WV 25356-0444 [email protected] Raleigh, NC 27622 (304) 776-5377 http://www.atheists.org/fl/ (919) 602-8529 [email protected] [email protected] http://www.atheists.org/wv/ http://www.atheists.org/nc/

Contacting State Directors

Our directors are not provided with contact information for members in their area. If you’re interested in working with your director on activism, please use the listing on this page to contact them. They would love to hear from you! If you live in a state or area where there is no director, you have been a member for one year or more, and you’re interested in a director position, please contact: David Kong, Director of State and Regional Operations: [email protected]

26 American Atheist - April 2010 Atheists & Freethinkers of Contra Costa County contracostaatheists.com

Atheists and Other Freethinkers Aofonline.org Atheists of Silicon Valley godlessgeeks.com

Central Valley Alliance of American Atheists and Skeptics cvaas.org

East Bay Atheists Atheists eastbayatheists.org

Humanist Society of Santa Barbara Affiliates santabarbarahumanists.org

Orange County Atheists OCAtheists.com

Want to be an affiliate? San Francisco Atheists Want a full list of affiliates’ contact info? sfatheists.com Contact Blair Scott, National Affiliate Director [email protected] Santa Cruz Atheists http://alabamaatheist.org/naod santacruzatheists.org

Shasta Atheists & Freethinkers [email protected]

COLORADO Atheists and Freethinkers of Denver © 2010 Photos.com atheistsofdenver.org ALABAMA ALASKA Boulder Atheists Birmingham Atheists Anchorage Atheists boulderatheists.org atheists.meetup.com/132 http://meetup.com/anchorageatheists Metro State Atheists Florence United Nontheists ARIZONA metrostateatheists.wordpress.com FlorenceFreethought.org Tucson Atheists atheists.meetup.com/69 Western Colorado Atheists Montgomery Area [email protected] Freethought Association CALIFORNIA montgomeryfreethought.org Agnostic & Atheist Student CONNECTICUT Association Atheist Humanist Society North Alabama daviswiki.org/agasa of CT and RI Freethought Association atheisthumanist.org thenafa.org Atheist Coalition of San Diego atheistcoalition.org Connecticut Valley Atheists West Alabama Atheists & Agnostics cvatheists.org Freethought Association Group of Rossmoor meetup.com/westalabamafreethought rossmooratheists.info

April 2010 - American Atheist 27 FLORIDA Kansas Freethought Society Minnesota Atheists Florida Atheists & Secular Humanists atheists.meetup.com/642 mnatheists.org **Affiliate of the Year, 2008** KC FreeThinkers St. Olaf Agnostic and Atheist Society freethoughtflorida.com kcfreethinkers.org stolaf.edu/orgs/aas

Gator Freethought (UF) Miami County Kansas Freethinkers MISSISSIPPI gatorfreethought.org atheists.meetup.com/733 Great Southern Humanist Society humanism.meetup.com/164 Rebirth of Reason in Florida KENTUCKY rebirthofreason.com/Florida Kentucky Atheists Mid-South Humanist Society [email protected] midsouth-humanist-society.org Saint Petersburg Atheists atheists.meetup.com/209 Lexington Atheists MISSOURI meetup.com/The-Lexington-Atheists- Columbia Atheists South Lake Atheists and Freethinkers Meetup-Group meetup.com/The-Columbia-Atheists- atheists.meetup.com/655 Meetup-Group LOUISIANA GEORGIA Ark-La-Tex Freethinkers (Shreveport) Community of Reason Atlanta Freethought Society facebook.com/group. CommunityOfReason.net atlantafreethought.org php?gid=128265161375 Joplin Freethinkers IDAHO New Orleans Secular joplinfreethinkers.org Idaho Atheists Humanist Association idahoatheists.org nosha.secularhumanism.net MU Skeptics Atheists Secular Humanist Agnostics ILLINOIS MARYLAND facebook.com/group. Bradley Atheists Freethinkers Union at php?gid=150886568817 [email protected] McDaniel College [email protected] Rationalist Society of IWU Atheist, Agnostic, St. Louis | rssl.org and Non-Religious MASSACHUSETTS facebook.com/group. American University Springfield Freethinkers php?gid=5558627959 Rationalists & Atheists meetup.com/SpringfieldFreethinkers facebook.com/group. IOWA php?gid=34367344446 St. Joseph Skeptics Iowa Secularists stjosephskeptics.org iowasecularist.org Atheists of Greater Lowell atheists.meetup.com/331 NEBRASKA Siouxland Atheists Lincoln Atheists siouxlandatheists.org Boston Atheists lincolnatheists.org bostonatheists.org KANSAS Omaha Atheists First Church of Freethought/ MICHIGAN omahaatheists.org Fort Riley Atheists Michigan Atheists [email protected] michiganatheists.org NEVADA Las Vegas Freethought Society Heartland Humanists Mid Michigan Atheists lvfs.org heartlandhumanists.org and Humanists mmah.org NEW JERSEY Individuals For Freethought New Jersey Humanist Network k-state.edu/freethought MINNESOTA NJHN.org Campus Atheists & Secular Humanists NEW YORK cashumn.org Freethinkers of Upstate New York funygroup.org

28 American Atheist - April 2010 Hudson Valley Humanists SOUTH CAROLINA VIRGINIA hudsonvalley.humanists.net Secular Humanists of Lowcountry Beltway Atheists lowcountry.humanists.net meetup.com/beltwayatheists Long Island Secular Humanists [email protected] TENNESSEE Secular Student Alliance at Chattanooga George Mason New York City Atheists Freethought Association myspace.com/rrs@gmu nyc-atheists.org chattanoogafreethoughtassociation. com WASHINGTON Science Club of Long Island Freethinkers United Network sciencecluboflongisland.com Memphis Freethought Alliance freethinkersunitednetwork.com memphisfreethought.com NORTH CAROLINA Seattle Atheists Charlotte Atheists & Agnostics Nashville Secular Life SeattleAtheists.org CharlotteAtheists.com atheists.meetup.com/699 WEST VIRGINIA Morgantown Atheists NORTH DAKOTA Rationalists of East Tennessee morgantownatheists.org Red River Freethinkers rationalists.org redriverfreethinkers.org WISCONSIN TEXAS Southeast Wisconsin FreeThinkers OHIO Atheist Community of Austin swiftnow.org Free Inquiry Group, Inc. atheist-community.org gofigger.org NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS Denton Atheists Meetup Atheist Nexus Humanist Community of meetup.com/The-Denton-Atheists- atheistnexus.org Central Ohio Meetup-Group hcco.org Atheists for Human Rights Houston Atheists Meetup atheistsforhumanrights.org OKLAHOMA meetup.com/Houston-Atheists Oklahoma Atheists Atheists United for a OklahomaAtheists.info Metroplex Atheists Rational America metroplexatheists.org rationalamerica.com PENNSYLVANIA Atheist Station San Antonio Atheists Military Assoc. of atheiststation.org sa-atheists.org Atheists & Freethinkers maaf.info Central Susquehanna UTAH Valley Freethought Atheists of Utah meetup.com/Central-susquehanna- atheistsofutah.org valley-freethought

Northeast Pennsylvania Freethought Society Visit us online to renew your membership, and be sure to tell atheists.meetup.com/622 a friend about this organization and what we stand for. Our members and affiliates are the lifelines of our cause, and we’re PA Nonbelievers panonbelievers.org growing stronger each year!

RHODE ISLAND Rhode Island Atheist Society riatheist.com atheists.org

April 2010 - American Atheist 29 Membership Application American Atheists www.atheists.org (908) 276-7300

Name ______Email ______(Email address required for online access to magazines.) Address ______Phone ______

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All membership types include a subscription to American Atheist magazine. Please choose a membership type: Simply mark the type you want and enclose your check, money order, or credit-card information. (For foreign addresses, please see the additional calculations below.)

Individual membership: $20 per year

Couple/Family membership: $35 per year Please include the name(s) of your partner/family members: ______

Wall Builder membership: $150 per year (includes an American Atheists tote bag)

Life Member: $1200 (includes a life member pin and your name in the magazine and can be paid in installments within one year.)

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Please mail this form to: American Atheists, PO Box 158, Cranford, NJ 07016.

30 American Atheist - April 2010 AIMS & PURPOSES

American Atheists, Inc. is a nonprofit, nonpolitical, educational organization dedicated to the complete and absolute separation of state and church, accepting the explanation of Thomas Jefferson that the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was meant to create a ‘wall of separation’ between state and church.

American Atheists is organized:

To stimulate and promote freedom of thought and inquiry concerning religious beliefs, creeds, dogmas, tenets, rituals, and practices;

To collect and disseminate information, data, and literature on all religions and promote a more thorough understanding of them, their origins, and their histories;

To advocate, labor for, and promote in all lawful ways the complete and absolute separation of state and church;

To act as a ‘watchdog’ to challenge any attempted breach of the wall of separation between state and church;

To advocate, labor for, and promote in all lawful ways the establishment and maintenance of a thoroughly secular system of education available to all;

To encourage the development and public acceptance of a humane ethical system stressing the mutual sympathy, understanding, and interdependence of all people and the corresponding responsibility of each individual in relation to society;

To develop and propagate a social philosophy in which humankind is central and must itself be the source of strength, progress, and ideals for the well-being and happiness of humanity;

To promote the study of the arts and sciences and of all problems affecting the maintenance, perpetuation, and enrichment of human (and other) life; and

To engage in such social, educational, legal, and cultural activity as will be useful and beneficial to the members of American Atheists and to society as a whole.

DEFINITIONS

Atheism is the comprehensive world view of persons who are free from theism and have freed themselves of supernatural beliefs altogether. It is predicated on ancient Greek Materialism.

Atheism involves the mental attitude that unreservedly accepts the supremacy of reason and aims at establishing a life-style and ethical outlook verifiable by experience and the scientific method, independent of all arbitrary assumptions of authority and creeds.

Materialism declares that the cosmos is devoid of immanent conscious purpose; that it is governed by its own inherent, immutable, and impersonal laws; that there is no supernatural interference in human life; that humankind, finding the resources within themselves, can and must create their own destiny. It teaches that we must prize our life on earth and strive always to improve it. It holds that human beings are capable of creating a social system based on reason and justice. Materialism’s ‘faith’ is in humankind and their ability to transform the world culture by their own efforts. This is a commitment that is, in its very essence, life-asserting. It considers the struggle for progress as a moral obligation that is impossible without noble ideas that inspire us to bold, creative works.

Materialism holds that our potential for good and more fulfilling cultural development is, for all practical purposes, unlimited. Camp Quest is the first residential summer camp in the history of the United States for the children of Atheists, Freethinkers, Humanists, Brights, or whatever other terms might be applied to those who hold to a naturalistic, not supernatural world view.

Many children do not get to experience this wonderful camp due to financial hardships. In honor of Helen Kagin, Co-founder: PLEASE SEND A CHILD TO CAMP QUEST.

HELEN KAGIN MEMORIAL CAMPERSHIP FUND Contribute online: http://www.camp-quest.org/

You may also contribute via mail: Minnesota

Camp Quest, Inc. P.O. Box 2552, Columbus, OH 43216 Write “Kagin Fund” in the memo Ohio

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