LEAH MICKENS : CFI’s Fight against Religious Privilege CELEBRATING REASON AND HUMANITY October/November 2016 Vol. 36 No.6 TERRORISTS END everyday 2019 WORLD AS Daily Apocalypse WE KNOW IT APOCALYPSE ... WHEN? A Point-Counterpoint between MICHAEL SHERMER and PHIL TORRES STEPHEN LEDREW responds to TOM FLYNN STEPHANIE SAVAGE savages health-care clergy 80% 1.5 BWRDAVID PD KOEPSELL mourns lost tomorrows O/N 08 11 OPHELIA BENSON SHADIA B.DRURY GRETA CHRISTINA RUSSELL BLACKFORD Published by the Center for Inquiry in association 7725274 74957 with the Council for Secular Humanism 2 FREE INQUIRY OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 secularhumanism.orga program of the Center for Inquiry OCTOBER | NOVEMBER 2016 Volume 36 No.6 CELEBRATING REASON AND HUMANITY APOCALYPSE . WHEN? 30 HOW A CREATIVE HUMANIST MINORITY SHAPED THE NATION, PART 2 18 POINT Follow the Trend Lines, The World’s Oldest Prejudice: Not the Headlines: Terrorism Is Not The Center for Inquiry’s Fight against an Existential Threat Religious Privilege Michael Shermer Leah Mickens 22 COUNTERPOINT It Matters Which 37 Jesus Probably Did Not Exist Trend Lines One Follows: Why Terrorism Raphael Lataster Is an Existential Threat Phil Torres 41 Religion and Suicide Richard G. Dumont 28 REBUTTAL‘Just You Wait!’ The Doomsayers’ Answer to 43 Saving My Life by Saving My Soul? Failed Predictions Stephanie Savage Michael Shermer 45 A Response to a Review 29 REBUTTAL There’s No Time to Wait Stephen LeDrew Phil Torres 48 A Response to Stephen LeDrew Tom Flynn EDITORIAL LOOKING BACK 58 HUMANISM AND CULTURE Can the Future Be What 4 The Great Agnostic Would Be Proud 16 It Used to Be? Tom Flynn David Koepsell LETTERS 17 OP-EDS REVIEWS 7 Sense and Sensibility Ophelia Benson DEPARTMENTS 60 Righting America at 50 DOERR'S WAY the Creation Museum by Susan L. Trollinger and 8 Not (Just) a Tragedy! Five Stars for Church of Spies ? William Vance Trollinger, Jr. Fanatics and Their Atrocities Really? Russell Blackford Edd Doerr The Grand Canyon, Monument 11 The Foxification of American 52 GREAT MINDS to an Ancient Earth: Can Noah’s Democracy, Part 1 Coming Together: How Baron Flood Explain the Grand Canyon? Shadia B. Drury d’Holbach Made Atheism edited by Carol Hill, Gregg Davidson, a Movement Tim Helble, and Wayne Ranney 12 Rituals and Traditions Dale DeBakcsy Reviewed by Wayne L. Trotta Greta Christina 54 Selections from Le Bon Sens POEM 14 The Christian Moral Code, (Good Sense) 55 Hoarding Part 4: Hell and Achievement Baron d’Holbach by Brooke Horvath Mark Rubinstein New York was once fertile ground for TOM FLYNN all sorts of social and cultural exper- Editor Thomas W. Flynn EDITORIAL imentation. The area encompassing Managing Editor Andrea Szalanski Rochester and Syracuse was, essen- tially, the Southern California of the Columnists Ophelia Benson, Russell Blackford, Greta Christina, nineteenth century. Edd Doerr, Shadia B. Drury, For reasons ranging from institu- Nat Hentoff, Faisal Saeed tional capacity to sheer coincidence, Al Mutar, Mark Rubinstein The Great Agnostic the past twelve months turned out to Senior Editors Bill Cooke, Richard Dawkins, be very special for aficionados of the Edd Doerr, James A. Haught, Great Agnostic and for students of Jim Herrick, Ronald A. Would Be Proud Lindsay, Taslima Nasrin freethought history generally. Here’s a rundown: Contributing Editors Roy P. Fairfield, Charles f you’re an admirer of nineteenth- Faulkner, Levi Fragell, • Late in 2015, the previously un- century freethought orator Robert Adolf Grünbaum, marked grave of Ingersoll’s brother, Marvin Kohl, Lee Nisbet Green Ingersoll, it’s been a red- four-term U.S. congressman Ebon letter year. Assistant Editors Julia Lavarnway Clark Ingersoll (1831–1875), re- Nicole Scott I REE NQUIRY As many F I readers know, ceived a headstone. Ebon Inger- the Council for Secular Humanism, Literary Editor Cheryl Quimba soll lay in Washington, D.C.’s Oak FREE INQUIRY’s copublisher, operates Permissions Editor Julia Lavarnway Hill Cemetery, and it is unclear why North America’s only freethought mu- Art Director Christopher S. Fix his grave was never marked. Ebon’s seum at Ingersoll’s birthplace. The Production Paul E. Loynes Sr. burial provided the occasion for Robert Green Ingersoll Birthplace Mu- what is probably Robert Ingersoll’s seum stands in Dresden, New York, most impassioned graveside ora- Center for Inquiry Inc. in the heart of New York State’s Fin- tion. The new stone, featuring a line Chair Edward Tabash ger Lakes region. The Museum has from that speech—“In the night of Board of Directors Brian Engler been open to the public on week- death, hope sees a star”—was the Kendrick Frazier ends each summer and fall since Barry A. Kosmin single-handed work of an Ingersoll Y. Sherry Sheng 1993. The Council also sponsors the admirer previously unknown to us: Leonard Tramiel Freethought Trail, a collection of his- Gerrie Paino of Berea, Ohio. Ms. Honorary: toric sites relating to radical-reform Rebecca Newberger Paino purchased the stone and saw Goldstein causes including freethought, wom- to its design and installation. She Susan Jacoby en’s rights, abolition, nonreligious reached out to Jeff Ingersoll, dis- Lawrence Krauss utopianism, and anarchism. Ranging tantly related to the Great Agnostic Chief Executive Officer Robyn E. Blumner from formal museums to historic sites and the volunteer chair of the President Ronald A. Lindsay both marked and unmarked, all Free- Council’s Robert Ingersoll Memorial Director, Campus and thought Trail sites lie within one hun- Committee, to provide a family Community Programs Debbie Goddard dred miles of the Ingersoll Museum. member’s permission, required to Director, African Americans Why? It turns out that West-Central modify Ebon’s gravesite. for Humanism Debbie Goddard Vice President for Philanthropy Martina Fern Director of Libraries Timothy Binga Communications Director Paul Fidalgo Database Manager Jacalyn Mohr Webmaster Matthew Licata Staff Pat Beauchamp, Melissa Braun, Shirley Brown, Lauren Foster, Roe Giambrone, Cody Hashman, Nora Hurley, Marc Kriedler, Stef McGraw, Paul Paulin, LEFT: Mark Manzari of New York Leak Detection surveys the old Myrick family plot at South Anthony Santa Lucia, Diane Tobin, Vance Vigrass Cemetery (Cazenovia, New York) using ground-penetrating radar. RIGHT: Dashed lines mark detected human remains. The two at the top align with existing head- Council for Secular Humanism stones; the third set of remains, not associated with any headstone, is strongly presumed to be that of Mary Livingston Ingersoll. Photos courtesy Sara Chevako. Executive Director Thomas W. Flynn 4 FREE INQUIRY OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 secularhumanism.org • In December 2015, officials in • Spring 2016 saw two develop- Cazenovia, New York, with whom I ments. First, the Center for Inquiry had conferred, located the resting launched a targeted campaign to place of Mary Livingston Ingersoll. raise the funds for a proper grave- Mary, the mother of Robert, Ebon, Free Inquiry (ISSN 0272-0701) is published bimonthly by the Cen- stone for Mary Ingersoll. (True to ter for Inquiry in association with the Council for Secular Humanism, and their siblings, died in Cazenovia, form, Gerrie Paino gave the $1,000 P.O. Box 664, Amherst, NY 14226-0664. Phone (716) 636-7571. where the family had but recently Fax (716) 636-1733. Copyright ©2016 by the Center for Inquiry and “seed gift” that kicked off the cam- the Council for Secular Humanism. All rights reserved. No part of this moved, on December 2, 1835. She paign.) In fairly short order, $5,000 periodical may be reproduced without permission of the publisher. was thirty-six. Her husband, the Rev- Periodicals postage paid at Buffalo, N.Y., and at additional mailing was raised, enough for a headstone offices. National distribution by Disticor.Free Inquiry is indexed erend John Ingersoll, lacked the in Philosophers’ Index. Printed in the United States. Postmaster: Send address changes to Free Inquiry, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, NY money for a proper burial, and the 14226-0664. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views family would move again mere of the editors or publisher. No one speaks on behalf of the Council for months later. Knowledge of Mary’s Secular Humanism unless expressly stated. resting place was lost. TO SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW Call toll-free I had shared this puzzle with 800-458-1366 (have credit card handy). Internet: www.secularhumanism.org. Town of Cazenovia historian Sara Mail: Free Inquiry, P.O. Box 664, Amherst, NY 14226-0664. Chevako, who in turn involved the “West-Central New Subscription rates: $35.00 for one year, $58.00 for two town’s highway supervisor, Timothy years, $84.00 for three years. Foreign orders add $10 per York was once fertile year for surface mail (Canada and Mexico); $14 per year Hunt. They deduced that Mary ground for all sorts outside North America. Send U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. was probably interred in South bank; American Express, Discover, MasterCard, or Visa are of social and cul- preferred. Cemetery, a former private cem- Single issues: $5.95 each. Shipping is by surface mail in U.S. etery now operated by the town. tural experimentation (included). For single issues outside U.S.: Canada 1–$3.05; Perusal of old records turned up a 2–3 $5.25; 4–6 $8.00. Other foreign: 1–$6.30; 2–3 $11.40; . essentially, the 4–6 $17.00. redrawing of the cemetery’s map from the 1950s: a margin note stated Southern California CHANGE OF ADDRESS Mail changes to Free Inquiry, ATTN: Change of Address, P.O. that Mary had been buried on of the nineteenth Box 664, Amherst, NY 14226-0664. Luther Myrick’s family plot. Myrick century.” Call Customer Service: 716-636-7571, ext. 200. “As was a local preacher, an early aboli- E-mail: [email protected].