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www.atheists.org
AMERICAN ATHEIST
FEBRUARY 2009
Vol 47, No.2
CONTENTS
4
Editor Introductions
Bill Hampl & David Smalley
Legal Update
Edwin Kagin
10
12
Surrounded by Marxists
Dr. Massimo Pigliucci
14
17
18
21
22
24
28
ISSN 0516-9623
ISSN 1935-8369
AMERICAN
(Print)
(Online)
ATHEIST
PRESS
Editor
Frank R. Zindler
editor@atheists.org
AMERICAN
ATHEIST
'A Journal of Atheist News and Thought'
General Editor
Bill Hampl
editor@americanatheist.org
Design & Layout Editor
David C. Smalley
dsmalley@atheists.org
Cover Design
David C. Smalley
Published monthly
(except June & December)
by American Atheists Inc.
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 158
Cranford, NJ 07016
908.276.7300
P
908.276.7402
F
www.atheists.org
2009
Subscription
fees for one year of
American Atheist:
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AMERICAN
ATHEIST
FEBRUARY
2009
From the
Out-Going Editor
Frank R. Zindler
ust in the nick oftime, salvation is at hand! Just as I
was about to 'go down for the third time,' someone
has thrown me a life-preserver. Actually, it wasn't
just one someone, it was two someones - and I am not
the only person whose life has been saved. My wife
and life-partner Ann has been in the Atheist publication business with me - days and nights - for over
thirteen years, and she is just as exhausted from chasing
publication deadlines as I am. The two stalwarts who
have effected our salvation are Bill Hampl and David
Smalley.
Early last summer, after I became acting president
of American Atheists, I found myself doing the equivalent of three full-time jobs: the job of president, the job
of magazine editor (in addition to my on-going job as
managing editor of American Atheist Press), and the
job I do for pay - working past retirement age as a
linguist and editor for a scientific publishing society.
Although Ann and I had produced the American Atheist
magazine for nearly eleven years after the death of the
Murray-O'Hair family in 1995, because Ellen Johnson
assumed the editorship ofthe magazine, we had not had
to worry about the journal for two years and we were
able to concentrate our efforts on book production.
Then, literally over night, we had to resume publication
of the magazine. Needless to admit, it was too much;
we couldn't publish the magazine in a timely fashion
and deadlines routinely were missed.
Early last summer I placed two ads in the magazine and on the Atheist blog: one for a new president of
American Atheists, and one for a new editor of American Atheist. The presidential position was filled last October with the accession of Dr. Ed Buckner, and that left
me more time to concentrate on finding a replacement
for myself as magazine editor. It was about as easy as
trying to change from a snow-suit into a tuxedo while
running a relay race-and avoiding arrest for indecent
exposure. Fortunately, Ed helped me in this task as
well. Out of a large pool of applicants (Damn! There
are lots of talented Atheists out there!) we were able
to settle on two men whose talents nicely complement
FEBRUARY
2009
- AMERICAN
ATHEIST
Introducing ...
Bill Hampl
the new General Editor
of American Atheist
AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- FEBRUARY
2009
amused by my "WWJD-Who
Wants Jelly Donuts?" bumper sticker, ordered from the Atheist website, and still available there.
I am truly thankful for the confidence in my ability shown by Frank
Zindler and Ed Buckner to act as
editor of this great magazine. I will
endeavor to provide interesting articles and informative insights. For
example, when Jeff and I
attended training to foster
and/or adopt children, the
instructor told the class
not to identify as atheists,
as doing so would negatively affect our chances
of obtaining children.
s'
I will seek to put forward in print much of
what we Atheists hold
dear such as free thinking
and also how the media
present coverage of us.
Thank you and I look
forward to working for
you and with you!
Introducing ...
David Smalley
the new Design & Layout Editor
of American Atheist
its with great pleasure and appreciation that I accept the position of Design and Layout
Editor for the American Atheist. I
have long enjoyed providing creative solutions for intellectual activism, and this is my greatest quest
yet. The humble beginning of the
American Atheists organization is
an inspiration to many, and my ultimate goal is to help continue that
legacy by adding value wherever I
can. By bringing creative concepts
to the table, I hope to attract and inspire even more freethinkers for our
cause. I will take this introductory
opportunity to present a brief summary of how this relationship came
to be.
lt was January 10, 1980, just
nine days after the New Year - I was
lying there new to the world, and my
father was already furious with me
because I missed the tax deadline
for him to claim me in 1979! My
mother was also upset, because apparently, I had attempted to enter the
world sideways, obviously against
her will. Needless to say, people being upset by my unique approach to
life started at an early age!
I was raised in a primarily secular household with a Christian foundation from a Catholic mother and
an Episcopalian father, who never
agreed on much; accept that their
attendance in church wasn't all that
important. Neither really cared too
much about living by particular religious doctrine, but the 'fear of God'
was ever-present in our home. After
their divorce, when I was just five
years old, my mother instilled in me
what she felt were Christian values;
which I later came to know as hu-
2009
- AMERICAN
ATHEIST
BILLHAMPL
erhaps when readers of American Atheists have some free time, they tune
in to the antics of Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report. (Fans ofthe television series know that the title is pronounced Kol-bayr Re-por, with the
t's being silent. As Monsieur Colbert says of the pronunciation, "It's French.")
Those viewers on December 11, 2008, were treated to a special section on Atheists. For those who missed the show when it originally aired, the episode is available in its entirety at ColbertNation.com.
One of the many highlights of the Emmy-winning The Colbert Report is
the segment entitled 'The Word.' While Colbert speaks on the left side of the
television screen, a satirical commentary of his words appears on the right side
of the screen. After humorously referring to Atheists as "godless grinches," Colbert began that night's segment of 'The Word,' which was entitled 'The Unbearable Lightness of Supreme Being.' This of course is a phrase and technically
not a single word, and was a reference both to Milan Kundera's 1985 novel as
well as Philip Kaufman's 1988 film version, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette
Binoche, Lena Olin, and Derek de Lint. 'The Unbearable Lightness of Supreme
Being,' though, focused on Atheists' (supposed) activities during the holiday season.
Colbert began 'The Word' by jocularly asserting that Atheists work all year
long to "push their radical secular agenda." He then noted that when December
rolls around, Americans re-embrace their one true god (at which point the right
hand of the screen featured the word 'shopping').
Shortly afterward, the screen cut from Colbert and instead showed a December 2nd clip from Fox News featuring Dan Barker, co-president of the Freedom
from Religion Foundation (ffrf.org). Barker was heard reading from a sign put
up across from a xmas display at the Washington State Capital Building in Olympia, Washington. The text of the sign read: "At this season of THE WINTER
SOLSTICE may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no
heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."
This section of the show, although brief, was quite powerful, giving valuable
coverage to people committed to the separation of church and state.
Photos of the sign and more information are available at
http://www.ffrforglnewsl 20081reasonsgreetings _madison.php
AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- FEBRUARY
2009
n December 2,2008, American Atheists, Inc., together with eleven named plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit in the
Franklin County Kentucky Circuit Court against the
COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY, the KENTUCKY
OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY, and the persons responsible for enforcing the laws that govern that Kentucky
department. The named plaintiffs are MICHAEL G. CHRISTERSON, JAMES F. COFFMAN, LUCINDA HEDDEN
COFFMAN, JAN EWING, EMMETT F. FIELDS, ALEX
GRIGG, EDWIN HENSLEY, HELEN KAGIN, GARY
MARYMAN, DAVID RYAN, and JAMES K. WILLMOT.
These plaintiffs are all Kentucky residents, and they live in
a wide variety of Kentucky counties. Some are members of
American Atheists; others are not. All of them are strong as
new rope. Rarely has such a list of constitutionally aware
plaintiffs been assembled. American Atheists, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation' incorporated in Texas, with its principal
place of business in New Jersey. The corporation is also registered to' do business in Kentucky. This is a legal nicety
that it is respectfully suggested be implemented in all states.
Becoming registered to do business in a given state is generally fairly simple and inexpensive for a not-for-profit corporation, and doing so can prevent certain unpleasant potential
problems should litigation in a given state prove necessary.
"the Commonwealth
of Kentucky is in
fact attempting to
establish a religion"
ten long ago: 'Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman
waketh but in vain. '" Effective: March 28, 2002 History:
Created 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 82, sec. 2, effective March 28,
2002." That's why.
This action is believed to be in conformity with the legal
philosophy of American Atheists as set forth at http://atheists.org/press Jeleases/Legal_Philosophy
_Announced
and
at http://atheists.org/ American_Atheists _Legal_Philosophy.
Kagin
It seems to me, and to the plaintiffs, that the ComInformation on the lawsuit can be found
monwealth of Kentucky is in fact attempting to estabat http://atheists.org/Kentucky_Homelish a religion, in violation of Section 5 of the
land _ Security_Lawsuit and the text
Constitution, of Kentucky and of the First
of the Complaint at http:// www .:
Amendment to the Constitution of the Unitatheists.org/uploadlaavky.pdf.
ed States. In a recent national radio interWhy all the fuss? Because
view with a fundangelical talk show host,
Kentucky has passed into
I presented a hypothetical of whether, in
law the following incredible
language, mandating that the
Edwin Kagin - National Legal Director
choosing between two Kentucky cities
executive director of the KenAmerican Atheists
of equal size in which to attempt to survive
the kind of threat the Kentucky Office of
tucky Office of Homeland SecuHomeland Security was set up to meet, each city having an
rity shall: "Publicize the findings of the General Assembly
stressing the dependence on Almighty God as being vital to army of defenders of equal size, one would rather be in the
the security of the Commonwealth by including the provicity where the defenders were well armed Atheists trained
sions of KRS 39A.285(3) in its agency training and edu- in anti-terrorism tactics, or in the other city where the decational materials. The executive director shall also be re- fenders were unarmed fundangelicals who only prayed and
relied upon supernatural powers-for deliverance. The host
sponsible for prominently displaying a permanent plaque
at the entrance to the state's Emergency Operations Center was outraged. Sorry. I didn't make the facts. You can hear
this interview at <http://www.theamericanview.com/index.
stating the text ofKRS 39A.285(3)." http://www.lrc.ky.gov/
krs/039g00/010.pdf>.
KRA 39A.285(3) states, in black php?id=1226>. The comments on it continue and you are
invited to join it. The host does not believe that our Constiletter law: "39A.285 Legislative findings - The General
Assembly hereby finds that: (1) No government by itself tution gives the right to believe in 'false gods.' No kidding.
can guarantee perfect security from acts of war or terror- Rarely have I encountered such irrational and scary venom.
And people like that are permitted to vote and to sit on juries.
ism. (2) The security and well-being of the public depend
An 'Answer' has been filed by the State of Kentucky
not just on government, but rest in large measure upon individual citizens of the Commonwealth and their level of to the 'Complaint.' It should be on our website soon. In its
understanding, preparation, and vigilance. (3) The safety Answer, Kentucky says the laws are not unconstitutional.
and security of the Commonwealth cannot be achieved apart Also, among other things, the Answer says that any damages
suffered by the plaintiffs as a result of these laws is of their
from reliance upon Almighty God as set forth in the public
speeches and proclamations of American Presidents, includ- own doing.
Stay tuned.
ing Abraham Lincoln's historic March 30, 1863, PresidenFEBRUARY
2009
. AMERICAN
ATHEIST
_.
35th
National Convention
The
of
10
AMERICAN
ATHEIST'
FEBRUARY
2009
AMERICAN ATHEISTS
NATIONAL CONVENTION
APRIL 9-12, in Atlanta, Georgia
Emory Conference Center Hotel
1615 Clifton Road,
Atlanta, GA 30329
merican Atheists will host its 35th National Convention at the spectacular Emory Conference Center
Hotel in Atlanta, Ga. Make plans now for an exciting weekend of social events, outstanding talks by renowned speakers, workshops and so much more. We'll have a special convention rate at this world-class
meeting venue, plus extended 'shoulder dates' so you can visit the many tourism attractions in beautiful Atlanta!
Don't forget our Thursday night (April 9) Convention Jump-Start for an evening of fun with fellow Atheists from
around the world. Said to be the "Best Kept Secret" in Georgia, the Emory is a hidden oasis as its Frank Lloyd
Wright-inspired architecture and serene wooded views combine diverse meeting space, beautiful gardens, walking
trails, and much more to create a one-of-a kind experience.
The Emory is just 20 minutes from Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The downtown business
district and vibrant Buckhead are less than 12 minutes from the hotel. Complimentary on-site parking is an added
bonus.
The Emory offers a two-tiered guest room rate. Guest rooms in the hotel are $109 plus tax for single/double. Guest rooms in the inn (directly connected to the hotel) are $89 plus tax for single/double and include breakfast. You must make your reservations directly with the hotel on or before March 10, 2009 to enjoy our special
convention rate. Be sure to tell them you are with the American Atheist convention.'
Emory Hotel reservations: 404-712-6000
www.emoryconferencecenter.com
Confirmed Speakers
Ed Buckner: President, American Atheists, Inc.
Richard Dawkins: Evolutionist/science celebrity
Mike Malloy: Nationally-syndicated talk radio personality
Jim Morrow: Award-winning writer and novelist
Dr. J. Anderson Thomson: Psychiatrist, researcher, author
Nate Phelps: Estranged son of Pastor Fred Phelps
John Lombard: Beijing business owner, activist
Special Events
(D) evangelical Stand Up Comedy Troupe
"Mass De-baptism Ceremony"
FEBRUARY
2009
- AMERICAN
ATHEIST
11
ecently I had a strange experience: I was having dinner in Manhattan, near New York University, surrounded by a group of pleasant and
smart people, who happened to be Marxists! It was a
nice evening, following a panel discussion at New York
University on morality without gods. Still, I couldn't
help feeling I had been thrown back to my high school
days (circa 1977), when people were using terms like
'means of production' and 'oppression of the workers'
with genuine conviction and equal obliviousness to the
subtleties of actual socio-economic and political situations.
What I thought I
was going to hear from
my Marxist companions
was something along
the lines that Marx's
analysis of class struggle and of the foundations of capitalism was still largely
correct, and in fact even relevant to
the recent collapse of the worldwide
by
financial system unleashed by the
most unbridled (as in unregulated) form of capitalism
the world has seen since the era ofthe aptly named robber barons. That, I think, is actually a defensible position, as much as I don't believe for a second that Marx's
. solution will ever work in any real human society. (My
take is that both extreme socialism and extreme capitalism make the same mistake, albeit for symmetrical
reasons: they ignore fundamental aspects of human nature. Capitalism puts too much emphasis on self-interest, dismissing the fact that we are social animals with
strong cooperative instincts; Socialism errs on the other
side, proposing an ant-like society where individualism is progressively squeezed out of the human experience.)
If one actually reads Marx's The Communist Manifesto, one can hardly disagree with most of his theses.
That a key to human history is the economic struggle
among classes is true, though my view of history does
not admit of a one-cause-fits-all sort of explanation.
That a more just society would be created by a fairer
redistribution of wealth and especially of the control of
'the means of production' is also true unless your definition of 'justice' is that (economic) might makes right.
And that people's understanding of their own condition
is largely shaped by a system that wishes to perpetuate
itself despite its flagrant injustice is also something I
don't dispute.
Surrounded
by
Marxists
12
AMERICAN
ATHEIST-
FEBRUARY
2009
pact, which paved the way for Hitler's invasion of Poland, and thus the onset of the war. My Marxist friends
quibbled on exactly how many millions were killed (to
me, one million is one too many), and claimed that Stalin's was the first experiment in applied communism,
and he had to make up stuff as he went. Well, let me
declare the first experiment such a total and abject failure that I really don't think we should attempt a second
one.
But of course many other such 'experiments' were
carried out during the 20th century, one of the most
cruel being Mao's. Far from me to be able to offer an
in-depth analysis of Maoism (or Stalinism, for that matter) here. But let us consider some examples of what
the great leader of communist China did. Mao admitted to the execution of about 700,000 people just in the
1949- 53 period-justified,
in his mind, because of the
necessity of consolidating power. The real number is
more likely to be somewhere between 2.5 and 5 million. Moreover, another 1.5 million Chinese were sent
to labor camps to be 'reformed.' During the so-called
'great leap forward,' Mao's second five-year plan that
began in 1958, his policies resulted in widespread famine that killed tens of millions of people. The exact
numbers are in dispute, depending on the method used
to calculate the deaths. A widely accepted figure is of
20 million, though other estimates take that to be a
conservative number,
with a range going all
the way to the mindboggling figure of
72 million. Again, if
this is the hallmark
of success, I'd hate to
see a failure.
Why is it that otherwise
intelligent,
nice people, clearly
concerned with justice in the world, can
still whole-heartedly
claim that communism is a good idea? I suspect it is for reasons very
similar to those allowing Christians (just to pick another random group of reality-challenged people) to
read the Old Testament and seriously claim that
all those instances of Yahweh commanding his
people to slaughter, rape and pillage 'in his
name' are really quotes taken out of context. In what context, pray, does that sort
of injunction become morally acceptable? The problem, in other words, is
the uniquely human penchant for
"they
claimed
that Stalin
'wasn't all
that bad'"
FEBRUARY
2009
- AMERICAN
ATHEIST
13
AMERICAN
ATHEIST
FEBRUARY
2009
"When a
man sneezed,
his spirit was
forcefully
ejected from
his body,
and one had
to say 'God
bless you'"
word of God with boldness.' (Given
the close association of words with
breath - thought to be life itself is it any wonder that religions of all
kinds have always focused on the
magical significance of words?)
Lest anyone still think the link
between breath and the foundations
of Christianity be doubtful, attention
is drawn to the tale running through
John 20:22. Jesus has come back to
visit the Disciples to tell them that
lie is sending them out to forgive
or not forgive the sins of the world.
"Then he [Jesus] breathed on them,
saying, 'Receive the Holy Spirit!' "
Right from the beginning, Christianity was based upon warm breath
- which in time became hot air.
2009
- AMERICAN
ATHEIST
15
was conceived to be a thing. Be- nies that aren't 'there' at all. We can tion of this new knowledge than we
cause it was thought to be a thing, it be made to 'see' figures and lights were in the application of fire, dywas thought to have existence apart without using our eyes at all, by namite, and atomic energy remains
from the brain. Because it has inde- stimulating the visual cortex at the to be seen. Even the un-average perpendent existence, it was thought back of the brain. We can cause to son plays ill the part of Prometheus.
capable of survival after the death of appear the emotions of rage, sexu- Unless we, collectively the new
the body. And millions thought that ality, sorrow, religious awe, etc., by Prometheus, judge wisely what to
to be good reason to invest millions altering the dynamic functions of do with our new psychobiological
in that greatest of all businesses, re- the brain in appropriate ways. We powers, like Prometheus we may
ligion.
are beginning to understand how find ourselves chained to rocks, our
Neurobiological studies show neural circuits compete with each vitals tom by eagles. Or worse.
all these ideas to be quite worthless. other to give us the illusion of 'free
Mind is a process, a dynamic rela- will.' Indeed, we are on the verge of
tion, and not a thing. If we change being able to write equations relatthe processes of the brain, we ing the physicochemical states of
change the mind. The psychedelic
the nervous system with the subdrugs have taught us that fact, if jective, mental states described by
This article originally appeared
nothing else. The history of western psychologists and other mystics. In
in American Atheist in February
philosophy and religion, as well as short, we are learning to study subof 1985.
science, would have been quite dif- jective states objectively.
ferent if the word mind had develWhether or not we shall be
any more responsible in the applicaoped as a verb instead of as a noun.
To wonder where the mind goes
after the brain decays is as silly as
asking where the 70-miles-per-hour
have gone after a speeding auto has
crashed into a tree. Just as the relative motion of an auto can be altered
only within certain limits and still
represent the process called 'speedFinal Exit Network is the nation's leader
ing,' so too we can alter the funcin securing the "Last Human Right"
tioning of the brain only so much
the right to a peaceful, dignified death.
before the process called 'mind' or
"Advances" in medicine make it possible to sustain the body
'thinking' becomes altered out of
far beyond the point where life is worth living. Many condiexistence.
tions rob individuals of the will to live long before they are
Now that scientists recognize
terminal. Others would rather hasten death than lose themselves to dementia.
mind as a process rather than a
Final Exit Network serves people who are suffering now,
thing, they are making rapid adand a person's condition does not need to be terminal to
vances in understanding the specific
qualify for Exit Guide services.
brain dynamics that correspond to
the various subjective states collectively known as mind. Certain drugs
are known, for example, that affect
certain neural paths and centers in
NETWORK
the brain to produce the psychic
Membership is your key to peace of mind.
state known as euphoria. Others afP.O. Box 965005, Dept. AT, Marietta, GA 30066
fect other circuits and produce de888545-1131
pression or sleep. We can implant
www.finalexitnetwork.org
info@finalexitnetwork.org
electrodes in the brain and cause the
subject to 'hear' bells and sympho-
Quick Fact
Peace of Mind
at the End of Life
FINALExIT~
16
AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- FEBRUARY
2009
by Kathleen Johnson
ergeant Brooks
W. Dingus
joined the
Navy in 1981
and spent four
years on active
duty and nine in
the Naval Reserves
as a meteorological technician, responsible
for collecting data from weather balloons
and making forecasts. In 2007, he joined the
Army Reserves as an Aviation Operations
CONTRIBUTOR
THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY of the
person listed below, American Atheists is
well on the way to paying for the rescue of
the Charles E. Stevens American Atheist
Library & Archives. You are truly an Atheist
hero!
Richard A. Angron
$500
Monthly Roof-Rescue Donations
will be listed in this
section every month.
FEBRUARY
2009
- AMERICAN
ATHEIST
17
Prayer
&Babies
Guy P. Harrison
A!
AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- FEBRUARY
2009
2009
- AMERICAN
ATHEIST
19
AMERICAN
ATHEIST'
FEBRUARY
2009
"'
WIse.
"J don't
know that
Atheists
should be
considered
as citizens"
- George
Bush Sr.
While religious myths offer inspiration from the past with stories of miraculous and heroic
events, Atheist myths look to the
future, often expressed through
science fiction.
Perhaps the most powerful is
the world of "Star Trek," created
by Atheist Gene Roddenberry,
where humans have given up
wars, social preju-dices and divisive beliefs, and used science
to end
hunger and poverty.
That is a myth to inspire us that
has some faint hope of realization.
we accept it.
Marie Alena Castle is communications director for Atheists For Human Rights (www.
Atheistsforhumanrights.org),
based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For most of her life she has
been involved in one cause or
another, including labor unions,
women s rights, abortion rights,
civil rights, gay rights, etc. She
discovered that all the causes
could be addressed by Atheism,
since the source of all their troubles was religion .
FEBRUARY
2009
- AMERICAN
ATHEIST
21
22
AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- FEBRUARY
2009
many aspects of nature. Is one being excessively audacious, perhaps impertinent, in setting down terms of
reference for a fictional divine and non-existent entity?
Really! Humans have always invented their objects of
worship. Smarter humans go for smarter fictional versions of allah/god. Anthropomorphic representationssuch as an allah/god with octopus arms-are a bit out
of fashion today but were enormously popular just a
few centuries ago. As well, some people might object
to binding fictional allah/god and the real human to the
same rules of logic, or perhaps even sharing the same
space-time manifold.
But if we drop this essential demand then little shall
remain. Reason and evidence would lose meaning and
be replaced by fiction, tradition, and the delusion of revelation. It would then be wrong for us to have 2 + 2 = 5,
but okay for inventing the fiction of an allah/god. Centuries of human progress would come to naught.
Let's face it: the day of the mythical Sky God is
long gone. In the Age of Science, religion has been
re-invented, and the medieval allah/god of classical
religions has lost repute and territory. Today, people
pay lip service to trusting that rusty allah/god, but they
still swallow medicines when sick. As a case in point,
Muslim-run airlines start a plane journey with prayers
but ask passengers to buckle-up anyway, and most suspect that people who are falsely rumored to rise miraculously from the dead were probably not quite dead to
begin with. These days if you hear a voice telling you
to sacrifice your only son, you would probably report
it to the authorities instead of taking the poor lad up a
mountain, and if you really took your son to an alter for
sacrifice, the state would be sure to put you in a mental asylum, regardless of whether you call yourself the
prophet Abraham or somebody else. As you can well
imagine, the old trust is disappearing.
Nevertheless, there remains the tantalizing fiction of
a divine power somewhere 'out there' who is blamed to
run a mysterious, but scrupulously and rather stupidly, a
miracle-free universe. In this universe, the fictional Allah/God may be dishonestly ascribed to act in ingenious
ways that seem miraculous. Yet these fictional and 'never-actually-verified-miracles' do violate physical laws
and seem ridiculous. Ordinary and naturally, no supernatural interventions in the physical world could permit
quantum tunneling through cosmic holes. It would be
perfectly unfair for a scientific mind to invent a fictional
allah/god to explain the nonlinear dynamics to explain
how tiny fluctuations quickly build up to earthshaking
results-the
famous 'butterfly effect' to give a rather
FEBRUARY
2009
- AMERICAN
ATHEIST
23
the
FAITH FU i3THEIST
David Smalley
24
AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- FEBRUARY
2009
"The
strongest
faith often
lies in the
fialsehoods
of others"
2009
- AMERICAN
ATHEIST
25
"The
strongest
faith often
lies in the
falsehoods
ofothers"
FEBRUARY
2009
- AMERICAN
ATHEIST
25
...,....
....
~ons Presently At6Iiated
with American Atheists
Agnostic & Atheist
Student Association
(UC Davis)
Jeremy Ross, President
jerross@ucdavis.edu
Atheist Coalition of
San Diego
Jeff Archer, President
4245 Francis Way
La Mesa. CA 91941
(619) 465-9528
lekkerspikkels@msn.com
Atheist Community
of Austin
PO Box 3798
Austin, TX 78764
(512) 371-2911
info@
atheist-communiry.org
Atheists and
Freethinkers of Denver
David Eller, Coordinator
PO Box 22174
Denver, CO 80222
(303) 285- 3482 x7118
athofden@onebox.com
Atheists for
Human Rights
5146 Newton Ave
Minneapolis. MN 55430-3459
(612) 529-1200
conmmnications@
atheistsforhumanrights.org
Atheist Station
Ron Stauffer, President
PO Box 1623
Altoona, PA 16603
(814) 949-7149
info@atheiststation.org
26
AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- FEBRUARY
Boston Atheists
95 Melville Avenue
Boston MA 02124
(617) 935-4951
BostonAlheists@
gmail.com
2009
Boulder Atheists
POBox 19468
Boulder, CO 80308-3974
(303) 258-3974
info@BoulderAtheists.org
Bradley Atheists
(Bradley Univ, Peoria)
Paul Tm'ack, Founder
912 N Elmwood Ave.
Heitz Hall, Room 112
Peoria, IL 61606
(309) 677-1421
PTurack@Bradley.edu
Freethinkers of
Upstate New York
Doug Schiffer, President
(315) 245-3596
director@funygroup.org
Freethinkers
United Network (F. U. N)
3854 139th Ave SE
Bellevue, WA 98006
(425) 269-9lO8
wendita99@hotmail.com
Heartland Humanists
PO Box 24022
Shawnee Mission, KS 66283
(913) 738-4442
info@heartlandhumanists.org
Humanist Community
of Central Ohio
PO Box 141373
Columbus, OH 43214
(614) 470-0811
infO@hcco.org
Humanist Society of
Santa Barbara
Richard Cousineau, Chairman
PO Box 30232
Santa Barbara, CA 93130
(805) 687-2371
chairman@
santabarbarahumanists.org
Idaho Atheists
Lori Howard
PO Box 204
Boise, ID 83701-0204
(208) 455-9222
IApresident@
IdahoAtheists.org
Iowa Secularists
PO Box 883
Iowa City, IA 52244
contact@iowasecularist.org
Info: Local meetings in Des
Moines. Cedar Rapids, and
Iowa City (will expand as
interest develops).
Long Island
Secular Humanists
POBox 119
Greenlawn, NY 11740
LISecHum@aol.com
Military Assoc. of
Atheists & Freethinkers
Jason Torpy. President
519 Somerville Ave.
PMB 200
Somerville. MA 02143
Community@maaf.info
Minnesota Atheists
PO Box 6261
Minneapolis, MN 55406-0261
(612) 588-7031
info@mnatheists.org
Info: Group produces live
"Atheists Talk" radio show,
Sundays. 9-10 a.m. CST
(AM 950 KTNF or http://
am950ktnf.comllisten).
New Jersey
Humanist Network
Lisa Ridge, President
PO Box 8212
Somerville, NJ 08876-8212
(609) 403-8238
NJHN@comcast.net
Metroplex Atheists
Terry McDonald, Chairman
1332 Martin Court
Grapevine, Texas 76051
Terry@MetroplexAtheists.org
Michigan Atheists
Arlene-Marie, President
PO Box 25
Allen Park, MI 48101-0025
(313) 938 5960
amarie@atheists.org
North Alabama
Freethought Association
Aaron Sakovich, Organizer
PO Box 41
Ryland, AL 35767-0041
nafa@thenafa.org
Mid-Michigan Atheists
and Humanists
Jim Hong, Director
(5l7) 750-3887
Jim@MMAH.org
Northeast Pennsylvania
Freethought Society
Rodney Collins, Organizer
PO Box 250l
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18703
(570) 793-1837
alrgc@yahoo.com
Oklahoma Atheists
aok@oklahomaatheists.info
PA Nonbelievers
Steven Neubauer
45 Gravel Hill Road
Mount Wolf, PA 17347-9710
(717) 266-1357
PANonbelievers@aol.com
Rationalist Society of
St. Louis (RSSL)
Dr. William Martin. President
PO Box 300031
St. Louis. MO 63130
info@rssl.org
Secular Humanists of
the Lowcountry
PO Box 32256
Charleston, SC 29417
(843) 670-0290
president@
lowcountryhumanists.org
Southeast Wisconsin
FreeThinkers
(SWiFT)
PO Box 3
Mequon, WI 53092
Tucson Atheists
9114 E Wolfberry St
Jucson. AZ 85747
(520) 664-0722
AZAtheist@cox.net
Seattle Atheists
Kyle Hepworth, President
(425) 402-9036
hepworth@gmail.com
FEBRUARY
2009
AMERICAN
ATHEIST
27
Thoughts on
Some Material
Atheist Freedoms
By Greg Lammers
ost days as I leave my house I
take quick note of things such as
the weather and the time. I might
hum a song which is playing on a loop in
my head or think about a loved one or some
plans for the future. I never consider the
possibility that I may have done something
unlucky such as walking out the wrong door
or under a ladder. I am in the habit of not
worrying if a curse has been said against
me or whether planets are lined up for or
against me. I don't listen for messages in
the wind or expect the touch of an angel.
What allows so many of us to walk
around not fearing a witch's spell or a voodoo curse is our Atheist and Materialist
outlook. We try to view our surroundings
as they are, not adding phenomena where
there are none. And we needn't worry about
all that is logically possible; we don't need
to know everything that is or could be happening everywhere. We need only expect
natural forces and beings to be at work
around us. We can safely do this because
nobody has ever found reliable evidence of
anything else.
In our universe there are no ghosts or
gods, no miracles or curses. We do not look
for or expect magic, we expect there to be
a natural cause for every occurrence. The
English language even hints at this for us;
the word immaterial refers to that which
does not have a body or physical form and
can also tell us that something is unimportant, of no consequence, irrelevant.
Now and again believers in the supernatural will claim that the Atheist view is
impoverished (if memory serves, Dennis
Prager offered this canard in his debate
with Frank Zindler at the 2008 American
Atheists convention). The insinuation is
that the Atheist is not open to a spectrum of
experience and is poorer for it. If this were
true than the Atheist would be poorer than
one who was open to any of the myriad of
myths and claims of the supernatural that
are available. We would be poorer than the
believer in miracles and also poorer than
one who might hold that the Star Wars
movies are documentaries about a powerful force.
This argument implies that the more
beliefs one can swallow the "richer" one
is. So the polytheist would be richer than
the monotheist and the 10 deitied polytheist would be richer than the 5 deitied polytheist. I don't know where a monotheistic
psychic astrologer would fit in. Also, if a
person with three gods were richer than a
person with one god could a believer in the
Christian trinity be simultaneously richer
and poorer than himself? I guess I will just
leave that one for the theologians.
28
AMERICAN
ATHEIST
FEBRUARY
2009
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ATHEIST
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