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American Atheist Magazine Second Quarter 2015
American Atheist Magazine Second Quarter 2015
SPRING 15
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A JOURNAL OF ATHEIST NEWS AND THOUGHT
From Methodist
Minister to Atheist
Activist
Ages of Atheism
The Times They Are A-Changing
Apollonius of Tyana
Greta Christina at Reason Rally
Eliminate That Atheist!
Morality Versus Worship
Su b scr i p t i ons
A m er i can At he i st Magaz ine
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AMERICAN ATHEIST
A Journal of Atheist News and Thought
2nd Quarter 2015
Vol. 53, No. 2
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Pamela Whissel
PWhissel@Atheists.org
LAYOUT and GRAPHICS EDITOR
Rick Wingrove
RWingrove@Atheists.org
COPY EDITOR
Karen Rei lly
PROOFREADERS
Gil and Jeanne Gaudia
Shelley Gaudia
AMERICAN ATHEIST PRESS
MANAGING EDITOR
Frank R. Zindler
Editor@Atheists.org
Published by
American Atheists, Inc.
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 158
Cranford, NJ 07016
Phone: 908.276.7300
FAX: 908.276.7402
www.Atheists.org
2015 American Atheists Inc.
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part
without written permission is prohibited. American
Atheist is indexed in the Alternative Press Index.
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Sign up for membership at www.Atheists.org/join.
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Cover photo: Greg Hawkins sports his old missionary garb along with his new American
Atheists credentials. His article starts on page 5. Above: Comedians Frank Conniff and
Trace Beaulieu riff on the film Gods Not Dead at out convention in Memphis. Coverage of
AACon 2015 starts on page 14.
In This Issue
5
8
11
13
16
18
20
24
26
28
30
32
46
Correction: In our previous issue, we incorrectly identified entertainment reporter Dominick Cross as the entertainment
editor at the Times of Acadiana (Censorship in Louisiana by Gregory Alexander). We apologize for the error.
www.atheists.org | AMERICAN ATHEIST | 3
Pamela Whissel
Editor-in-Chief
PWhissel@Atheists.org
Ex-Mormon Missionary
Part Two
by Greg Hawkins
CONTINUED ON PAGE 34
2ND QUARTER 2015
DOGMA WATCH
Religion has had an enormous impact on the world. In this series, Michael B.
Paulkovich examines dogmas, myths, and religious notions past and present.
WHAT IS CHRISTIANITY?
by Michael B. Paulkovich
father, thus changing the very laws that god had created,
by way of a violent and immoral blood sacrifice.
What It Is Not
Jesus taught his apostles that spit cures blindness (Mark 8:23,
John 9:6), that his believers are immune to poison and can handle
venomous snakes (Luke 10:10, Mark 16:17-18), that they should
not defend themselves in court (Matthew 5:40), that you should
whip your slaves (Luke 12:47), that you should kill disobedient
children (Mark 7:10), that devils cause illness (Matthew 7:22,
Matthew 8:16, Luke 8:33), and if a man finds a woman attractive
he should pluck his own eyes out (Matthew 5:28-29).
2ND QUARTER 2015
Thou hast demeaned me with anthropomorphic traits, yet what is man to me?
Are ye professing I am spirt, essence, nature, substance or body?
Have I walked amongst ye, or am I inside thy mind?
Am I apart from reality, or do I intervene for ye to find?
Hast thou dreams proved me? Have ye a vision of me before?
Is thy bosom burning with personal revelation ?
What manner shall thou prefer to adore?
Be slow to words, less the prejudice of man be shown.
What trait of thee is holy? Hast thou ignorance been steadily grown?
Ye cannot decide among thyself notions as basic as my form,
Yet ye base thy life off my regard with words of bitter scorn.
Who hast given thee wisdom of me? Have ye ever sought to see?
Is thy text simply holy because of age? How can ye be so easily deceived?
What makes thy books inspired? Do ye actually care to study the pages?
Whose word shall ye trust? Thy own, or men from ancient ages?
Even if ye dont care if I am as man or liken to,
Ye give me morals as if I am so, as if ye know tis true.
Yet what is man to me in my abode of all that is so?
Do ye hear the ants cry? Does thy heart pretend to care and know?
Does the amoeba capture thy soul? Yet thou sayest ye caress mine?
Even though thy primitive existence is a mere millisecond of time?
Where hath thy humility fled? What arrogance and pride ye unknowingly ensue!
What doctrine is fact? What ritual is valid? What prayer should I answer to?
Reality to man is a view of imminent sight, an utterly simplistic degree.
Ye know only of what ye observe and perceive, and what thou has chosen to believe;
While thou sermons and preaching of ethnocentrism display ye foolish and nave.
Am I a being of peace or war? Of loving grace or vengefully just?
Can ye rationally believe thy religious authorities? Hast thou proven their word to trust?
How can ye have faith among this capricious and stormy sea?
If I am omniscient and omnipotent, then thy will is useless to decree.
What can ye give me which I cannot have if all is mine to hold?
Why would I desire thy worship and reason to be extolled?
Am I a being of narcissism that I must have thy constant thanks and praise?
Can ye not see my being was created from thy mirrors reflective gaze?
How can barbaric dreams and visions of ancient men remain?
Am I a disease, a volcano, a devastating famine, or perhaps a hurricane?
Ye pick and choose thy followings to match thy life today,
But if my word is complete and unchanging, then thou has blasphemed thy life away.
For ye imitate thy attributes to explain my ways of wonder,
Yet dogma and theology has altered since ye claim I presented myself to thee.
Why then has thou robbed minds of individuality, and the desire to be rightfully free?
Thou has altered my essence for far too long, and thy fables and power must be cast aside.
Thy books shall read, And Man forged god in his own image, after his own likeness and pride .
~Mordavith
by Steve Lowe
Placing Bibles
in every room is
a presumptive
action by a hotel
and an example of
Christian privilege.
gives the impression that this hotel assumes that all guests are
Christian, or worse, that it prefers Christian guests, or, even
worse, that it thinks all guests should become Christians.
I do not rant or get angry. I want them to remember me
as a reasonable guest with constructive feedbackthe type of
guest they want to come back.
Atheists in Memphis
2015 Convention Draws 750 Participants
by J.T. Eberhard
Keynote Speaker Ayaan Hirsi Ali
East and of what Islam has wrought in modern times. She is the
author of Infidel and Nomad: From Islam to America. Her latest
book is Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now. In 2004,
she gained international attention following the murder of
Theo van Gogh, who directed her short film, Submission, which
exposes the oppression of women under Islam. The murderer
left a death threat for Hirsi Ali pinned to van Goghs chest. She
is currently a fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project at the
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard
University.
Several well-known authors also spoke and signed their
books at the convention. Marshall Brain is the creator and
founder of the websites WhyGodWontHealAmputees.com
and HowStuff Works.com. His new book, How God Works,
uses logic, science, and critical thinking to help readers prove
to themselves that god is imaginary. He spoke about the best
2ND QUARTER 2015
AutoZone Park
by RICK WINGROVE
Notable Books
by PAMELA WHISSEL
I wanted to challenge
myself to find good
where previously
Id only found evil.
he life of Father Odran Yates, a Catholic priest in John Boynes latest novel, A History of
Loneliness, is a metaphor for Irelands complicity in the acts of sexual abuse that thousands of
children suffered at the hands of the Catholic Church. Father Yates recollection of his life,
which shifts back and forth between the past and the present, is an illustration of how these
horrible acts were not just the fault of the priests or even a Church hierarchy that kept the problem
under wraps. These men were thoroughly enabled by parents, teachers, neighbors, and church staff.
Boyne, himself a survivor of physical and sexual abuse by priests, tells a story full of harsh details
about a time and a place where almost no one had even a chance to escape the destructive cycle of
their society.
Though he never molested a child himself, Father Yates was well aware that it happened around him.
Over the years, opportunities presented themselves to him again and againopportunities to speak
out, to say anything, to get just one child out of harms way on just one occasion. Yet his reaction was
always the same: do nothing.
In his interview with American Atheist, Boyne talked about his shift in perspective that came from
writing this book.
John Boyne
CONTINUED ON PAGE 36
Notable Books
by Sue Cox
The good news is that for the first time in its history, HSLDA
faces organized opposition. Homeschool Alumni Reaching
Out is an organization that conducts research and develops
resources to equip parents and homeschooling communities
with information about issues such as child abuse, mental
health, self-injury, and the needs of LGBT students. The
Coalition for Responsible Home Education has also emerged
as a powerful counterweight to HSLDA, offering alternative
analysis of pending homeschool and child-abuse legislation,
which focuses on the rights of children.
1.
2.
3.
4.
ChildrensHealthCare.org/?page_id=24
Facebook.com/hslda/posts/10151560043473419
HSLDA.org/docs/news/201112150.asp
HSLDA.org/cms/?q=bill/assembly-bill-4372-statemandated-annual-medical-exams-homeschoolers
5. HSLDA.org/cms/?q=bill/assembly-bill-4372-statemandated-annual-medical-exams-homeschoolers
6. DailyCaller.com/2015/03/30/indiana-religious-freedomlaw-is-nothing-new-i-helped-write-the-one-clinton-signed
Sue Cox is an addictions counsellor and teacher, a co-founder
of Survivors Voice Europe, and the head of SMART-UK, an
organization that teaches professionals the neuroscience of
addiction and the science of childhood abuse. The program is
used in U.K.s National Health Service, military health systems,
128 U.K. prisons, and many charities dedicated to combating
substance abuse. She is a member of the Federation of Drug
and Alcohol Professionals, Atheism UK, the British Humanist
Association, and the National Secular Society.
AMERICAN ATHEISTS
Books
Clothing
Tees
Jewelry
and more
Atheists.org/shop
2ND QUARTER 2015
Notable Books
n One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America,
Princeton University history professor Kevin M. Kruse proves the United States is
indeed a Christian nation. This reality has nothing to do with Americas founding
fathers, who, contrary to conservative assertions, were deists who strongly believed
in the separation of church and state. It was only in the mid 1950s that America
became a Christian nation, as more and more citizens began flocking to church. By 1960,
69% of all Americans attended a church or synagogue, a twenty-point jump since 1940.
And although church attendance has returned to 1940 levels, 70% of all Americans today
call themselves Christian (Americas Changing Religious Landscape, PewForum.org,
May 12, 2015).
CONTINUED ON PAGE 37
2ND QUARTER 2015
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE!
by Tony Pasquarello
Shop at AmazonSmile
and Amazon will make
a donation to:
American Atheists
Go to Atheists.org/Amazon and
select American Atheists, Inc., as the
charity of your choice. Thank you!
Robin Williams
Bobcat Goldthwaite
Moshe Kasher
Photo by MK West
Fortune Feimster
Photo by Dan Dion
Troy Conrad
Reggie Watts
Blaine Capatch
Encounter in a Lincoln
by Tracy Jamison
t would not have been a fair fight, so I went very easy on them. The
stark logic of the Atheist argument is usually too much for the irrational
Christian mind. I prefer an oblique, subtle approach which, if successful,
allows a religious person a chance to ponder new ideas. When a zealot feels
like their religion is being threatened, their mind either closes or attacks.
The ancient example would be the burning of heretics at the stake; the
modern example, jihad.
In my work as a chauffeur of private chartered sedans, I met countless individuals from across the entire social spectrum, and a
percentage of them inflict their religiosity on me, as they do on everyone.
I typically have my passengers as prisoners for one hour, the duration of the drive between my city and its airport. The time
trapped in the car with each other provides a unique environment for communication. The passengers know we will probably
never meet again, and this establishes a very relaxed setting for conversation. Sometimes, my passengers are remarkably frank with
mea total strangerlike they would be with a bartender or a psychiatrist.
On one occasion, I was driving three middle-aged, middle-class women. They were pleasant and friendly, so I encouraged
conversation, and they responded. When I inquired about the nature of their recent trip together, they told me it was a religious
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CPique@Atheists.org
NoMeekMessiah.com
2ND QUARTER 2015
For the most up-to-date list, visit Atheists.org/Affiliates or contact Greg Lammers at GLammers@Atheists.org.
State
Group Name
City
Site
FL
Orlando
http://www.meetup.com/Critical
GA
Peachtree City
http://www.albanygeorgiaatheists.com/
IA
Des Moines
http://www.meetup.com/Iowa-Atheists-and-Freethinkers
MN
Minnesota Atheists
Minneapolis
http://mnatheists.org
OK
Tulsa
http://www.ACTOK.org
PA
PA Non-Believers
York
http://www.panonbelievers.org
TX
Metroplex Atheists
Arlington
http://www.metroplexatheists.org
LOCAL PARTNERS
AFFILIATES
AK
Alaskan Atheists
Anchorage
http://www.meetup.com/AlaskanAtheists/
AL
Auburn
http://www.facebook.com/groups/auburnatheistsandagnostics/
AL
Birmingham
http://www.meetup.com/atheists-132
AL
Marshall
http://www.themcaa.org
AL
Montgomery
http://www.montgomeryfreethought.org
AL
Huntsville
http://www.meetup.com/thenafa
AL
Tuscaloosa
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2234029305
AL
UAH Non-Theists
Huntsville
http://www.facebook.com/uahnontheists
AL
Tuscaloosa
http://www.meetup.com/westalabamafreethought
AR
Little Rock
http://www.ARFreethinkers.org
AR
Texarkana
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=128265161357
AR
Nashville
http://goo.gl/K2koj
AZ
Tucson Atheists
Tucson
http://www.meetup.com/Tucson-Atheists/
CA-N
San Francisco
http://atheistadvocatesofsanfrancisco.com/
CA-N
Sacramento
http://aofonline.org
CA-N
Fresno
http://www.cvaas.org
CA-N
Pleasant Hill
http://www.meetup.com/Contra-Costa-Atheists-and-Freethinkers/
CA-N
Oakland
http://www.eastbayatheists.org
CA-N
San Francisco
http://www.sfatheists.com
CA-N
Santa Cruz
http://santacruzatheists.org
CA-S
San Diego
http://www.atheistcoalition.org
CA-S
San Diego
http://goo.gl/K2koj
CA-S
Bakersfield
http://goo.gl/K2koj
CA-S
Backyard Skeptics
Villa Park
http://www.backyardskeptics.com
CA-S
Santa Barbara
http://www.santabarbarahumanists.org
CA-S
Jamul
http://www.meetup.com/New-Atheists-of-East-County/
CA-S
Orange
http://www.ocatheists.com
CA-S
Norco
http://goo.gl/K2koj
CO
Denver
http://athofden.tripod.com
CO
Boulder Atheists
Boulder
http://www.boulderatheists.org
CO
Denver
http://metrostateatheists.wordpress.com
CO
Grand Junction
http://westerncoloradoatheists.org
CT
Norwich
http://atheisthumanist.org
CT
South Windsor
http://www.cvatheists.org
DC
Washington
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=34367344446
DC
Washington
http://www.wash.org
FL
Dunnellon
http://cfsecularalliance.weebly.com
FL
Longwood/
Orlando
http://www.meetup.com/Critical
FL
Gainesville
http://www.gatorfreethought.com/
FL
Starke
http://www.meetup.com/north-Florida-atheists
FL
Ocala Atheists
Ocala
http://www.meetup.com/Ocala-Atheists/
FL
Rebirth of Reason
Orlando
http://rebirthofreason.com/Florida
FL
Nokomis
http://goo.gl/K2koj
FL
Orlando
http://ssaucf.com
FL
St. Petersburg
http://www.meetup.com/atheists-209
FL
Tallahassee Atheists
Tallahassee
http://www.tallahasseeatheists.com/
FL
Stuart
http://www.meetup.com/atheists-600
FL
Williston Atheists
Morriston
http://goo.gl/K2koj
GA
Albany
http://www.albanygeorgiaatheists.com/
GA
Atlanta
http://www.blacknonbelievers.org
GA
Peachtree City
http://www.meetup.com/Fayette-Freethought-Society
GA
Kennesaw
http://www.facebook.com/ksusci
GA
Macon
http://www.meetup.com/georgiamash/
IA
Iowa City
http://rationalamerica.com
IA
Des Moines
http://www.meetup.com/Iowa-Atheists-and-Freethinkers
IL
Chicagoland Freethinkers
Chicago
http://www.meetup.com/chicago-freethought/
IL
Chicago
http://www.facebook.com/thechicagofreethoughtproject
IL
Rockford
http://www.meetup.com/statelineatheists
IL
Bloomington
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5558627959
IL
Mt. Vernon
http://www.secularsegment.com
KS
Lawrence
http://www.kusoma.org
KY
Lexington
http://www.facebook.com/groups/kyhumanists/
KY
Lexington Atheists
Lexington
http://www.meetup.com/The-Lexington-Atheists-Meetup-Group
KY
Louisville
http://www.louisvilleatheists.com/
KY
Union
http://www.meetup.com/Tri-State-Freethinkers/
LA
New Orleans
http://nosha.org
MA
Lowell
http://www.meetup.com/lowellatheists
MA
Boston Atheists
Boston
http://bostonatheists.org
MD
Westminster
<none>
MD
Maryland Freethinkers
Annapolis
http://www.mdfreethinkers.com
MI
Rochester
http://www.facebook.com/AtheistsAtOU
Michigan Atheists
Detroit
http://michiganatheists.org
MI
Lansing
http://www.mmah.org
MN
Minneapolis
http://atheistsforhumanrights.org
MN
Minneapolis
http://cashumn.org
MO
Kansas City
http://www.meetup.com/Black-FreeThinkers-of-KC/
MO
Columbia Atheists
Columbia
http://www.meetup.com/The-Columbia-Atheists-Meetup-Group
MO
Joplin Freethinkers
Joplin
http://www.joplinfreethinkers.org
MO
Kansas City
http://www.kcatheists.org
MO
Columbia
http://muSASHA.org
MO
OFallon Freethinkers
OFallon
http://www.meetup.com/OFallon-Freethinkers
MO
St. Louis
http://www.rssl.org
MO
Warrensburg
http://www.centralskeptics.org
MO
Springfield Freethinkers
Springfield
http://www.meetup.com/SpringfieldFreethinkers
MO
Springfield Skeptics
Springfield
http://goo.gl/K2koj
MO
St. Joseph
http://stjosephskeptics.org
MO
We Are Atheism
Grandview
http://goo.gl/K2koj
MS
Biloxi
http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/HeartsOfTheSouth
MS
Biloxi
http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/southernatheist
NC
A-News
Raleigh
http://www.apartmentJ.com
NC
Charlotte
http://www.charlotteatheists.com
NC
Claremont
http://goo.gl/K2koj
NC
Fayetteville
http://www.mashfortbragg.org
NC
WNC Humanists
Fairview
http://www.wnchumanists.org
ND
Fargo
http://redriverfreethinkers.org
NE
Lincoln Atheists
Lincoln
http://www.lincolnatheists.org
NE
Omaha Atheists
Omaha
http://omahaatheists.org/
NJ
Blackwood
http://goo.gl/K2koj
NJ
Somerville
http://njhn.org/
NJ
Montclair
http://secularstudents.org/montclair
NJ
Oceanville
http://goo.gl/K2koj
NJ
Pompton Lakes
https://www.facebook.com/SSA.WPUNJ
NM
Roswatheists
Roswell
http://www.meetup.com/Roswatheists
NM
Santa Fe
http://goo.gl/K2koj
NV
Reno Freethinkers
Reno
http://www.RenoFreethinkers.org
NY
Syracuse
http://www.funygroup.org
NY
Saugerties
http://hudsonvalley.humanists.net
NY
New York
http://nyc-atheists.org
NY
Westchester Atheists
Chappaqua
http://www.meetup.com/atheists-504
OH
Cincinnati
http://www.gofigger.org
OH
Freethought Dayton
Dayton
http://www.meetup.com/freethoughtdayton
OH
Columbus
http://www.hcco.org
OH
Mid-Ohio Atheists
Mansfield
http://midohioatheists.org
OK
Tulsa
http://www.ACTOK.org
OK
Oklahoma Atheists
Oklahoma City
http://www.oklahomaatheists.com
PA
Wilkes-Barre
http://www.nepafreethought.org
SC
Piedmont Humanists
Greenville
http://www.PiedmontHumanists.org
SC
Charleston
http://www.lowcountryhumanists.org
SC
Upstate Atheists
Boiling Springs
http://goo.gl/K2koj
TN
Memphis Atheists
Memphis
http://goo.gl/K2koj
TN
Memphis
http://memphisfreethought.com
TN
Nashville
http://www.meetup.com/secularlife
TN
Knoxville
http://www.rationalists.org
TX
Austin
http://atheist-community.org
TX
Corpus Christi
http://www.meetup.com/CCAtheists
TX
Denton Atheists
Denton
http://www.meetup.com/The-Denton-Atheists-Meetup-Group
TX
El Paso Atheists
El Paso
http://www.elpasoatheists.com
TX
San Antonio
http://FreethinkersACT.org
TX
Amarillo
http://freethoughtoasis.org
TX
Beaumont
http://goldentrianglefreethinkers.org
TX
Houston Atheists
Houston
http://HoustonAtheists.org
TX
Atascocita
http://www.kha-atheists.org/
TX
Lubbock Atheists
Lubbock
http://www.meetup.com/atheists-496
TX
Nacagdoches
http://goo.gl/K2koj
TX
Denton
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7647566521
TX
Wise
http://www.meetup.com/Wise-Free-Thinkers-and-Skeptics
UT
Atheists of Utah
http://atheistsofutah.org
UT
http://nowscape.com/a
VA
Beltway Atheists
Leesburg
http://www.meetup.com/Beltway-Atheists-Inc
VA
NOVA Atheists
Leesburg
http://www.meetup.com/NOVA-Atheists
VT
Rutland
http://www.atheistsofrutlandvt.com/
WA
Seattle Atheists
Seattle
http://www.seattleatheists.org
WA
Tri-City Freethinkers
Pasco
http://www.tricityfreethinkers.org
WI
Milwaukee
http://swiftnow.org
WV
Charleston
http://goo.gl/K2koj
WV
Martinsville
http://www.meetup.com/Mountain-State-Freethinkers
WV
Morgantown Atheists
Morgantown
http://www.morgantownatheists.com
US
Atheist Nexus
http://www.atheistnexus.org
US
http://www.blackatheistsofamerica.org
US
http://www.militaryatheistsorg
Intl
Intl
Intl
San Juan
http://goo.gl/K2koj
http://www.patas.co
merican Atheists, Inc. is a nonprofit, nonpolitical, educational organization dedicated to the complete and
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theism is the comprehensive world view of persons who are free from theism and have freed themselves of supernatural
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impossible without noble ideas that inspire us to bold, creative works.
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