American Atheist Magazine 4th Quarter 2013

American Atheists
American Atheist
A JOURNAL OF ATHEIST NEWS AND THOUGHT
The Starke Reality
One resident of one small town can change everything. Daniel Cooney, who had never spoken out about anything before, is proof that this is true.
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AMERICAN ATHEIST
A Journal of Atheist News and Thought 4th Quarter 2013
Vol. 51, No. 4
ISSN 0516-9623 (Print) ISSN 1935-8369 (Online)
Above: Michael Carter is glad to see an Atheist monument in Starke, Florida (photo by Celia Abbruzzese). On the cover: Daniel Cooney, the Starke resident who made it all possible (photo by Pamela Whissel). The story begins on page 5.
Pamela Whissel mageditor@atheists.org LAYOUT and GRAPHICS EDITOR Rick Wingrove rwingrove@atheists.org COPY EDITOR and PROOFREADER Karen Reilly 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 2013 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. American Atheist magazine is given free of cost to members of American Atheists as an incident of their membership. Annual Individual Membership with subscription for one year of American Atheist print magazine: $35. Online version only: $20. Couple/Family Membership with optional print magazine: $35. Sign up at www. atheists.org/aam. Discounts available for multiple year subscriptions: 10% for two years, 20% for three or more years. Additional postage fees for foreign addresses: Canada and Mexico: add $10/year. All other countries: add $30/year. Discounts for libraries and institutions: 50% on all magazine subscriptions and book purchases. 4TH QUARTER 2013
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
In This Issue
5 6 10 13 16 18 20 21 22 24 26 28 30 32 33 46
This is True Americanism | Edwin Kagin The Starke Reality: Atheist is No Longer a Dirty Word | Edwin Kagin The Ten Commandments Deserve to be Ignored | David Silverman Good News Clubs - Part Two | Dale DeBakcsy Seven Tips for Coming Out as an Atheist | David G. McAfee An Interview with Comic Eddie Pepitone | Becky Garrison Being a Foxhole Atheist May Get a Little Harder | Paul Loebe What is a Firebrand, Exactly? | JT Eberhard Book Review: SEX and GOD | J. A. Thomson, Jr., M.D. Book Review: You Got to be Kidding! | Michael Paulkovich All of the Good, None of the God | Conor Robinson Book Review: Reza Aslan and the Zealot of Nazareth | Frank R. Zindler Still Searching the Darkness | Gil Gaudia, Ph.D. Has Bart Ehrman Found Jesus? | Frank R. Zindler Did Jesus Exist? Yes or No, Atheists Win | David Madison, Ph.D. Why I am an Atheist | Rick Wingrove
www.atheists.org | AMERICAN ATHEIST | 3
Letter from the
Editor
t wont ever happen now. The fictitious War on Religion is over before it ever had a chance to start fictitiously. On June 29, in Starke, Florida, American Atheists came to town and threw a bunch of peace all over the place. This Peace on Religion was overt and calculated and it will ruin anyones chance to bemoan Atheist intolerance again. Well, you can still bemoan it, but now theres an annoying example of a real event which left lasting evidence that can shut you down.
The War on Religion and the Piece on the Lawn
Church/state separation is a double-edged gem.
This issues cover story is about the first monument to Atheism ever to be installed on public land with the consent of the governing authorities. And the tolerance of many local Christians, as well. It all started with a six-and-a-half-ton piece of granite with the Ten Commandments chiseled onto itthe Jewish and Protestant version of the Ten Commandments, that is. More on that in the article. Because it sits on government land, the monument caught the attention of American Atheists. What ended up happening is as sublime as it is historic. The Ten Commandments are still there, but now, just a few feet away, sits another piece of granite, in the form of a monument to Atheism. Religious intolerance has taken a peaceful pummeling. The actions in Florida, in my opinion, advanced the world. But its also worth remembering that while Atheism now has one more protected place at the tableand on the lawnpeople in this country can still practice their religion without the interference of the government or of others who believe that said religion should be obliterated. Church/state separation is a double-edged gem. If this is what the War on Religion looks like, then sign me up.
Pamela Whissel Editor-in-Chief MagEditor@Atheists.org
4 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org
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The Starke Reality:
Atheist is No Longer a Dirty Word
O
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by Edwin Kagin, National Legal Director
When our settlement was reached, it was like a puff of white smoke.
n June 29, 2013, American Atheists accomplished a victory unprecedented in American jurisprudence. With the consent and cooperation of the Commissioners of Bradford County, Florida, we dedicated a monument to Atheism on the county courthouse lawn in the City of Starke. This historic event was made possible by the earlier placement of a six-and-a-half-ton monument emblazoned with the Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in that same courtyard.1 In May 2012, when the monument was first erected, a peaceful demonstration was organized by Ken Loukinen, American Atheists Director of Regional Operations. One of the participants was Dan Cooney, a resident of Starke and an Atheist. Cooney is hardly the demonstrating type. He is reserved, unassuming, and uninterested in the limelight. But, as he told the crowd at our unveiling a little over a year later, this religious monument on this government property was something he could not ignore. Something like this can make you wonderand you shouldnt have towhether youre going to walk into this building and get a fair trial, he told one Florida newspaper.2 So he put aside his preference to live inconspicuously and joined American Atheists as the named plaintiff in our lawsuit. And by walking out of his comfort zone and into a court room, despite knowing full well that there might be backlash, he changed the world. The lawsuit was filed on May 24, 2012, in the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division. Working with me was Tampa attorney and American Atheists member Eric O. Husby. Our complaint was simple. We alleged that the placement of the engraved rock on county property violated both the United States Constitution and the Florida Constitution because it amounted to an unlawful attempt to establish a religion. We asked that the monument be removed. The defendant in our lawsuit was the Bradford County Commission. They responded by advising the court, under oath, that the rock in controversy
Something like this can make you wonderand you shouldnt have towhether youre going to walk into this building and get a fair trial.
was not theirs. They claimed that it had been set up, and would be maintained, by a group called the Community Mens Fellowship. They also claimed that this religious icon was not religious, but a statement of the principles that underlie our national existence and identity. However, this was, and is, a rendering of Protestant Christians understanding of their gods rules.3 The Community Mens Fellowship then filed a separate lawsuit in the same court as our case against Bradford County. They asked a federal judge to order that the granite stay. They alleged that they owned the sixand-a-half-ton rock and that they, not Bradford County, had placed it on public land by virtue of the area being declared a free speech zone or a public forum. This 13-thousand-pound graven image was not, they saidas had othersa religious artifact. We were expected to believe them, even though it memorializes text purporting to have been drafted in the genuine penmanship of a god, it was dedicated in a religious ceremony, and it was prayed over by religious devoteeswellreligiously. If this is not religious, then it may well be fair to ask, How would it look if it were religious? For the purposes of pretrial litigation, the court combined our lawsuit with the lawsuit filed by the Community Mens Fellowship. Given all of the
They stood in the rain to hear speeches, to cheer, and to know we were all doing something important. About a dozen people who called themselves Florida secessionists quietly stood to one side, waving the Florida secessionist flag and various versions of the Confederate flag. The also brought signs which read, The South is a Christian Nation, Preserve Floridas Christian Culture, If you dont like our Christian culture, go back home! and Florida for Floridians/Yankees Go Home, to name a few. Across the street were another handful of people who blared Christian music and held hand-written signs that said, Jesus, God Loves U, and Hook for Jeses [sic]. But Atheists and supporters of church/state separation were the majority that day. In his address to the crowd, American Atheists President David Silverman announced a new, ongoing project. This is not only the first permanent Atheist-sponsored monument on public land; its the first of many. Thanks in part to a generous and anonymous donor, we are embarking on a mission to place 50 monuments on 50 public lawns and walls where religious monuments currently stand. Local Atheist organizations are encouraged to seek out places where the Ten Commandments or other religious propaganda are placed on public land,
If this is not religious, then it may well be fair to ask, How would it look if it were religious?
legal pleadings in this case, it was apparent that to litigate all of the claims and defenses would mean navigating a legal minefield of seemingly unclear or contradictory legal opinions and precedent. Such a process could go on for years in both the trial and appeals courts. We believed our case had the stronger legal support. The other side believed theirs did. When the case was directed to court-ordered mediation, we saw an opportunity to resolve the matter in a groundbreaking and revolutionary way. It was up to the parties on both sides of this case to agree on a mediator, and they agreed on Alexandra (Sandra) Hedrick. She is an attorney, an honored trial lawyer, a teacher of law, and an experienced and respected federal mediator. She is also an ordained Presbyterian minister. As a kid of a Presbyterian preacher myself, I agreed that she would do nicely. Everything said in mediation is confidential; the mediator, the lawyers, and the parties are under Federal court order not to reveal the communications that took place. As such, we can never lawfully reveal what was discussed during mediation. What happens in mediation stays in mediation. What I can say is that when our settlement was reached, it was like a puff of white smoke. The Community Mens Fellowship and American Atheists would agreed to dismiss their respective lawsuits and American Atheists could erect and dedicate a memorial to Atheism of similar size and placement on the Bradford County Courthouse lawn, just a few feet away from the Ten Commandments. The written agreement is a public record on file with the court. Our monument to Atheism is a bench carved from granite. On three sides of the rectangular prism that supports the bench are quotes by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, American Atheists founder Madalyn Murray OHair, and the 1797 United States Treaty with Tripoli. On the fourth side are Bible quotes enumerating the mandatory punishments for breaking each of the Ten Commandments. The predominant penalty is death. Have you failed to honor the Sabbath? Have you been rude to your parents? Have you graven an image? Well, the Bible has some bad news for you. On June 29, 2013, more than 200 supporters attended our dedication. and American Atheists will work with those local groups to ensure that the truth is placed next to the lie, that civility is placed next to barbarism. The John Adams quote we chose for the monument reads, It will never be pretended that any persons employed in that service [of authoring the Constitution] had interviews with the gods, or were in any degree under the influence of Heaven. This monument ensures that these words will not be forgotten. For many passers-by, this quote will be the first time they learn that our nation was not founded on religious principles. For others, it will be the first time they realize they are not alone in their Atheism. The courage of our plaintiff, Dan Cooney, has already inspired many closeted Atheists to come out. The monument, which would not have been possible without his actions, will inspire even more. The Starke Reality is that Atheist is no longer a dirty word. Endnotes 1. The sheer size of the monument dwarfed the original Ten Commandments, which purportedly were small enough to be carried down the side of a mountain by an 80-year-old man. However, no explanation was ever forthcoming as to why the Ten Commandments in Bradford County could not likewise be small stones, easily carried by an elderly man. 2. Kate Howard Perry, Atheists monument will sit alongside Ten Commandments in latest speech battle in Bradford County June 16 2013, at http://tinyurl.com/MayportMirror. 3. It is a Protestant Christian monument because it contains the 2nd Commandmentthe one forbidding the making or worshiping of graven images. Roman Catholics dont like this commandment because they want to make and worship all manner of graven images and statutes. So the Catholic version omits the 2nd Commandment altogether and bifurcates the 10th Commandmentthe one about not covetinginto two. Both the Catholic and Protestant churches claim to have the correct Ten Commandments in their religious arsenals despite the fact that the versions are materially different from each other. Other versions of the Commandments also exist which are at odds with both of these.
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THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Deserve to be Ignored
American Atheists President David Silvermans address at the unveiling of our monument
oday, Americas Atheists take another step forward in our struggle for equality, and we, as a nation, take a step forward toward the American ideal of a pluralistic, melting-pot society.
for things many of us do every day. The Second Commandment prohibits graven images of anything that is in heaven, so I guess thats pretty bad for Catholics who wear or display crucifixes carrying graven images of Jesus. The fact that the Catholic Church actually removed this commandment proves that church officials agree that this version of the Ten Commandments contradicts the Catholic dogma, and the penalty is death. Commandment Five: work on Sunday? The Old Testament says you deserve to die for your labor. And then theres Commandment Four, taking gods name in vain. God dammit, that carries the death penalty, too! Imagine: the death penalty for a disrespectful child or
Across our country, public lands are littered with religious monuments, most notably those depicting the Ten Commandments, like the one I stand beside. Out of ignorance, most people believe the Ten Commandments to be some bland benevolent set of ethics on which all nice people can agree. These are the people who have never read the Bible, nor do they understand the context in which the commandments are given. As our bench reminds people, the Ten Commandments are not benevolent but barbaric. Most of the commandments are regularly ignored because they are irrelevant to modern society, and only three of the ten have any similarity to US law. But one thing that almost all the commandments have in common is the god-proscribed death penalty
50 monuments on 50 public lawns and walls

where religious monuments currently stand.
4TH QUARTER 2013 www.atheists.org | AMERICAN ATHEIST | 7
We are embarking on a mission to place
a cheating spouse. Indeed, coveting is the very basis for capitalism, so America itself would cease to exist if the Tenth Commandment were obeyed! Nearly every Christian in America ignores most of the commandments because the commandments deserve to be ignored. They are ignored because they are mostly irrelevant, and its a bad thing when the government allows groups to preserve their relevance out of a misguided allegiance to primitive, pre-American morality. But then theres the First Commandment: I am the Lord and your God, thou shalt have no other gods before me. Martin Luther paraphrased this commandment, I think, correctly, as Thou shalt have and worship Me alone as thy God. Once again, the penalty for not observing this commandment is death by stoning. Thats where we come in, and this is obviously our strongest objection. The demand to worship one god of one religion under penalty of death is the very essence of theocracy. Taken in context, its the exact opposite of religious freedom and fits the definition of hate speech. It incites prejudicial action and violence against non-adherentsand its sitting right here, on the front lawn of the courthousethe seat of justice for the county! The good news is the Constitution requires all branches of the government to be fair and neutral when it comes to religious viewpoints, so Atheists nationwide are able to counter religions morality of yesteryear with one of honesty, compassion, and equality. In that vein, American Atheists offers an alternative monument which tells the verifiable truth, with no underlying threats at all. The first thing you will notice about our monument is that it has function. Atheists are about the real and the physical, so we selected to place this monument in the form of a bench, so Starkes residents can gain something they once did not have: another place to rest for a bit on a sunny Florida day. The inscriptions on the bench include one from my predecessor, the founder of American Atheists, Madalyn Murray OHair. Often called the most hated woman in America by those who wished her silent, Madalyn demonstrated one very important thing missing from the Ten Commandments: compassion. Madalyn states, in her brief to the Supreme Court: An Atheist believes that a hospital should be built instead of a church. An Atheist believes that deed must be done instead of prayer said. An Atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death. He wants disease conquered, poverty vanished, war eliminated. Some people lie about religions importance in the founding of this country, so our bench also includes inscriptions of verifiable quotes to set the record straight. Even though some of our founding fathers were religious, they all agreed, and, indeed, went out of their way to create a secular Constitution with a wall of separation between religion and government. Furthermore, few people know about the Treaty of Tripoli, our countrys first treaty, which was written under order of President George Washington, ratified unanimously by the founding Senate, and signed into law by President John Adams. It states specifically that the Government of the United States is not in any sense way founded on the Christian religion. This treaty and these quotes arent what religious historical revisionists would like you to believe. These are not indicative of people who founded a Christian theocracy; they are the actions of religious and nonreligious people who understood that government and religion must be kept apart and who designed a free and diverse nation.
Our message to America is clear: Atheists are everywhere, and we demand equality from our government. Of course, equality is an allor-nothing prospect, so in free-speech zones like this one, where one religion is promoted, all other religious and nonreligious positions, including Atheists, Satanists, & Muslims, are allowed. Our message to believers is also important: Read your bibles and holy books. One of Atheisms biggest problems is that not enough Christians read their Bibles. This allows preachers to interpret the Bibles contents as they see fit because nobody who owns what they claim to think is the perfect word of god can actually bring themselves to read it. Its no mystery why so few believers actually read their Bibles. They are afraid that if they did, they would understand how flawed it really is. In short, ignorance of their own Bibles keeps Christians Christian and empowers crooked preachers and politicians to do as they see fit, without challenge, in the name of god, with parishioners money. Indeed, Christians who dont read their Bibles are allowing religious freedom to be endangered, hurting themselves and their country on the whole. We are here today not only to unveil a new monument, but a new ongoing project for American Atheists. This is not only the first permanent Atheist-sponsored monument on public land; its the first of many. Thanks in part to a generous and anonymous donor, we are embarking on a mission to place 50 monuments on 50 public lawns and walls where religious monuments currently stand. Local Atheist organizations are encouraged to seek out places where the Ten Commandments or other religious propaganda are placed on public land, and American Atheists will work with those local groups to ensure that the truth is placed next to the lie, that civility is placed next to barbarism. In most cases, we expect to accomplish this goal without substantial legal cost, as we have the right to place our monuments anywhere they place theirs. This has been confirmed by the Supreme Court. However, we are prepared to fight any legal battles that emerge from this effort. So, in the cases where local politicians are so entrenched in the bigotry business of religion that they insist on spending taxpayer dollars to preserve inequality by refusing to allow our monument next to where a religious monument stands, we will be ready to take legal action, win, recover court costs, and place our monument anyway. We will expose the Ten Commandments for the religious intolerance they represent and the violence and hate they endorse and command. We will educate people about the true and provable secular nature of our country and highlight the lies religious leaders tell their flocks. And we will do it nationwide. Diversity. Equality. Democracy. These true American values are never mentioned in the Bible but are elemental to our great nation and required for any ethical society. Religious intolerance had a lot to do with the founding of the colonies. Religious intolerance is the reason we have a secular Constitution. Its time to reexamine Christianity, to expose its nearly insignificant role in the founding of America and the framing of our Constitution, and its lack of value in todays society. Today, we begin to spread the truth and raise awareness of American Atheists in a new way, expanding on the methods of those who wish to hide or distort the truth, by using the Constitution in the way it was designed by the religious and nonreligious founders: to have our say as equals in the melting pot that is America. United we stand.
David Silverman is the president of American Atheists.
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This is True Americanism

by Edwin Kagin
The address given by National Legal Director Edwin Kagin at the unveiling of our monument
he founders of our Republic created this nation with the guarantee that no one, in any part of our government, could ever decide what religious beliefs, or lack of religious beliefs, should be the official doctrine of our secular nation. Separation of government from religion has kept us a free and powerful people. American Atheists is a national organization dedicated to maintaining this vital, constitutional wall between church and state. Today, in the presence of the world, we again make history. Today, for the first time in American history, Atheists dedicate a monument to Atheism on public land with the consent and cooperation of the governing authority. This is true Americanism, where widely different views can all be a part of the American experience in a great crucible of freedom. In acceptance of our many differences, we fulfill the vision of our founders that we are truly, despite our disagreements, One Nation, Indivisible. That we have become a union of free people. And that in our union is our strength. That we are a nation that is Out of Many One. To protect these monuments is to protect the freedom for which we stand. To defile these monuments is to defile the graves of our martyrs. Let those doubters who will not accept the reality that religious belief and Atheism can share the same plot of common ground come to the Bradford County Courthouse in Starke, Florida, and there witness, experience, and celebrate the Starke Reality that our future can be better than our past and that we are, and that we will continue to be, a free, unified, and powerful people.
We fulfill the vision of our founders that we are truly, despite our disagreements,
One Nation Indivisible.

Edwin Kagin is American Atheists National Legal Director and the author of Baubles of Blasphemy (American Atheist Press 2009), available in paperback from Atheists.org/shop or Amazon.com and on Kindle from Amazon.
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Starke, Florida - June 29, 2013
Our plaintiff, Daniel Cooney (left), with National Legal Director Edwin Kagin
Photo composite by Rick Wingrove
Written on the Atheist Monument Punishments for Breaking the Ten Commandments
I. Other gods: Thou shalt stone him with stones that he die, because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy god. (Deuteronomy 13:10) II. Graven images: Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image. (Deuteronomy 27:15) III. Using the Lords name in vain: And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death. (Leviticus 24:16) IV. Keep the Sabbath holy: Whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. (Exodus 31:15) V. Honor thy father and mother: And he that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. (Leviticus 21:17) VI. He that killeth any man shall be put to death. (Leviticus 24:17) VII. Adultery: And the man that committeth adultery with another mans wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. (Leviticus 20:10) VIII. Stealing: If a man shall steal an ox or a sheep and kill it or sell it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. (Exodus 22:1) IX. Bearing False Witness: A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who speaks lies will not escape. (Proverbs 19:5) X. Coveting: No particular penalty specified, only the dire warnings against breaking a commandment.
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President David Silverman (right) with his predecessor Ed Buckner
Jocelyn Dervis and David Williamson of Orlando, Florida
An atheist believes that a hospital should be built instead of a church. An atheist believes that deed must be done instead of prayer said. An atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death. He wants disease conquered, poverty vanquished, war eliminated. - From Madalyn Murray OHairs Petition for Relief 1959, and Supreme Court submissions. As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion. - From the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States of America and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli of Barbary (commonly known as the Treaty of Tripoli). It was submitted to the Senate by President John Adams, receiving ratification unanimously from the United States Senate on June 7, 1797 and signed by President Adams, taking effect as the law of the land on June 10, 1797. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one,he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear. - From Thomas Jeffersons letter to his nephew Peter Carr, from Paris, August 10, 1787.
When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it so that its professors are obliged to call for help of the civil power, tis a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one. - Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Richard Price, October 9, 1790. It will never be pretended that any persons employed in that service had interviews with the gods, or were in any degree under the influence of Heaven. - From John Adams in his work,A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America[1787-1788].
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Also Attending Apologists, Confederates, and Bad Spellers
Photo by Rick Wingrove Photo by Rick Wingrove
Photo by Ed Buckner
Christian evangelist Kent Hovind climbs on top of the monument in an attempt to win converts.
Photo by Dave Muscato

Photo by Pam Whissel

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In Part One of this series, Dale DeBakcsy, a parent in Californias Castro Valley School District, introduced us to his experience with trying to prevent a Good News Club from forming in his childrens school. He and other parents are still fighting. In this installment, he talks with Katherine Stewart, author of The Good News Club: The Christian Rights Stealth Assault on Americas Children.
Good News Clubs Part Two

by Dale DeBakcsy
Are Public Schools Mission Minefields?
Good News Clubs produce the false impression in young children that their public school endorses
a particular form of the Christian religion.
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our book unveils the inner workings of the Child Evangelism Foundation (CEF). What is the CEF and what are its primary goals? The CEF sponsors Good News Clubs, which are after-school programs of religious indoctrination largely held in public schools. A purpose of the clubs is to convert very young children to a fundamentalist form of the Christian religion and recruit them (with their families, of course) to Bible-believing churches. Children attending Good News Clubs are also instructed to recruit their peers. Good News Clubs take place after school, and they require parental permission to join, so a lot of parents might not think they are a big deal. But there are four primary reasons why they should be concerned. First, Good News Clubs produce the false impression in young children that their public school endorses a particular form of the
t sent chills into my very marrow to read about the 4/14 Window strategy that is being pursued by many evangelical groups. In your work at evangelical training sessions, did you ever find any dissenting voices within the CEF who thought that, perhaps, the strategy was morally suspect? The 4/14 Window starts with the idea that 85 percent of conversions to evangelical Christianity happen around or before a childs fourteenth birthday, and therefore evangelicals should focus their missionary efforts on ages 4 to 14. It takes for granted the idea that Christian evangelism involves exploiting the immaturity, lack of emotional development, and lack of worldly awareness in small children. The children involved in these missionary efforts are other peoples children. In my research, I did not meet anyone in that organization
I did not meet anyone in that organization who thought it inappropriate to try to
convert someone elses child.
Christian religion. School has a kind of cloak of authority in the minds of young children. A child will conclude that if religion is being taught in their public school, it must be what the school and its officials want them to believe. Almost anyone who has young children, or works with them, understands that, and that is a reason why Good News Club leaders have been so insistent on holding their clubs inside school buildings themselves, even when nearby church space is free and available. Second, because the leaders use nonthreatening labels, such as interdenominational and nondenominational to characterize their beliefs, parents draw the conclusion that the form of Christianity the Good News Club represents is inclusive. In fact, most of the activists I met with CEF believe that most Americans who call themselves Christian really arent, including Catholics, United Methodists, US Episcopaliansthe list goes on. Catholic and mainline Protestant parents might be interested to know that these clubs actively seek to convert their children away from a false understanding of Christianity. Third, the Good News Clubs are a gateway to other religious initiatives in public schools. For example, the 2001 Supreme Court decision [Good News Clubs v. Milford Central School] that has allowed approximately 4,000 Good News Clubs to proliferate in public schools in just over a decade has also paved the way for church-planting initiatives, in which public schools have been turned into rent-free, taxsubsidized churches. Finally, turning public schools into religious battlefields is detrimental to public education as a whole. In order for our public elementary schools to function effectively in a society as diverse as ours, we need to set aside our religious agendas and come together in support of our children and their future. In America, there are a number of places to practice religion: houses of worship, private homes, rented spaces, even public parks. Kindergarten classrooms shouldnt be turned into religious battlegrounds.
who thought it inappropriate to try to convert someone elses child. Their worldview is straightforward: if you convert to fundamentalist Christianity, at any age, you go to heaven. If you dont, however old you are, you go to hell. As on so many other fronts of the culture war, religious fundamentalists claim to be the champions of family values. But some of them are eager to interfere with the spiritual authority of parents whose beliefs do not mirror theirs. imagine that, in the last two years, you have been deluged with stories from parents struggling against the arrival of a club in their schools. Based on those accounts, does it seem to you that the clubs have tamed their message or reduced their on-campus presence in the face of increasingly critical scrutiny, or are they just as bold as ever? CEF is more or less like a fast-food franchise. They have a formula, it works pretty much everywhere, so they stick to it. Since I started my research, the number of clubs in public schools has grown. In 2010, there were approximately 3,200 Good News Clubs across the country; the number today is closer to 4,000.
ome of the most interesting parts of the book were the accounts of your interactions with CEF volunteers and Good News Club parents, and the deep sense of persecution felt by them. How would you advise parents to approach these people to let them know we find their methods inappropriate without making them feel attacked? The sense of persecution runs extremely deep. Frankly, I think there is very little you can do to avoid invoking it. You should be aware of it, you should try to empathize, but you shouldnt craft a school policy around the idea that you dont want to placate people who may have an irrational persecution complex. Policies should be crafted with the
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goals of educating our students, enhancing our schools educational mission, and respecting our constitutional principles. nd on to the legal front. You describe the consequences of Christianity being described as a viewpoint protected by free speech rather than a religious organization that would be banned by the Establishment Clause. Has any of that been overturned since? In the very long term, we may get some positive change in judicial philosophy in this area; the current one is incoherent and unlikely to survive. But it is going to take time to develop the right cases and bring them to the right judges, and probably no major change will happen until there is a different set of Justices on the Supreme Court.
The New York City Department of Education has made a great effort to enforce a pre-existing policy prohibiting houses of worship from occupying space in public schools. That struggle is ongoing in the courts.
ne of the inevitable results of Christian theory being taken as a viewpoint rather than a religion is that its ideas are now clamoring for equal time in the public school system. We have all read about creationism sneaking into biology classes, but thats neither the extent nor the most extreme example of the trend. What are some other threats? I think that Christian fundamentalists revision of history may be as serious a concern as creationism. Historical distortions are pernicious,
Kindergarten classrooms shouldnt be turned into
religious battlegrounds.
hat advice do you have for parents facing the imminent arrival of a Good News Club in their community? What can we reasonably expect to accomplish, and what are the best ways of going about it? Parents should educate themselves and others about the extremism at the heart of the CEF. Thats why I wrote the book, so reading it is a good start. Its also helpful to convey the information to others in a way that is sensitive to diverse viewpoints and recognizes the spectrum of evangelical thought. Many evangelical Christians have enormous respect for the principle of church/state separation, and feel that these clubs are not right for their kids schools. Parents and others should support organizations that strengthen the separation of church and state. They also need to be prepared for the confrontation and divisiveness that often follow the arrival of these clubs, and other groups like them. Concerned parents might seek to introduce into their kids schools diversity programs that specifically address issues of faith-based bigotry. In the longer term, I would like to see a legal strategy pursued from a moderate and progressive side that seeks to reestablish some basic constitutional principles, that reaffirms the distinction between free speech and religious worship, and that acknowledges the coercive effects of peer pressure and school authority over young children.
yet difficult to undo. If you raise a generation of kids to believe that the United States is founded on what fundamentalists like to call biblical principles, you may end up with a very different government than our Founders intended. t this point in the interview, I am sure many of the readers are preparing to leap from windows, too discouraged about this omnipresent return to fundamentalism to countenance another day on Earth. Please, Katherine, give us some genuine good news to end with! You are the good news! As I travel the country giving presentations in dozens of cities and states, I discover large numbers of people, of all faiths and backgrounds, just as concerned as you, and equally resolved to do something. Preserving the constitutional principle of church/ state separation is a viewpoint widely shared. And that goal is within reach. Katherine Stewarts work has appeared many publications, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Reuters, and Religion Dispatches. To learn more, visit her website at TheGoodNewsClub.com and follow her on Twitter at @kathsstewart. Dale DeBakcsy is thrilled to hear that he is the good news. He is also a regular contributor to The Freethinker, New Humanist, and this very magazine. When not Fighting The System, he cowrites Frederick the Great: A Most Lamentable Comedy with Geoffrey Schaeffer (FTG-Comic.com).
ou also write about threats by organizations other than the CEF. I was stunned at the rapidly growing number of organizations using school facilities as churches on the weekends as a way of grabbing cheap real estate and pushing religion back into the elementary school in one bold stroke. Some cities are marshaling resources to resist the onslaught. What has become of that?
4TH QUARTER 2013
Seven Tips for Coming Out as an Atheist

by David G. McAfee
oming out as an Atheist doesnt only apply to those who are new to nonbelief, and its not just a one-off, personal event only involving close family. Public nonbelief means many different things to many people, but, in a society thats largely intolerant of faithlessness, its always an ongoing process that arises again each time an Atheist is asked about his or her beliefsor lack thereof. While some consider coming out as an Atheist to be about familial honesty, still others are more concerned with publicly rejecting dogma around friends, classmates, or colleagues. But regardless of the situation, coming out as an Atheist makes it a bit easier for the next person who has to by working to change the (very false) perception of Atheism as something that is anti-god or even pro-evil. Perhaps more than anything else, it gives the opportunity to educate believersto show them that it is entirely possible to be morally good without believing that we are being policed by an all-knowing deity. Its important to note, especially for young non-believers growing up in religious homes, that if youre comfortable with your current living situation, it might not be necessary to rock the boat until youre older. That being said, if its possible to be honest with family without serious repercussions, I wouldnt discourage it. In all cases, the decision to come out is completely dependent on an individuals circumstances. Heres a list of seven tips for coming out as an Atheist, inspired and excerpted from Mom, Dad, Im an Atheist: The Guide to Coming Out as a Non-believer. 1. Find out what coming out means to you. In many cases, the first step to coming out is to determine exactly what you hope to gain from being open about your lack of belief. Do you care about convincing your family that you can be happy without religion? Are you interested in being able to speak openly with friends and acquaintances about religion without hiding your opinions? While it is often considered general etiquette to not discuss politics or religion
You, as an open Atheist, telling believers theyre wrong does not necessarily mean that it is a bad thing.
Coming out is not necessarily a one-time event, but should instead be considered an ongoing process throughout ones lifetime.
16 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org 4TH QUARTER 2013
in order to preserve personal and professional relationships, that doesnt mean that the topic never arises. Its always best to look at each of your relationships and weigh the benefits and consequences of coming out individually to see what your best option is. 2. Debunk Atheist myths. Negative stereotypes about Atheism reinforce the negative stigma associated with nonbelief, so demolishing those assumptions is key. Helping to dispel the myths of nonbelief among many religious communities is an important task, and with more people deciding to take the crucial step of declaring their disbelief than ever, believers are likely to see that Atheist is not synonymous with Satanist, and that nonbelievers are not god-hating sinners. People will start to see that their neighbors or children or dentists dont see evidence for belief in archaic superstitions, so maybe it is not that bad after all. 3. Recognize the ongoing process. Coming out as an Atheist means more than simply telling religious
those who truly love you to understand and accept that their religion simply doesnt reach the burden of proof necessary to warrant lifelong dedicationin the opinions of you and countless others. The time it often takes family members to understand this change is exactly why planning to express your doubts in religious institutions as early as you begin having them is such an important element in any transition to becoming openly non-religiousand making sure that your doubts are not misunderstood. 6. Establish a new sense of community. From weekly church services and gatherings to summer camps and holiday events, a religion often fosters a sense of community for its followers. Many people who transition out of a religion and were previously involved in the social aspects of their religious traditions find this to be one of the most difficult parts about leaving the faith. Having like-minded friends and social acquaintances is important, especially when a nonbelievers current friends and family are not supportive of their religious stance. As is the case in all instances of discrimination or
Sometimes you will be surprised to find that people you have known your entire life and assumed to be religious are, in fact, skeptics or unconcerned with divine matters altogether.
family members about a lack of faith or a loss of faith; in many cases, even people who come from non-religious upbringings have to confront the issue with friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and, in some cases, all of the above. As such, coming out is not necessarily a one-time event, but should instead be considered an ongoing process throughout ones lifetime. As is the case with coming out in the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community, it is never enough to simply come out once to your family. If you truly want to be an out-of-the-closet nonbeliever and, perhaps, in the process help other closeted Atheists who may be afraid to voice their skepticism, it is sometimes necessary to confront those in day-to-day life who may assume your religiosity or project their religious ideologies onto you. 4. If you are from a strict religious family, find someone to confide in. Some relatives and close friends might be more understanding than others; it is advisable to seek these people out for starters. You may want to test the waters in this regard by casually bringing up the topic of god and/or religion to those people closest to you whose religious preferences are unknown to you or you imagine might be sympathetic to your cause. It is not the case that all believers will condemn you; there are many open-minded believers who will not see your Atheism as inherently bad or offensive. Sometimes you will be surprised to find that people you have known your entire life and assumed to be religious are, in fact, skeptics or unconcerned with divine matters altogether; this can be a welcoming initial interaction for those who might be scared of judgmental reactions and stressed personal relationships with fundamentalists in the family. 5. Remember that time heals all wounds. Religious family members may be upset to hear about your lack of faith in the tradition that they practice, but time will always help
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social tension, talking and sharing ideas with people who face similar issues is a helpful therapeutic tool. Talking openly about your nonbelief with nonjudgmental people you already know is obviously ideal, but there are also a number of local and online groups created specifically for this purpose. 7. Handle confrontations appropriately. Confrontation is a natural part of any interaction involving a member of a family dissenting from the others, especially when it comes to the topic of religion or politics. But, on a more fundamental level, confrontation results from these religious discussions for one simple reason: Youre telling them that their most fundamental beliefs are wrong. If there is a familial confrontation as a result of your coming out, it may help to make it known that you arent seeking to change the way they think, but instead that you should have the same freedom from religion that most modern governments guarantee their citizens. The fact that you, as an open Atheist, are telling believers theyre wrong does not necessarily mean that it is a bad thing. In a modern context, being able to voice your opinions and challenge those of the majority is critical. If a situation arises in which the conflict is out of control, it is always best to seek professional guidance in the form of therapy and/ or counseling. David G. McAfee is the author of Disproving Christianity and Mom, Dad, Im an Atheist. Both are available in paperback from Amazon.com. This article first appeared in the newsletter of the Richard Dawkins Foundation. 2013 Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (US). All Rights Reserved.
Bless the Bitter Buddha:

An Interview with Comic Eddie Pepitone
by Becky Garrison
I am Eddie Pepitone and I am an addict. But arent we all? Hello, I am America and I am an addict! Hello America. I have no days clean, and my sponsor is dead. I am a country built on the bones of the native Americans, my higher power is money, shopping, sex, drugs and soft food. ~ From EddiePepitone.com
hen I encountered comic Eddie Pepitone (a.k.a. the Bitter Buddha) at the 2013 South by Southwest Festival, I understood why comic Paul Provenza insisted I track him down. In my reflections over at the website Killing the Buddha (SXSW: Bitter Buddha, April 23, 2013), I noted how within this Willy Loman-like man lies the soul of a tortured man-child who resembles the spiritual offspring of Andy Kaufman and Sam Kinison. Finally, a comic who refuses to become in the words of the late comic Bill Hicksa capitalist shrill, another whore at the corporate gang-bang. Most comics who claim to have picked up Hicks mantle focus on his anti-god bits. They proclaim, No god! No god! No god! with the childlike glee of rebellious teenagers sipping their first beer. But in the end, their goal appears to entertain the masses, a move that ends up American Idol-izing even the most original voices. Like Hicks, Pepitones explosive rants go for the jugular behind the joke. His work cuts through the hypocrisy inherent in our contemporary Christian-capitalist culture and shows us how living in reality is possible for those who dare to venture outside the confines of media-deemedsafe-for-populist consumption. As Pepitone begins to finally achieve international recognition in his mid-fifties, he proves that a creative can practice their craft without selling out.
Photo by Heather Landis Several months after SXSW, I finally caught up with him by phone for this interview. What is the genesis of your nickname, the Bitter Buddha? My bitterness and rage come from growing up in a household where my mother was manic depressive and bipolar. I carry this background with me a lot. But the Buddha bit comes because I always try to see the lighter side of things. Right now, Im going for a walk in this park near my house where I go to meditate. What role did religion play in your life as you were growing up? I find that most people who are angry at religion or god are those who had it shoved down their throats when they were young. My parents didnt give a rats ass about organized religion. What did transform me was that I got sober 14 years ago. When you get sober, you stop repressing all your feelings. Now you have to deal with them. So my connection to a spiritual practice is to meditate so I can get out of my worldly head and get in touch with myself. I see you as part of a movement of comics like Jamie Killstein, Paul Provenza, and Doug Stanhope, who are reclaiming the legacy of Bill Hicks by striving to be authentic and truthful as well as entertaining. Its not that I dont want the audience to laugh. But for me, being authentic is key to my work.
My connection to a spiritual practice is to meditate so I can get out of my worldly head and get in touch with myself.
At the SXSW panel Why Comedians Dont Give a F*ck if Youre Offended, you tried to move the conversation from talking about the right of a comic to say something vulgar versus the need for a comic to attack the true vulgarities in our culture. I see great injustices in our country that I want to address instead of doing bullshit jokes about relationships. Its like people are so distracted by white noise that they arent paying attention to the economic injustice being committed by corporations. How does the Internet enable you to connect with your audience so you can have a career sans the middle man? I just tweet whatever comes to my mind and people seem to like it. Pudding is this You Tube series where we just riff on anything. And enough people watch it that its gotten popular. I think its great that comics can reach people without having to kowtow to the studios. As someone whose career is just now really taking off in your fifties, any thoughts for other creatives in the same boat whom want to avoid selling out but feel that maybe success has slipped them by? I think its very easy to fall into this despairing take on life. You really have to fight against this. But I just kept doing my work. You have such a unique American voice. How does your act translate overseas? When I go to places like Norway, London, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I find that all they want is for you to be genuine. They love seeing an American just being very real. So they connect to the work on that level. We all have this universal feeling of despair. Speaking of being authentic and genuine, any thoughts about performing on Set List? Im a very stream-of-consciousness person who comes from an improvisational background. So I really love this format where youre given a topic and then you start riffing on the material. It works very well for me. I find in doing this work you have to trust yourself and just go with it. Also, I love working with Paul Provenza. He really gets comedy. I think of him as this incredible font of knowledge. He does comedy all around the world and knows everyone in the business. Who else has influenced you? As an actor, I was deeply influenced by Jackie Gleason, whom I found to be an incredible comedic actor. For me Richard Pryor was deeply, deeply funny. Also, I was inspired by Don Rickles and George Carlin. And I loved how angry Bill Hicks was at the stupidity in our culture. He really nailed it.
Eddie Pepitone co-hosts TheLongShotPodcast.com, tweets at @EddiePepitone, and blogs on his website, EddiePepitone. com. His feature film, The Bitter Buddha, was a 2013 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection. Becky Garrison is a storyteller and religious satirist. Her seven books incude Roger Williams Little Book of Virtues and Red and Blue God, Black and Blue Church (a Publishers Weekly Starred Review). Her website is BeckyGarrison.com and shes on Twitter (@Becky_Garrison).
Tweets of Wisdom from the Bitter Buddha

Often when I am tweeting and I realize there is no god I think, This would be a great time for a Snickers!! ~~~ Bad prayer: Oh god just make my life terrific at the expense of others, make me so self-centered that I am not aware of life around me. ~~~ Cant say enough about switching from Christ to the occult! Just an edgier ride. More babes, less guilt. ~~~ To do list: 1) Choose a life path then reconsider. 2) Make snowman out of crushed dreams. 3) Happily skip to foreclosure. ~~~ Little known quote from Jesus: No shit! The water went into wine? Yes! Ive got a career! ~~~ Signs that things arent going well: 1) you yawn while watching miracles. 2) you goad your children into bar fights. ~~~ God, are we real? God: You are pure consciousness. Eddie: Even that ass Ned? God: No, youre right, Ned is a fucking moron. ~~~ Signs that things arent going well: 1) Your hobbies include hating yourself. 2) You smoke in an MRI machine. ~~~ Just lighten up and enjoy the inhumanity of man. ~~~ To do list: 1) Compromise my whole life for money. 2) Shape hedges into General Grant. 3) Pick on the weak. ~~~ Sometimes when googling myself, the Lords Prayer will pop into my head and a perfect synergy is had. ~~~ To do list: 1) Vacuum until life is better. 2) Ask doctor for prescription soup. 3) Talk to god about sales job. ~~~ Sundays are perfect for worrying about Monday. ~~~ Momma always said, Do your best on Instagram then give it to god. ~~~ Follow Eddie on Twitter: @eddiepepitone
4TH QUARTER 2013
Being a Foxhole Atheist May Get a Little Harder

by Paul Loebe
From the Military Director
A proposed amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 is nothing more than the right to bully Atheists.
ith the increased acceptance of Atheism over the past few years, coming out as an Atheist in the military is slowly, but progressively, getting easier. Some very controversial, fundamentalist believers are pushing back hard against the rise, but those voices are slowly being silenced by the power of activism, the media, and public opinion. In Congress, however, many of our elected officials are determined to set the clock back. One example in particular has reminded me of how quickly and easily it could be for intolerance of Atheism to be given legal protection. On June 14, by a vote of 315-108, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. In the act is an amendment proposed by U.S. Congressman John Fleming (R-Louisiana), which I have labeled the Christian Right-to-Bully Amendment. Found in section 530, the amendment attempts to make broad, sweeping changes with the addition of two words: action and speech. Let me explain. In its current form, the section of the law is worded this way:
The Armed Forces shall accommodate the beliefs of a member of the armed forces reflecting the conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs of the member and, in so far as practicable, may not use such beliefs as the basis of any adverse personnel action, discrimination, or denial of promotion, schooling, training, or assignment.
reflecting the conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs of the member and, in so far as practicable, may not use such beliefs, actions, or speech as the basis of any adverse personnel action, discrimination, or denial of promotion, schooling, training, or assignment.
Another section of the law would blatantly allow threatening actions and speech. The current wording says:
Nothing in paragraph (1) precludes disciplinary or administrative action for conduct that is proscribed by chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), including actions and speech that threaten good order and discipline.
Paul Loebe
Flemings proposed amendment would add the words Ive italicized:

the Armed Forces shall accommodate the beliefs, actions, and speech of a member of the armed forces
In the proposed amendment, the word threaten is replaced by the words actual harm. Threatening words and actions, therefore, would be allowed, since theyaccording to the language in this amendmentnever cause any actual harm. Heres the proposed language, with the new words italicized.
Nothing in paragraph (1) precludes disciplinary or administrative action for conduct that is proscribed by CONTINUED ON PAGE 36
Dominionist and fundamentalist evangelicals are figuring out that they can use the guise of religious freedom to stifle real religious freedom.
What is a Firebrand, Exactly?

by J. T. Eberhard
The words justice and revenge are not synonyms.
ets face it: not everybody in the world is a good person. And in a movement that has grown rapidly over the past few years, we are bound to start seeing more and more jerks, frankly. This is to be expected, but one of my main issues with this unpleasant fact is that many jerks try to baste a layer of nobility onto their jerkiness by calling themselves firebrands. This necessitates a bit of definition, so I want to talk about what it means, in my eyes, to be a firebrand. First thing to ask is: why do we criticize religion in the first place? Well, it varies from person to person, but Id argue the most virtuous reason is compassion. We see the deleterious products of unreason in the world. We know that nothing is a greater enabler of irrationality than the notion of faith and the notion that the religions that advance it are not just acceptable, but imperative to ones life. Because we care about a harmonious society where rights are given precedence over the decrees in holy books, we criticize and fight religion. Sure, this results in countless people being offended, but its important to note that offense is not the goal. The goal is to tell the truth, and, therefore, offense is not a sufficient reason to stop. If the truth is offensive, its the offended party who must change, not the
in the world, we can go about denouncing everybody who disagrees with us and blasting them as horrible people, but lets not convince ourselves that this is the same thing as taking a moral stand. The denouncers, to my eye, are not firebrands. A firebrand assumes the best of people and is cautious to go nuclear only on the bad ones. Firebrands are angry, and justifiably so! There is much wrong with the world, much of it the fault of religion. But a firebrand realizes that not every action taken on account of justifiable anger is necessarily a justified action. Anger is a double-edged sword. It can motivate us, which is why justified anger has always been at the heart of every socialrights movement. But it can also corrupt us. Anger can impair our judgment, causing us to do things that are simply not right or not fair. A firebrand holds onto their anger without letting it corrupt them. A firebrand realizes that the fact that we have been hurt does not always justify our hurting others, by words or by action. The words justice and revenge are not synonyms. Some will read this article and dismiss it as tone trolling. Others will think that because my admonition that justified anger doesnt morally absolve someone from any action they wish to take, Im telling people not to be angry. This leads me to the most important facet of firebrands: we
If the truth is offensive, its the offended party who must change, not the offenders.
offenders. Compare this to the person who goes into public wearing a jacket that reads, Jesus sucks. That persons primary objective is to offend; by calling themselves a firebrand, they gloss over the nuance of not caring if people are offended. The former is consistent with the compassion that moves us to criticize religion in the first place, while the latter is full-blown jerkery on display. And while a firebrand is never averse to taking a stand, using strong words, or denouncing a person in no uncertain terms, those are not the starting points. There is a fine line between taking a stand and bullying, and if you attempt to shame every person who disagrees with you, you are a bully. When a nation goes to war, its leaders, if they are clever, will do everything in their power to make sure the forthcoming offensive is justified. This accomplishes two things: It squares the conscience of leaders (if they have one) and it shows the rest of the world that they are boldly taking a stand, not flexing their military might for the hell of it without regard for their targets. Sure, in the intense discussion of gods existence and religions place tell the truth. We dont tell the truth to harm, but somebody must take on this rather unpleasant job, and were willing. Telling the truth not only applies to gods non-existence and to the harm religion causes in the world, it also applies to the way we argue. A firebrand has no need to read into their opponents words things that were not said. A firebrand deals with arguments at face value without misrepresenting anything. We have no desire to win if we abdicate our honor in the process. So, if anybody wonders how you can be a firebrand while also thinking that someone else is being unnecessarily rude or cruel, or that they are twisting the words of their opponents (be they Atheist or theist), I urge you to inform them that a firebrand values compassion for all, not just for those with whom we are friendly. J.T.s blog, What Would J.T. Do?, is at Patheos.com/Blogs/WWJTD. He previously worked for the Secular Student Alliance, where he was their first high school organizer. He is the co-founder of the Skepticon conference and served as the events lead organizer for its first three years.
4TH QUARTER 2013
Book Review
SEX and GOD:
How Religion Distorts Sexuality - by Darrel Ray, Ed.D.

Reviewed by J. Anderson Thomson, Jr., M.D.
Darrel Ray
n the book god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Christopher Hitchens delineates four irreducible objections to religious faith: 1) It wholly misrepresents the origin of man and the cosmos. 2) Because of this original error, it manages to combine the maximum of servility with the maximum of solipsism. 3) It is both the result and the cause of dangerous sexual repression. 4) It is ultimately grounded on wishful thinking.
his personal views will influence his discussion, but he promises to endeavor to stay close to the science and facts and give you resources to examine yourself. We will look at the science, the biology, the anthropology, and much more to fully understand what human sexuality has been and still is. My hope is that this exploration will bring you closer to understanding yourself as a sexual creature so you can enjoy and celebrate your sexuality free of religious ideas and controls. He wants his book to provide a greater understanding of the power religion has in distorting the lives of its adherents. He hopes that the reader will gain a sense of power and acceptance of who you are. He challenges us to look back on our own sex education and indoctrination during childhood and, as a result of this reflection, be better able to make well-informed choices. Atheist readers will benefit as well, since our collective culture is full of religious sexual messages. The book is divided into five sections and 25 chapters, many with engaging titles like: Religious Foreplay; Did Jesus Masturbate?; Sex Before God; Mommy, Did You Have Sex Before You Married Daddy?; and My Sex Drive Keeps Me from Jesus.
In the book Sex and God: How Religion Distorts Sexuality, Darrel Ray educates us about all the constituents of that third irreducible objection. Anybody honest with themselves knows that religion adversely affects human sexuality. Even when religious people recognize faiths ability to poison sexuality, they often will still deceive themselves into thinking otherwise and then deny the damage. Those of us who have lost our faith, or never had it to begin with, are clearer-eyed, but I suspect that even though we might think we know about all of religions destructive effects, we, too, are kidding ourselves. Sex and God will open your eyes to even broader vistas of this wasteland. As a psychiatrist who practices intensive psychotherapy, I am allowed the fullest and deepest window possible into a patients life. My heart has ached over the years for patients whose intimate lives were destroyed by religion. When I first saw this book, I assumed it would give me details about what I already knew. I was wrong. Sex and God is an in-depth tour worth taking by anyone concerned about this question, no matter how much they think they already know. Ray is explicit about his purposes. In the introduction, he admits
One ironic tragedy of religions impact on sex is its destructiveness on religions upper echelon.
We are the first generation in history to know the basic psychological science of religious belief.
Sex and God is full of real examples. As a psychologist for thirty-five years, Ray knows people well and deeply, but his book is also enriched by his honesty about his own personal journey. One of the ironic tragedies of religions impact on sex is its destructiveness on religions upper echelon. Ray reviews a study by the conservative Francis Schaeffer Institute. Of the 1,050 pastors surveyed, 77 percent felt they did not have a good marriage. Thirty-eight percent said they were divorced or currently in the process of divorce. Thirty percent had been in either an ongoing affair or a one-time sexual encounter with a parishioner. Forty percent reported at least one extramarital affair since beginning their ministry. Seventy percent reported constantly fighting depression. Even more tragic is the reports conclusion that renewed Bible study would cure these pastors of their depression. Although this book is a stand-alone diamond, it has an important place in a broader context. We are the first generation in history to know the basic psychological science of religious belief. Numerous books exist that can educate a curious reader, but few are accessible to a general audience. Ray is a groundbreaking author in that both Sex and God and his first book, The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture, educate laypeople about this new psychological science. This progress in our understanding has an analogy in medicine. When the microbial world of bacteria and viruses was discovered, we were, for the first time in our existence, able to cure diseases that had harmed and even killed us. As we continue to improve our understanding of those viruses, we can cure more and more illnesses. We are just beginning this understanding about god viruses, but as that understanding deepens, expect more books about religions destructiveness on sexuality. This understanding will also produce more books on religions poisoning of politics, public policy, education, medical care, stem cell research, climate change research, child development, and too many more areas of human endeavor. For the sake of full disclosure, I had the privilege of reading this book in draft. Thats when I wrote this endorsement on its back cover: Read this book. Whether you are a believer, doubter, or Atheist, religion influences your sexuality. Darrel Ray removes our blinders. Never again will you view religion as benign in its effects. With patience, verve, and overwhelming evidence he makes the case that religion is an STD, a sexually tarnishing disease. Religion undermines our capacities for romance, love, sex, intimacy, and parenting. Sex and God, not the Gideon Bible, needs to be in every hotel room. Im even more impressed with the finished piece.
J. Anderson Thomson, Jr., M.D., is a psychiatrist, the author of Why We Believe In God(s): A Concise Guide To The Science of Faith, a one-time Presbyterian (Gods frozen people), and a latecomer to organized nonbelief who is deeply grateful to all those in the secular movement for their unheralded work to protect our freedoms and promote reason and science.
My heart has ached over the years for patients whose intimate lives were destroyed by religion.
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.
That Hilarious Bible:

by Michael Paulkovich
A Review of Dr. Joe Wenkes You Got to be Kidding!
Wenke tackles both the Old and New Testaments and views them through the spectacles of a comedian, while mining primarily for the bad and the ugly.
xegesis and mockery seem to be among the best tactics to retaliate against a childhood of inculcation; they cleanse ones noggin of vile contrivances crammed in long ago. Within Christianity, the concoctions were stewed up by ignorant goat-herders barely able to assemble a sensible moral code: virgins, god-worship and virgin worship were high on their list. Whether for therapeutic reasons or just for giggles, Joe Wenke, Ph.D., shovels manure from the Bible and serves it up in You Got To Be Kidding! (Trans ber, 2012), one easy read that would make both George Carlin and Lenny Bruce proud. And, as you know, there is manure aplenty in the Bible. Thomas Jefferson believed there was at least some good in the Bible. He took a razor and flensed away the absurd miracles and callow nonsense, synthesizing The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, a.k.a. Jeffersons Bible. For reasons perhaps only our venerable T.J. could have explained, he did not eliminate Jesus words from Luke advising savage whipping of disobedient slaves: And that servant, which knew his lords will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes (Luke 12:47). In fact, you may have already noticed that Jesus never admonishes human traffickers or the violent. And whereas Jefferson was sifting
Dr. Joe Wenke

out the good in the Gospels, discovering those rare bits of wisdom to include in his booklet, Wenke tackles both the Old and New Testaments and views them through the spectacles of a comedian, while mining primarily for the bad and the ugly. Which is no surprise because this English Ph.D. brought up by strict Catholic parents does, in fact, perform stand-up when hes not sitting down. Wenke is, indeed, as they say, a gentleman and a scholar. With his words, he likes to set fire to stupidity and burn up bigotry; thus his moniker, Cultural Arsonist. Any enlightened view of the Ten Commandments recognizes half of them to hold no valid morals at all and to actually be unconstitutional in the United States. We may worship or not worship, we may work on the Sabbath, and we may sculpt and adore all the graven images we wish, thanks largely to that same Mr. Jefferson. Wenke tackles one of the good commandments thusly: Now the dont kill commandment might seem obvious, but what you realize as you read the Bible is that God is against you killing anybody because he reserves that right to himself. So we have quite a double standard here. On the other hand, if he tells you to go into a town and slaughter everybody, including little boys and girls, you need to follow those orders unless and until he tells you otherwise (28). One could say Christianity put the bunk in bunkum, the fool in tomfoolery, and both the poppy and the cock in poppycock. Dr. Wenke
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exposes the absurdities of the holy book, and in such a target-rich environment, I am sure he left a hefty salad of hooey and hogwash on the cutting-room floor. Wenkes zingers are nevertheless plentiful and often Tweet-worthy: No tattoos. God doesnt like them. I dont know what he thinks about nipple piercing (31). In Chapter 25, entitled Parts You Can Skip, he suggests you disregard most of the songs. I dont know what their melodies were, but the lyrics are terrible (62). His book is terse but rousing, typically just a few pages per chapter. In Chapter 45, Wenke covers the childish chicanery of Matthew 4 wherein Jesus supposedly is tempted by Satan. Wenke wonders how this Satan, who wants to see a magic trick, could be the same Satan from the Book of Job (121). Now, the gist of Matthews fiercely fanciful twaddle is that this Satan-person tries to get Jesus to perform a selfish miracle, but the J-man is too clever to be so easily fooled. Recall that Jesus reserves his miracles for essential and saintly matters such as turning water to wine and murdering a drove of innocent pigs. Jesus is, after all, on a mission from god. Notes Wenke, When this ham-handed temptation doesnt work, the devil suddenly transports himself and Jesus out of the desert. Now theyre in Jerusalem, and theyre standing on the pinnacle of the temple, and the devil tells Jesus to jump off. Right. Jesus is going to jump off the roof of the temple, land on his feet like an alley catno harm, no fouland yell back up at the devil, Take that, fuck face! Now you try it! (121). Wenke figures the devil must be quite desperate at this point, unable to outwit the son of god: Now suddenly Jesus and the devil are standing on top of a high mountainthey really do get aroundand the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, and he says, All these I will give you if you fall down and worship me. Im sorry, but this is the stupidest fucking temptation of all. This would be like somebody standing with me in front of my house and saying, Ill let you live here if you kiss my ass. I already do live here, shit for brains. Now get the fuck out of my face (121-122). Earlier, did I not refer to Dr. Wenke as a gentleman? Why, yes, in fact. Personally, given an exclusive and binary choice between the gentleman and the scholar, I say to hell with the gentleman and bring us the fucking scholar. But thats just me. It is easily demonstrated that Christians simply do not read their Bibles, and I think I know why: they are afraid to find out what is really in there. Wenkes three-page bulleted list in What Gets You the Death Penalty (Chapter 13) is a handy reference to wield whenever a Christian claims their religion holds moral tenets within, including the following (provided verbatim but with chapters and verses added for your convenience): Hitting your father or mother (Ex. 21:15) Cursing your father or mother (Lev. 20:9) Cursing or blaspheming God (Lev. 24:16) Worshipping any other god (Num. 25:1-9) A man having sex with another man (Lev. 20:13) Fucking another mans wife (Lev. 20:10) ...and many more. The Christian apologist may counter but you misunderstand: those are the old laws of Mosesin which case, you can simply rebuke with Jesus promises of eternal torture, which Wenke alludes to in Chapter 52, related by the anonymous author of Mark: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned (Mk. 16:16). Yes, Jesus loves us so much that hell be sure to have us tortured forever if we fail to believe. You might also recompense your favorite Jesus freak with the violent
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tale related in John 2. Wenke refers to this in as Jesus flip-out scene (Chapter 53). John filed this tenth-hand report 1,900 years ago from downtown Jerusalem: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple [ Jesus whipped them!], and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers money, and overthrew the tables ( John 2:15). Why would the son of god be unable to control himself and act in such a violent fashion? Wenke explains, He must have come on like
Superman. He not only drives people out. He drives out the sheep and oxen, too. Now I have to agree with Jesus on kicking the animals out. If there were livestock in a temple or a church, I sure as hell wouldnt go inside (143). Wenke pulls not a single punch. Seventy-one brief and buoyant chapters comprise You Got To Be Kidding!191 pages that seem to turn all by themselves quickly and with verve. My advice is similar to that which I dispense to anyone who might undertake the Bible: make sure you do not have a mouthful of food or drink while reading. The term spit-take seems to have been invented for just these sorts of hilarious works. Michael Paulkovich also contributes to Free Inquiry and The American Rationalist. His 2012 book, No Meek Messiah: Christianitys Lies, Laws and Legacy, is available from Amazon.
All of the Good, None of the God Pathfinders Project Spreads Humanist Values through Service
by Conor Robinson
athfinders Project is a year-long international service trip sponsored by Foundation Beyond Belief, a nonprofit organization with the mission to focus, encourage, and demonstrate the generosity and compassion of secular humanists. Through the project, four young Atheist leaders are completing clean water, education, human rights, and environmental conservation projects in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. These projects will give the Pathfinders an opportunity to engage in dialogue across religious, cultural, and ethnic boundaries, as well as to evaluate countries and partner organizations with the ultimate goal of selecting one site for launching the Humanist Service Corps. For the next year, American Atheist will follow them as they do good for the world, not for god. Conor Robinson, a 2010 graduate of Yale University and the projects director, talks here about the Pathfinders experiences at their first destination, Siem Reap, Cambodia, where the volunteers supported Bridge of Life Schools free English classes.
In Cambodia, the empathy that is the driving force behind Pathfinders Project is translating well. Indeed, it requires no translation. Recently, we had the opportunity to meet the chief monk of Tramm Neak Pagoda, where Bridge of Life School offers English for beginners. The chiefs face lit up when he recognized us. I pray for good luck for you, he said. Big heart. He then tied red, braided bracelets on our wrists, blessing us with courage and longevity. Of course, we dont share his belief in the power of the red bracelets, but we did find significance in his gesture. Later that week, as we were walking the muddy road past Wat Bo Pagoda, we encountered a man whose moped and trailer were stuck in the mud. We got behind the trailer and sent the man on his way. As we resumed walking, we heard clapping from the pagoda. A young monk was smiling and giving us a thumbs-up. We waved, smiled, and continued walking. Over the pagoda fence and through the trees lining the road, the monk matched our progress. Still beaming, he shouted, Loving kindness! He gave another thumbs-up, and then ducked into a small building. As we made our way up the muddy road, we could hear him sharing excitedly with the other monks. Loving kindness is an exact translation of the values we are aiming to spread through our work. And as we acknowledge and celebrate the compassion in others, we deepen our own humanism in the process. No matter what language these residents speak or what beliefs they hold, they understand and appreciate the motivation behind our actions far better than the dual intentions of any missionary trip. Weve already come across some missionaries who were discomfited by our presenceat first. On our flight from Los Angeles to Cambodia, there was a large Korean-American Christian missionary group from Orange County, California. As chance would have it, I sat between the pastor and his son and had the opportunity to discuss Pathfinders Project with them. Although they were initially put off by what I told them, ultimately, they were impressed by the absence of ulterior motive in our agenda and slightly chagrined by the lack of secular service in
Children paddling their way to school, Kampong Khleang, Cambodia
Those of us who are open about our Atheism have an incredible opportunity to show how we can be generous, compassionate, good people.
theirs. Perhaps on their next trip, they will incorporate more service into their proselytizing. Either way, they have an altered view of Atheists and humanists as a result of learning about Pathfinders Project. The Orange County group will not be the last missionaries we encounter, and they wont be the last to be unsettled by our embodiment of one incredibly simple, profound fact: Atheism has something very real to offer. For us, just as for many other Atheists around the globe, meaning and fulfillment come from building connections between people and working alongside them to improve the world. These connections and this work are not seen by Atheists as a stepping stone to conversionthey are goals in and of themselves. Why I Do This I am a Pathfinder because I want to deepen my own humanism while encouraging reason and compassion, and I believe service is the key to doing so. I first discovered the value of service when I launched the Yale Humanist Society in 2008. My goals were to provide a safe space for the explicitly nonreligious and to improve the nature of interfaith dialogue at Yale. I found service projects to be invaluable in meeting both of these aims. After graduating in 2010, I taught special education for three years in the Salvadoran Corridor of Los Angeles. While collaborating with dedicated Mexican-American and Salvadoran-American teachers, I confronted the reality that my well-meaning colleagues and I often Ben Blanchard
Conor Robinson
As we acknowledge and celebrate the compassion in others, we deepen our own humanism in the process.
failed to communicate successfully. Since our values and goals were the same, we concluded that our disagreements were a result of the different ways we carried ourselves and spoke. However, once we built up trust by working alongside one other, we began to interpret each others words through the lens of that trust. Language is incredibly fallible, and our minds even more so, but shared work can provide a foundation for authentic interaction across cultural, linguistic, and religious boundaries. This sets the stage for successful verbal communication. By building mutual understanding through shared service, the Pathfinders demonstrate their humanist values and encourage the expression of the same values by nonhumanists as well. Im concluding this first article by introducing my three fellow Pathfinders, who, in their own words, describe what this service project means to each of them. Wendy Webber, Writer/Photographer While studying for my Masters degree in religion at Yale Divinity School, I worked to amplify the Atheist and agnostic voices on campus inside and outside the classroom. Now that Ive graduated, I want to extend this work beyond the university setting. I believe interfaith dialogue and cooperation are necessary to achieving peace and equality among all people. However, the current understanding of interfaith dialogue is incomplete. True interfaith dialogue and cooperation must include those outside the major faiths, including Atheists. I believe service, more than dialogue, brings disparate people together. We can and should talk about our differences, and we should coordinate interfaith dialogue, but it is far more successful when it follows or is coupled with service. Working on common goals inspired by
CONTINUED ON PAGE 36
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Michelle Huey
Conor Robinson
Wendy Webber
Conor Robinson
Michelle Huey
Ben Blanchard
Special Section: Jesus in the News

Historys Longest News Cycle
In a July 26 online interview with Fox News, Muslim author Reza Aslan was asked by Lauren Green to explain himself. Just who did he think he was, a non-Christian writing a book about Jesus of Nazareth? (Never mind that Aslan was, at one time, Christian.) With its fantastic entertainment value, the interview went viral. Nine days later, the book, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth debuted on the New York Times Best Seller List at number four. The following week it shot to number one, enjoyed three weeks there, and, as of this writing, has remained on the list at numbers 2, 3, and 4. Those are pretty impressive numbers, until you think about the kinds of numbers Jesus boasts: front-page news for over two thousand years with no signs of slowing down. From day one, its always been about the news; the origin of the word gospel is the Old English godspell, which means good news. A gospel, therefore, does not have to be about Jesus. It just has to be full of good news. The word evangelist means bringer of good news. So your news doesnt have to be about Jesus for you to be an evangelist. Your news just has to be good. Frank Zindler, the editor of American Atheist Press and managing editor of this magazine, has published many gospels and authored several of his own. His work as a Mythicist scholar makes him an evangelist with the good news that the historical Jesus never existed. Such news gets around, and so other scholars write about the Mythicists, and then the Mythicists write back. This special section of American Atheist features Zindlers review of Aslans Zealot and an additional commentary on that book by longtime contributor Gil Gaudia. Zindler then tells the story of writing and publishing his latest gospel, Bart Ehrman and the Quest for the Historical Jesus. The section concludes with a reflection by biblical scholar David Madison, who points out that even if Jesus did exist, theres no good reason to live by the Bible. And that may be the best news of all.
Reza Aslan and the Zealot of Nazareth
A review of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan
by Frank R. Zindler
The fact that Jesus has no objection to Tiberius and Augustus being gods shows either that he was not a zealot or that the story is fictionalor both.
f Fox News be against him, must I then be for him? If the Muslim author Reza Aslan was attacked by Foxs religion correspondent Lauren Green, must I defend his recent best-seller Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth? If Bill OReilly hates Muslims, must I conclude that Muslims actually write very good books about the origins of Christianity? These are questions flitting through my mind as I try to sort this all out. Aslan is of Iranian origin, was reared as a Muslim during childhood, became a Christian as a teenager, and then reconverted to Islam as an adult. From the frying pan, into the fire, and back into the frying pan, it would appear. Even so, he is a Ph.D. and therefore a scholar well-prepared to investigate the origins of Christianity. He holds four degrees, including one in New Testament, and has fluency in biblical Greekalthough I did find three typos in his transliteration of the Greek for Jesus the Christ (Yesus ha Xristos, instead of Iesous ho Xristos).
More importantly, however, his writing style is felicitous and pleasingalmost beautiful at times. It is a fine summary of mainline scholarly opinion in the field of Historical-Jesus studies. Zealot is not even slightly controversial in academic circles, where the idea that Jesus was a zealous revolutionary and defender of the Torah has been around for almost two centuries. Only benighted right-wing fundamentalists would be shocked by Aslans book. Nuff said. Aslan is refreshingly non-dogmatic, even presenting dissenting opinions in his notes at the end of the book. Moreover, he acknowledges his debt to John P. Meiers four-volume A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus. Aslan tells us that Father Meiers book answers the question of why we have so little historical information about a man who so thoroughly changed the course of human history. His thesisthat we know so little about Jesus because in his lifetime he would have been viewed as little more than a marginal Jewish peasant from the backwoods of Galileeforms the
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theoretical groundwork for the book you are reading (219). Alas, this revelation renders much of the book meaningless as a scientific attempt to reconstruct any Historical Jesuslet alone a Historical Jesus of Nazareth. To be scientifically meaningful, claims must at least in principle be testable. One must be able to imagine a test that could falsify a claim. The claim that undetectable gremlins inhabit the rings of Saturn is not false, it is scientifically meaningless. One cannot even imagine a way to test it. Just so, how could one test the claim that Jesus came from a place called Nazareth, when the place is unknown to the Hebrew Bible and all ancient authors, including the authors of all the New Testament epistles and the Book of Revelation? The place was too small to be noticed, even though it allegedly gave rise to an aphoristic query, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Why dont we have any archaeological evidence of turn-of-the-era habitation at present-day Nazareth? Well, Nazareth was really smalla one-dog town,
The hillside hamlet of Nazareth is so small, so obscure, that its name does not appear in any ancient Jewish source before the third century C.E.not in the Hebrew Bible, not in the Talmud, not in the Midrash, not in Josephus. It is, in short, an inconsequential and utterly forgettable place. It is also the city in which Jesus was likely born and raised. That he came from this tightly enclosed village of a few hundred impoverished Jews may very well be the only fact concerning Jesuss childhood about which we can be fairly confident (2526). This is, of course, start-to-finish archaeological fantasy with absolutely no evidence. Nevertheless, it is the only fact concerning Jesuss childhood about which we can be fairly confident. A thin thread indeed with which to hang the many heavily detailed portraits of the Historical Jesus of Nazareth!
How could one test the claim that Jesus came from a place called Nazareth, when the place is unknown to the Hebrew Bible and all ancient authors?
to quote New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman. Besides, the Franciscan archaeologists werent digging in the right place. Why doesnt Nazareth fit the description of the place given in the fourth chapter of Lukes gospel? Well, the gospels arent intended to be precise histories or to give accurate geographic descriptions. Clearly, there is no imaginable way to falsify the claims of either Meier or Aslan. To a scientist, their claims cant even be false; they are simply meaningless. Jesus of Nazareth is a Saturnian cyclogremlin. Considering the amount of space given to Nazareth in Zealot, this is simply devastating. It gives us pause, then, to read the first sentence of the introduction: It is a miracle that we know anything at all about the man called Jesus of Nazareth (xxiii). Forgive me if I exclude miracles from the methodology of scientific historiography. Although Zealot contains many errors of fact and method, most of them are not de novo creations of Aslan; they are the cumulative confusion of mainstream Historical-Jesus scholarship. They are the errors now being swept away by a paradigm-shifting wave of Mythicist scholarship, which argues that Jesus of Nazarethlike Nazareth itselfnever existed at the turn of the era. In 2008, American Atheist Press published Ren Salms The Myth of Nazareth: The Invented Town of Jesus, which shows that there is no archaeological evidence of habitation at present-day Nazareth at the turn of the era. In Zealot, by contrast, fantasy flourishes like the green bay tree: Ancient Nazareth rests on the jagged brow of a windy hilltop in lower Galilee. No more than a hundred Jewish families live in this tiny village. There are no roads, no public buildings. There is no synagogue [contra Luke chapter 3!]. The villagers share a single well from which to draw water. A single bath, fed by a trickle of rainfall captured and stored in underground cisterns, serves the entire population. It is a village of mostly illiterate peasants, farmers, and day laborers; a place that does not exist on any map. The homes in Nazareth are simple affairs: a single windowless room, divided in twoone room for the family, the other for the livestockmade of whitewashed mud and stone and crowned with a flat-topped roof where the householders gather to pray, where they lay out their wash to dry, where they take their meals on temperate evenings
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Aslan is altogether too uncritical of the New Testament documents, especially the book of Acts and the gospels. His finely reasoned inferences, based upon seemingly trivial details, all presuppose that those documents are not works of religious fiction, despite the inexorable advance of scholarship that increasingly reveals the fictive nature of most of the texts. That Jesus had brothers is, despite the Catholic doctrine of his mother Marys perpetual virginity, virtually indisputable (35). Yes, and that Dorothys dog was named Toto is virtually indisputable as well! Aslan seems to believe that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, drove the money changers from the temple, was asked the question, Is it lawful to pay the tribute to Caesar or not?, and actually said, Show me a denarius, a Roman coin used to pay the tribute (76). Then, contrary to everything one might suppose a zealous supporter of the Ten Commandments would do, Jesus calmly asks, Whose image is this and whose inscription? It is Caesars, the authorities reply. Well, then, give back to Caesar the property that belongs to Caesar, and give back to God the property that belongs to God. Despite the fact that throughout this book Aslans reconstructions of Jewish and Roman history and culture are exemplary, his credulity in retailing this supposedly clever story is appalling. The coin in question would have been a denarius of Tiberius. Not only would a zealot Jesus have thrown a hissy-fit over the fact that the coin bore the graven image of Tiberiussomething forbidden by the Second Commandment (in the Jewish/Protestant, not Catholic, version)he would have launched up to escape velocity over the inscription on the coin: TI CAESAR DIVI AVG F AVGVST. In English this means, Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus, Augustus. The fact that Jesus has no objection to Tiberius and Augustus being gods shows either that he was not a zealot or that the story is fictionalor both. Like so many Historical-Jesus scholars before him, Aslan has constructed a ten-story house of cards. It matters not that the cards of the nine top stories are firmly glued together by logic and reason. If there be no firm and factual foundation, even the most elegant paper palace must collapse before the faintest questioning breeze.
Frank Zindler is on the Board of Directors of American Atheists and managing editor of this magazine.
Still Searching the Darkness
by Gil Gaudia, Ph.D.
Fox News is ridiculous to challenge his right to discuss Christianity because he is a Muslim.
ecently, best-selling author Reza Aslan, author of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, was taken to task by Fox News for having the temerity to write about Christianity despite the fact that he is a Muslim. In her interview with Aslan, Lauren Green claimed that no Muslim could hope to do this in a competent manner. Of course, this is absurd, and if followed to its logical conclusion, anything written about Islam by a Christian would also have to be discounted. A casual perusal of lists of scholarly books about Islam by non-Muslims turns up hundreds, if not thousands. The same reasoning would apply to any author who was not a member of the faith he or she was writing about.
Reza Aslan on NBC News
Fox, and many others who have taken sides, miss the point completely. Aslan and his fellow theologians should be taken to task not for writing about subjects that are outside of their own religious viewpoint, but rather for claiming that he (along with all other theologians and apologists) is a scholar of religion, which means someone who is an expert in the field of that which cannot be studied. A favorite claim of experts in the field of theology is that we cannot understand Gods mysterious ways. Its practitioners, therefore, might be defined as experts who are trying to understand that which cannot be understood. In 2005, I wrote the article Searching in the Darkness: About Prayer and Medical Cures for the online medical journal Medscape criticizing research into the effectiveness of intercessory prayer. I said, Empirical methods either apply or they dont. If they do, then they are subject to the criteria of science and the materialism upon which it is founded; and if they do not, then why are empiricists trying to investigate nonempirical matters? The answer to that question was posited half a millennium ago by Desiderius Erasmus: They are looking in utter darkness for that which has no existence whatsoever. Aslan, along with many other experts, are still searching in the darkness. In so doing, they perpetuate the myth of religion and god, and worse, they give the search credibility. Along the way, Aslan and his ilk criticize Atheists (most of whom have a scientific view of the world) arguing that, After all, religion is as much a discipline to be studied as it is an expression of faith. (I do not write books [he says] about, say, biology because I am not a biologist.)
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Aslan and his fellow theologians should be taken to task for claiming that they are scholars of religion, which means,
someone who is an expert in the field of that which cannot be studied.

Notice that Aslan has chosen the word discipline to describe the study of religion with all its attendant connotations of disciple, training, indoctrination, and punishment. He made a wise choice because to call the study of religion a science would define it as the study of that which is outside the boundaries of study. This is not to say that why people believe in religion could not be examined in a scientific way. It can and is. Jonathan Haidt, for example, has done so in his book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Religion and Politics, for example. But there is a difference between studying why people believe weird things as has been so eloquently written about by Michael Shermer and studying the weird things themselves as if they had an existence outside the minds of believers. Imagine you are a biologist attending a major conference. You are trying to decide which meeting to take part in, so you wander the halls of the facility and look over the various agendas posted outside the doors of the meeting rooms. One room is filled with sober-looking people; there are charts on the walls, symbols on the chalkboard, fossils and skeletons on the tables, and the attendees are all participating enthusiastically. The title posted on the door reads, Are Santas reindeer mammals or birds? Would you join this discussion? If you have a sense of humor, you might, just to see how some of your colleagues are willing to make fools of themselves. You might also simply be curious. Its possible that you are seeking material to write an article about how federal funding was being wasted on unscientific studies. Remember, the first assumption is that you are a biologist. Could you reasonably take part because you would like to learn about the research techniques practiced by other biologists, or you would like to see their data? Hardly. My position is that any reputable biologist, any scientist for that matter, would walk away and look for another meeting to attend. Aslan, in an attempt to place a scholarly aura on a concept as ludicrous as Santas reindeer, pronounces that, religion, however it is defined, is occupied with transcendenceby which I mean that which lies beyond the manifest world and towards which consciousness is oriented and transcendence necessarily encompasses certain theological connotations with which one ought to be familiar to properly critique belief in a god. To that he adds the arrogant pontification, One should at the very least have a sense of what the term God means. To whom? And does he really think that we believe that he does? Aslan and anyone else is entitled to write all they want about religion and god, and Fox News is ridiculous to challenge his right to discuss Christianity because he is a Muslim. Aslan compares himself to researchers and scientists and asks is such a possibility (the existence of God) any more hypothetical than say, superstring theory or the notion of the multiverse . . . The point is that, like any researcher or critic, like any scientist, Im open to possibilities. His doctorate in biblical studies does make him a biblical scholar, but his fascination with speculating, talking about, and revering god and religion does not make him a scientist. Are scientistsbiologists in my hypothetical exampleobligated to have an open mind about everything? Certainly not. Science and empiricism are based on the concepts of experience and evidence, especially sensory experience in the formation of ideas. The work of science is the attempt to understand the physical universe. I would like to meet the biologist who is open to the possibilities of biblical creation, virgin birth, or the resurrection of the dead. They would have to be on the faculty of a fundamentalist Christian university, an oxymoron itself. Even there, they might find some stiff opposition. By what criteria can someone who studies the existence of deities be a scientist? No respectable scientist would have an open mind about Santa Claus or his reindeer, and for a lot of us, god has about the same degree of meaning.
Gil Gaudia, Ph.D., is a professor emeritus at State University of New York and a former editorial assistant of this magazine. He resides in Eugene, Oregon, with Jeanne Gaudia, his wife of 64 years. He is an amateur astronomer and still plays handball.
His doctorate in biblical studies does make him a biblical scholar, but his fascination with speculating, talking about, and revering god and religion
does not make him a scientist.
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Has Bart Ehrman Found Jesus?

How I Came to Write My Latest Book
by Frank R. Zindler
Jesus of Nazareth is perhaps the only god whose existence could be tested and ruled out by means of exhaustive scientific study.
published this year by American Atheist Press. At the risk of being immodest, I must suggest that the most devastating part of our book with respect to Ehrmans professional reputation is my chapter Cognitive Dissonance: The EhrmanZindler Correspondence. Securing Ehrmans permission, I published nearly three years of e-mail correspondence in which I supplied him with mountains of evidence relating to the mythical status of Jesus of Nazarethincluding evidence he later claimed I had not had. It is not a great exaggeration to claim that my e-mails alone would suffice to discredit the notion that Jesus of Nazareth had been an historical figure. The crucial word in that claim is Nazareth. Salm, Murdock, and I teamed up to demonstrate that the city now called Nazareth was not inhabited at the turn of the era. No Land of Oz, no Wizard of Oz, no Nazareth Jesus of Nazareth is perhaps the only god whose existence could be tested and ruled out by means of exhaustive scientific study.
art Ehrman is arguably the best-known New Testament scholar in America today. He is a New York Times best-selling author several times over. Only slightly more arguably, he is also one of the best respected such scholars in America. For nearly 25 years, I have been following his intellectual career with great interest and close attention. During the same period, I have also followed the career of my co-editor, the equally famous New Testament scholar Robert M. Price. In 1993, when Ehrman published his magnum opus, The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament, I predicted that he would ultimately become an Atheist as well as a proponent of the Christ-Myth Theory, which takes the view that there was no Historical Jesus at all. I made the same predictions about Price. My predictions were spot-on regarding the eventual Atheism of both of them. As for both becoming Mythicists, however, I was right about Price but wrong about Ehrman. (There goes my reputation as a non-profit prophet!) As we shall see, Ehrman has become one of what I expect to be the last of the serious defenders of the historical reality of Jesus of Nazareth. It is a clich to say that the best defense is a good offense. In keeping with this principle, last year, Ehrman published Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth, in which he sums up the case for the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth. Although I was expecting Ehrman to answer and discuss my 2011 book Through Atheist Eyes: Scenes From a World That Wont Reason: Vol. 1, Religions & Scriptures (I had sent him copies of all my books), I was not ready for the shocking way in which he criticized not only me, but my Mythicist colleagues as well. Some of us he falsely accused of simply making up evidence for our research, and he several times falsely claimed that I had offered no evidence for my claims. It seemed to me that he had not read much of the literature sent to him by me or others. Did Jesus Exist? was particularly dismaying by its lack of evidentiary substance. Mostly, Ehrman decries the fact that many Mythicists do not hold doctorates in biblical studies, are unqualified to write on the topic, andmost importantlyevery one of the thousands of scholars who are qualified to write on the subject know for a fact that Jesus of Nazareth did exist. You cant beat voting as the most scientific method for discovering truth! It was great to be noticed by a best-selling author, but to suffer such misleading treatment of our work was perplexing. I immediately enlisted the aid of other scholarsall but one of whom had been trashed by Ehrmanto join me in writing what might be called an anti-Festschrift for Ehrmans book. Richard Carrier, Earl Doherty, David Fitzgerald, D.M. Murdock (Acharya S.), Robert M. Price, and Ren Salm all contributed to Bart Ehrman and the Quest of the Historical Jesus,
You cant beat voting as the most scientific method for discovering truth!
By examining all the archaeological evidence ever found at Nazareth, Salm has been able to prove that none of it can be certainly dated to the turn of the era when the Jesus family should have been living there. A Jesus of Somewhere-or-Other, of course, cannot be subjected to exhaustive investigation, and Ehrman is confident that even if Jesus did not come from Nazareth, he must have come from someplace else. But now that we know Jesus of Nazareth never existed, the claim that some other Jesus must have existed seems altogether special pleading. Worse yet, if Jesus of Somewhere-or-Other is defined, for safetys sake, in such a way that there is no way that claims about him can be imagined to be tested, they become scientifically meaningless; they cant even be false. Virtually every argument in Ehrmans book is examined and refuted in our book. What was expected to be the strongest case to be made for an historical Jesus of Nazareth has turned out to be so weak that its hard to imagine any substantive defense against our work, which might easily have been titled Deconstructing Ehrman. But apologists for the Historical Jesuslike religious apologists in generalnever tire. Any day now, we may come across Why Mythicists are Jerks in bookstores. We might even see it on the New York Times best-seller list.
Frank Zindler is a member of American Atheists Board of Directors and managing editor of this magazine.
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Did Jesus Exist? Yes or No, Atheists Win

by David Madison, Ph.D.
few months ago, I heard an Atheist declare flatly, without hesitation or reservation, Jesus didnt even exist! He took for granted that a complex historical question has been settled. I was tempted to say, Not so fast, but on one level, his comment warmed my heart; it is actually very exciting that the historicity of Jesus is now considered a legitimate topic for debate. This was not the case even a few decades ago. When I attended liberal Boston University in the 1970s, working on my Ph.D. in Biblical studies, we freely accepted that the gospels were fair game for critical analysis. We knew that they are flawed and often ineptly written, but no one at B.U. seriously suggested that Jesus was a myth. That idea was nowhere on the horizon.
Jesus said some very harsh things, like if you dont hate your family, you cant follow me.

Scholars Locking Horns But now it is, thanks largely to the work of several brilliant scholars, most notably Richard Carriers Proving History: Bayess Theorem and the Quest for the Historical Jesus (Not to be missed also is his YouTube video Why I Think Jesus Didnt Exist: A Historian Explains the Evidence that Changed His Mind), David Fitzgeralds Nailed: Ten Christian Myth That Show that Jesus Never Existed at All, and Robert M. Prices Deconstructing Jesus and The Christ-Myth Theory and Its Problems. Bart Ehrman, one of the preeminent New Testament scholars of our time, entered the fray to defend the historicity of Jesus with Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth, but Carrier and others (e.g., Price and Fitzgerald, but also Earl Doherty, Frank Zindler, Ren Salm, and D.M. Murdock) quickly shot back with Bart Ehrman and the Quest for the Historical Jesus: An Evaluation of Ehrmans Did Jesus Exist? Its tempting to jump on the Jesus-never-existed bandwagon. What more could we want in the effort to falsify Christianity? Ive been won over by the arguments of Carrier, Fitzgerald, and Price that Jesus was a made-up character, but, of course, we can never know for sure unless ancient documents come to light that have bearing on the issue. We can make arguments based on the evidence about probabilities, and Carrier and others have moved the needle significantly toward the improbable end of the spectrum. Whats the Best Way to Argue with Christians? I suspect, however, that well make more headway with Christians by arguing on their turf, so to speak. They have confidence in the gospelsusually because they have not read them carefullyhence there may be advantages in giving Christians the benefit of the doubt. We can grant, Okay, Jesus existed, then carry on the debate using the gospels. In a sense, this is setting a trap, and it can be a lot of fun. Theres plenty in the gospels to make Christians squirm and blush. Instead of the combative, Dont you realize that Jesus didnt even exist?it could be more strategic to ask, Do you understand why respected scholars make the case that Jesus didnt exist? If you are confident that Jesus was indeed a real person in first century Palestine, on what do you base that confidence? The trap has sprung when Christians answer, The gospels, because believers to read and question the gospels. When I find Gideon Bibles in hotel rooms, I write on them: Please read this book carefully. There is no god, and this provides all the proof you need. The Words of Jesus? Its All a Guessing Game For centuries, when the gospels have been read aloud during church services, congregations have stood as a gesture of respect. But this is misplaced reverence. Aside from the most brain-locked, evangelical
We can never go wrong if we challenge believers to read and question the gospels.
scholars, few New Testament experts are confident that the gospels are based on eyewitness accounts, and that is a gigantic problem. You cannot write history without contemporary documents, and the gospels dont come anywhere close. Where did the gospel writers get their information? We dont know. Its hard to imagine how the real words of Jesus could have been preserved. The peasants who followed him if he existeddidnt carry around paper and pencils; such handy tools didnt even exist. And the overwhelming majority of his listeners were illiterate. Who would have written things down? Maybe some of Jesus words were jotted down at the time, but how reliably? Maybe they were told and retold, but, again, how reliably? As far as we can tell, the gospels were written decades after Jesus death, probably far from Galilee. Did the gospel writers understand Aramaic, the language that Jesus spoke? The gospels were written in Greek by propagandists who had no access to the people who heard Jesus speak, and they wrote creatively. A case in point: the teachings of Jesus in Mark are strikingly different from those in Johnso much so that it is hard to believe that they could have come from the same person. Mark and John had different theological agendas, and wrote Jesus words to fit their needs. And, oh, yes, a prominent theme in the teachings of Jesus was that the end of the age was in the very near future. What would have been the motivation to preserve his words for posterity if there wasnt going to be any posterity? After a few decades, when the hope for Jesus return had faded, the gospels took shape. We can suspect that imagination was the well from which the stories were created. A fascinating book in this regard is Gospel Fictions by Randell Helms, published in 1988well before the current discussion about historicity. We cant take anything for granted. Isnt the parable of the Good Samaritan wonderful? But does it derive from Jesus? It is found only in the gospel of Luke, Chapter 10. We have no idea what the source was. And the terrific story of Jesus and the woman taken in adultery? We all know the punch line: He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. That is found only in the gospel of John, Chapter 8. But not really. It is missing from the oldest manuscripts of John. It was tacked on later and so is very unlikely to be a preserved memory of Jesus.
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What would have been the motivation to preserve Jesus words for posterity if there wasnt going to be any posterity?
then our retort can be, Oh, really? Are you happy with what you find there? If you believe that the gospels are a record of Jesus life, then you have problems that are every bit as big as trying to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he existed. We can never go wrong if we challenge
The bottom line: it is virtually impossible to determine the original words of Jesus; there may be no such thing. Hence, we can say to our Christian friends, Welcome to the thorny problem of gospel scholarship. Its not a pretty picture. If It Walks and Quacks Like a Duck... So many of the stories in the gospels would be laughed off as fairy tales if we hadnt grown accustomed to hearing them in church. Right away, in the first chapter of the New Testament, we are told that Joseph took instructions from angels in his dreams. This is fine in religious fantasy literature, but it doesnt qualify as history. We can invite our Christian friends to take a highlighter and mark the gospel verses that qualify as magic and fantasy: a woman is healed by touching Jesus garment, he heals and raises the dead by touch or voice, he sends demons into a herd of pigs. Jesus talks to the devil, walks on water, changes water to wine, multiplies food supplies a thousand-fold, stills a storm, glows on a mountain top, floats up to heaven after the resurrection. All these items are the very stuff of folklore rooted in the ancient world view and they undermine any confidence that the gospels are history. There has been a strong impulse among theologians and preachers to interpret these stories metaphorically to salvage their sacred meaning. But thats slight-of-hand; its cheating. Did the stories happen as the gospels report them or not? If it looks and sounds like a fairy tale, its a fairy tale. Taking It on Faith Is Asking for Trouble If Christians are determined to believewith all their mightthat the words of Jesus in the gospels are accurate, then there are major problems:
Jesus was just plain wrong about the end of the age happening during the lifetime of those who heard him preachand this was a primary focus of his reported message. He said some very harsh things, e.g., if you dont hate your family, you cant follow me, if you fail to show compassion, youll burn in hell. Church-goers commonly pick out the good bits to create a flattering portrait of Jesusas Bart Ehrman has said, the Jesus of their imaginationsbut there are also the texts that show Jesus to have been a delusional cult fanatic. Most Christians today dont take many of Jesus ethical teachings seriously, e.g., divorce is forbidden, turn the other cheek, dont refuse to lend money to people, dont store up treasure on earth, dont give any thought to what you should wear. Who takes such advice seriously? Did Jesus Exist? Yes or No, Christianity Deflates Its a good idea to learn the arguments of Richard Carrier, David Fitzgerald, and Robert Price and be able to make the case that Jesus is shaky as a real person of history. But Atheists should keep on reading the gospels to find out all the silliness and the dirt. Theres shock value in showing what the gospels report. Mark Twain had it right when he said that its not the parts of the Bible that I dont understand that bother me, its the parts that I do understand.
David Madison is currently writing 10 Tough Problems in Christian Thought and Belief: A Minister-Turned-Atheist Shows Why You Should Ditch the Faith.
American Atheists TV Show is All New

New Format - New Set - New Episodes
Always playing on Atheists.org.
1. Call director Todd Jones at 908-276-7300, extension 2 or email OfficeManager@Atheists.org. 2. Provide your shipping address. 3. You will receive 4 DVDs towards the end of each month. 4. Contact your local cable access channel, request a timeslot for the following month, and deliver the DVDs.
Bring Atheist TV to your community today!
PATHFINDERS PROJECT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27
compassion emphasizes our shared humanity. Currently, service is largely associated with faith and interfaith organizations. Through Pathfinders Project, I am helping Atheists, agnostics, and humanists to be associated with service as well. Pathfinders Project is an opportunity to engage Atheists, agnostics, and religious individuals in interbelief dialogue and cooperation. Moreover, it is an opportunity for authentic and caring interactions across cultural, national, religious, and language barriers. Michelle Huey, Social Media Coordinator Helping others has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I was always doing community service in one form or another. I was a Girl Scout for twelve years. In high school and college, I joined organizations that focused on service. These organizations attract people who all have a desire to help others but have beliefs and communication styles that are wildly different. For example, I spent the past few years volunteering for a Buddhist organization where there was a total language barrier between the adults in the organization and me. Our only form of communication was through hand gestures and body language. Despite all the issues (including the difference of religious beliefs), I feel a deep connection with them. Our shared experiences working together demonstrated more than any amount of speaking ever could. Thats why I became a Pathfinder. I want to create those bonds with others around the world, connections that can only be gained through authentic engagement with cultures that have almost nothing in common with mine. I believe
MILITARY DIRECTOR CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20 chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), including actions and speech that actually harm good order and discipline.
that in every culture there are people who share the same basic values and who have the same compassion and desire to help others. Ben Blanchard, Webmaster I have wanted to help others since I was very young. Because I grew up with a parent who suffers from a chronic pain disorder, it doesnt usually surprise people to learn that I want to be a doctor and care for terminal patients. Until, that is, they find out I am an Atheist. Unfortunately, Atheists in America are often portrayed as selfish, immoral, or just plain evil. Because of this misconception, those of us who are open about our Atheism have an incredible opportunity to show how we can be generous, compassionate, good people. It is an uphill battle because religion is perceived as having a monopoly on service and charity. I remember being in grade school and hearing about a service trip to Mexico planned by a local church. But that trip included spreading the gospel, and I knew I wouldnt be able to honestly participate as an Atheist. For many years, I assumed I would never be able to participate in a service trip. Then I learned about Pathfinders Project. I am incredibly excited to be a part of it because I am fulfilling my desire to do service and empowering the secular community at the same time.
The next issue of American Atheist will feature highlights from the Pathfinders journey in Uganda. In the meantime, you can follow each of them on their blogs at PathfindersProject.com.
If this passes, then hate speech would be protected, as long as it has a religious reference backing it up. This simple and seemingly innocuous change has even caused the Obama Administration to take notice. It doesnt appear that the
If this passes, then hate speech would be protected, as long as it has a religious reference backing it up.
ramifications of this change have made a significant impact on the understanding of just how detrimental it will be. There is no guarantee of a veto if the amendment stays in place, and if it does, things would be pretty unsafe not just for Atheists, but also for religious minorities and gaysand anything else looked down on by the Religious Right. The vote for the joint resolution between the House and Senate may have already taken place by the time this goes to press. The Senate version is not so extreme, and can be found acceptable, but if the reconciliation between the two bills goes forward with the House version intact, it will forever change the face of our military. This is not rhetoric or hyperbole. Its a very real possibility. With this provision in place, any Christian serving in the armed forces would be allowed to tell gays that they are going to hell for their lifestyle. Proselytizing within the military would be an unstoppable
force. Mormons could tell African Americans that they must repent for the color of their skin. Atheists would have to go back into hiding because an overzealous commander would now have the authority to preach at them disdainfully. And no one, not any commander, general, admiral, or leader within the U.S. military, would have the ability to speak up against this Christian Right to Bully. Thats the beauty of the way it is wrapped in the bill. Speaking out against religious bullying would be illegal. For those who have never served, it may not affect you in any dramatic way. But I would caution you to keep a close eye on this because, more often than not, the U.S. military has been the social experiment for the rest of society. Women entered the military before they were afforded the opportunity to work on an equal pay-scale in the civilian sector. Minorities were integrated in the platoons before the civilian courts found segregation unconstitutional. The military allowed gays to serve (well . . . as long as they stayed in the closet) before Dont ask, dont tell was repealed in 2010. The military has been and is a social experiment. I say this as a warning. The Dominionist and fundamentalist evangelicals are figuring out that they can use the guise of religious freedom to stifle real religious freedom. If they are successful in overturning religious freedom in the military, you can be sure they wont stop there. These people believe the Bible outweighs the Constitution and, by subterfuge, they will do anything in their power to enshrine that in law.
The content of his Paul Loebes columns do not in any way speak on behalf of any part of the U.S. government in any official context. He is speaking only from personal experience and opinion. Email him at PLoebe@Atheists.org.
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From the author of the Dogma Watch series in this magazine
Religion, especially Christianity, has enjoyed unwarranted respect for far too long. Jesus did say a few nice things, but he was no humble or wise prophet. How do we know?
Its in the Bible.

Available in paperback from Amazon.com
NoMeekMessiah.com
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American Atheists Convention 2014

April 18-20 at the Hilton Salt Lake Center in Salt Lake City, Utah
Register at http://www.atheists.org/convention2014
Keynote Speaker: Chris Kluwe, former Minnesota Viking Special Guests: Denise Stapley, winner of Survivor: Philippines and Mark White of Spin Doctors Plus: Marsha Botzer, Greta Christina, PZ Myers, Barbara Hillary, Brian Keith Dalton, Matt Dillahunty, David Silverman, Juan Mendez, and many more
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NEW LIFE MEMBERS

ince the last issue of this magazine, 11 members of American Atheists increased their commitment by becoming Lifetime Supporters or by upgrading their Lifetime Supporter memberships. Thanks to the following for their continued support to further promote our shared goals and values:
LIFE
Kenneth Averill Stephen Caldwell Christopher Clarke Marc Epard Jeanette Madea Richard Morgan
SILVER
Anonymous William Leonard Stephen Vargo
PLATINUM
Frank Yost Francesca Yost
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DIR. REGIONAL OPERATIONS Ken Loukinen (S. Florida Reg. Dir.) 1500 NW 79 Terrace Pembroke Pines, FL 33024 954-907-7893 kloukinen@atheists.org MILITARY DIRECTOR Justin Griffith jgriffith@atheists.org MARINES LIAISON Paul Loebe PLoebe@atheists.org ALABAMA Chuck Miller CMiller@Atheists.org ARIZONA Don Lacey P.O. Box 1161 Tucson, AZ 85641 dlacey@atheists.org CALIFORNIA (NORTH) Larry Hicok lhicok@atheists.org CONNECTICUT Dennis Paul Himes PO Box 9203 Bolton, CT 06043 dphimes@atheists.org FLORIDA (NORTH) John Porgal JPorgal@Atheists.org
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4TH QUARTER 2013
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http://atheist-community.org http://www.meetup.com/CCAtheists http://www.meetup.com/The-Denton-Atheists-Meetup-Group http://www.elpasoatheists.com http://FreethinkersACT.org http://freethoughtoasis.org http://goldentrianglefreethinkers.org http://HoustonAtheists.org http://www.kha-atheists.org/ http://www.meetup.com/atheists-496 http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7647566521 http://www.meetup.com/Wise-Free-Thinkers-and-Skeptics http://atheistsofutah.org http://nowscape.com/a http://www.meetup.com/Beltway-Atheists-Inc http://www.meetup.com/NOVA-Atheists http://www.seattleatheists.org http://www.tricityfreethinkers.org http://swiftnow.org http://www.meetup.com/Mountain-State-Freethinkers http://www.morgantownatheists.com http://www.atheistnexus.org http://www.blackatheistsofamerica.org http://www.militaryatheistsorg
http://www.patas.co
SEEKING REGIONAL DIRECTORS

Are you more concerned with societys secular issues than holy book debates? Are you a motivated, passionate Atheist? Do you want more than potluck dinners and discussions in a pub? Do you want to make a real difference? Activists and activism are what create change. And that is where we want you. American Atheists is looking for volunteer regional directors. Our directors monitor legislation and issues in their areas and take action when needed. They are also the personal contact for the friends and affiliate groups of American Atheists. And they represent American Atheists in local media and assist in national projects in their part of the country. Your efforts will boost the Atheist, freethought, and secular presence in your community. You will meet and work with other well-known activists and celebrities in the movement. You will stand out at our annual convention and meet others from your area and beyond. Interested individuals should be self-motivated, confident, well-spoken, have a professional appearance, and belong to American Atheists for at least one year. Some experience with activism and organizing is preferred. If this sounds like you or someone you know, contact Ken Loukinen, Director of State/Regional Operations, at KLoukinen@ Atheists.org.
AIMS AND PURPOSES

merican 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
theism involves the mental attitude that unreservedly accepts the supremacy of reason and aims at establishing a lifestyle and ethical outlook verifiable by experience and the scientific method, independent of all arbitrary assumptions of authority and creeds. aterialism 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. Materialisms 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.
A A
theism 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.
M
M
aterialism holds that our potential for good and more fulfilling cultural development is, for all practical purposes, unlimited.
4TH QUARTER 2013
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Why I am an Atheist
by Rick Wingrove
am an Atheist because that is where the evidence led me.

understanding reality. Scientific method is how all knowledge is discovered and validated on this planet. Scientific method is how we ask hard questions about the universe and the rigorous process by which we figure out what is true and what is insane bullshit and flim-flam. I am fortunate that I discovered science before my mom started taking us to church. I lived under a dark, west Texas sky in the middle of a geologic area with fossils literally lying all over the ground. Science is not just the process, but also the knowledge base it has delivered. I knew what a light year was before I ever set foot in Sunday school. I knew about the dinosaurs and the age of the Earth before the Baptists ever got their shot at me. I understood what the size of the universe and the age of the earth implied for the ridiculous biblical creationism fable. And, of course, evolution is a key element in my inability to fall for religion. Biblical literalists have put themselves in the position of having to flatly deny things that are demonstrably true about the universe. This is especially true for evolution because it directly contradicts Genesis. If evolution is true, then the literal Bible is dead. And evolution is true. Sooo The adamantly religious will assert that there is no proof that god does not exist. True enough, as far as it goes. Perhaps more telling is the fact that there is not, despite thousands of years of trying, a shred of evidence to indicate that the alleged Christian deity does exist. Purists will correctly point out that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. But the same can be said of any fictional entity. And yet, reasonable people can, at some point, correctly abandon their search for unicorns. So, while strict adherence to the rules of logic do not permit the summary denial of the existence of an angry and jealous deity who runs the universe on magic, I am an Atheist because the universe simply cannot be that lame.
Rick Wingrove is the Capital Area Director for American Atheists and the graphics editor of this magazine.
I am an Atheist because I have seen no evidence that the oral traditions of the ancients reflect any advanced insights into the workings of the universe. I am an Atheist because the things we now know about the workings of the universe make it clear to me that the alleged Christian deity is obvious Bronze-Age mythology, and that the things they thought were true then are wildly disconnected from reality. I am an Atheist because it is clear that all religion is the fevered dreams of uninformed, illiterate men who thought the world was flat. We are plagued by religions imagined by desert tribesmen who had no understanding about the size, shape, composition, or origination of the universe; men who lived on a small, demon-haunted planet in a compact universe, with the stars as part of a canopy just beyond their reach; men who had the curiosity and the facility to ask existential questions but who were still two millennia from the ability to send an email from their eyeglasses. In the absence of coherent explanations, the ancients proposed magical oversight and sought constantly to appease their cruel and indecipherable deities. The gods were devised in the absence of the tools and techniques to test ancient superstitions for validity. Religion is largely the product of the confirmation bias of men who were entirely unequipped to test or understand the chaotic world around them. Without an understanding of the physical dynamics of the weather, it makes sense for a prayer to bring relief from the storm. Without an understanding of astronomy, a sacrifice will appear to save the sun from eclipse. We now understand these ancient prescriptions to be worse than useless. I am an Atheist because I love science. In the last 500 years, scientific methodology has demonstrated the inadequacy of revealed knowledge and wild-assed guesswork as reliable guides to
Why are you an Atheist? We are soliciting submissions that answer this question in 800 to 1,000 words. Send them to MagEditor@Atheists.org. Essays may be subject to revision and publication is at the sole discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.
4TH QUARTER 2013
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American Atheists

The Starke Reality

FOURTH QUARTER 2013

Is your organization looking to hire seasoned professionals?

Have you heard of the Clergy Project?

Tom, Catholic Priest

and Nonprot Founder

Pastor and Christian College Professor

media, and education.

Medicare insurance. Looking for sustainable employment in the insurance industry.

If youre an employer interested in one of our candidates, please contact us at CLERGY@MAIL.CLERGYPROJECT.ORG.

www.atheists.org | AMERICAN ATHEIST | 3

Letter from the

The War on Religion and the Piece on the Lawn

Church/state separation is a double-edged gem.

Pamela Whissel Editor-in-Chief MagEditor@Atheists.org

4 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org

4TH QUARTER 2013

The Starke Reality:

Atheist is No Longer a Dirty Word

by Edwin Kagin, National Legal Director

6 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org

4TH QUARTER 2013

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

50 monuments on 50 public lawns and walls

We are embarking on a mission to place

8 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org

4TH QUARTER 2013

This is True Americanism

One Nation Indivisible.

4TH QUARTER 2013

www.atheists.org | AMERICAN ATHEIST | 9

Starke, Florida - June 29, 2013

Photo composite by Rick Wingrove

10 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org

4TH QUARTER 2013

President David Silverman (right) with his predecessor Ed Buckner

Jocelyn Dervis and David Williamson of Orlando, Florida

Also Attending Apologists, Confederates, and Bad Spellers

Photo by Rick Wingrove Photo by Rick Wingrove

Photo by Dave Muscato

Photo by Pam Whissel

Good News Clubs Part Two

Are Public Schools Mission Minefields?

a particular form of the Christian religion.

4TH QUARTER 2013

www.atheists.org | AMERICAN ATHEIST | 13

convert someone elses child.

14 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.org

4TH QUARTER 2013

Kindergarten classrooms shouldnt be turned into

4TH QUARTER 2013

www.atheists.org | AMERICAN ATHEIST | 15

Seven Tips for Coming Out as an Atheist

www.atheists.org | AMERICAN ATHEIST | 17

Bless the Bitter Buddha:

Tweets of Wisdom from the Bitter Buddha

4TH QUARTER 2013

www.atheists.org | AMERICAN ATHEIST | 19

Being a Foxhole Atheist May Get a Little Harder

From the Military Director

Flemings proposed amendment would add the words Ive italicized:

What is a Firebrand, Exactly?

The words justice and revenge are not synonyms.