By Bjorn Watland

On Friday, August 7, 300 atheists descended onto the Creation Museum in Petersberg, Kentucky.  The Creation Museum, an Answers in Genesis project, is designed as a more traditional science museum than some carnival ride (as other "creation museums" have been).  It presents evidence to support their pre-drawn conclusion that all that has ever happened in the past is contained in the Christian Bible.  Since the Christian Bible contains lineages and ages of people, they conclude that that scientists who have used material evidence to come to the conclusion that the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old must be mistaken about atheism.

By George Kane

With his health insurance reform initiative bogging down in the face of declining public support, President Obama is calling on religious leaders to turn it into a moral crusade. On one day in August he held two teleconferences to this end. In the morning he asked about 1,000 rabbis to preach his political agenda in their sermons on Rosh Hashanah, while that afternoon he spoke to a mostly Christian audience of about 140,000 religious leaders in a conference call and webcast.

By Crystal Dervetski

Recently, Minnesota Atheists sent out a survey to gauge interests and opinions of our membership. The response was absolutely overwhelming, mostly in a good way. There appear to be many questions regarding what Minnesota Atheists as an organization actually does, what we offer, and who we are as a group of people. I had already started answering some questions in previous articles. In one, I had discussed why we ask new members how they found out about Minnesota Atheists, and why they chose to become members, as there seemed to be some confusion in this area as well. Now that we have the survey data fairly complete, I'm going to start tackling some of the bigger issues that were brought up in the free form responses.

By Vic Tanner

On July 9, the Republic of Ireland passed a law against material that is "abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion". Why would the government of an enlightened secular country choose to enact a blasphemy law at this point in history? Though many countries, some of which  may surprise you, still have blasphemy laws on the books, these laws are often vague to the point of meaninglessness and are seldom enforced. For instance, the Greek Penal Code defines a  blasphemer as "one who publicly and maliciously and by any means blasphemes God" yet makes no attempt to clarify who "God" is or what these malicious acts may consist of. Whether these laws were intended to placate religious individuals or to protect religious institutions, they accomplish neither.

By James Zimmerman

You're not going to learn anything new reading this book.  But that's not an indictment of the book, no, it's a comment on your age.  Disbelief is intelligently designed to appeal to the tween/early-teen crowd, and it does a superb job.  Indeed, it is the best book on the topic of disbelief available for young people.

The author begins right away (well, after an introduction by Tom Flynn) by assuring young people who may be nervous reading such a book that he understands their fears. S. C. Hitchcock (writing under a pseudonym for the safety of his family) tells such readers that, if they take nothing else from the book, and if they are unable or unwilling to read anything else, to remember that there is no God.  "Religion," he says, surely striking a nerve with everyone in his intended audience, "survives and is a huge force in the world because it relies on the indoctrination of children." It was this observation, Hitchcock noted in an interview, that drove him to write the book.

By Bjorn Watland

The end of June marks the start of our attendance at GLBT Pride Festivals around the state.  First, we attend the Twin Cities Pride Festival and Parade, then Rochester, LaCrosse, Duluth, and Mankato.  Some atheists are puzzled.  Of all the summer festivals, why do we go to so many GBLT Pride Festivals?  Our attendance at GLBT Fesivals has become a tradition, largely due to the efforts of founding member August Berkshire. We continue this tradition for several reasons.

First, GLBT Pride events have been very welcoming.  If people, no matter their sexual orientation, are gathered together to support an oppressed minority, I think that people are more aware of how to treat everyone fairly.  There are also plenty of GLBT atheists out there who are so exicted to see our organization supporting their rights, both as an atheist and as a GLBT person.

Second, I think that the GLBT community and the atheist community have similarities.  We are both hated by different religious groups.  We both seek respect and understanding.  We both can have difficulty with family who don't agree with our identies.  We seek social justice and advocate for the rights of a minority.  Members of the GLBT community are also strong supporters of the separation of church and state and we can use all of the allies we can in that fight.

Lastly, GLBT Festivals are inexpensive to attend and a great way to put our money where our mouth is with regard to supporting equality for all citizens, regardless of sexual orientation.

I thank you for supporting Minnesota Atheists and our effort to educate the public about atheism.

By George Kane

On a Sunday morning at the end of May, Dr. George Tiller, who was well known as one of the few doctors in the country who performed late-term abortions, walked into Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita Kansas, which he had attended regularly for years. Inside the church, long-time anti-abortion activist Scott Roeder shot and killed him.

Many online abortion opponents could not conceal their delight with Roeder's "street justice." Dr. Tiller had also for years been the object of incendiary attacks from Bill O'Reilly of Fox News, which many blame for inciting Roeder to the murder. Abortion opponents rankle, of course, at the notion that they bear any responsibility for the criminal violence of extremists like Roeder. They point out that the mainline anti-abortion organizations denounced Dr. Tiller's murder, and that few of them would ever engage in violence. Nevertheless, the argument on which religious opposition to abortion is always based, that abortion is murder, is inherently inflammatory. If they insist that Dr. Tiller committed hundreds of murders, they can hardly denounce his own murder as inappropriate or disproportionate punishment. Their arguments justify violating the law by appealing to a higher law.

By Crystal Dervetski

When you join up with Minnesota Atheists, you are asked two questions:  "How did you hear about Minnesota Atheists?" and "Why did you join Minnesota Atheists?"

I know, you're an atheist, you're a skeptic, and you're cynical about these questions.  It's totally understandable if it seems like they are bordering on an intrusion of your privacy.  You do not, of course, have to answer these questions at all.  Please keep in mind, though, there are a few really basic reasons why we'd like to know these two things about you.