Minnesota Atheists News

Change Doesn�t Mean Goodbye

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:54:34 +0000

By President Jeannette Watland

On October 22nd, Bjorn Watland, President of Minnesota Atheists resigned from the board, due to personal reasons. As Associate President, my initial reaction was to worry about myself. I now have to take on new responsibilities, and anxiety admittedly took a temporary hold on me. Then the emails started coming in, and I realized I had made a mistake. I shouldn't be worrying about myself at all. My primary concern is now, and always will be, the membership.

The October MNA Meeting

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:47:52 +0000

At the member meeting held at Southdale Library on October 18th, Minnesota Atheists were treated to a lecture by Dr. Hector Avalos titled: “Can Science Prove Prayer Works?”

What's Wrong with Being Absolutely Right?

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:39:22 +0000

By Grant Steves

The dogmatic or the enigmatic?

Dogmatism, some would say, is the assertion of an opinion without proof or an attitude of arrogance with proof, but without reference to evidence. The dogmatic position is not a religious position, but is reflective of an arrogant attitude toward one’s own position.

Film Review: Into Temptation (95 minutes, Directed by Patrick Doyle)

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:44:02 +0000

By James Zimmerman

Into Temptation, the new film written and directed by Patrick Coyle, takes its viewers on a trip through guilt, sin, and redemption. The film explores the causes and effects in a person’s life that lead, ultimately, to desperate decisions.

Book Review: The Family (Jeff Sharlet, Harper Collins Publishing, 2008, 454 pages)

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:29:41 +0000

By Grant Steves

Complacency is a luxury given to the comfortable. To paraphrase M. Niemöller, ‘First they came for the gays, and I didn’t speak up, because I was not gay. Then they came for the Humanists, and I didn’t speak up, because I was an atheist. Then they came for me, and by that time, there was no one left to speak up for me.’ The luxury of complacency toward the political forces in our country may result in the loss of comfort for those not allied with powerful.

The Economist and Camp Quest

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:04:40 +0000

By Bob Schmitz

The July 18th issue of The Economist has a very positive article (p 32) about Camp Quest. It describes the activities of the campers and offers some commentary on the status of atheists in America. Despite the fact that atheists are broadly disliked there has been some improvement according to the writer, who reports that "the proportion who say they might vote for an atheist has doubled in the past half-century." Although five percent admitted they would not vote for a qualified black candidate in a recent poll, 53% still say they would "shun" a qualified atheist candidate. The poll source was not cited.

Trick or Threat: Fundamentalist Christianity's Aversion to Halloween

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:32:07 +0000

By Vic Tanner

Halloween is undoubtedly my favorite holiday. It just has an attitude about it that other holidays could only hope to have. For many Fundamentalist Christians, however, Halloween is seen as an unholy celebration of all that is evil. This fear of Halloween is known as Samhainophobia, and it isn't just a trivial matter to them; it is deeply rooted in the core belief of their faith.

Africa: Hall of Horrors

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:50:06 +0000

By Kirumira Mpagi Michael

Former missionary, now Public Relations Officer for Atheist Association of Uganda

Africa is perhaps the most miserable place the world has ever known. This fact is all but ignored by the media in western Countries. Most of the governments here, although calling themselves promoters of democracies, are ruthless dictatorships, ruled by greed and callous disregard for human life and dignity. They are supported by religious institutions that desire a share in the power, and they are supported by the "Western World" because they can still exploit them for profit. That's Africa, for you friends in Minnesota.

ACORN: The Latest Casualty in the Culture War

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:46:34 +0000

By Eric Jayne

In midsummer 2008, as the presidential campaign intensified, a community organization by the name of ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) gained a lot of notoriety. Like the poor hapless kid in middle school constantly ridiculed by the popular clique, ACORN had been castigated by famous partisan instigators on cable news and talk radio. These media demagogues and their allied politicians promoted dubious claims of voter registration fraud and election fraud which have convinced millions of people that ACORN is, at its very core, a corrupt organization. While it is true that a few ACORN employees were caught submitting false voter registration cards-some with ridiculous names like "Mickey Mouse" and "Donald Duck"-in order to meet required quotas, they were caught by internal audits within the organization and subsequently fired. On the heels of a freshly manufactured controversy in which counselors at ACORN Housing Corporation-an offshoot organization of ACORN-were caught on a hidden camera condoning prostitution, human trafficking, and tax fraud, both chambers of Congress voted to halt government funding for all ACORN services. If the president were to sign such a bill ACORN would essentially be destroyed. Could this be the first of many secular nonprofit organizations socially conservative culture warriors attempt to dismantle in their quest to expand the power of faith-based initiatives?

2009 Secular Student Alliance Conference

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:32:10 +0000

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.