american atheist magazine third quarter 2013

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American Atheists

ATHEISTS .ORG THIRD QUARTER 2013

A JOURNAL OF ATHEIST NEWS AND THOUGHT

AmericAn Atheist

Bullies for Jesus:The Spread of the Good News Clubs


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In This Isse

Fifty Years of Reason Celebrated in Austin |David Muscato

Bullies for Jesus: The Good News Clubs - Part One |Dale DeBakcs

One Man and One Woman? |Hector Avalos

Ages of Atheism: Part Four |James Luce

From Apostle Paul to Doubting Thomas |Dustin Lawson

Forgive Me, But... |Ed Buckner and Michael Buckner

Letter to the Pastor |Michael B. Paulkovich

A Good Trade |J. T. Eberhard

American Atheists at 50: 2013 Convention in Austin

Independence Day|Paul Loebe

Paul Provenza: Finding the Funny in Atheism |Becky Garrison

Laughter Is Our God: Comics Riff on Atheism |Becky Garrison

Voices of Reason Rally: David Silverman

Author Alan Michael Wilt and His Holy Family |Cathy Puett Mil

Good Intentions on the Road to the Creation Museum

Why I am an Atheist |Gil Gaudia, Ph.D.

Presiden David Silverman and Naional Legal Direcor Edwin Kagin in Ausin. Convenioncoverage begins on page 5.

AMERICAN ATHEISTA Jrnal f Athit Nw and Thght

3rd Qarter 2013Vol. 51, No. 3

ISSN 0516-9623 (Prin)ISSN 1935-8369 (Online)

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFPamela Whissel

[email protected]

AMERICAN ATHEIST PRESSMANAGING EDITORFrank R. Zindler

[email protected]

LAYOUT and GRAPHICS EDITORRick Wingrove

[email protected]

Published byAmerican Atheists, Inc.

Mailing Address:P.O. Box 158

Cranford NJ 07016Phone: 908.276.7300FAX: 908.276.7402www.atheists.org

2013 American Aheiss Inc.

All righ s reser ved. Repro duci on in whole or in parwih ou wri en permi ssion is prohib ied. Ameri canAhei s i s indexed i n he Alern aive Press Index.

Ameri can Ahei s magazine is given ree o cos omembers o American Aheiss as an inciden o heirmembership.

Annual Indiv idual Membersh ip wih subscr ipio n orone year o American Aheis prin magazine: $35.Online version only: $20. Couple/Family Membershipwih opi onal prin magazine : $35. Sign up a www.aheiss.org/aam. Discouns available or muliple yearsubscripions: 10% or wo years, 20% or hree or moreyears. Addi ional posage ees or oreign addresses:Canada and Mexico: add $10/year. All oher counries:add $30/year. Discouns or libraries and insiuions:50% on all magazine subscripions and book purchases.

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COPY EDITOR and PROOFREADERKaren Reilly

Pht by Rick Winrve


4/484 | AMERICAN ATHEIST | www.atheists.r 3RD QUARTER 2013

By he ime you read his leer, American Aheiss will have accomplished anoher irs. In Sarke, Floridaon June 29, a monumen o Aheism was unveiled in ron o he Bradord Couny Courhouse. I sis jus a ew ee rom a six-oo slab o

granie inscribed wih he Proesan version o he en Commandmens. I was placed here on he 2012 Naional Day o Prayer by helocal Communiy Mens Fellowship. American Aheiss sued he couny over his religious display on governmen land and he case wen omediaion, where Naional Legal Direcor Edwin Kagin successully proposed a selemen allowing he religious monumen o say as long asAmerican Aheiss could pu up one o heir own. he nex issue oAmerican Atheistwill eaure he enire sory. In he meanime, i you GoogleAheis monumen Sarke Florida or some similar combinaion, you can see he enormous amoun o news already generaed by his vicory

his selemen is he irs o is kind in American jurisprudence. Never beore has a monumen o Aheism been placed on public land wihhe consen o he governing auhoriy. As such, i ses anoher preceden or equal represenaion and makes more progress oward normalizingAheism in he Unied Saes. he word normalize is oen misundersood. As a resul, American Aheiss is oen incorrecly seen as anorganizaion ha wans o conver all religious believers o Aheism. We are no in he business o convering anyone. We are in he business ourning he word Aheis ino one ha does no pu up red lags in anyones mind. o normalize somehing is o reduce (or elevae, dependingon your perspecive) i o he everyday. Aheism will be normalized once he words she is an Aheis are no more eyebrow-raising han hewords she does no play bridge.

he view rom my ediors desk suggess ha Aheism in periodicals has been solidly normalized in he US. his magazine is now in 422Barnes and Noble sores across he counry (up rom 211 jus one issue ago) and is coninuing o sell srongly a Book World sores in he USas well as Chapers Indigo sores in Canada.

O course, you may be reading his digially. Mos o our subscribers do. Bu a a ime when more reading maerial is sold online han in

bricks-and-morar-sores and he maerial isel is read elecronically a an ever-increasing rae, he number o prin magazines Barnes and Noblehas ordered or his issue is almos our imes wha i was las issue. I has been hrilling o be able o elevae his magazine rom a publicaionha was simply mailed ou o members o one ha lies o newssand shelves. Bu, a he same ime, his can only mean ha he niche illed byAmerican Atheistwas woeully empy or ar oo long.

Pamela [email protected]

Letterfrom theEditor

Thi ttlmt i th firt f it ki

i Amrica juripruc.

The view from my editors desk suggests that Atheism in

periodicals has been solidly normalized in the US.



The 2013 American Aheiss Convenion wasa golden anniversary pary celebraed in he ciyo is ounding, Ausin, exas. From March 28 o31, he one housand aendees could no haveel more welcome a he Hya Regency Ausin.I arrived wih he res o he sa on Wednesdayhe 27h and was immediaely inormed ha somehoel oicials waned o mee wih us. As PresidenDave Silverman, Managing Direcor Amanda

Knie, Developmen Direcor Nick Fish, and Iwalked ino he conerence room, I was asoundedo see 25 deparmen heads, including he hoelgeneral manager, ready o address all quesions andconcerns. One by one, hey inroduced hemselves,described how heir deparmen would conribueo a successul convenion, and hen gave us heopporuniy o bring up any las-minue requess orconcerns. he hoel bar even creaed he Hich,a drink in honor o he lae Chrisopher Hichenseauring his personal avorie, Johnny Walker Black.

Years ago, his sor o kindness and reamenwould have been unhinkable. Aheiss used o have o

beg hoels o ake our convenion business, especiallyin he Souh. Now, hey solici us or business, saidSilverman.

On Wednesday, March 27, David Silverman andAmerican Aheiss Vice Presiden Kahleen Johnsonparicipaed in a panel discussion wih Ausin-areapasors o discuss he common misconcepionspeople have abou he worldviews o Aheiss andhe worldviews o religious believers. he enirediscussion is on Youube a hp://inyURL.com/Ausin-Panel. We hoped or a ew dozen aendees,bu he sanding-room-only crowed opped 250.

Diversity of SpeakersSaisically speaking, men end o sel-ideniy as

less religious han women, and Caucasians generallyend o ideniy as less religious han non-Caucasians.We are, o course, ver y proud o our enire roser ospeakers, bu i is worh noing ha more women hanmen spoke a his years convenion, somehing ourounder Madalyn Murray OHair would be pleased osee.

A our undraising Dinner wih he Sars onhursday, ormer US Represenaive Pee Sark,

Fifty Years of ReasonClbrat i Auti, Txaby David Muscato, American Atheists Public Relations Director

CoNTINuEd oN PAgE 24

Atheists used to have to beg hotels to take our conventionbusiness, especially in the South. Now, they solicit us for business

David Silverman

Quiet Company

Austin, Texas

Tombsto



This artic is th irst in a sris that wi oow th trias o a group o parnts in Caiornias Castro Va Schoo District . In 2009, th district wasinvadd b Good Nws Cubs, atr-schoo programs with an xtrm apocaptic bnt which hav as thir goa th vangizing o chidrnas oung as iv. Da DBakcs, on o th parnts and a rguar contributor toAmerican Atheist, xpains in Part On what Good Nws Cubsar and how th hav initratd Amricas schoo sstm. Part Two wi atur an intrviw with Kathrin Stwart, author oThe Good NewsClub: The Christian Rights Stealth Assault on Americas Children (PubicAairs Books, 2012), and in Part Thr w catch up with th progrsso th Castro Va parnts in ighting th Good Nws Cubs ncroachmnt.

by Dale DeBakcsy

Bulli fr Ju:The Sprea f the g News Clbs

The CEF presents a fluffy-bunnies-in-the-garden-of-paradise face at PTA meetings and then

an iron doctrine of damnation inits meetings with children.

Part One



I is he quiees o invasions. he sor ha covers a core o puremalevolence wih an innocuous acade o handmade posers,homemade brownies, and aable How could you ever hink

wed do somehing like that? smiles. Since 2001, when heUS Supreme Cour ruled ha hey have he righ o do so, he

Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) has been planing aer-schoolprograms called Good News Clubs ino he very hear o our publicschool sysem.1 heir empire now sands a 3,500schools and is growing every day hrough heireicienly organized, End-imes-passionae naionalcampaign.

o he public, he CEF porrays he GoodNews Clubs as mere handmaidens o moraliyenhancemenwih some ligh Biblical insrucionon he side. In realiy, he clubs are, quie explicily,

vehicles by which he CEF is aemping o proselyizenon-Chrisian children a our public schools, usingheir own classmaes as he harvesers (heir erm)o hese los souls. When a new club is esablished in aschool, i is helped on is way by voluneers rained ahe CEFs Childrens Minisries Insiue, an academywhich rains shock roops in he mos eecivemehods o seducing children ino surrenderinghemselves o Chris.

One o he irs hings I did o prepare our casewas o read hrough he raining maerial ha hesevoluneers are given. A air amoun o i is availableonline so as o aciliae he ases possible raining

and ases possible diusion o he clubs, and i makesor chilling reading.2Wha is immediaely clear is hahese are people moivaed by a sense ha Jesus himselis commanding hem o impress upon children heirsinul naure and o compel hem o see he world,which includes heir ellow non-saved classmaes, as undamenallyevil and broken. he pamphle Why Evangelize Children? makes hecase ha, I is clear rom he Bible ha a child who has no rusedJesus Chris as his Saviourno maer how young he isis hereorespiriually dead, a sinner by naure and acion, and ha he is ousideGods kingdom (35). Luckily, i should be easy o conver childrenbecause hey are so suscepible o shame and guil: We all know rom

experience and rom our own memories o childhood ha childrenshears are ender, and ha hey can be very sensiive and eel guilyconcerning sin. hey are more sensiive han aduls and eel gui l moreeasily han aduls (35).

he key, hen, o evangelizing children is o purposeully andsraegically riddle hem wih guil and ear unil hey succumb. And,les you eel worried ha making children eel ear so ha hey believe inhe same hings you do is deeply messed up, he auhor reassures us hahis is enirely in line wih he Biblical plan: I is clear ha Mosesbelieved i was possible or all our groups, including he children (helile ones), to fear the Lord (26, heir emphasis).

Manipulaion o ear and guil, dehumanizing non-believershesare he ools wih which he voluneer is armed as he or she goes ino aclassroom aer school hours and is given ree reign over he minds o

kindergarners and elemenary-school children. One o our parens sain on a meeing and couned 59 uses o he word sin and wo insanceo he children being made o label hemselves as sinners. Bu i doesnend here.

As Sewar reveals in her book, hese rained, irs-wave organizerdo no limi hemselves o he aer-school aciviies o he GNCs, buvoluneer in classrooms, so ha he children associae hem wih heschools auhoriy srucure. he resul is ha when he voluneers goon o ell he kids aer school abou he horrors awaiing non-believerin hell (which hey do, and encourage he children o repea o heinon-Chrisian riends), heir words have ha exra ouch o I mus

be rue, an adul rom my classroom said i ha children are so illprepared o deend agains.hese children, however, aren he real arges o he groups. ha

honor belongs o he children o non-Church amilies who are ordinarilyou o he reach o he long arms o he CEF. hey see he public schoolsas heir way o approaching hese children bu, darn i all, hey can, asaduls, harangue he children direcly on school propery. Bu wha heycan do is rain oher children o do he work o proselyizingforhem.

And ha is precisely heir sraegy. By dangling carros in ron oheir members or each non-Church suden hey drag o he GNChey eecively creae an on-campus army in heir own image o do

Many have tried to dislodge them only to come up against the

full legal artillery that the CEFs deep pockets are able to field.

The secn-rae ahter f ne f the parents in r rp fn this flyer neher backpack after the last gNC meetin f the year when the kis were encraet share a wheel f sin with their friens. We nt knw yet if this flyer is cnnecte tthe gNC r nt, bt the timin is interestin.



he work ha hey are prevened by law rom doing hemselves. Joseph

Rockne, a paren a Loyal Heighs Elemenary, describes o Sewarwha he overheard a a GNC meeing a his daughers school: heyhad heir club meeings nex door o my daughers classroom. hereare accordion walls and you can hear ha is all abou, I you recruiyour riends youll ge candy and prizes. hey coach he kids o exerpressure on oher kids (23).

I is a loophole so deviously groesque ha nobody hinks o proecchildren agains i unil i is oo lae. he CEF esablishes is clubs soquickly and eicienly and is shock voluneers are so experly rainedha by he ime parens in a disric realize wha is really going on, heorganizaion is so irmly implaned as o be all bu immovable.

Many have ried o dislodge hem only o come up agains he

ull legal arillery ha he CEFs deep pockes are able o ield.Adminisraors who have oher hings o be worrying abou are harriedby CEF lawyers, while local pasors are pressed ino service o makehe parens o he GNC children eel like maryrs under aack byhe vicious secular world. PAs ha used o work ogeher or hegreaer good burn hemselves ou in paroxysms o muual disrus andideological posuring, all bu crippling heir abiliy o acually help hesudens succeed.

Jeanne, anoher paren a Loyal Heighs, describes he poisonedamosphere ha ormed a her school: When parens were pickingup heir kids, you could see ha groups divided along aih lines hadormed. Parens weren inermingling anymore. Parens who supporedhe GNC were sicking ogeher, and parens who opposed i suck

ogeher.And in he meanime, he sudens wis in he venomous wind,

vicims o he CEFs almos repilian sense o opporunism and acicaladvanage. I wan you o pu yoursel in he shoes o an elemenaryschool suden or a momen. Youre on he playground, rading Yu-Gi-Oh cards or jumping rope (kids sill do ha, righ?), when hree o yourriends come up o you.

Why don you go o he Good News Club aer school? hey ask,eager or he prizes heyve been promised or every new recrui heybring ino he old.

I don wan o, you migh answer i youre unusually brave. I donknow, i youre a normal kid erriied o peer rejecion.

Well, you should, because we all have sinned, and he club eachesyou how no o go o Hell, hey press, quoing rom he lieraure heyvebeen given which eaches hem in vivid deail abou he desrucion ohe non-believers during he End imes.

You could respond, has no rue! bu hen hey will poin ohe signs or he club ha he school has been pressured o allow or he

lyers ha your eacher has pu ino your hand adverizing he clubs

meeings or he ac ha he meeings are held A School. o a youngmind unaware o he ine disincions o Oicial Recogniion, his allimplies ha because is in heir school, is true. In my own disric, hesuperinenden allowed eachers o disribue CEF propaganda in classciing disric guidelines.

Is here a six- or seven-year-old kid in he world who wouldncrumble under ha kind o pressure? Playgrounds, where kids arensupposed o deal wih anyhing more nearious han a breach o oursquare eiquee, are being shamelessly recas by adulswho shouldknow beeras accepable zones o religious conlic. As i being akid weren diicul enough, now our children have o deal wih heone place where heyre supposed o be sae rom ideological pressure

becoming a war zone in an orchesraed holy bale.his is clearly no a maer o moraliy enhancemen, as he CEFclaimed when bringing is case beore he US Supreme Cour. his is anarrow band o zealos seizing an opporuniy o rake as many childrenino heir cluches as hey can beore he clear illegaliy o heir acionscaches up wih hem. As he Columbia (Souh Carolina) MidlandsGNC saes on is websie, We don know how long we will be ableo openly share he Gospel wihin he Public Schools, so ha is why iis our goal o esablish a Good News Club in every public elemenaryschool in our disric.3

I is hard no o eel a simmering ourage a hese acics. he CEFsaw ha children in public school had a reuge rom indocrinaion andse abou sysemaically desroying ha sae harbor, weaponizing he

schools own sudens as par o he process. And no maer he resulhe CEF wins. I he GNC a a school lourishes and grows, hen is baseo believers swells. I i encouners resisance, hen he public schooceases o uncion under he weigh o he conlic, and he CEF cancheck anoher insiuion o is enemy lis. o an organizaion hasubscribes o such a deep-seaed hared o humaniy as lies a he coreo End-imes zealory, anybody and anyhing desroyed in he processo elevaing he elec become merely okens o glory, he oundaion oreuse upon which gods chosen mus sand o ener heaven. Wheherhey hrive in a school or break, i is all he same o heir cynicaesimaion o humaniys worh.

So, yes, ourage is easy, bu i is also wha he CEF is largely couning

on o ulill is larger goals. hey wan and need Aheiss, Jews, andMuslims o reac sharply o heir needling advances. hey need peoplewho worked ogeher beore suddenly separaed by an unbridgeablegul. hey need he GNC parens o eel like heir way o lie is underimminen and real hrea rom heir neighbors and riends. ha is whywe mus be proacive in our response o he problem, o cu o he

The CEF saw that children in public schoolhad a refuge from indoctrination and set about

systematically destroying that safe harbor.

Organizers volunteer in classrooms, so that the children

associate them with the schools authority structure.

CoNTINuEd oN PAgE 36



The debae abou marriage equaliy oen ceners, howeverdiscreely, on an appeal o he Bible. Unorunaely, such appealsoen relec a lack o biblical lieracy on he par o hose whouse ha complex collecion o exs as an auhoriy o enacmodern social policy.

As academic biblical scholars, we wish o clari y ha hebiblical exs do no suppor he requen claim ha marriage beweenone man and one woman is he only ype deemed accepable by

biblical auhors.he ac ha marriage is no deined as only ha beween one man

and one woman is releced in he enry on marriage in he auhoriaiveEerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000): Marriage is one expression okinship amily paerns in which ypically a man and a leas one womancohabiae publicly and permanenly as a basic social uni (861).

he phrase a leas one woman recognizes ha polygamy was noonly allowed, bu some polygamous biblical igures (e.g., Abraham,Jacob) were highly blessed. In 2 Samuel 12:8, he auhor says ha i was

God who gave David muliple wives: I gave you your masers house,and your masers wives ino your bosom... And i all his had been oolile, I would have given you even more. (Revised Standard Version).

In ac, here were a variey o unions and amily coniguraions hawere permissible in he culures ha produced he Bible, and heseranged rom monogamy (ius 1:6) o hose where rape vicims wereorced o marry heir rapis (Deueronomy 22:28-29) and o hoseLevirae marriage commands obligaing a man o marry his broherswidow regardless o he living brohers marial saus (Deueronomy25:5-10, Genesis 38, Ruh 2-4). Ohers insised ha celibacy was he

preerred opion (1 Corinhians 7:8, 28).Alhough some may view Jesus inerpreaion o Genesis 2:24 in

Mahew 19:3-10 as an endorsemen o monogamy, Jesus and oherJewish inerpreers conceded ha here were also non-monogamousundersandings o his passage in ancien Judaism, including hoseallowing divorce and remarriage.

In ac, during a discussion o marriage in Mahew 19:12, Jesus evenencourages hose who can o casrae hemselves or he kingdom

and live a lie o celibacy.Ezra 10:2-11 orbids inerracial marriage, and orders hose people

o God who already had oreign wives o divorce hem immediaely.So, while i is no accurae o sae ha biblical exs would allow

marriages beween people o he same sex, i is equally incorreco declare ha a one-man-and-one-woman marriage is he onlyallowable ype o marriage deemed legiimae in biblical exs.

his is no only our modern, academic opinion; his view o hemuliple deiniions o biblical marriage has been acknowledged

by some o he mos prominen names in Chrisianiy. For examplehe amed Reormaionis Marin Luher wroe a leer in 1524 inwhich he commened on polygamy as ollows: I coness ha I cannoorbid a person o marry several wives, or i does no oppose he HolyScripures.

Accordingly, we mus guard agains aemping o use ancien exo regulae modern ehics and morals, especially hose ancien exswhose endorsemens o oher social insiuions such as slavery would beuniversally condemned oday, even by he mos adheren o Chrisians.

Oe Mn ad Oe Wom:

Not the Only Biblical View

byHector Avalos, Ph.D., Professor of Religious Studies, Iowa State University

Robert R . Cargill, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Religious Studies , University of Iowa Kenneth Atkinson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History, University of Northern Iowa

This essay originally appeared in the Des Moines Registeron June 2, 2013. On June 26, the Supreme Court of the United States declared the Defense of

Marriage Act unconstitutional. Although this ruling significantly advances the civil rights of LGBT Americans, their right to marry is far from absolute. American

Atheistis reprinting this piece to give readers an excellent tool to help destroy the entirely religious claim that there is only one definition of traditional marriage.

The phrase at least one woman recognizes that polygamy was notonly allowed, but some polygamous biblical figures were highly blessed.



Forces That Can Sen Us SliingAs menioned in Par wo o his series, here are many reasons

why Aheiss may backslide ino religion. he causal acors may beemoional, biochemical, siuaional, or even inellecual. Heres a shorlis o wha I call he oxholes, pis ino which we may sumble:

Lingering doubts from childhood that are intensified by the

loss o a loved one or oher emoional rauma, leading o adisurbing cogniive dissonance ha is resolved by accepinga gods love in compensaion or he loss or in miigaion ohe rauma,

Intense feelings of guilt for having abandoned the religiousaih o our parens, especially when his ac is menionedearully by hem on heir deah beds,

Threats of imminent and eternal death brought on by old age,serious misadvenure, disease, or a real oxhole around whichyour buddies are being blown o pieces, and youre probablynex,

Persistent peer pressure from friends, family, or supervisorsha squeezes all he reason and logic ou o your brain, leavinga painul vacuum has illed by religious aih,

Various biochemical changes of the brain associated withschizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, and oher psychosesor neuroses can lead o eelings o spiriual euphoria or

oherworldly hallucinaions and anasies, Brain trauma or ablation caused by everything from falling off

a ladder o cancer can cause a reversion o earlier behaviorsand belies, and inally,

Even without any apparent single cause, we may find ourminds adri in doub or conusion simply rom he myriadand cumulaive irriaions, disappoinmens, and ailureswe encouner in normal lie. In he absence o a raionalexplanaion or why lie is reaing us so poorly, is nouncommon o seek an answer in he irraional or o seekcomor rom he religious belies we held as children.

S

rprisinly, backsliin int ilatry is mch mre cmmn with Atheists than fr peple with reliis faith, bt thats jsbecase were the nly peple wh can. Paans, Hins, an Bhists are alreay vertly an prly ilatrs. The resf the wrls majr reliins, all f which are fficially il-free, have alreay backsli. Jews ave p n len calves lna (Exs 32:1-34:3) bt, therwise, their temples an hmes are replete with mezzahs, menrahs, maens, tzitzits antallits1. Prtestant chrches abn with blless crcifixes t which the cnreatin bws reverently. Cathlic chrches arepsitively cramme fll f ry, crcifie Christs, Virin Marys, an saints, all f which are kisse, tche, strke r therwis

pai hmae t with ecstatic evtin. The Kran als frbis hly symbls, bt msqes are essentially architectral ils (e.., the Kaaba inMecca) adorned with the revered Ay-yldz (Star and Crescent). The al-Hajar al-Aswad (Black Stone) is the centerpiece of the Hajj (the pilgrimaget Mecca every Mslim mst make at least nce) an crnerstne f the afrementine Kaaba. Every evt Mslim mst tch r kiss it aleast nce rin their lifetime.

In ther wrs, all peple f reliis faith are ilaters, even if their faiths ma frbis it. In as mch as Atheists have firmly abanneilatry, r nly ptins are: a) remainin il-free r b) backsliin.

Ages of Atheism:Why Its Difficult To Be An Atheist From Day One To Death

by James Luce

Part Four: Until Death Do Us Depart: Lingering Doubts, Backsliding, and Foxholes

In the absence of a rational explanation for why life is treating usso poorly, its not uncommon to seek an answer in the irrational


11/48www.atheis ts. r | AMERICAN ATHEIST | 113RD QUARTER 2013

he number o raps lurking ou here is, indeed, dauning. Is likesaisics hrown a us by insurance acuaries ha make us araid o saya home ye araid o go ouside or ear o eiher slipping in he ub orbeing sruck by a careless driver. Someimes i seems amazing ha wesomehow manage o ge hrough anoher day alive, le alone coninueo live each day as an Aheis. Bu here we are. Wow! Made i hroughanoher one. hanks.

Is more likely han no o survive anoher day and no backslide,in spie o he long lis o dangers and pialls. You see, insurancecompanies use he same rick wih heir cliens ha prosecuors usewih juries in siuaions when he acual numbers and acs arenscary or persuasive enough. his manipulaive device relies onwhas known as alse cumulaive probabiliy.2 As wih mos slighso hand, his rick can be convincing i youre no on he aler. Forvarious evoluionar y and developmenal reasons oo numerous o lishere, our brains end o perceive he world as more myserious andunpredicable han i really is.

For example, is hard no o eel ha he coin is more likely ocome up heads when i has jus come up ails iy imes in a rowwhenin ac we know inellecually ha he odds are sill 50-50. his eelingis an example o alse cumulaive probabiliy and is perecly naural.

Nohing o worry abou.he ruh is ha he dozens o possible causes or our backslidingare no all presen simulaneously in our lives every day nor are hey allindependen o each oher. Furhermore, is very unlikely ha youllencouner each and every one o hem even i you live o be a hundred.he long lis o oxholes seems dauning only because our brains kick in

wih cumulaive probabiliy concerns even when were no aware o i.Lingering irraionaliy rom childhood may also make an Aheis

concerned abou backsliding. Black cas, broken mirrors, he number13, even cracks in he pavemen give us pause. We knock on woodeven hough has a supersiious riual handed down since Neolihicimes as a way o no sumble over and sarle shy, evil spiris ha mighbe jus ahead o us in a dark ores.3 We sill use i o give us good luckwhen aced wih a dubious choice or a righening hough. Bu he acha I knock wood or say, hank god! is no, like a suy nose is o helu, a warning sign ha Im a risk o suddenly sar believing in spirisor deiies. Habis, aer all, are no belies, bu raher are much more like

non-cogniive relexes, a knee-jerk over which we have no conrol.

The Faith of Our FathersA age 68 and hus as old age sealhily approaches me seemingly

ou o nowhere, Ive aken o digging hrough my dusy iles andmemorabilia in search o my pas. I mos recenly ound a leer rommy aher, Sheldon, which discusses his views on god and cosmologywhen he also was 68.4 However, his lie and mine up o ha same agehave been considerably dieren in erms o experience wih deah.

Faher was born and raised in China in he early 20h cenury duringhe War Lord Period o civil unres and horriic violence ha sared

during he Boxer Rebellion. He lived wih his parens and siblings in awalled mission compound near a small own in rural Shandong ProvinceHe was oen no allowed o play in he ron yard in he morning nor inhe backyard in he aernoon because in he morning, sray rockes andbulles would ly over he ron yard walls. When he bale moved in heaernoon, hey lew over he backyard walls. When he war lords werenin bale, my aher, age six or so, would ride his rused donkey or mileshrough he ields and arms surrounding he mission. here he wouldsee, in sark conras o he naural beauy and riendly peasans aroundhim, people dying o sarvaion or bale wounds.

Faher laer le China or boarding school and college in NewEngland where he wice nearly died o pneumonia, penicillin noye being available. When World War II sared, he was already in hihiries, married wih wo children (I came along laer), and exemprom he dra. Neverheless, he voluneered or he Army Air Corpsserving as a igher-conroller on Au and Kishka in he Aleuians. Heoen had o send igher pilos ou o mee incoming Japanese Zerosand bombers, knowing ha hey would likely no reurn o home basebecause o he hick ogs ha maerialized a random imes every dayand oally obscured he island airield. hose pilos who were no shodown by he Japanese requenly ran ou o uel searching or he airield

and had o dich in he rigid ocean, only o drown. he ac ha hepilos knew his when hey ook o did no lessen my ahers sadnessand perhaps guil (alhough he never menioned any) abou havingordered hem o go. Someimes, he Japanese bombers go hrough, andFaher would have o ake cover or a ew erri ying minues.

Aer he war, my aher experienced he usual birhs and deahs o

his exended amily. During his hiries, he los boh parens o long,painul illnesses. As Faher grew older, he suered several hear aacksand oher near-deah experiences, including a burs gall bladder. A heime he wroe he leer abou his relaionship o god, he was sueringrom mild angina, meaning hed wake up requenly during he nighwondering i his was o be his las and aal hear aack. hus, my ahera age 68, was an old hand a deah and a undersanding his moraliy.5

My ahers leer was addressed as Memo o he Caliornians,meaning all riends and amily who resided here raher han on heEas Coas. My older broher, hen recenly born again, apparenlyhad asked Dad wha his views were on he subjec o god, and my aher

wroe he memo in reply. Is conens came as a surprise o me orseveral reasons. Dad was he son o a dedicaed Presbyerian missionaryin China. In my younger years, Dad claimed o be a Presbyerian likehis aher and was even a church elder or awhile. Ye Faher had neverobjeced o my being a declared Aheis rom he age o seven. Indeed,we never even discussed religion excep in a casual comparaive manneduring our requen discussions abou hisory, poliics, philosophyculural diversiy, and so orh. hereore, I assumed ha my ahermus have evolved ino a close Aheis someime in my eens. heollowing excerps rom he leer are illusraive o he ac ha I wasno ar o in ha supposiion, bu neverheless misaken.

Physics has never lied to you or asked that you sacrificeyour first-born son on some bloody altar or sacred rock.



Here are my comments on the subject of my relationship to

Godor at least what I think it may be.I rate myself as a deist,

at least. I am Theocentric rather than Christocentric.I am

on Square Onenot able to arrive at any acceptance of the

related extensions of God such as the Trinity, etc.I will touch

on only two areas of belief, Assurance of Salvation and God as

Mover of the World.Perhaps it is a residue of misunderstood

predestination but I have never in the classic fox-hole sense felt

that Salvation was a goal to attain.To the extent that Salvation

is connected to the Forgiveness of Sin, I see it rather delicately up

to God as it were.Mans history is full of examples of individual

or mass urges to seek aid or counsel from God.The problem for

me is that, while the distinction in concept between people and

God is clear, that distinction at any given moment in time or

place is not. And the distinction becomes really complex when the

question of Good and Evil is contemplated.I am committed to

Square One, planet Earth, the Universewhatever in the world

that may be.

his leer was wrien by a man brough up in a sric, devou

Chrisian amily, had seen deah up close and ugly hundreds o imes,and had spen several years conemplaing his own moraliy whichwas, a bes, ragile. Ye his view o god and his relaionship wihhim as expressed in his memo clearly was one more o philosophicalspeculaion raher han ear or adulaion. he nigh beore his las bypasssurgery, which was decidedly unsuccessul, he spoke wih me abou his

undersanding ha he operaion was risky and ha i probably wouldkill him. Neverheless, he had decided ha he would raher die han olive each day wih a ear o dying. He made no menion o going o abeer place, bu raher demanded ha his lie on Earh (Square One)be olerable or no a all.

he memo also makes clear ha my aher undersood ha god washe creaion o man, no he reverse. Quesions o good and evil were nopar o Dads heology, bu raher par o his philosophy, his concepso moraliy. his is consisen wih his requen reerences o auhorslike Marcus Aurelius, HH Munro, and George Bernard Shaw, hreeo hisorys greaes explorers o he human condiion in all is gooy,grimy complexiy.6 I my aher was able o rerain rom backsliding ohe aih o his aher, hen I sugges we all can.

When the Foxhole Turns into a Fiery Furnace7

Many Aheiss, a one ime or anoher, ind hemselves indesperae siuaions ha cause hem o quesion heir knowledgeha god does no exis. Prolonged shelling while huddled, scared,we, and cold in an acual oxhole or hours or days a a ime is one ohese. Similarly, prolonged vigils a he bedside o a dying loved onein helpless pain is anoher such es. Any siuaion where your adrenalglands and psyche are ormened and axed can give rise o doubs anda descen ino despair. o reach ouside o sel or help is a good hing.The question is, What o you reach for?

May I sugges ha grasping or assisance rom somehing as eherealambiguous, and anciul as god is neiher logically nor emoionallyeicacious. May I urher sugges ha grasping or a helping handaached o any miniser, shaman, rabbi, pries, evangelical, or mullahis o lile avail inasmuch as hey are simply blind insrumens o somemyhical diviniy and are as useless as he, she, or i. You have he eye oreason ha is no blind. You have, mos o all, he hand o rue riendso grasp. You have, mos o all, a belie in somehing has subsanialangible, and cerainnamely he universe around you wih all isorderly laws, proved cause and eec, and accessibiliy o your ivesenses.

Unlike sacred scripures, he healing properies o love, riendshipjoy, compassion, empahy, and lie isel are no myhical, mysicalephemeral producs o our ancesors imaginaions, nighmares, andears. Raher, hey are maniesaions o our very angible brains haevolved direcly rom he very real hell o a quanum creaion andwhich, by a very naural selecion process, ranspor us o a rue heavenon Earh, a kingdom already come, where over millions o years heprophesies o Leviicus 26:14-39 have already come o pass wihouending he world. Mounains have already crumbled, oceans dried up,

grea ciies desroyed by ire and earhquake. Grea plagues and aminehave devasaed whole naionsall wihou any evidence o divinevengeance and cerainly wihou any inervenion o gods alleged loveor humankind.

he words o all sacred scripures are simply he someimes paheicand always inaccurae aemps by our very disan ancesors o explain a

world hey were incapable o comprehending. Are he broken promiseand peulan ravings o any god a likely source o comor or hosein need o solace? Isn he knowledge ha we have he courage andabiliy o ace whaever is hrown a us a suicienindeed bouniulalernaive inspiraion?

Ways to Increase the Coefficient of Friction on Slippery SlopesI insead o severe emoional rauma you are simply having

inellecual doubs abou wheher youre an Aheis, here are somepracical suggesions as o how o move yoursel away rom he edgeo he pi:

Read any chaper o somehing wrien by Richard Dawkins or anyo he oher grea Aheiss. hen read any chaper o he Bible or oher

sacred ex. he conras should shock you back o your senses aserhan jumping ino a glacier-ed lake rom a seaming-ho sauna.

Remind yoursel why you became an Aheis in he irs place. Imade sense hen and i sill does. Remember ha Aheism is no abouhe ac ha here is no god, bu raher ha here is only one rueuniverse ou here, and is real. Physics has never lied o you or askedha you sacriice your irs-born son on some bloody alar or sacredrock. I youre a man, Naural Law has never suggesed ha your moherwie, siser, or girlriend is damned o perdiion or having had sex or anaborion. I youre a woman, remember here is no scieniic heory hasuggess youre a lower, unclean orm o lie, naurally less inelligen

If my father was able to refrain from backsliding to thefaith of his father, then I suggest we all can.



han men, no worh educaing, and good only or domesic chores.Alcoholics Anonymous is no he only organizaion known as AA

which has caring members ready o assis he aliced. Many associaeso American Aheiss are jus as willing o ow you ou o a dich youmay have backslid ino as hose rom he oher AA. Jus call any one ohem you know, i needed.

Here is a final thought:

Pure Reason

Knows no season.

True Logic

Is biologic.

And the Scientific Method

Should always get the nod.

Faith is just philosophic.

Charitys just philanthropic.

Reality is the place to be

If its truth you want to see.

So it seems to me so oddThat people ever turn to God.

Humans will never be fulfilled

Until into every brain is drilled

The simple, singular, scientific fact

That all religions should be sacked.

We were not divinely created from dust, dirt, or sod

Rather we naturally evolved just like birds, bees, and cod.

Footnotes:1. Respecively: handwrien scroll conaining holy scripure, seven

branched candelabrum, shield/sar o David, sacred ringes, and aour-cornered shawl o which he ringes are aached.

2. he probabiliy o X, Y, and Z happening simulaneously is noproperly deermined by simply adding up he probabiliies o eachindividual even unless each is deermined no o be even remoelyinluenced by he ohers. ha is, each even mus be a rue randomvariable. For urher deail, go o MahGoodies.com/Lessons/vol6/Independen_Evens.hml

3. he wood in knock on wood originally was a ree runk, no apiece o urniure. Surviving Sone Age culures sill perorm hisancien riual when hey leave he village and ener he ores ojungle.

4. he leer is daed March 14, 1978.5. My lie experience wih deah or near-deah up o age 68 has only

included a near-aal horse-riding acciden, a ew brushes wiharmed criminals and a bomb scare or wo when I was a FederalAgen in he OSI/USAF, plus he loss o my parens and a ewriends. Ive never had deah on my doorsep or monhs a a imenor been in an acual or meaphysical oxhole as my aher had been

6. My aher especially enjoyed Mediaions, he ales o Saki, andDon Juan in Hell. hey are all worh a read.7. Fiery Furnace as in Daniel 3:1-36, he sory o Shadrach

Meschach, and Abednego.

James Luce is he auhor oChasing Davis: An Atheists Guide to MoralityUsing Logic and Science. Aer our years as a criminal invesigaor inhe US Air Force, he spen 25 years as a rial lawyer. Now reired, helives in Spain. Read more by him a LucelySpeaking.com.



Josh McDowell is one o he mos inluenial Chrisianapologiss o he 21s cenury. hrough his speakingand his books likeEvidence that Demands a VerdictandMore than a Carpenter, he has led millions o Chris.When I was in college, he became my hero and my model or he kindo career I waned. Bu hings didn go as planned. his is he sory o

how working wih him or a year urned me rom an on-ire Chrisianready o evangelize he world, ino a skepical agnosic who hinks heAheiss are probably r igh.

One Sunday morning, when I was eigh years old, a pasors sermonon eernal damnaion scared he hell ou o me (pun inended). ha

evening, aer an aernoon illed wih he dread o being hrown inohe lake o ire, I knel nex o my bed and prayed he simple SinnersPrayer, which goes somehing like: Dear Heavenly Father, I know thaI am a sinner. I believe that Jesus is your son and that he came to earth anddied for mine and everyone elses sins. I want to ask him into my life. Andhas how I gave my lie o Chris. From ha day orward, everyhing

became ilered hrough ha decision.Like mos young boys, I dream o being a proessional ahlee or anasronau. Bu a 15, ha dream changed. ha was he age ha I beganworking as a lion and iger rainer a a big ca reservaion near my houseI now waned o be he nex Jack Hanna raveling all over he world

From Apostle Paul

to Doubting ThomasHw Wrkin with Jsh Mcdwell Chane Me

by Dustin Lawson

Out in th ra word,

with no ing o divinguidanc, I was trriid. Iwantd back in th prison.

When I was eight years old, a pastors sermonon eternal d amnation scared t he hell

out of me (pun intended).

Dustin Lawson, age 15



promoing animal conservaion and making saari shows.During my senior year o high school, I began o make plans o go

o Ohio Sae o major in zoology and broadcasing. Bu one Sundaymorning in February, my pasor gave a challenge o all he high schoolseniors. He said ha oo many Chrisian kids were going o collegeo major in business in order o make a lo o money, bu no enoughwere going ino he minisry. One line in paricular ha he said suckwih me: Wha more imporan career could you choose han o leadpeople o Chris and help hem grow spiriually?

Over he nex couple o weeks, as I coninued o make plans o goo Ohio Sae, I began o eel like Jonah running away rom gods will.Evenually, wih he ormen oo srong, I enrolled a Moun VernonNazarene Universiy in Ohio o prepare mysel or he minisry. Acouple o years laer, I developed an allergy o igers, o all hings. I ookha as divine conirmaion ha I had made he righ choice.

During college, I was oered a posiion in Las Vegas wih Siegriedand Roys lions and igers. I was also asked by an acing and modelingagen o move o LA because he liked my look and waned me as a clien.I passed on boh oers because I hough ha hey were he worldsempaions rying o enice me away rom gods calling.

During my junior year o college, I wen hrough a bou o esicular

cancer. For abou wo monhs, my righ esicle had been graduallygrowing bigger. hinking masurbaion was a sin, i had been sevenmonhs since I had las had any release. For ha reason, I hough hamaybe I was backed up. Bu aer a couple o weeks o breaking my ruleo pleasuring mysel, he swelling had no receded. Relucanly, I weno a urologis. He diagnosed cancer, and he very nex day I had surgeryo remove my diseased esicle. Forunaely, he surgery was all hawas necessary o ge rid o he cancer. I came away rom he experiencebelieving more srongly han ever ha my lie had a divine desiny oulill and nohingno he worlds empaions or even cancerwasgoing o keep me rom ulilling my calling.

hroughou college, I memorized he New esamen, Proverbs,Ecclesiases, and many Psalms. I also memorized numerous apologeics

books. I urned my mind ino an evangelisic machine gun preparedor any argumen ha any skepic migh hrow a me, no so muchbecause I waned o, bu because I had o i I was going o have peace.My conscience was always ormened by he hough o he millions olos souls in his world. I was never ree rom i. No even in sleep. herewere nighs when I would wake and be unable o go back o sleep unil Idrove downown o a bar and old a los soul abou Chris. I would oenavoid public places because I would ge overwhelmed by he conviciono evangelize. I was as i I had a sixh sense and I could hear all helos souls screaming rom wihin he bodies walking around me. I wasorure. Bu by he end o my senior year, I had grown o love evangelism.

I also grew o love preachingand he larger he audience, he beerAll I waned o do wih my lie was preach and wrie or Chris.

During my senior year, I decided o spend ime being menoredby an apologis. And here was no oher apologis ha I waned o bemenored by more han Josh McDowell. I applied o be his assisanand hen I called his secreary every week o make sure ha I was alwayson her mind. Abou a monh beore graduaing, I inally asked i I hadhe job. She said, Yes, o course. I sounds like you are going o be henex Josh McDowell. I seemed like gods plan or my lie was comingogeher.

My year wih Josh was amazing. I raveled over a 100,000 miles byour bus and plane. I visied 44 saes, as well as Mexico, Canada, IsraelJordan, France, Poland, and England. I had many advenures and memany ineresing people. Bu ha year also caused me o challengeeveryhing I had grown up believing.

Josh would ell eenage audiences all over he counry ha hey shouldbe willing o respecully challenge all auhoriy, even Chrisianiy. Joshhad no reservaions saying his because he hough Chrisianiy couldhold up agains any measuremen o ruh. Personally, I hough haby reading all o hose apologeics books back in college I was puing

Chrisianiy o he es. I didn realize I had only le he deendan sae

his case in he courroom o my conscience, bu beore he even saed hicase, I had already concluded ha he was righ. I was he judge and hejury, and I had no even le he prosecuion come ino he courroomle alone sae heir opposiion. I hough he evidence demanded averdic and ha verdic was ha Chrisianiy was rue. So or mos omy year wih Josh, I didn proacively challenge Chrisianiy.

Bu one evening, while Josh was speaking o a crowd o parens insouhern Caliornia, somehing riggered my skepicism. Josh was goinghrough argumens ha he hough proved he resurrecion o Chrishe speciic argumen my skepicism sared on was his one: Peopledie or lies, bu hey don die or lies ha hey know are lies. So heresurrecion mus be rue because he aposles would no have died oha belie i hey knew i was alse. And hey would have known i was

alse since hey were eyewinesses.As I hough abou ha argumen, I realized i akes oo many hing

or graned. heres no record in he Bible o how any o he disciplesdied, le alone ha hey died or heir belie in he resurrecion. Even ihere were such a record, he New esamen books are daed no earlierhan 30 years aer he ime o Jesus. has a lo o ime. And he leerswouldn have been widely circulaed or decades, i no cenuries, sincehere was no quick ransporaion, no Inerne, and no prining presshere was probably no chance or any eyewiness skepics o look a heleers and eiher reue or subsaniae he claims o he New esamenleers. I had heard Josh say ha argumen hundreds o imes beore

I would wander into empty churches,stand behind the pulpit, and preach to

imaginary congregations, wishing

so badly that I could believe again

and have my career path back.



bu, or some reason, i was only his ime ha he skepicism hi me.ha nigh, back on he our bus, I wen o bed earlier han he res.

Lying in my bunk wih he curain pulled so ha I was in he dark, Ihough hrough many o Joshs oher argumens. I ound weaknesses inhem all. I couldn undersand how I had been blind or so long o allhe obvious holes. For he irs ime ever, I was ruly challenging my ownbelies and i caused me o have a crisis because my whole preachingand wriing career was going o be based on using argumens ha I nolonger hough sounded good. I ell asleep ha nigh sill believing inChrisianiy, bu I no longer hough i was proven.

Over he las monh o he inernship, I never old any o he guyson he our abou my concerns, no even Josh. When he year came oan end, I was unable o alk o him abou my uure because I was soconused. No longer able o preach, I wen o grad school and sudiedglobal poliics. During ha irs year, I spen mos o my ree imechallenging everyhing I had grown up believing. Finally, one nighon he second loor o he library, aer abou a seven-monh search, Iclosed he book I was reading andsared a he wall in a daze. Doubhad won.

For he nex couple o monhs,

I walked around in a og. I el likeNeo ouside o he Marix andbecoming aware, or he irs imein his exisence, o he alse realiy inwhich his mind had dwelled. I ellike being released rom a prison Ididn know I was in. And now, ouin he real world, wih no eeling odivine guidance, I was erriied. Iwaned back in he prison. I spenmy nighs saring a he sars andscreaming ou or god o give me asign ha would bring me back o ull

belie in him and Jesus so ha I couldsar preaching again.

Evenually, as I never received asign, I became enraged. I was angrywih every pasor and Sunday schooleacher I had ever lisened o. I wasangry a every Chrisian apologeicsbook I had ever read ha had or solong convinced me ha Chrisianiywas rue. I was inuriaed wih Josh or being so coniden in his weakargumens. I was enraged a my biology eacher and every oher skepicI had debaed in high school and college whose argumens had no beengood enough o show me a a younger agewhen I sill could have more

easily changed career plansha Chrisianiy was probably a myh.Bu mos o all, I was urious wih mysel or having given everyhing ohe cause o Chris and or allowing o be duped or so long.

Sill enraged, I lew ou o Iowa rom Ohio o mee wih Josh. Myplan was o debae himand lose. I was hoping ha maybe he hadsome ace in he hole ha he had never spoken o or wrien abou, someargumen or piece o evidence ha would validae he resurrecion,eernal lie, and god. Bu Josh had nohing bu he same elemenary andarchaic argumens he had been using or decades.

he debae prey much sealed he deal or me. Josh had probablydone more research han anybody in hisory o ry and prove

Chrisianiy, so i he couldn convince me, no one would.My riends, all Chrisians, kep asking why I was no longer in he

minisry. For a while, I avoided elling hem he ruh or ear o losingheir riendship. Bu hen one nigh, while having dinner wih abou enriends, I dropped he bombshell. A he able here was an empy chairnex o me and I was asked i I was saving i or someone. I said, My newimaginary riend is siing here.

Everyone laughed. hen someone joked, Why do you have a newimaginary riend? Wha happened o he las one?

Wihou hesiaion, I said, Because my old imaginary r iend and don ge along anymore. His name was Jesus.

ha was he beginning o he end. Over he course o he nexyear, I would be rejeced by almos every Chrisian riend I had. heycouldn handle being around me anymore. For years, I was he guy heyall conided in when hey needed spiriual guidanceand now I was askepic. I had many argumens wih riends, mos o which ended in ournever alking again. One in paricular sands ou he mos. A riend Il

call Andrew sood up rom ourdebae and said, When you aredone being blind and arrogangive me a call. hen he sormed

away. I knew which one o us wasreally blind and arrogan. Wenever alked again.

Anoher riend, Alex, oldme aer one sermon I preachedha I had a Billy-Graham-ypeo presence ha god was goingo use o change he world oChris. Aer inding ou aboumy aposasy, he emailed me osay, I had such high hopes oryou. You were going o be oneo he game-changers in he

Chrisian world. ha is how iwen wih one Chrisian riendaer anoher. I also broke up wihhe Chrisian girl who I houghwas going o be my wie becausehere was no way i would haveworked ou.

My amily relaionships werealso srained, especially wih my

devouly religious sepmoher. (Ironically, all he while I was growingup, my dad haed religion, and I was scared o ever bring i up aroundhim. Bu during college I began o work up he nerve o alk o himabou Jesus. Evenually, he became a Chrisian, and now he is he one

who is rying o bring me back o Chris.)As I los mos o my riends, I began o hae lie. I badly waned o

be a Chrisian again. I sared calling mysel Chrisian agnosic in adesperae aemp o be rue o my skepicism wihou compleelyleing go o my ormer sel. I would wander ino empy churches, sandbehind he pulpi, and preach o imaginary congregaions, wishing sobadly ha I could believe again and have my career pah back. Growingup, I was a mediocre ahlee, aris, and suden. I was good wih animalsand phoogenic enough o be a model, bu preaching was where I rulyexcelled and where I could have he mos inluence. Bu now I had hisgrea gi and I could no longer use i, a leas no or he cause o Chris

There were

nights when Iwould wake and

be unable to go

back to sleep

until I drove

downtown

to a bar and

told a lost soul

about Christ.



I ound a minor oule in breaking rules. I had always, obsessively,guarded my inegriy in everyhing, o he poin ha I had o pay myaccounabiliy parners a quarer every ime I had a lusul hough.Bu now, I waned o break rules. I would do hings like run sops signsand seal pens rom he docors oice!

I hen had he crazy idea ha i I became like Saul and saredpersecuing Chrisianiy hen maybe I would ge a Damascus Roadexperience ha would bring me back o belie. So I wroe he bookChristian Agnostic: The Doubt Jesus Requires His Followers to Have. Ini I porray he Bible as being more open-minded and okay wih someskepicism. he book didn do well, and I never received my DamascusRoad experience. Evenually, I ook o he word Chrisian and onlycalled mysel agnosic.

A ai led wrier no longer able o preach, I ried o join he miliaryin order o ind somehing ha could give my lie purpose. Bu hemiliary rejeced me because o my cancer hisory. So,rejeced by he Chrisian world, he miliary, and a godand savior ha I no longer hough exised, I decidedha I didn wan o live anymore. I know i doesnmake sense ha once I sopped believing in eernal lie,I waned o shoren he one emporary lie I did have,

bu I did. I wen o he big ca reservaion where I usedo work wih he inenion o picking a igh wih hemale lion. A leas hen I would have an epic deah. BuI couldn do i.

My nex aemp o move on was o relocae oWashingon, DC, where I broke some more o myold rules. I go drunk or he irs ime (in he Capiolbuilding, o all places) and I wen ou wih non-Chrisian girls or he irs ime. Bu I sill guarded myvirginiy like For Knox. Celibacy was he las Chrisianconvicion or me o hold ono.

Evenually, he miliary le me in. Bu I only joinedhe Reserves because I was sill sruggling o le go

o Chrisianiy and I didn wan o join he ull-imemiliary in case I had some religious experience hawould bring me back o preaching again.

As I hink abou why i was so hard or me o le go o Chrisianiy,I eel i ress on one belie. As diicul as i was, I was able o le godand Jesus go much sooner han he mos diicul belie o le go o.Ulimaely, god and Jesus were only means o an end, ha end beingeernal lie.

Giving up he belie in eernal lie is he hardes hing I have everhad o do. Picure belie in eernal lie like a young Marilyn Monroe.She is leading me across a deser. he deser is lie. All hroughou lie,Marilyn remained abou hiry yards in ron o me, backpedaling andseducively moioning or me o ollow her. Like a deser, lie is harsh,

bu wih Marilyn leading me I could handle anyhing. Cancer, crusheddreams and relaionships, amily members dying, and every oher rialcould be conidenly aced because a he end o he deser, a he end olie, I would inally cach up o Marilyn and be able o embrace her, aneernal lie o no more pain o any kind.

Wih Marilyn leading me hrough lie, I could conidenly saredown ha dark-robed, aceless igure named Deah and quoe JohnDonne, Deah be no proud, hou some have called hee mighy, orhou are no so. I knew ha a he end o lie, Marilyn would seduceDeah ino leing me by so ha I could ener heaven. I had persuadedmany oher people o believe in Marilyn as well.

Oen I would dream o having people come up o me in heaven andhanking me or elling hem abou Jesus. I could hink o no greaereeling. I sill hurs o realize ha will never happen. Marilyn rippedand ell, giving me enough ime o cach up o her. Bu as I ben down oembrace her, she was only a mirage and my world came crashing down

Disillusioned, I sood and looked around a he harsh deser, noknowing which way o go. he belie in eernal lie had direced mycareer choices, how I daed, how I spen money, how I reaed peopleand everyhing else. I began wandering around, hinking I saw Marilyno in he disance. Bu each ime she was sill jus a mirage. I consideredbuying a mannequin and dressing i up as Marilyn in order o ry anddeceive mysel ino believing she was real so ha lie would again beeasier and I could ge back o preaching. Bu I couldn lie o mysel andbelieve i. As Chrisopher Hichens said, I do no live in a body, I ama body. his lie is all I ge. And now I had o navigae my way across

he deser wihou any hope o inding Eden on he oher side becausea he end o he deser here is only a wall, inaliy. hough I no longebelieve in her, I sill hope Marilyn exiss. Nohings sexier han eernalie, bu ha level o sexiness is only a anasy.

I has now been six years since ha nigh in souhern Caliorniawhen my skepicism sared. Periodically, I will pu my body hrough adeox in which I will as or a day or wo while aking some supplemeno lush my sysem ou. On he ideological side, logical reasoning andreehinking may never be able o compleely lush all o he religion ouo my sysem, bu I sill hink he deox is almos complee.

I have asked mysel housands o imes over he pas ew yearsWha do I do wih my lie now ha I don believe in eernal lie? I riedpoliics and he miliary. I enjoy hem boh, bu hey don give me hesense ha I am uilizing my gis o he bes o my abiliy. he onlyhing ha makes sense is o use my gis wih my ongue and my pen ohelp coninue pushing religion o he margins o sociey. In college, alI waned o do was preach and wrie or he cause o Chris. Now all Iwan o do is preach and wrie or he cause o reehinking. My ormeriend, Alex, old me ha I was going o change he world or Chris. sill hope he change he world par is righ.

Jsh Mcdwells travelin evanelism an apletics team.dstin Lawsn is secn frm left an Jsh Mcdwell issecn frm riht.



Acore par o he Chrisian religion or mos o isollowers, maybe even the cenral idea, is ha Jesusdied or heir sins. All he Aheiss we know ind hisabsurd, quie unlikely o be anyhing more han wish

ulillmen unsuppored by logic or evidence. Bu as a somewha separaemaer, he docrine is a dangerous, immoral idea even i here were anyreason o hink i is rue. I is, o pu i anoher way, morally preposerousas well as ridiculously unlikely.

Our conclusions abou his are no newFrank Zindler menionedhe morally ourageous noion o subsiuional aonemen in hismagazine years ago.1 homas Jeerson, in leers he wroe in 1819 and1820,2 declared his disagreemen wih he docrine o aonemen andassered ha he required a counerpoise o good works as a basis or

any orgiveness. Nor is i only he conclusion o unorhodox hinkerslike Jeerson or o Aheiss like Frank or us. Spiriualiss, believers in aseparae plane o lie aer deah and he possibiliy o communicaionwih he dead hrough mediums, have explicily rejeced wha heyreer o as he docrine o vicarious aonemen.3 And, as J. K. Mozleywroe in 1916, here is no Chrisian docrine which arouses iercerresenmen and opposiion han aonemen.4

he whole idea o orgiveness ges requen aenion in US secularculure as well. For example, on February 13 o his year, newspapersrom Mariea (Georgia), Alana, and New York Ciy all ran orgivenesssories ha day. Oher han he orgiveness angle, he aricles had lilein common.

he Alana sory concerned a man who had been execued by Georgiahe previous day or heinous crimes commied 18 years earlier.5 He killedwo srangers on a lovers lane, apparenly jus or un. he murdererslas words included a saemen o regre o he amilies o he vicims andincluded his: Im no going o ask you o orgive me. I can even do imysel.

he Mariea newspaper carried he weekly column My Answer,supposedly by Billy Graham, wih his answer o a reader ha includedhe opinion ha no one can ever be so bad or so sinul ha God willreuse o orgive him or her.6 Graham, or whoever ghoswries hiscolumn hese days, was no accurae even abou apparen biblicaprinciples, as will be discussed below.

Finally, here was a balanced and houghul essay in he New YorkTimeswih he provocaive ile Someimes Is Good o No Forgive.Like he Alana sory, his essay did no even menion Chrisianiy or hepossibiliy ha Jesus migh have died or anyones sins.

A ew days aer he hree aricles appeared, a shor news soryrepored on he lie senence given o a serial rapis.8 One o his vicimswas repored o have orgiven him, bu despie he orgiveness, she sil

believed [he rapis] should never be allowed ou o prison. ha raisehe maer o wha good has been done he vicim or he perperaorby her orgiveness, as well as wha i even means o orgive someone.

Forgiveness can be an imporan par o a process o healing andrecovery or people who have been injured as well as a posiive hingor people who have done harm and have sincere regres. Bu heAmerican popular noion ha orgiveness is always a good hing makelile sense. here are, in ac, injuries ha are unorgivable and shouldbe undersood as unorgivable. hereore, he Chrisian docrineha a hird pary, no he injured pary, has auhoriy o orgive ismorally repugnan on is ace and plainly encourages irresponsible andimmoral behavior. Even i we ignore all he anasic and irraional ideasassociaed wih hisha an eernal being can meaningully suer orin any oher way really be human, or examplehis is morally nus. Isomeone is robbed, injured, or worse, i is unimaginable ha i mighbe considered jus or moral or someone no even involved o declarehe wrongdoer orgiven. ha he hird pary migh be supernaural, allknowing, or all-powerul changes his no in he leas.

Forgive Me, But

by Ed Buckner and Michael Buckner

Thomas Jefferson declared his disagreement with thedoctrine of atonement and asserted that he required a

counterpoise of good works as a basis for any forgiveness.

Vicari Atnmnt:

An Abrd andPrptrlyImmral Dctrin



Firs, les dispose o he alse noion ha he Bible says any possiblesin is orgivable because i doesn. I says righ in Mahew 12:31:And so I ell you, every kind o sin and slander can be orgiven, bublasphemy agains he Spiri will no be orgiven. Apparenly, no even

he Lord God Jehovah can be thatbig.Nonbelievers oen associae Chrisianiy wih harshness orjudgemenalism. Ye orgiveness, like judgemen, can be aken o exremesha are neiher raional nor moral. In Mahew 18:21-22, Peer asks Jesus,Lord, how many imes shall I orgive my broher or siser who sins againsme? Up o seven imes? Jesus replies ha one should orgive no sevenimes, bu seveny-seven imes (or, according o some ranslaions, evenseveny imes seven imes). I he hing being orgiven is your spousesgrumpiness beore he mornings irs coee, has no unreasonable.However, i someone is commiing he same serious wrongdoing againsyou seveny-seven imesle alone almos ive hundred imesiseems reasonable o conclude ha when hey ask or orgiveness or haseveny-sevenh adulerous aair or ha ive hundredh murder, heymay no be sincere in heir repenance. Perhaps somehing oher han I

orgive younow go and sin no more is appropriae.A good Chrisian is no supposed o be judgemenal, bu judgemen isa undamenal need or any raional being. Judgemen includes being ableo discern which ransgressions are minor and orgivable an indeinienumber o imes. I includes being able o gauge he level o rue andsincere repenance (perhaps combined wih some aemp o make wholehe one who has been ransgressed agains, or some concree acion hareassures ha he ac or omission will no be repeaed) ha is suicien oallow genuine orgiveness or serious wrongdoings. I includes being ableo deermine when he asking or orgiveness is no being made in goodaih or when a relaionship should be ended. And i includes being ableo decide ha some hings are no orgivable. Anoher irriaing habi oa cerain kind o evangelical Chrisian is he asserion ha all wrongs aresomehow equalha all have sinned and all shor o he glory o God

(Romans 3:23), as i here were no dierence beween running a red lighand orchesraing a campaign o genocide.

Bu, holy Bible aside (where i belongs), he general Chrisian ideais ha a saved wrech can meander hrough lie being as vile andcareless as he chooses o, so long as, beore dying, ha sinner akes Jesusas his personal savior. hisand only his, a leas according o manyorhodox Chrisianswill resul in ha undeserving wrech making iino eernal, eernally blissul lie ever aer. (And never mind ha hesame eernally blissul ollower may have o be blissul while knowingha unsaved loved ones are gnashing heir eeh in a lake o ire orever.)

Our riend Oliver Halle summed i up wih wha he called his Jewrom Dunwoody sory. Dunwoody is a relaively aluen suburb oAlana wih a signiican proporion o Jewish residens. Now, imagineyoure a believing Chrisian, aware o and agreeing wih John 14:6

(which quoes Jesus as declaring ha no man comeh uno he Faher,bu by me). And also imagine (his will require an even more erileimaginaion) ha hree peoplean Aheis, a Jew rom Dunwoody,and a lielong worhless scumbagall arrive a he Pearly Gaessimulaneously. he Aheis and Jew have boh lived ehical, honeslives, wih only he mos minor ransgressions by eiher agains hisellow humans. Bu he Aheis has no acceped, a leas in he laerpar o his lie, any belies in any supernaural beings.

he Jew has held a lielong belie in he God o Abraham (he sameone as he head god or he Chrisians) and has careully ollowed allhe commandmens o his religion, and has, like he Aheis, reaedhis ellow human beings wih jusice, decency, and compassion. He hasbeen rue o his spouse, generous wih his employees, and so orh.

he scumbag has lived a roen lieraped he babysier, abusedhis children, cheaed on his several wives, solen rom many bosseskilled hree people while driving drunk, and more. Bu early on he dayhe died, jus beore his aal hear aack, he scumbag was persuaded by

a drinking buddy o all o his knees and, wih complee sinceriy, askJesus Chris o be his personal savior and o orgive all his sins. Nowremember, youre a Chrisianwho o he hree ges eernal lie andwho is urned away? he correc Chrisian answer is apparenly haall hree are worhless sinners, whaever he apparen dierences. hahe scumbag makes i in, while he oher wo are necessarily excludedis no differentrom he case o John Newon, he slave-rader, who wroeAmazing Grace and amously believed hed made he cu:

Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)That savd a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found,Was blind, but now I see.

his bizarrely pervers jusice and airness and encourages alhuman beings o believe ha hey are hopeless wreches and haonly a supernaural beingand nothemselves or he people hey haveinjuredcan make i righ. he dangers are obvious enough ha wecanno undersand why Chrisians don join in he ierce resenmen oand opposiion o he docrine o vicarious or subsiuional aonemenon moral grounds. And also because i is oally unbelievable anyway.

Ennotes1. Frank Zindler, Chaper 25: Apologizing or Chrisianiy, Par

2: Babbling Abou he Bible [based on his he Probing MindinAmerican Atheist, Vol. 33, No. 5], in Volume I: Religion &Scriptures of Through Atheists Eyes: Scenes From a World That WontReason (Cranord, NJ: American Aheis Press, 2011), p. 366.

2. homas Jeerson, leers o William Shor in Ocober 1819 andApril 1820; he 1819 leer can be ound in Merrill D. Peerson,ed., Thomas Jefferson: Writings (New York: Library o America,1984), p. 1431; he 1820 leer, available online a Memory.LOC.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mj:@ield(DOCID+@li(ws03101)), is cied in George Seldes, compiler, The GreatQuotations (Secaucus, NJ: Ciadel Press, 1983), p. 373.

3. Wha is Spiriualism . . . ., Cassadaga.org/WhaIIs.hm, accessed March 7, 2013.

4. J. K. Mozley, The Doctrine of Atonement(New York:Charles Scribners Sons, 1916), p. v. Available online romUniversiy o orono Libraries: Archive.org/Deails/heDocrineohe00mozluo, accessed March 3, 2013.

5. Rhonda Cook, Execued Man Makes Apology,

Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 23, 2013.6. Billy Graham, Biblical Passage Oen Read a

Weddings eaches Us Much Abou Love,Marietta[Georgia]Daily Journal, February 23, 2013.

7. Alina ugend, Someimes Is Good No o Forgive,ShortcutsNew York Times, February 23, 2013.

8. Eas Coas Rapis Ges Lie in Prison,Marietta[Georgia]Daily Journal, March 2, 2013.

E an Michael Bckner are the c-athrs fIn Freedom We Trust: AnAtheist Guide to Religious Liberty(Prmethes Bks). E was presienf American Atheists frm 2008 t 2010. Michael is vice presient the Atlanta Freethht Sciety.

The Christian doctrine that a third party has authority to forgive is morallyrepugnant on its faceand plainly encourages irresponsible and immoral behavior.



In Bihynia, in 111 CE, he younger Pliny deal wih someChrisians (people o a new oshoo Hebrew cul) andwroe a leer o Rome proclaiming Chrisianiy an absurdand exravagan supersiion, and a conagion.1 Aroundhe same ime, Sueonius wroe o Chrisians, a class o men given oa new and mischievous supersiion.2Pliny and Sueonius were among he irs hones and venerablewriers exposed o x, he christiansa word simply meaninganoined ones, and no ollowers o a guy named Chris. I am sureyou realize ha his mysery man was no Jesus Chris, son o Josephand Mary Chris.

In he hird cenury, philosopher Porphyry wroe ha Chrisiansoppose each ohers belies, and hus i is impossible o ell whaChrisians ruly believe. he same is rue in he 21s cenury; here areover 40,000 denominaions.

When I was a young boy, my parens dragged me weekly o church.hen, one day, when I was en or so, wihou explanaion, my ahersopped going and I go o say a home wih him. My Sundays were nolonger ruined by imposiions o ear and ancien supersiion.

Ye I was never presened an opion o prosecue a ormal rejeciono he irraional belies sued ino my young noggin agains my willasel-excommunicaion as i were. A declaraion o raional aposasy; an

un-bapism.As an adul, I inally perormed a bi o Inerne sleuhing o discove

he name o he curren pasor o ha dusy, old church. I ound heiweb sie and wroe him a leer. I srained, manully, o be humble andrespeculo a man who akes money or he privilege o eachingourageous lies o children. A spade is a spade, a liar a liar, a charlaana charlaan.

And a reehinker is a reehinker. I was cordial and careul. A onepoin, I ound mysel removing he phrase absurd cul o deah-worship,even hough i perecly describes Chrisianiy: hey worship he deah oheir savior as well as heir own impending deah, which, hey have been

convinced, will resul in magical ransporaion o heaven.Ye, as I review i oday, my leer o his pasor neverheless pulls

very ew punches. In my mind, I was hones and logical. o he piouand brainwashed Chrisian, my leer mus seem devasaingly rudeWell, a leas I don burn people alive.

Ye, I based my case solely on he cenral, non-conenious grounds ohe religion. And ha was al l i ook o debunk Chrisianiy as presenedin he Bible and augh by clergy. Chrisianiy is an absurd, il logical, andveriiably dangerous supersiion, as boh Pliny and Sueoniusamongmany ohersrealized almos 2,000 years ago.

Wha ollows is he leer I sen, slighly edied.

by Michael B. Paulkovich

To the pious and brainwashed Christian, my letter must seemdevastatingly rude. Well, at least I dont burn people alive

Dogma WatchRigion has had an normous impact on th word. In this sris, Micha B. Paukovichxamins dogmas, mths, and rigious notions, past and prsnt.

Lee to the Pasr



Dear Pastor X,I am sure ha we have never me. I have no reason o doub ha

you are anyhing less han a decen and loving man. You are he currenpasor o he church o my youh, decades ago. So I address his leer oyou, successor o our pasor o old. While his is a ea I could perormsolo, I wrie you oday because my desire is o officially resign rom yourChrisian church. In ac, rom all Chrisian docrine and dogma.

As I summarize Chrisian belies, my logic will become clear. Neiherexaggeraion nor hyperbole is necessary o expose he mendaciies hainnocen children o Chrisian parens are augh:

ONE: Son O God. God sen his son o Earh o save mankind romoriginal sinwe are all born ilhy and deplorable because Adam andEve ae a orbidden rui ha gave hem knowledge, as augh by Paulin Romans 5:14. (Do you acually believe he Adam and Eve sory?)

Jesus preached some ime around 25 or 35 CE, as ar as we know.One wonders why your Chrisian god waied hundreds o housands oyears beore inally inervening, o save humankind.

And why was knowledge such a deplorable rai or A&E o acquire?TWO: Virgin Birh. his virgin ale is proven o be a 300 BCE

erroneous ranslaion o he Hebrew anakh ino Greek in Alexandria,he Sepuagin. Ye N wriers sill claimed Mary and Joseph were jusriendsno beneis.

THREE: Jesus Minisry. he son o God, Jesus, preached or ashor imehal a year (Mahew, Mark, Luke), or perhaps hree years( John)only in a jerkwaer region o Judea. Jesus was a miracle-worker,like many ohers o ancien imes. Ye he spoke violen words, and wasopenly a vile racis (Luke 12:46-47, 49; Mahew 11:20-24, 15:22-24;Acs 13:17-19, Jude 1:5-8).

Apparenly, Jesus was a gluon and drunkard: he Son o man[ Jesus] came eaing and drinking, and hey say, Behold a man gluonous,and a winebibber, a riend o publicans and sinners (Mahew 11:19).Do you ruly believe he was he perec son o god?

FOUR: Redempion. Gods perec plan was ha his son should dieor your sinshe ulimae scapegoa, a compleely immoral concep,and perhaps he mos lame-brained plan ever devised.

FIVE: Cruciixion. Some people killed Jesus. Perhaps hey wereRomans (Mark 14-15, Mahew 26-27, Luke 22-23, John 18-19). OrperhapsJews (according o hessalonians 2 and Mel Gibson). Jesus waseiher hanged in a ree (Acs 10) or cruciied (Colossians 2, Mahew27, Mark 15).

SIX: Resurrecion. Chrisians believe ha aer he was killed, Jesus

was born again, and seen alive a he Sepulchre. Seen irs by whom?Well, eiher:

By two women (Matthew 28:1-9), or Only by Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9), or By Joanna, Mary Magdalene, and Mary, mother of James, along

wih more women (Luke 24:15-18), or By Mary Magdalene (John 20:14), or By Cephas, a.k.a. Simon, then by the twelve, as well as five

hundred brehren (1 Corinhians 15:3-5). his paricular version o hesory was ormulaed long aer he nonevens i purpors o chronicle:he 500 winesses and aposles claims o 1 Corinhians 15 are

proven o have been laer inerpolaions by dishones Chrisians.3 Evenhe original ex is impossible o believe, wrien by Paul, a madman whodid no winess anyhing (as he admis), declaring himsel he leas ohe aposles (1 Corinhians 15:9) and who was, by any dispassionaeaccoun, sick, drugged up, and/or quie insane.

SEVEN: Ascension. Aer cruciied (or hanged), Jesus ascendedvisibly o heaven. Like Elijah, aken up ino heaven by a whirlwind(2 Kings 2). And Enoch, who whisked o o paradise while sill alive(Genesis 5).

Jesus promised he would reurn or his grand inale wihin ageneraion (Mahew 16:27-28, 1 hessalonians 4:17, Mark 9:1). Buhe never did. Aer 2,000 years, where is our savior?

EIGHT: Communion. Chrisian belie holds ha i you consumehe blood and gus o he son o God, you may live orever. Come onPasor.

NINE: Jesus he Pious Hebrew. he O should be irrelevan omodern Chrisians, bugod damn it!venerable and omniscienJesus proessed belie in Hebrew ales. Any good Chrisian believing inJesus mus bow o his auhoriy regarding he anakh: Jesus believe

in Adam and Eve (Luke 3:38) and Noahs ark (Mahew 24:37, Luke17:27). He concurs wih Deueronomy 21:18-21: kill rebelliouospring (Mark 7:10 and Mahew 15:4). Jesus believes Jonah lived in aish or hree days (Mahew 12:40). Jesus apparenly believes Los wieurned ino sal (Luke 17:31-32).

When Jesus reurns, I have a bridge or sale ha he would no doubbe ineresed in.

TEN: Heaven! Andsorryhell. I you don believe in Jesusor simply have never heard o him, he promises you ha you will be

orured or eerniy (e.g. Mahew 25:41-46, John 3:17-21, John 3:36)Pasor, how rue are hese en Chrisian enes? How valid? How

moral? Where does an inquiring mind ind any proos? Clearly, like heO, he N is pure BS.

he Church, online. I have seen your churchs web sie, Pasor, whichsays:

We encourage all church members o read and inerpre he Biblerelecing he early disciples radiion o No creed bu Chris, no bookbu he Bible.

Seriously? No creed bu Chris? The violent and racist idiot whobelieves in Hebrew fairy tales?

No book bu he Bible? ha absurd book of lies, god-approvedgenocide, and myths? No science books? No language exs, no mah

no hisory, no philosophy? Do you espouse a reurn o Bronze Ageepisomophobia? he Dark Ages?

No book bu he Bible. Your Bible encouraged wich-burningsCrusades, Inquisiions, genocide, and more or almos 2,000 years.

Proos o he Chris. Only in he wholly unreliable scripures do wesee supposed records o Jesuswriings ranslaed, copied ime andagain, modiied, corruped, ranslaed again, and inerpolaed or over1,500 years beore becoming only somewhat stable a he ime o heCouncil o ren.4 Nex, hundreds o dieren versions were prinedin English alone. Which is he correc version?

Paul swears he is not lyingabou his hallucinogenic visions o Jesus

The death toll due to Christian oppression, even excluding the massacre ofNative Americans under Manifest Destiny numbers in the tens of millions.



(Galaians 1:20). Ye he admis his visions could well have beenimaginary (2 Corinhians 12:2-3). Pauls advice is not to marry (1 Cor7:32-3). In 1 Corinhians 14:34-35, Paul denigraes women: i is ashame or women o speak in he church and 1 imohy 2:11-12, Isuer no a woman o each.

No book bu he Bible?Really?Chrisian Hisory in a nushell. Hisory reveals ourageous Chrisian

arociies: clerical celibacy (and consequen, pervasive child-rape),massive censorship and book-burnings, 13h-cenury JerusalemMassacre genocide agains he Cahars and Sedingers, he war againsGerman peasans, millions killed in wich-huns; he Inquisiions,appalling orure, Crusades, French Wars o Religion, he hiry YearsWar, even slavery, approved and even legislaed wihin he Bible. hedeah oll due o Chrisian oppression, even excluding he massacreo Naive Americans under Manies Desiny numbers in he ens omillionsinnocen people killed in he name o your savior. Millions ovicims o your cul were no simply murdered, bu burned alive.

his is bu a machbook-size lis o arociies perormed byChrisians in he name o Jesus he Chris.

Gods Grandes Plan. How was Jesus o save mankind? he amousverse John 3:16 says, For God so loved he world, he gave his onlybegoen Son. Wai a sec, I don ge i. Where is Jesus oday? Buried ina grave, eaen by maggos? Suering in hell?

No, Chrisian belie has Jesus securely in heaven wih his dad, ploingheir violen sequel: iniquious judgemen and violen vengeance.Revelaion. he Parousia. he glorious Rapure.

In he cruciixion, where was any sacriice on Gods par? I Jesushadn been killed, wha would have been he oher choiceor himo remain on Earh orever? Is ha beer han heaven? Or would Jesuhave had a limied liespan? I so, when Jesus dies, wha hen bu o oheaven!

Words like myh, supersiion, and hogwash do no come closeo describing he ourageous sardoodledom o he Chrisian beliesysem.

hus I abnegae. I eschew. I wash my hands o i, sir. I hink Il l comeup wih some way o un-bapize mysel.

EPILOGUEI signed and mailed my leer. I included my address and an oer

or his response, o give me his reor, his esimony. ha was ovehree years agoand nohing ye. Perhaps I convinced him, and he isan aposae now? Doubul, and eiher way, he web sie indicaes he issill pasor. And, o heir repugnan shame, i sill says no book bu heBible. How sad or hem.

Regardless, I wish hem all wellhe pasor, and all his sheep. YeI hope he loses sleep due o my leer. I eel good in calling him ou andwan o do more. Perhaps I should pase a similar leer o he doors o

all churches in my area, emulaing Marin Luher.I have coninued my religious polemics, conribuing several aricleso Free Inquiry, The American Rationalist, and his series in AmericanAtheist. Dangerous supersiions should be exerminaed like pess. Mycreaive pursuis in his arena have also culminaed in a book, No MeekMessiah, wherein I indic he ancien culs and ongoing arociies.

hus, Chrisianiy is raher easy o debunk, as is calling ou heuncuous perperaors o he ancien nonsense. Acions like his end ochange he world or he beer. Enlighenmenlile by lile by l ileWe should all srive o improve he world, and debunking dangerousand juvenile culs seems like one o he mos imporan asks.

My moher is 92 as o his wriing. She may well live anoher enyears (she has an older siser and a cousin who jus urned 100). Bu

have pu some consideraion ino wha Ill say a her uneral. he parha I shall no saybu ruly believeis ha I can never orgive heror aking me as a child o a building where, week aer week, year aeryear, aduls augh he myh ha God will have us orured or eerniyi we do no believe in he absurd and violen words o his son. ha ischild abuse; even an eigh-year-old can imagine he concep o eerniywih grea horror and ear. I only wish here was a way o bring hesederimenal riuals o heir righul erminus. We can all srive o do soin whaever ways we discover.

We can change he world.

Ennotes:1. John Delaware Lewis, The Letters of the Younger Pliny by Pliny. Leer

X:XCVII (rbner & Co., Ld., 1890).2. Sueonius,Lives of the Caesars. Nero XVI, accessed rom PenelopeUChicago.edu/hayer/E/Roman/exs/Sueonius/12Caesars/Nero*3. Price, Rober M., The Case Against the Case for Christ. (Cranord, NJAmerican Aheis Press, 2010), 235-239.4. Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, (he Encyclopedia Press, 1907-1913)274.

Michael Palkvich is an aerspace enineer an freelance writer. Hisbk, No Meek Messiah, is available in paperback frm Amazn.

Only in the wholly unreliable

scriptures do we seesupposed records of Jesuswritings translated, copiedtime and again, modified,

corrupted, translatedagain, and interpolated

for over 1,500 years.I based my case solely onthe central, non-contentiousgrounds of the religion. And

that was all it took to debunkChristianity as presented in the

Bible and taught by clergy.



Imake my living wriing abou religion and debaing religiouspeople, boh in person and in prin. Is a saisying lie workingo convince people o be reasonable abou even gods exisence. Ideiniely go o sleep a nigh eeling good abou wha I do.

here are, however, hings ha I miss, no he leas o which isperorming. I was a paid opera singer or a ew years and perorming wasa place o le my imaginaion run wild. I was a place where my nauralshyness meled away, where I could be in he presence o los o peoplewihou my hroa going dry rom sel-consciousness.

Bu he ime I now spend on he road combaing aih doesn lendisel o opera rehearsal schedules ha span six o eigh weeks. Besides,he shower is really where he mos phenomenal demonsraions o apersons vocal capabiliies occur anyway.

Im happy wih wha I do, bu Id be lying i I said I didn missperorming. Bu hese are sacriices made by every person o characer whorealizes ha insiuionalized irraionaliy (aih, religion, or whaeveroher moniker i has been assigned) is a proliic source o humankindsinhumaniy oward humankindso much so ha somehing mus bedone. he warrior archeype o social change is usually occupied by

someone who was orced ino i eiher by circumsance or by conscience.I is seldom someone who naurally relishes bale. hey are people who,like me, have grown accusomed o i over ime.

o live a quie lie inenionally secluded rom wha ranspires in heworld, a leas in my eyes, is o condone he insaniy in i. So I leavemy room and I engage religious people. I eschew gaming wih riendsor one-on-one ime wih loved ones and I research and wrie. I workagains my naure because I hink i would be immoral o be complacenand less eecive o no igh ooh and claw. And yes, I igh preymuch every day, even hough Id raher be ishing or napping.

I know how much I miss he hings in my lie ha have beensupplaned by my acivism, bu geing paid or my acivism is a salveor hose eelings. ha makes i a lo easier. I have a galaxy o respec or

he person working 40-plus hours per week who ges home ired, makesdinner, and wans nohing more han o spend he ew remaining hourso anoher day playing video games or waching a avorie showbuinsead hey load up heir compuer o work on an even or manage alocal secular group.

hey are he reason religion is on he decline. hey are he ones whocare enough o rade a lie o sereniy or a beer uure. And when aperson in he local pews realizes ha heyve spen a lieime orgoinghe hings hey waned o do or a god in which hey no longer believe,is he aciviss who will give hem a place o comor o sar cachingup on all he experiences o which aih had robbed hem.

here are ons o people in his movemen like us who igh because

we hink is he bes way o change hings. For us, a quie lie ainedby guil is more miserable han a lie o saring down he worldugliness on a daily basis. We are he answer o he argumen ha hegnus are assholes ou o oend or he sake o oense. In ac, he mosiery aciviss Ive encounered are oen he kindes: Grea ChrisinaHeman Meha, Ed Brayonhell, anybody who has me PZ Myers inperson

american atheist magazine third quarter 2013

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