2015.04 Feature: The Easter Challenge

Dan Barker, former child evangelist and now co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, has a simple challenge for Christian believers: “What happened on that very first Easter morning?” To answer, they must use only the accounts found in the gospels of the New Testament, but they must use all of them — no cherry-picking — to compose a complete, coherent narrative.

You’d think that this would be a trivial task for anyone working off a book supposedly inspired by an omniscient, infallible deity, and that ardent Christians would be leaping at the opportunity.

To see why they’re not, I've prepared a 4-page columnar document which lays out the 4 gospel accounts of the “resurrection” side by side. It's too complex for me to render here on this website, but a PDF copy of it is available to you upon request to Richard S. Russell.

And now, the "Redundancy of the Year" Award:

2015.02 Opinion: Not My Kinda Guy

This is a heartfelt personal message from Richard S. Russell.

I am an atheist.

So is Craig Stephen Hicks, who on Feb. 10 murdered, execution style, 3 young students at the University of North Carolina, ostensibly because he hated religion in general (and Christianity in particular) but for whatever reason felt compelled to take it out on Muslims.

Let there be no mistake about my own reaction to this:
• I respect the right of anyone to believe any damfool piece of cockamamie horse manure they want.
• This does not mean I have to respect the people who believe it.
• It certainly doesn't mean I have any respect for the horseshit itself.
• But under no circumstances should anybody ever, ever, ever go out and bully, harass, discriminate against, torment, threaten, harm, or kill anyone else because of their beliefs. Never! Always wrong!

I condemn the despicable actions of Craig Hicks in the most emphatic terms possible.

He does not speak or act for me or any other atheist I know.

2015.01 News: Charlie Hebdo Gets 1st Zumach Award

(Washington, DC, 2015 Jan. 15)—The American Humanist Association is proud to announce the establishment of a new award, the Henry Zumach Award for Freedom From Fundamentalist Religion, to recognize individuals and organizations that have taken a stand against religious intolerance and bigotry. The award, generously funded by Henry Zumach of Stoddard, Wisconsin, has pledged $10,000 (€8,467) to its first recipient, Charlie Hebdo, the French satire magazine recently attacked by Islamic extremists for its cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad.

“The purpose of this award is to fight against religious fundamentalism and promote reason and equality for all people,” said Henry Zumach, who is also the founder of the La Crosse Area Freethought Society. “With its continuing commitment to freedom of expression in the face of extreme religion-based hostility, Charlie Hebdo exemplifies the essence of this award.”

The winner of the Henry Zumach Award for Freedom From Fundamentalist Religion was chosen by Henry Zumach and the American Humanist Association. The criteria for the award recipient, which can be an individual or organization, includes a history of activism and compassion that exposes the threat of fundamentalist religion and a bolstering of secular, progressive alternatives to fundamentalist religion, such as education. Charlie Hebdo was chosen as the recipient of the award for its bold stance against extremist ideologies, even after facing an attack by terrorists on January 7, which left twelve people dead, including the magazine’s editor Stéphane Charbonnier.

“Religion shouldn't be protected from criticism, and Charlie Hebdo exemplifies the principle of free speech through its poignant satire,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. “Humanists are proud to stand in solidarity with Charlie Hebdo, and we’re grateful to Henry Zumach for working with the American Humanist Association to establish this award.”

2015.01 Art: Je Suis Charlie

2014.09 Opinion: The Value of Critical Thinking

Prof. Charles Negy evidently had a lot of pushback in his first class on “Cross-Cultural Psychology” and took the time to write an open letter to his student body (University of Central Florida) about it.

Excerpts:

One characteristic of the critical, independent thinker is being able to recognize fantasy versus reality; to recognize the difference between personal beliefs which are nothing more than personal beliefs, versus views that are grounded in evidence, or which have no evidence.

Last class meeting and for 15 minutes today, we addressed “religious bigotry.” Several points are worth contemplating:

Religion and culture go “hand in hand.” …

Students in my class who openly proclaimed that Christianity is the most valid religion, as some of you did last class, portrayed precisely what religious bigotry is. Bigots—racial bigot or religious bigots—never question their prejudices and bigotry.

2014.08 News: Sunday Assembly Coming to Madison

The first formal gathering of Madison’s Sunday Assembly won’t be until Sep. 28, but this afternoon there was an introductory potluck picnic hosted by the organizers of the Sunday Assembly at a city park near the Prairie Unitarian Society. Organizer Robert Park reports that "About 25 of us attended, with great food and conversation. "

2014.08 News: "Nones" Now a Plurality among Millennials

Skip over the part in this article which gloats about the political implications of the now unmistakable shift of the younger generation away from organized religion and just look at the numbers for the 18-30 age cohort:
• 29.5% Protestant
• 27.3% Catholic
•  1.1% Jewish
• 11.2% Other
• 30.9% None

This is just the latest installment in a trend that's been evident for decades: The younger you are, the less likely you are to adhere to a formal religion.

Now, of course, the $64 question is what happens to that cohort as it grows older. Does it replace the older, more devout citizenry, or does it become them?

2014.05 Humor: Frequency of Miracles

2014.05 News: Spring Family Picnic June 1

The Humanist Union of Madison invites you to the Nonbelievers of Greater Madison Spring Family Picnic 2014 June 1 (Sunday), noon to 2 pm. Bring your own beverage, and food to share potluck style. If the current weather holds we'll meet at the picnic shelter at Marlborough Park in southwest Madison. Here's how to get there. If the weather is threatening or wet, we'll say so here. The rainy-day indoor location is the nearby Prairie UU Society Meeting House at the corner of Crawford and Whenona Drives.

2014.03 News: Humanism at Work Coming Closer

Foundation Beyond Belief, the nation's largest humanist charitable organization, is holding its first national conference, "Humanism at Work", 2014 July 18-20 at the Hilton Rosemont in Chicago, Illinois.

This conference, the first of its kind in the freethought community, centers on how nontheists can put their compassionate humanism to work for a better world. It will include TED-style presentations on philanthropy, volunteering, and community building, as well as practical workshops, panels, and hands-on volunteer opportunities.

Speakers include:

• Evidence-based giving expert CAROLINE FIENNES
• Nigerian humanist and human rights activist LEO IGWE
• Atheist homelessness activist SERAH BLAIN
• HEMLEY GONZALEZ, a humanist at work with the poor in Calcutta
• Atheist authors HEMANT MEHTA and GRETA CHRISTINA
• Social psychologist DR. BRITTANY SHOOTS-REINHARD
• THE PATHFINDERS, four humanists just returned from a year of global service

To register, go to the Humanism at Work website. The organizers have tried to keep the conference affordable at $129 before April 15 and $149 after that date. Included in that price is a formal dinner at which Heart of Humanism awards will go to those who have put humanism into action in their local communities and around the world.

2014.03 News: Depends on What the Meaning of "Know" Is

Republican presidential aspirant, former Arkansas governor, right-wing TV personality, and ordained evangelical minister Mike Huckabee assured CPAC that he "knows" there is a God. He also "knows" many similar things (like, say, "Benghazi!") thru the assistance of similar levels of evidence, reason, and his diamond-bright intellectuality.

2014.03 News: "Nones" Now a Plurality among Young Adults

America continues its long, arduous struggle at freeing itself from the irrationalities of religion. As in so many other ways, young people are taking the lead, according to the latest survey of religiosity, spun of course to political ends by The Daily Kos.

2014.02 News: Freethot Festival 3 Open for Business

As of today, the website for Freethought Festival 3, on the University of Wisconsin Madison campus April 11-12, is in operation.

If you've never been, it's an amazingly good time.

Oh, and it's free. They do ask that you register, tho, to aid in planning.

2014.02 News: Atheists Disinvited from Conservative Shindig

American Atheists wanted to reach out to political conservatives and so reserved a table at the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference. Then the CPACkies had 2nd thots: "Not so fast there, you heathens!"

2014.02 Quiz: Is Your Religious Liberty under Threat?

Thanks to the Huffington Post and essayist Rev. Emily C. Heath, this simple 10-question multiple-choice test will tell you in under 2 minutes whether your religious liberty as an American citizen is in danger.

2014.02 News: Snake-Handling Preacher Dies of Snakebite

Rev. Jamie Coots took literally the Bible's assurance that TBs could freely handle serpents and the like with impunity. He even had a reality show called Snake Salvation to demonstrate how confident he was.

Surprise! The Bible was wrong yet again.

2014.02 Opinion: Good News about Acceptance of Evolution

In an essay in the latest Scientific American, UW-Madison's own leading light of evolutionary biology, Sean B. Carroll*, notes that the latest data about the level of acceptance of evolution shows that it's much higher among young people than older Americans, and that this bodes well for the future. He chalks it up to 2 main factors: the diminishing level of religiosity among the young and enhanced science education in the schools and media.

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*as distinguished form the equally accomplished, articulate, renowned, and dedicatedly atheistic physicist, Sean M. Carroll of Caltech.

2014.02 Humor: "22 Messages from Creationists" Translated by Science Lovers

After the debate between Bill Nye "the Science Guy" and young-Earth creationist Ken Ham, BuzzFeed asked 22 creationists to write down questions they'd like to ask scientists or others who accept evolution and the leading scientific explanations for it. They posted the pictures without comment, but that didn't stop other folks (at The Science of Sarcasm) from providing some commentary masquerading as "translations" of the original comments.

Remember, these are nice, smiley people, and you'd probably really like them in person. They just happen to believe astoundingly stupid stuff. That doesn't make them bad people. Funny, tho.

2014.01 News: BIble-Minded Cities in America

Time magazine reports results of a recent survey on the extent of "Bible-mindedness" in America's biggest cities.

To save you having to squint to read the small gray type, here's where Wisconsin cities (really metro areas) ranked out of the 100 areas rated:

• 76 Milwaukee
• 79 Madison
• 85 Green Bay / Appleton

Also of interest:

• 44 Quad Cities
• 53 Des Moines / Ames
• 74 Chicago
• 75 Minneapolis / Saint Paul
• 96 Cedar Rapids / Waterloo

The good news? Even America's most devout city, Chattanooga, barely climbed over the 50% mark for Bible-mindedness.

2014.01 News: Kid Killer Exemption in the News Again

Believe it or not, some Wisconsin legislators aren't content with just letting parents starve or beat their kids with impunity if done for "good" (read "religious") reasons, they want to extend so-called "rights of conscience" still further. Fortunately, other lawmakers are working to rein in Wisconsin's statutory exemption from the child-neglect and -abuse laws. Read more here.

In all likelihood, nothing will happen the remainder of this legislative session one way or another, which means that religious zealots in Wisconsin will still be free thruout 2014 to maltreat their kids and get away with it.