What do Billy Graham, Charles Darwin, Paul the Apostle, Mother Theresa, Richard Dawkins, and YOU have in common? They, you, and everyone were all born without beliefs in any god (Yahweh, Allah, Vishnu, Gilgamesh, Zeus, Poseidon, Odin, Baal, Thor, Anu, etc.). Of course we are all born without knowing a whole lot of things like who has been president, how to do math, speak a language, and grasp science, but unlike these useful fields of study that help us understand and navigate through our shared corporeal experience, myth-based beliefs are learned strictly by insulated indoctrination.
Many of us have been indoctrinated as young children into believing a variety of god-myths via religious institutions. Our parents and/or other family members may have taken us to Sunday school and church every Sunday. Perhaps you attended a synagogue, mosque, or temple of some sort. Some of us were required to attend summer Bible school, Bible camp, religious youth groups, ministry programs like AWANAS, or confirmation classes. Whatever our indoctrinated experiences may have been, the good news is we are all capable of being de-programmed from the mind manipulating instructions that were forced upon us as young, impressionable children. We can all become “born-again” atheists!
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Read more: We Are All Born Without Belief In gods. Learn How To Be A Born-Again Atheist
By Eric Jayne
On Saturday, December tenth, several local atheists gathered with their gift donations at the Green Mill restaurant in St. Paul. Their mission: to donate and wrap presents for patients at Children’s Hospital of Minnesota. After enjoying a feast, accompanied by nontraditional Christmas music, we wrapped the many donated gifts. They consisted of gift cards, Legos, toys, books, games, puzzles, and clothes. There were so many donations that one of the attendees volunteered to run to Target for more gift bags.
Children’s Hospital provided a list, appropriately called Wish List, of desired items for patients - infants up to teenagers. The atheist donors referred to this list when purchasing gifts and let others know what they were bringing so they didn’t buy too much of one item or over represent a particular age group.
The following week Jack Caravela, Dianne Caravela, Caroline Brunner, and I delivered the gifts to the Children’s Hospital in St. Paul. Each gift had a laminated tag attached to it with the Minnesota Atheists logo and the message: “Happy Holidays from your friends at Minnesota Atheists.”
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Read more: Our Gift Donation to Children's Hospital of Minnesota
By George Kane
We get far too little good news from the conservative Roberts Supreme Court. It was therefore a rare pleasure in December when it refused to consider a case that could have forced school boards to permit church groups to hold worship service in public school buildings outside of normal school hours.
The case was brought by the Bronx Household of Faith, an evangelical Christian church which wanted to use a local school for Sunday religious services. In 1994 they applied to use a New York City middle school for its Sunday morning church services, and were refused because the Board of Education had a policy prohibiting religious worship at its schools. The appeals court ruled that allowing the church services in schools would violate the constitutional requirement on the separation of church and state, and would send the message that government endorsed religion. However, a federal judge granted an injuction allowing the services, pending a ruling by the Supreme Court. SCOTUS rescinded the injunction and reinstated the appeals court ruling, which it declined to review.
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Read more: News and Notes
By Eric Jayne
The Church of Scientology opened their new 82,000 square-foot building to the public last October. The building, formerly home to the Science Museum, sits kitty-corner to the Fitzgerald Theater and is currently the largest Church of Scientology in the Midwest. One month after its ribbon cutting ceremony about 35 atheists invaded the new building in spite of poor road conditions from the metro area's first significant snowfall of the season.
It wasn't truly an "invasion" since the local Scientology church agreed to host a Minnesota Atheists group tour, but only after some persuasion and a vetting process by a church leader named Karen. After I answered all of Karen's questions she said that she will need some time to decide whether or not to allow our group in. Two days after our conversation Karen confirmed our group tour for Saturday, 19 November.
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Read more: Atheists Explore Scientology
By August Berkshire
Many, many people volunteered their time and talents to produce the great success Minnesota Atheists had this past year.
Nine people served on our board of directors (see list on page two), but this represents only a fraction of the leaders in Minnesota Atheists.
We produced ten newsletters with great articles and photos. For those receiving the paper copy, we have started mailing them in envelopes, which speeds up production (and thus delivery). Thanks to editor James Zimmerman, photographer Richard Trombley, Cedar Printing, mailers Steve Petersen and Shirley Moll (and others), and our many contributors.
Our website was redesigned by volunteers and has received good feedback from people who visit. Thanks to Steve Petersen, Eric Jayne, and Grant Hermanson for acting as webmasters.
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Read more: President's Column: Our Year in Review
What do Billy Graham, Charles Darwin, Paul the Apostle, Mother Theresa, Richard Dawkins, and YOU have in common? They, you, and everyone were all born without beliefs in any god (Yahweh, Allah, Vishnu, Gilgamesh, Zeus, Poseidon, Odin, Baal, Thor, Anu, etc.). Of course we are all born without knowing a whole lot of things like who has been president, how to do math, speak a language, and grasp science, but unlike these useful fields of study that help us understand and navigate through our shared corporeal experience, myth-based beliefs are learned strictly by insulated indoctrination.
