By George Kane
On January 13 I participated in a debate at the Argument of the Month Club (aotmclub.com), a men's club devoted to Catholic apologetics. The debate was with Dr. Arthur Hippler, the Director of Religious Studies at Providence Academy, in Plymouth, on the resolution "That a supernatural authority is necessary for obligatory moral claims." I argued for the negative.
The debate, in the basement of St. Augustine's Church in South St. Paul, drew 370 men, half-again the size of their previous record draw. As far as I know, all but five of those in attendance were Catholic. Apparently, a lot of Catholics are curious about atheism!
Each side had a ten-minute opening statement, followed by a five-minute rebuttal, and then another five-minute response. Then each of us asked one question of the other, and after a two-minute reply, had 2-minutes for rebuttal. The moderator had a question for each of us. Finally, after a break, we took questions from the audience.
I don't think that anyone is ever converted by attending a Christian vs. atheist debate, but I hope that I at least dispelled some widely-held misperceptions of atheists. I know that many Christians think that atheists are bitter, hostile, and have not thought through their positions. I will let the readers decide if I succeeded.
You can listen to the debate in two parts:
George Kane Debate Part 1
George Kane Debate Part 2
Following is my opening statement.
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Read more: In the Basement with Catholics
By August Berkshire
This will be my last column as Minnesota Atheists' president, though I still hope to contribute to our newsletter from time to time. When I took office a year ago, I privately set five major, groundbreaking goals for Minnesota Atheists, all of which we have accomplished or seem to be on the verge of accomplishing.
First, I wanted us to host a successful American Atheists national convention in Minnesota (the first one here since 1988). With a record turnout of 600 people, and high praise from the American Atheists leadership, I would say we accomplished that goal.
Second, I wanted us to establish the first-ever atheist radio program in Minnesota. Mission accomplished.
Third, I wanted our state's governor or a city mayor to issue a Darwin Day proclamation - the first time, to my knowledge, that such a proclamation would ever have been issued by a Minnesota official. As we go to press, we have received word that Mayor Chris Coleman of St. Paul has done so! We await word from Minneapolis mayor R.T. Ryback.
Fourth, I wanted to see the first atheist give a secular invocation at the Minnesota State legislature. With the help of my state representative Phyllis Kahn, it seems very promising that I will be able to do this sometime this session.
Fifth, I wanted us to acquire a building for MNA. Admittedly, this is a high goal, but with the crash of the real estate market, we may be able to accomplish this sooner than we had thought.
This month we will hold our annual elections, with the new MNA board taking office on March first. All of the nominees are running unopposed.
Bjorn Watland will be the next MNA president. At age 27, he will be among the three members of the new MNA board who will be under 30. (The other two are Jeannette Watland and Crystal Dervetski.) All three of them have been members of MNA for less than three years. We should be proud of the fact that we are able to spot and promote young, talented people to positions of leadership.
Bjorn and Jeannette were already on the board as directors-at-large. They now move up to being president and associate president respectively. This creates openings in the directors-at-large positions for another newcomer to the board, Mike Haubrich.
Joining them on the MNA board will be two people who have served before: Jack Caravela and Cathy Prody. It is nice that we have such a large, well-functioning organization that people can come and go on the board as their schedules permit without disrupting our activities. (If you are reading this and have been someone who has been active in the past and wish to be active again, please let us know!)
Besides Bjorn and Jeannette, incumbents who will continue on the board are Andy Flamm, Grant Steves, and George Kane.
Leaving the board are Steve Petersen, Cynthia Egli, Kristine Harley, and myself. Of the nine people elected to the MNA board in 2002, only one will remain: George Kane. This is a healthy turnover for a group, to have new board members who introduce fresh ideas and energy and who appeal to younger people.
Many ex-board members continue to contribute their talents in supporting roles, aided by many others who have been short and long time contributors to MNA and yet have never served on the board. I like to think that we all contribute to the success of MNA as we can, without regard to our egos. We put the success of our group ahead of our roles or titles.
As for me, I will now be able to devote more time to the Atheist Alliance International vice presidency, to which I was elected last fall. I will also continue to play a part in MNA committees such as Radio, Newsletter, Meeting Program, First Amendment Watchdog, and Public Policy.
So, I go back to being just an "ordinary" MNA member. And yet, there is no such thing. Just as all children in Lake Wobegon are above average, all members of Minnesota Atheists are extraordinary. Thank you so much for allowing me to be your president this past year.
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By Vic Tanner