By Grant Steves

 

Braintrust, by Patricia S. Churchland ©2011,  Princeton University Press, 288 pages.


Patricia Churchland is an outstanding philosopher and scientist. In her career, she has published several articles and books of importance in the area of neurophilosophy. Starting in 1986, her book Neuro-philosophy: Towards a Unified Understanding of the Mind-Brain was published; in 1992, The Computational Brain was released; in 2002, Brain-Wise was published. The most recent volume, Braintrust, was released in March 2011. In each of her successive books, she has continued to make complex concepts more accessible to the general public.

 

By George Kane

A ruling in April by the Supreme Court may well have disastrous consequences for the separation of church and state in the United States. By a 5-4 ruling in the case Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn, the court overturned a 43 year-old precedent that had allowed tax payers to sue governments that subsidized religious institutions.

 

We are requesting a financial contribution to the Minnesota Atheists Radio Fund to keep this program on the air and in Podcast for the rest of 2011.  To date, we have produced 114 programs with a variety of perspectives on issues of importance to atheists and the public at large.  The reason we produce this program is simple:  if we, as atheists, do not control our message to the general public,  no one else will speak for us.  The program covers atheism, science, state church separation, Humanism and other related topics.  We present atheists’ views to the public in a manner that is respectful, informative and diverse.

 

By August Berkshire

Last year Minnesota Atheists participated in six Gay Pride celebrations because the attempt by religious people to deny equal rights to people based on sexual orientation is one of the most prevalent violations of separation of state and church in America.

 

John W. Loftus is the author of the book Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity. He is a scholar who has, in his own words, “pretty much the equivalent of a Ph. D". Loftus will be the guest speaker at the Minnesota Atheists Monthly Members Meeting at Southdale Library on Sunday, May 15th at 1pm.