I know, you're an atheist, you're a skeptic, and you're cynical about these questions.  It's totally understandable if it seems like they are bordering on an intrusion of your privacy.  You do not, of course, have to answer these questions at all.  Please keep in mind, though, there are a few really basic reasons why we'd like to know these two things about you.

(editor's note:

This article first appeared in the June 17th edition of the Star Tribune. It is a response to Katherine Kersten's article "Hostility to Religion Bodes Ill for Society," which appeared in the June 7th Star Tribune. The premise of Kersten's article was that religion, Christianity in particular, is necessary to keep scientific progress in check. She argued that without Judeo-Christian beliefs, society would be morally corrupt and incapable of compassion. )

I am convinced that there is absolutely no value to the muddled ramblings of Katherine Kersten. In her recent column, "Hostility to religion bodes ill for society," she shamelessly blames secular freethought and atheism for infanticide, the Holocaust and general draconian attitudes toward social welfare while crediting Christianity for human compassion. In making her assertion she conveniently ignores the numerous Bible passages where the bloodthirsty Judeo-Christian God condones war and ethnic cleansing. In Numbers 31: 17-18, for example, God actively calls for the killing of male children and the raping of female children. That's one of the many Bible passages Kersten is forced to gloss over when she touts that Judeo-Christianity teaches us "universal standards of right and wrong." Also, since she had brought up Hitler, I would like to point out to Kersten, and her atheist-bashing ilk, that the SS belt buckles Nazi soldiers wore during the Holocaust bared the motto: "Gott mit uns" (God is with us).

Kersten ends her article by suggesting that Social Darwinism is a legitimate science that promotes the notion of the survival of the fittest. Therefore, Kersten argues, scientific progress needs to be constrained by religion so that the poor and vulnerable citizens of society are protected. Her position might have merit if Social Darwinism were an actual science, but it's nothing more than pseudo-science just like astrology and intelligent design. Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection is a biological science that was never intended to be co-opted by the social sciences. In fact, Charles Darwin wrote that human beings could not "check our sympathy even at the urging of hard reason without deterioration in the noblest part of our nature." If Kersten simply understood legitimate science she probably wouldn't be so afraid of it, and she might even tone down her spiteful and erroneous anti-secular rhetoric.

By Crystal Dervetski

On June 20th, Minnesota Atheists met at Lilydale Park in St. Paul for a fossil hunting adventure.  Everyone met outside in the parking lot, grabbed an information packet about the park and the fossils, and then made the hike up to the three fossil beds located in the park.  Everyone found something, and had a great time sharing their finds with one another.  Families were out in full force, and even some of the really tiny ones made the trek up the hill.  After the find, everyone came back down and drank some much needed water and munched on granola bars.  The adults were entertained by a miming of a light saber battle and a spot-on impersonation of C-3PO, courtesy of a couple of the youngest fossil adventurers.  The weather was beautiful, the fossils were abundant, and the socialization couldn't be beat! 

Mark your calendars for an easy fossil hunt at the Intergroup Secular Labor Day Picnic on Saturday, September 6th in Northfield, MN.  Crystal and Vic will take everyone out to a very easy site after the picnic that is right next to a road; no hiking involved! 

By Jack Caravela

You may be wondering why a group of atheists would choose to see a film titled Drag Me to Hell. The short answer is that the movie's co-writer and director, Sam Raimi, treats the concept of eternal damnation about as seriously as we do. Mr. Raimi, recently at the helm of the three blockbuster Spider-Man films, decided to return to his roots with his latest offering. Fans of the Evil Dead series which launched the filmmaker's career will welcome this throwback horror flick, whose first wink to the genre comes before the movie even begins, with the retro Universal Pictures tag (Raimi opted for the rotating Earth logo last seen in the early sixties rather than the modern version).