The history of atheists, secular Humanists and other freethinking people is not well known. Freethought Historian, Dan Allosso is out to change that and bring to life people who have advanced society and at the same time lived outside the religious norms of their day. Allosso does this in his book about Charles Knowlton in his book: An Infidel Body-Snatcher and the Fruits of His Philosophy is the story of a freethinker. From the books description: "Charles Knowlton called himself a “free enquirer”—his enemies called him an “Infidel.” Knowlton was also a “Body-Snatcher.” As a medical student, Charles Knowlton stole corpses to dissect. Charles was caught and convicted, and served time in jail.

“The Fruits of His Philosophy” refers to a book Charles wrote in 1831. It was the first medical birth control manual in America, and Knowlton was convicted and imprisoned for that as well—this time with hard labor. Charles was an outsider for most of his life, swimming against the stream of religious and social conformity. This is a true story about why outsiders are important, and what they can achieve.

Growing up surrounded by superstition and hypocrisy, Charles developed an unswerving dedication to finding and telling the truth. If the truth he’d found was opposed by authorities in the church and government, Charles went ahead and told it anyway. This is a true story about the power of integrity.

It’s also an adventure story, full of conflict, drama, humor, and a little horror. Charles Knowlton led an unusual life; it gave him a radical outlook and led him to develop a unique personal philosophy. But it was what Charles did with this outlook and the fruits of his philosophy, that really mattered. This is a true story about how experiences become ideas, and how ideas become actions."

Please join Scott Lohman as he interviews Dan Allosso on his new book and freethought history.

Related Links:

• Freethought History
• Books on Amazon.com by Dan Allosso 
• Dan's blog
• Public meeting with Dan Allosso, Sunday, May 19th 

Atheists Talk is produced with funding from the Minnesota Atheists and the Humanists of Minnesota. We also wish to thank Q. Cumbers restaurant for purchasing on-air advertising and for providing a great place to eat and gather. This radio program is put together by dedicated volunteers and the generous donations of listeners. If you are able to help with a donation please consider doing so at our Radio Fund page.

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By Scott Lohman

An Infidel Body-Snatcher and the Fruits of his Philosophy: The Life of Dr. Charles Knowlton
by Dan Allosso, 270 pages, CreateSpace Independent Publishing

The history of Freethinking people is not always about the big characters of our movement. Most of what has happened was done by those of us who do boring jobs and are active in Freethought outside of any profession. Charles Knowlton was one of those. He was a medical doctor who helped move his profession away from treating the "four humors" as they were called.

Our speaker for the May meeting will be Dan Allosso. Dan is a freethought history writer who has recently come out with the book An Infidel Body-Snatcher and the Fruits of His Philosophy. This book is the story of a freethinker. Charles Knowlton. Charles was an outsider for most of his life, swimming against the stream of religious and social conformity. This is a true story about why outsiders are important, and what they can achieve. It’s also an adventure story, full of conflict, drama, humor, and a little horror.

Ryan McIlvain is a former Mormon missionary whose missionary work presented challenges to his faith that ultimately led him away from Mormonism. He is also a recent first-time novelist who took "Write what you know" to heart, capturing that experience in the recently released Elders: A Novel. From the publisher's description:

Elder McLeod—outspoken, surly, a brash American—is nearing the end of his mission in Brazil. For nearly two years he has spent his days studying the Bible and the Book of Mormon, knocking on doors, teaching missionary lessons—“experimenting on the word.” His new partner is Elder Passos, a devout, ambitious Brazilian who found salvation and solace in the church after his mother’s early death. The two men are at first suspicious of each other, and their work together is frustrating, fruitless. That changes when a beautiful woman and her husband offer the missionaries a chance to be heard, to put all of their practice to good use, to test the mettle of their faith.  But before they can bring the couple to baptism, they must confront their own long-held beliefs and doubts, and the simmering tensions at the heart of their friendship.

McIlvain joins us this Sunday to talk about the novel and about his experiences.

Related Links:

• Elders: A Novel on Amazon
• Ryan McIlvain's website
• An excerpt from the novel
• Elders reviewed

Atheists Talk is produced with funding from the Minnesota Atheists and the Humanists of Minnesota. We also wish to thank Q. Cumbers restaurant for purchasing on-air advertising and for providing a great place to eat and gather. This radio program is put together by dedicated volunteers and the generous donations of listeners. If you are able to help with a donation please consider doing so at our Radio Fund page.

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Listen to AM 950 KTNF on Sunday at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio: 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to radio@mnatheists.org during the live show.

The early history of Christianity is a history of persecution, with pagans zealously defending their own faiths through torture and martyrdom and Christians being mauled by lions for the entertainment of the crowd. Or is it?

Biblical scholar Candida Moss reviewed the evidence of early Christian persecution for her new book, The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom, and found it mostly lacking. From the publisher's description:

As the story goes, vast numbers of believers were thrown to the lions, tortured, or burned alive because they refused to renounce Christ. These saints, Christianity’s inspirational heroes, are still venerated today.

Moss, however, exposes that the “Age of Martyrs” is a fiction—there was no sustained 300-year-long effort by the Romans to persecute Christians. Instead, these stories were pious exaggerations; highly stylized rewritings of Jewish, Greek, and Roman noble death traditions; and even forgeries designed to marginalize heretics, inspire the faithful, and fund churches.

The traditional story of persecution is still taught in Sunday school classes, celebrated in sermons, and employed by church leaders, politicians, and media pundits who insist that Christians were—and always will be—persecuted by a hostile, secular world. Moss urges modern Christians to abandon the conspiratorial assumption that the world is out to get Christians and, rather, embrace the consolation, moral instruction, and spiritual guidance that these martyrdom stories provide.

Moss joins us this Sunday to talk about her book and about how this narrative of persecution hurts Christians in the world today.

Related Links:

• Candida Moss at Notre Dame
• The Myth of Persecution at Amazon
• Kirkus review of The Myth of Persecution
• "The long shadow of the martyr myth" at the National Catholic Reporter

Atheists Talk is produced with funding from the Minnesota Atheists and the Humanists of Minnesota. We also wish to thank Q. Cumbers restaurant for purchasing on-air advertising and for providing a great place to eat and gather. This radio program is put together by dedicated volunteers and the generous donations of listeners. If you are able to help with a donation please consider doing so at our Radio Fund page.

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Listen to AM 950 KTNF on Sunday at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio: 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to radio@mnatheists.org during the live show.

By Eric Jayne

Twenty-seven years after the last shot was fired in the Civil War, a socialist, Baptist minister named Francis Bellamy wrote the Pledge of Allegiance as a visionary celebration of a unified, undivided nation. Published in 1892, the Pledge first appeared in a popular children’s magazine entitled The Youth’s Companion. The publication’s purpose was to teach ethics and promote positive, active citizenship to children. As most atheists and other secularists are well aware, Bellamy made no mention of gods. His original words were: I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic, for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

It wasn’t until 1954—sixty-two years after Bellamy penned the Pledge—that Communist-fearing lawmakers literally divided Bellamy’s clause, “one nation indivisible” by wedging in “under God” at the behest of the Catholic Knights of Columbus organization. The idea was to showcase the United States as a pious nation in opposition to the godless Soviet Union.

Almost a year ago, Edwina Rogers took over as the executive director of the Secular Coalition for America. It's been an ambitious, busy year for the Secular Coalition. This Sunday, Rogers joins us to talk with Scott Lohman about what they've accomplished and where they're going in the next year. They'll also discuss the formation of the Minnesota chapter of the Secular Coalition.

Related Links:

• The Secular Coalition for America
• Minnesota chapter of the Secular Coalition
• About Secular Coalition state chapters
• Edwina Rogers at the Minnesota Humanists annual banquet May 4

By George Kane

Republicans took a thumping in the November elections, but they behave as if voters gave them a mandate to advance conservative Christian goals. House Resolutions 940 and 973 would both create faith-exemptions to the requirement for contraceptive coverage in employee insurance plans. HR 940 would amend the Affordable Care Act, so-called “Obamacare,” while HR 973 exempts from any fine, excise tax or suit for failure to provide any coverage to which the employer objects based on religious belief or moral conviction. Both bills were referred to three committees for review. Also, HR 23 presents a direct assault on reproductive rights. It declares that human life begins with fertilization, conferring to the zygote the obligatory protection of government.

• The Outsider Test for Faith on Amazon
• Debunking Christianity

On Thursday, May 2, 2013, from noon to 1:00 pm, Minnesota Atheists and other organizations that recognize the need for separation of state and church will be observing the Day of Reason at the Minnesota State Capitol Rotunda. This year’s theme is One Nation Indivisible.

Speakers will include: Eric Jayne, President of Minnesota Atheists, Scott Lohman of the Humanist of Minnesota, Blake Page from Military Religious Freedom Foundation and David Pacheco, with Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Masters of Ceremony and presenters will include George Kane and Heather Hegi. The committee chair for Day of Reason is Steve Petersen.

Dear Supporter:

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 2013.  To date, we have produced 209 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

This program costs $5,320.00 every six months. We sell some ads, but most of our costs are covered by supporter donations.  The program is broadcast live on AM950 KTNF, but most of our listeners follow our podcasts. This unique program has broken some barriers and myths about atheists. We present atheists’ views to the public in a manner that is respectful, informative and diverse.  Anger is not part of our program. Q.Cumbers Restaurant took a chance advertising on our program and they have had only positive feedback, but most important it helps establish atheists as participants to public discourse.

The roll call of guests includes atheists Richard Dawkins, scientists Neil deGrasse Tyson & PZ Myers, atheists leaders Rebecca Hale, Dave Silverman and Teresa MacBain, authors David Mills, Shawn Lawrence Otto and Rebecca Scott and many more.  Each of our programs focuses on a person, issue or event of interest to atheists.  Volunteers handle all aspects of Atheists Talk Radio. Our producers, interviewers and guests appear as a public service.

We are asking your help to keep this programming on the air.  Any donation amount is appreciated.

• Donate Online
• Download PDF to donate by mail
• Listen to Atheists Talk by Minnesota Atheists online now

Sincerely,

Radio Fundraising Committee,

Stephanie Zvan, George Kane, Steve Petersen, Nancy Ruhlund
 

This is a list of recent programs and interviews.

"Atheism For Dummies", Dale McGowan on Atheists Talk #210, Mar 17th, 2013

"50 Simple Questions for Every Christian", Guy P. Harrison on Atheists Talk #209, Mar 10, 2013

"The Fact of Evolution", Cameron Smith on Atheists Talk #208, Mar 3rd, 2013

"The Stardust Revolution", Jacob Berkowitz on Atheists Talk #207, Feb 24, 2013

American Humanist Association, Rebecca Hale on Atheists Talk #206, Feb 17, 2013

"Generation Atheist", Dan Riley on Atheists Talk #205 Feb 10th, 2013

"The Atheist Camel", Bart Centre on Atheists Talk #203, Jan 27, 2013

"Deconverted: A Journey from Religion to Reason", Seth Andrews on Atheists Talk #202, Jan 20th, 2013

"The Young Atheists Handbook", Alom Shaha on Atheists Talk #201, Jan 13th, 2013

"Evolution's Witness: How Eyes Evolved", Ivan R. Schwab on Atheists Talk #200, Jan 6th, 2013

"Charles Darwin's Notebooks", John van Wyhe on Atheists Talk #199, Dec 30th, 2012

"Atheist Universe", David Mills on Atheists Talk #193, Nov 11, 2012

"Top American Science Questions", Shawn Lawrence Otto on Atheists Talk #192, Nov 4, 2012

Campus Atheists Skeptics and Humanists, on Atheists Talk #191, Oct 28th, 2012

"The God Problem", Howard Bloom on Atheists Talk #189, October 14, 2012

"Debunking David Barton's Jefferson Lies", Chris Rodda on Atheists Talk #188, Oct 7, 2012

"Darwin's Ghosts: The Secret History of Evolution", Rebecca Stott on Atheists Talk #187, Sep 30th, 2012

"50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True", Guy P. Harrison on Atheists Talk #186, Sep 23, 2012

"Atheism and the Case Against Christ", Matt McCormick on Atheists Talk #185, Sep 16, 2012.

"Candidate Without a Prayer", Herb Silverman" on Atheists Talk #184, Sep 9th, 2012

Teresa MacBain on Atheists Talk #183, Sep 2nd, 2012

Secular Woman, Kim Rippere on Atheists Talk #176, Jul 15th, 2012

African Americans for Humanism, Debbie Goddard on Atheists Talk #175, Jul 8th, 2012

"Ethics, Science or Religion?", Grant Steves on Atheists Talk #174 Jun 24th, 2012

"The Bully Vaccine", Jen Hancock on Atheists Talk #172 Jun 17th, 2012

Climate denialism operates on a scale and with funding that would have made an old-school tobacco executives green with envy. This makes the climate wars a perfect venue for learning about all the tricks of denialists.

Greg Laden stumbled onto climate denialism through a combination of concern for the environment and studying what climate history can tell us about human evolution. He has documented lies, threats and simple misinformation while working to get good information on climate change out to audiences on his blog and elsewhere. In the process, he's received legal threats, death threats, and more factually incorrect comments than he can count.

This Sunday, Greg will join us in the studio to help us learn to spot denialism in the wild and to tell us what to expect from climate change denialists in the next few months.

Related Links:

• Greg Laden's Blog
• "Global Warming Skepticism in Decline"
• "Climate and Weather: Does your TV weather reporter get it?"
• "Anthony Watts is threatening to sue me"

Atheists Talk is produced with funding from the Minnesota Atheists and the Humanists of Minnesota. We also wish to thank Q. Cumbers restaurant for purchasing on-air advertising and for providing a great place to eat and gather. This radio program is put together by dedicated volunteers and the generous donations of listeners. If you are able to help with a donation please consider doing so at our Radio Fund page.

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Listen to AM 950 KTNF on Sunday at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio: 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to radio@mnatheists.org during the live show.

Have we turned a corner?
Progress on LGBT issues in Minnesota and beyond

The modern phase of the LGBT equality movement is generally about forty years old, but it seems as if in recent years, progress toward that goal has picked up steam. From advances regarding relationship recognition, to employment equality, the movement for LGBT rights has never been stronger. Our speaker, Phil Duran, will review and analyze recent developments, and offer thoughts about more to come.

One of the questions for the ages is the origin of human morality. Some ascribe it to a god or gods. Some would prefer a more empirical approach.

In his work with primates, Frans de Wall has explored the evolution of those traits we used to consider uniquely human. His latest book, The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism Among the Primates, he tackles morality. Small spoiler: We're not as special in this regard as we tend to think.

From the publisher's description:

In this lively and illuminating discussion of his landmark research, esteemed primatologist Frans de Waal argues that human morality is not imposed from above but instead comes from within. Moral behavior does not begin and end with religion but is in fact a product of evolution.

For many years, de Waal has observed chimpanzees soothe distressed neighbors and bonobos share their food. Now he delivers fascinating fresh evidence for the seeds of ethical behavior in primate societies that further cements the case for the biological origins of human fairness. Interweaving vivid tales from the animal kingdom with thoughtful philosophical analysis, de Waal seeks a bottom-up explanation of morality that emphasizes our connection with animals. In doing so, de Waal explores for the first time the implications of his work for our understanding of modern religion. Whatever the role of religious moral imperatives, he sees it as a “Johnny-come-lately” role that emerged only as an addition to our natural instincts for cooperation and empathy.

Related Links:

• The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism Among the Primates on Amazon
• "Moral Behavior in Animals", Frans de Waal at TED (autoplays)
• Frans de Waal at Emory University

Atheists Talk is produced with funding from the Minnesota Atheists and the Humanists of Minnesota. We also wish to thank Q. Cumbers restaurant for purchasing on-air advertising and for providing a great place to eat and gather. This radio program is put together by dedicated volunteers and the generous donations of listeners. If you are able to help with a donation please consider doing so at our Radio Fund page.

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Listen to AM 950 KTNF on Sunday at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio: 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to radio@mnatheists.org during the live show.

Roger Scott Jackson was raised in a Pentacostal family, but left religion at early age. Throughout his life he has been a high school English teacher, a journalist and a comedy writer. Mr. Jackson is also a performance artist, and perhaps his most famous creation is the fictional firebrand, Sam Singleton Atheist Evangelist.

Brother Sam has been known to deliver an atheist sermon or two for high-profile atheist conferences and events, and both he and his creator, Roger Scott Jackson are sought-after speakers listed among the Secular Student Alliance and Center For Inquiry speakers bureaus. 

Sam Singleton has delivered many different experiences for those who gather to hear his gospel. His shows include Patriarchs and Penises; Cats, Sheep and Goats: The Taxonomy of Atheists, Believers and Preachers; Revival; If The Ocean Was Whiskey and God was a Duck; and Too Big For God. Brother Sam also sends out e-homilies via his Atheist Evangelist YouTube channel

Join Atheists Talk this Sunday when we speak with Roger Scott Jackson about his life, his atheism, and his portrayal of Sam Singleton, Atheist Evangelist.

Related Sites

• Official Sam Singleton website
• Atheist Evangelist YouTube Channel
• Sam Singleton on Facebook, Twitter

Atheists Talk is produced with funding from the Minnesota Atheists and the Humanists of Minnesota. We also wish to thank Q. Cumbers restaurant for purchasing on-air advertising and for providing a great place to eat and gather. This radio program is put together by dedicated volunteers and the generous donations of listeners. If you are able to help with a donation please consider doing so at our Radio Fund page.

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Listen to AM 950 KTNF on Sunday at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio: 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to radio@mnatheists.org during the live show.

By George Kane

I have participated in two debates at the Argument of the Month Club. This is a Catholic men’s club that meets in the basement of St. Augustine Church in South St. Paul. Looking through their online recordings of their events I see that my first debate there was in January of 2009, and the second in April 2010.

Human beings are alone in the world. Homo sapiens are the only remainders of genus homo. Our closest relatives are chimps and bonobos, but many of our closer relatives have been lost to time.

In his book, Last Ape Standing: The Seven-Million-Year Story of How and Why We Survived, science journalist and documentarian Chip Walter explores how we came to stand alone and what happened to our very distant cousins. From the publisher's description:

Drawing on a wide variety of scientific disciplines, Walter reveals how a rare evolutionary phenomenon led to the uniquely long childhoods that make us so resourceful and emotionally complex. He looks at why we developed a new kind of mind and how our highly social nature has shaped our moral (and immoral) behavior. And in exploring the traits that enabled our success, he plumbs the roots of our creativity and investigates why we became self-aware in ways that no other animal is. Along the way, Last Ape Standing profiles other human species who evolved with us and who have also shaped our kind in startling ways - the Neanderthals of Europe, the "Hobbits" of Indonesia, the Denisovans of Siberia, and the recently discovered Red Deer Cave people of China, who died off just as we stood at the brink of civilizations eleven thousand years ago.

Related Links:

• Last Ape Standing on Amazon
• Chip Walter's website
• Robert Krulwich riffs on Last Ape Standing
• Chip Walter on the role of childhood

Atheists Talk is produced with funding from the Minnesota Atheists and the Humanists of Minnesota. We also wish to thank Q. Cumbers restaurant for purchasing on-air advertising and for providing a great place to eat and gather. This radio program is put together by dedicated volunteers and the generous donations of listeners. If you are able to help with a donation please consider doing so at our Radio Fund page.

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Listen to AM 950 KTNF on Sunday at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio: 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to radio@mnatheists.org during the live show.

By Eric Jayne

Although I have been regularly contributing to the Minnesota Atheist newsletter, this is my very first “President’s Column” since being elected president of the Minnesota Atheists last month. In my upcoming columns, readers of this fine publication can expect to find exciting information about events, partnerships, and other efforts happening with the Minnesota Atheists. As with our previous president, I will also share my own goals and vision for our organization and our general secular cause. For this, my very first “President’s Column,” I am thrilled to make an announcement that is sure to dazzle your godless soul.

Dale McGowan is an accomplished writer and leader in the atheist community. Dale is perhaps best known for his book, Parenting Beyond Belief, the first resource of its kind for freethinkers raising children. He has also written Raising Freethinkers, Voices of Unbelief and two fictional novels, Calling Bernadette's Bluff and Good Thunder. He blogs about his life and family at The Meming of Life.

Dale's newest book, Atheism For Dummies, is now available from Wiley Publishing. From the publisher's website: 

For people seeking a non-religious philosophy of life, as well as believers with atheist friends, Atheism For Dummies offers an intelligent exploration of the historical and moral case for atheism. Often wildly misunderstood, atheism is a secular approach to life based on the understanding that reality is an arrangement of physical matter, with no consideration of unverifiable spiritual forces.

Please join us this Sunday when we speak with Dale McGowan about parenting, his work in the secular communities, and of course, Atheism For Dummies.

Related Links

• Atheism For Dummies - Wiley Publishing
• The Meming of Life - Dale McGowan's Blog
• Dale McGowan - Dale McGowan's Website

Atheists Talk is produced with funding from the Minnesota Atheists and the Humanists of Minnesota. We also wish to thank Q. Cumbers restaurant for purchasing on-air advertising and for providing a great place to eat and gather. This radio program is put together by dedicated volunteers and the generous donations of listeners. If you are able to help with a donation please consider doing so at our Radio Fund page.

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Listen to AM 950 KTNF on Sunday at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio: 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to radio@mnatheists.org during the live show.

Below is the testimony by August Berkshire, representing Minnesota Atheists, at a Minnesota House Civil Law Committee hearing, in favor of the bill HF 1054, changing state law to allow for marriage equality. March 12, 2013, 6:00 p.m. The bill passed the committee on a 10-7 party line vote – Democrats for, Republicans against. The 9 p.m. “FOX at 9” local TV news on channel 9 reported that the bill’s “supporters ranged from Catholics to atheists.” Earlier that day a companion bill passed a Minnesota Senate committee. The bill now moves to the full legislature, which will vote on it after they have passed a budget.

Thank you, Mr. Chair; Committee Members. My name is August Berkshire and I represent Minnesota Atheists, our state’s oldest, largest, and most active atheist organization.