November 2012
Newsletter of PA Nonbelievers, Inc., affiliated with American Atheists,
Atheist Alliance International and the Council for Secular Humanism.
Visit us on the web at panonbelievers.org or Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/PennsylvaniaNonbelievers
President’s Report
Brian Fields
It's been an exciting and busy summer. I want to thank everyone who volunteered these last few
months and helped us with our activities. It was a packed summer, and we accomplished a lot.
I especially want to thank those who helped with and attended our first annual PA State
Atheist/Humanist conference. We couldn’t have done it without our speakers, volunteers, and
attendees. I must say that this event far exceeded our expectations – It’s very exciting to make
history here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in more ways than one. We had about 180
people attend the conference, and you'd be hard-pressed to find such an august lineup of
speakers at anything other than a national conference. Of course, we are exploring how to turn it
around and do it again next year - Stay tuned!
Mayor Linda Thompson
Among the sinners
Memories of the Atheist Convention…
Priscilla Oppenheimer
The euphoria of being in the midst of a sea of atheists and waves of applause for great atheist speakers. Enjoying the
light-heartedness, even hilarity of some of the speakers, a terrific antidote to the depression caused by current inroads of
religionists in the country.
Being totally impressed by the hard work and remarkable success of the organizers of the conference. Best part for me:
running into a former colleague whom I'd lost track of about 13 years ago and catching up on what's happened since.
Karlen Keto
I have been a fan of Dan Barker, as well as Annie Laurie and FFRF, since my first issue of Freethought Today. At the
conference, I actually talked to Dan and as a VIP attendee I sat very close to him as he sang and gave his talk. It had
been my dream of all dreams to attend a concert of Dan's. The conference made my dream come true. I thank every one
of you who made my dream become reality. PS I loved the whole conference. But, this was my favorite experience.
Scenes from the Convention
PAN VP Gail Crow and
Speaker Timothy Havener
Michael Newdow’s energetic talk
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Dan Barker’s performance
November 2012
Barker v. D’Souza
Dietrich Dellinger
On October 2, 2012, Dan Barker (co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation) and Dinesh D'Souza (a
conservative Christian apologist) debated for an hour on the existence of God at Messiah College in Grantham, PA. The
debate was the "opening act" for a lecture by evangelical Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias and was the eighth debate
between the two.
There was nothing in either participants arguments that would be new to anyone who has
heard a few debates on the subject, but I suspect that for many in the audience it might
have been the first time they heard anyone suggest that their god's morality was less than
perfect.
D'Souza was true to form, relying on arguments from design, personal experience, and
urging nonbelievers to "believe the overwhelming testimony of history" - if you've seen him
do this before, he hasn't gotten any better at it.
Barker attacked the issue through theodicy, lack of evidence, and flawed biblical moral
teachings telling the faithful in the audience, "Just walk into any children's hospital and you
know there's no God. Or no good God."
I thought Dan Barker did an excellent job of addressing D'Souza's points (though I'm obviously biased), but at times it
seemed that D'Souza might have been playing to the crowd instead of countering Barker's arguments. He made errors
(special pleading, circular reasoning, an inaccurate definition of atheism) that someone who's debated atheists multiple
times shouldn't make to the point that it started to look intentional.
After the debate several of us met in the lobby and talked for a while during the Zacharias lecture. We spoke with a young
pastor from Liberti Church (because they had brownies!) and then parted ways or queued up to speak with Dan Barker.
____________________
Legal News
Victory! School Board Prayer
On October 4, the Greencastle-Antrim School District Board of School Directors grudgingly admitted that it could no
longer start its meeting with board members reciting the Lord’s Prayer. A moment of silence will replace the prayer. After
PAN’s own Carl Silverman and American Atheists’ Ernest Perce had threatened the Board with legal action, the Board
had vowed that it would fight to keep the prayer. It then contacted the Alliance Defending Freedom and the American
Center for Law and Justice, as well as its own solicitor, for legal advice. The response was that going to court would be
expensive and unlikely to turn out in the board's favor.
Carl notes, “The Greencastle-Antrim School District wisely chose to drop the Lord's Prayer, in favor of a Moment of
Silence. The audience at first broke into audible prayer during the Moment of Silence. However, the public has finally
decided to obey the law by limiting their prayers to the designated public comment period. We have also been informed
of other problematic issues within that school district and are currently investigating the allegations, including that of a
mandatory Christian-oriented assembly for students and staff at the high school in September.”
____________________
Moral Victory! Year of the Bible
It has been widely reported that a federal judge threw out the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s lawsuit challenging
the PA legislature's resolution declaring 2012 the "Year of the Bible." PANViews is counting this as a moral victory,
however, because of U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner’s strong rebuke of the legislature in his decision. He said
that the lawmakers were "pandering” and pushing "the Establishment Clause envelope behind the safety glass of
legislative immunity." Judge Conner kept going, calling the resolution "exclusionary" and a "waste of legislative
resources." He added, “At a time when the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania faces massive public policy challenges,
these resources would be far better utilized in meaningful legislative efforts for the benefit all of the citizens of the
Commonwealth, regardless of their religious beliefs."
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November 2012
However, the legislature remains undaunted. On October 16, it declared, in another so-called non-controversial
resolution, that October is Prayer Month. This nonsense passed with Babette Josephs and Michael O’Brien as the only
dissenting votes. More about Ms. Josephs below.
Rebel Against the Pledge
At a recent routine PA House State Government Committee, chair Daryl Metcalfe asked Rep. Josephs to lead the
committee in the Pledge of Allegiance. She declined. She explained, “Based on my First Amendment rights and based
on the fact that I really think it’s a prayer, I don’t pray in public.” Of course Babette Josephs lost her primary, and has
nothing to lose, but her refusal is still refreshing.
____________________
PANViews Funny
Submitted by Linda Turk
Three boys were in the schoolyard bragging about their fathers. The first boy said, "My dad scribbles a few words on a
piece of paper, he calls it a poem and they give him $50."
The second boy said, "That's nothing. My dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a song and they give
him $100."
The third boy said, "I've got you both beat. My dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a sermon and it
takes eight people to collect all the money."
Funny yet sad.
PAN Board members and officers
Brian Fields, President
Gail Crow, Vice-President
Carl Huber, Secretary
Carl Silverman, Treasurer
Laurence Bernander
Chris Feaster
Jason Fegely
Paulette Parquette
Shannon Turk
Mikki Weidman
Don Zook
Meet the Board
Here is the next installment in our series of brief biographies of your Board. Carl Silverman, a long-time activist and churchstate watchdog, is Treasurer and Capital Area Director of PA Nonbelievers. As a child, his atheism blossomed when he heard
the Noah's Ark story. Later he refused to take Hebrew lessons or have a Bar Mitzvah. He joined PAN back before it became a
corporation around 2002 and has been a part of the Board of Directors for more years than he can remember. His current term
began in 2012 and ends in 2015.
Carl has two hell-bound daughters and one loving but meshugina (look it up, you goyim!) liberal Christian wife. Recently he
underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery, performed by an Ahmadiyya Muslim surgeon.
In the 1990s, he drew national scorn by demanding to distribute "God Is Just Pretend" in his child's school district, in response to
Gideon bible distributions there--which put an end to the bible distributions. Later he ended a church bulletin discount offered by
the Hagerstown (MD) Suns, earning him American Atheists' 1999 "Defending the Wall" award. In 2009 Carl asked to install an
atheist sign in the Chambersburg town square, to accompany the traditional nativity scene. This led to the town ordering the
nativity scene removed to private property. He is also a frequent guest on WHP radio’s Bob Durgin Show. Carl is the founder
and "Zombie Pope" of the Parading Atheists of Central Pennsylvania, dedicated to mocking religion in public parades. He also
participates in the Interfaith Alliance of PA.
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November 2012
Education Committee News
Shannon Turk
Atheist birthdays for October include: Annie Besant, Sting, Gore Vidal, John Lennon, Julia Sweeny, Eleanor Roosevelt,
e.e. cumings, & Joaquin Phoenix
Freethought Wisdom: The War Prayer - Mark Twain
November 1916. “The Great War,” “The War to End All Wars,” has been raging across Europe for two long years.
Germany has launched the world’s first Weapon of Mass Destruction: gas, so diabolically ghastly in its effects, that it has
since been outlawed by international treaty. Non-Interventionist America is teetering on the brink of involvement.
Congress is preparing to launch the “Great Adventure.” President Woodrow Wilson [recently re-elected with the slogan,
“He kept us out of war.”], in a complete reversal of his previous policy, is now exhorting America’s young men to comply
with the new conscription law. The American Anarchist Movement, now at the peak of its political influence, is
encouraging those same young men to resist, to refuse to go…”Over There.” The very fabric of American society is being
ripped asunder by social, political, and economic hysteria. Harper’s Monthly, one of America’s most popular magazines,
has chosen this moment to publish the following from the pen of America’s premier Freethinker:
“O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle—be thou near to them! With them—
in spirit—we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us
to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of
their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain;
help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us wring the hearts of their unoffending
widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended the
waste of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the raw flames of summer, the icy winds of
winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it—for our sakes
who adore thee, Lord blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their way with
their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him who is
the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all those that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite
hearts.”
Just My Opinion: Homosexuality…an Abomination?
Shannon Turk
Recently, at our general meetings, there has been some discussion of homosexuality, mainly as an introduction to a
possible speaker. I’ve decided to try to answer two questions concerning homosexuality. Please keep in mind that these
answers are based on educated opinion, and are not to be considered definitive.
1) Is homosexuality a choice? Fundie Christians often claim that homosexuality is a moral choice that can be
changed. In fact, they frequently attempt “rehabilitation programs,” based on choice.
Biologically, at conception, all zygotes and early fetuses are physiologically and hormonally female. At some
point, around the eighth week, the Y-chromosome initiates a cascade of chemical events, the outcome of which is
a physiological and hormonal change in those individuals destined to become male. If some event interferes with
that process the result will be a physiological male with some degree of hormonal and psychological femininity.
Anything from complete hermaphroditism to homosexuality is possible. Now the question becomes, do 8 week
old fetuses make a conscious choice to have a cascade failure? Somehow, I doubt it.
2) Is homosexuality, as Christians so loudly proclaim, an abomination? Is it? Really? Actually, it is one of a cluster
of Evolutionary adaptations known as the 8% phenomena. Across the human spectrum, all races, all cultures, all
isolated groups: 8% of males are bald; 8% of males are left-handed; 8% of males are color-blind, and 8% of
males are homosexual. In our modern world these phenomena seem pretty trivial. But in the Hunter/Gatherer
world, the world we evolved in, they confer tremendous survival value, not on the individual but on the group. The
tribe.
The Army proclaims, “Be all you can be,” and offers training in various jobs. However, if they discover that you are colorblind, there is only one job you will be given. You will become the “point man” on a combat patrol. Color patterns easily
confuse the normally visioned eye. Incongruent patterns are quickly discerned by the color-blind. Such as camouflage on
an ambush site, or the tiger in the shadows. Do you think there might be survival value in this? Ubetcha.
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November 2012
Evolutionary theory contains a principle known as parallel adaptation. When a predator species evolves an adaptation
which gives it an advantage over its prey, the prey species must evolve a counter-adaptation to maintain the ecological
balance, or become extinct. When humans evolved from opportunistic carrion eaters to hunters, prey animals developed
the ability to recognize the normal human hair pattern. When hunters conceal themselves by crawling through the high
grass to sneak up on their prey, someone must occasionally “pop-up” to orient themselves to the prey. If that someone
has a normal hair pattern, it elicits a panic/flight reaction. If, however, that person has an abnormal pattern, like baldness,
it does not elicit that panic response it may even elicit curiosity. Do you suppose that there is survival value in having a
delay in the flight of your prey? Ubetcha.
Now, just for fun, let’s play a little game of pretend. I want you take up an imaginary spear in your dominant hand. Take a
moment to juggle it in your hand and get its balance. Now throw it in the direction opposite to your dominant side. Now
take up another spear and throw it in the same direction as your dominant side. Feel the difference. The fact is that it’s
almost impossible for a right handed person, using a stone, a spear, a bow, or even a rifle, to hit a moving target traveling
in the direction of his dominant hand. But a left handed person can do it easily. Do you think there might be survival
value in being able to hit your prey in any direction? Ubetcha.
So, what possible survival value can homosexuality have? Well, if those damn fundies will just leave us alone to form
normal avuncular relationships, there is ample reason to believe that it is the most important phenomenon in the cluster.
For several reasons. Under the conditions of Hunter/Gatherer life, a homosexual will likely not have children of his own.
It acts as a natural contraceptive. Do you think that might be survival value in limiting the size of the group?
Suppose daddy was unable to find adequate food, but the homosexual uncle found excess. Without children of his own,
who is he likely to share it with? Do you suppose there is survival value in having extra food in times of famine?
Suppose a child finds him/herself in danger or illness at a time when parents aren’t available to help, but the uncle is. Do
you suppose there is survival value in having an extra care taker? Suppose your daddy is a great hunter; he is likely to
pass his skills onto you. Suppose your homosexual uncle is the best flint knapper the tribe has ever seen. Without
children of his own, who is he going to pass his skills down to? Do you suppose there is survival value in having an
extended education? Uuuuubetcha!
So, to all you 8 percenters out there, fundies may look at you with disdain, but I say…
WELCOME…to our tribe.
Freethought funzie:
What is the meaning of the word apolutrosis?
a. The second coming of George Carlin.
b. A form of religious hysteria.
c. A special form of baptism.
d. A psychiatric diagnosis: religious depression.
See answer at the end of newsletter.
Meetings
Chambersburg - Third Tuesday of the month, November 20, 7:00 pm
Harrisburg - Second Thursday of the month, November 8, 6:45 pm
Lancaster - Fourth Wednesday of the month, November 28, 6:30 pm
Lebanon - Second Wednesday of the month, November 14, 7:00 pm
Lewisburg - Third Sunday of the month, November 18, 6:00 pm
York - First Saturday of the month, November 3, 10:00 am
Donations Needed
Remember to donate to PAN, and that contributions to PAN are tax deductible. We are soliciting sponsors for our semimonthly Free Thought Forum. WRCT, the public access channel in York, will begin charging program sponsors $30 per
show in the near future. More information about Free Thought Forum is given below. We make it easy for you to donate:
you can give your contribution to a Board member at one of our meetings or events, you can donate via PayPal on our
website, www.panonbelievers.org, or you can mail a check to us at PANonbelievers, Inc. PO Box 702, York, PA 17405.
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November 2012
Free Thought Forum
Free Thought Forum is PAN’s semi-monthly call in television show, produced on the
second and fourth Tuesday of each month, at 6:00 pm. If you live in York County, you
can watch it live on WRCT, cable channel 16. It is streamed live on the station’s
website, at http://www.wrct.tv/ and PAN posts the shows on YouTube, at
ttp://www.youtube.com/panonbelievers.
WRCT’s new state of the art facilities
___________________
Volunteer Activity
Jeannie Hess
On October 6, 2012 four PAN members from the Lancaster group participated in
the Light the Night Walk in support of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The
Lancaster group raised $915.00.
The photo shows Don Zook, Elaine Olson, Jeannie Hess and Dietrich Dellinger.
___________________
Update - Boy Scouts, Atheists, the York County United Way, and now, the York Daily Record
It’s always shocking to catch a respected organization or person in a lie. Citizens of York County are having that
experience with the United Way of York County.
Both of York’s daily newspapers have written articles about whether the United Way will continue to support the Boy
Scouts, in light of their exclusionary policy toward the LGBT community. This issue has received a great deal of publicity
recently, and some United Way agencies, such as the Capital Region agency that serves Harrisburg, have decided to
stop funding the Boy Scouts.
Not so the York County United Way, according to Robert Woods, its executive director. A story in the York Daily Record
on October 11, 2012, written by Tim Stonesifer, includes the following paragraph: “Woods stressed that the two United
Way organizations have ‘very different’ anti-discrimination policies, and the York group’s anti-discrimination policy applies
only internally, not directly to partner organizations.”
Really? The United Way of York County’s own website (http://www.unitedway-york.org/UnitedWaySystem.html) states
their position quite differently:
United Way organizations ensure that each organization in which they invest is a non-profit, tax-exempt charity governed
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November 2012
by volunteers and that each organization submits to an annual, independent financial audit, provides services at a
reasonable cost and maintains a policy of non-discrimination. A vast network of volunteers and the simplicity of
corporate payroll deduction keep administrative expenses low. (Emphasis added)
Either Woods is not familiar with his own organization’s policies, or he cynically assumes that everybody else is too lazy to
actually look them up. PAN has brought this contradiction to the attention of the reporter, who has contacted the United
Way, seeking clarification. After a few days, Stonesifer told us that the United Way now says that the non-discrimination
policy did not apply in this case, because the United Way itself does not forbid discrimination because of sexual
orientation in its own bylaws. Leaving aside for the moment that this contradicts the United Way’s original statement, and
really doesn’t make any sense when you read the above policy, we suggested that Stonesifer ask the United Way if its
charter forbids discrimination on the basis of religion. He said that he would.
Of course PAN strongly opposes the Boy Scouts’ treatment of their LGBT members and volunteers. But the religion
question is important, because of the Boy Scouts’ long-standing bigotry against atheists and agnostics, as expressed in
their bylaws:
(http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/guidetoadvancement/appendix/charterandbylaws.aspx)
Section 1. Declaration of Religious Principle, clause 1.The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can
grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God. In the first part of the Scout Oath or Promise
the member declares, “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law.”
The recognition of God as the ruling and leading power in the universe and the grateful acknowledgment of His favors and
blessings are necessary to the best type of citizenship and are wholesome precepts in the education of the growing
members. No matter what the religious faith of the members may be, this fundamental need of good citizenship should be
kept before them. The Boy Scouts of America, therefore, recognizes the religious element in the training of the member,
but it is absolutely nonsectarian in its attitude toward that religious training. Its policy is that the home and the organization
or group with which the member is connected shall give definite attention to religious life.
PAN wrote to the United Way of York County in September, asking how it can reconcile its own stated philosophy with
the Boy Scouts’ clear policy of discrimination. To date we have not received a reply.
So what have we learned? The United Way of York County is so determined to maintain its partnership with the Boy
Scouts that it will lie about what its published rules for member agencies actually mean. And it is so contemptuous of
atheists and agnostics that it does not deign to respond to us at all.
Finally, the York Daily Record issues “roses” for good deeds, and “thorns” for bad ones, every Saturday. In a final insult
to York Countians who care about equal rights for everybody, on Saturday, October 13, the York Daily Record awarded
the United Way a rose, for working to continue to funnel money to the Boy Scouts.
___________________
New American Atheist billboard in Florida
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November 2012
Atheism on the Rise
You’ve probably read about the recent Pew survey that showed that 20% of the US population are non-believers. But did
you see the breakdown of religion among Democrats? Among Democrats, 24% are non-affiliated; other, 18%; black
Protestant, 16%; white mainline Protestant, 14%, white Catholic, 13%; white Evangelical, 9%; Hispanic Catholic, 5%. The
day is coming when at least Democratic politician will be unable to ignore non-believers.
___________________
“Sophisticated” Bigotry
Are you familiar with Sally Quinn? She’s a long-time, controversial writer for the Washington Post. Due to various issues
with her writing, she has been relegated to the Post’s On Faith section.
She wrote a truly silly and offensive article after the first Obama-Romney debate, as you’ll see from the following quote:
“This is a religious country. Part of claiming your citizenship is claiming a belief in God, even if you are not Christian..
We’ve got the Creator in our Declaration of Independence. We’ve got “In God We Trust” on our coins. We’ve got “one
nation under God” in our Pledge of Allegiance. And we say prayers in the Senate and the House of Representatives to
God. An atheist could never get elected dog catcher, much less president.”
Read the actual article at this link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/romney-captures-the-god-vote-at-first-debate/2012/10/04/e897f44c0de3-11e2-bb5e-492c0d30bff6_story.html
As you might expect, Sally received a lot of negative comments, including, unfortunately, threats and insults. She now
says that she assumed her readers would understand that she didn’t think that the impossibility of atheists being elected
to office was a good thing. Perhaps she should have proofread more carefully. Here’s the link to her second column:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/the-god-vote-meets-the-rage-of-atheists-agnostics-andhumanists/2012/10/11/76a547d4-133a-11e2-be82-c3411b7680a9_story.html
Freethought Funzie answer:
The answer is c. The modern meaning is the legal term for redemption. However, it had a special meaning in ancient
times. In the first & second centuries C.E., there was a vast diversity of “Christian” teachings. Among those groups
known as Gnostics [as opposed to the Patristics], when an acolyte was considered ready to advance from the primitive
(Patristic) to the Higher Teachings, they held a special second baptismal ceremony, called apolutrosis. During the forth
century C.E., there was a tremendous power struggle between the Gnostic & Patristic (primitive) groups. Unfortunately,
with the backing of Emperor Constantine, the Patristics won out, & their simplistic teachings evolved into the demondriven drivel we now know as christInsanity.
Reference: Elaine Pagels Beyond Belief
PANViews is published by:
PA Nonbelievers, Inc.
PO Box 702
York, PA 17405
Letters to the Editor, reports of events, even silly religious ones, are welcome. Let the membership know what you notice that may have significance to
Atheists, Agnostics, and Secular Humanists. If you write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, copy it to panonbelievers.org. Grab 15 seconds of
fame among your peers!
Thanks to Dietrich Dellinger, Jeannie Hess, Carl Silverman and Jim Waldie for the pictures in this edition.
PANViews Editors:
Editor
Pam Zerba, [email protected]
Melisa Cochran, [email protected]
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