Note: This looks interesting. Check it out if you’re in NY!

http://tinyurl.com/28ybkl

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev made clear this past weekend that he is an atheist after European news agencies last week claimed that he had confirmed his Christian faith during a visit to the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi in Italy.Gorbachev, the last communist leader of the Soviet Union, confronted speculations that he had been a closeted Christian during an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax.”Over the last few days some media have been disseminating fantasies ? I can’t use any other word ? about my secret Catholicism, citing my visit to the Sacro Convento friary, where the remains of St. Francis of Assisi lie,” Gorbachev said, according to an Interfax article posted Friday.”To sum up and avoid any misunderstandings, let me say that I have been and remain an atheist,? he stated.Rumors for decades had circulated that Gorbachev was a Christian after he moved to loosen restrictions on religious worship and expressed to a party congress a year before the communist state dissolved that ?spiritual rebirth is as essential to society as oxygen,? according to the Chicago Tribune.As a result, media agencies had jumped to conclusions when Gorbachev visited St. Francis? tomb last Wednesday and was seen kneeling for half an hour in silence at the tomb.But Gorbachev, who was baptized Russian Orthodox as a child, explained that his visit to the tomb was as a tourist and not a pilgrim. He acknowledged the important role religion plays in society and said he looks forward to visiting Orthodox churches in Russia, Catholic and Protestant churches in the United States and Europe, synagogues in Israel and mosques in the Arab world, according to Interfax.”But all these years, it has never occurred to anyone to list me among followers of any faith on that basis,” Gorbachev noted.Back in Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church seemed unimpressed with Gorbachev?s visit to St. Francis? tomb.”In Italy, he spoke in emotional terms, rather than in terms of faith,” a spokesman for the Russian Orthodox patriarch Alexei II told the Russian media.”He is still on his way to Christianity. If he arrives, we will welcome him.”

Notice how the Christian spokesperson can’t accept what Gorbachev says himself. He’s not an Atheist, he’s “on his way to Christianity”. This is intolerance (AGAIN), and we should not be open to such BS. If you say you’re a Christian, do we say “you’re on your way to Atheism”? No. We ACCEPT your choice, instead of assuming you’re lying.

A psychology professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem hypothesizes that Moses was probably stoned on Mt. Sinai and tripping when that burning bush spoke to him.I had read once that the entire concept of religion or god was first started by a drug induced high. Dr. Shanon’s peer reviewed paper starts: “In his book Poisons sacr?s, ivresses divines (which, to my knowledge, has not been translated into English), Philippe de F?lice (1970 [1936]) reviews various cultures throughout the world and notes the use of psychotropic substances in them. The use of such substances, most of which fall in our contemporary Western culture under the label ?drug,? has in many traditions been considered sacred. Indeed, de F?lice points out that in many religions, both in the old world and in the new, the use of such substances was (and often still is)central. The substances, or the plants from which they were produced, were deemed holy and at times even divine. De F?lice puts forward the hypothesis that the use of psychotropic substances is deeply embedded in human culture and intrinsically intertwined with what he characterizes as the most basic human instinct?the search for transcendence. Thus, he proposes, the use of psychotropic substances is at the root of perhaps all religions.” From Biblical Entheogens: a speculative hypothesis; Dr. Benny Shanon; Time and Mind: The Journal of Archaeology Consciousness and Culture; Vol.1, Issue 1, March 2008, pp. 51-74Seems like a reasonable assumption to me.Peter Nuhn

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia called for a dialogue among monotheistic religions Monday, marking a first for the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom. “I ask representatives of all the monotheistic religions to meet with their brothers in faith,” Abdullah told delegates to a seminar on “Dialogue Among Civilizations between Japan and the Islamic World,” according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).?If God wills it, we will then meet with our brothers from other religions, including those of the Torah and the Gospel… to come up with ways to safeguard humanity,” he added.Abdullah said the country?s top clerics have given him approval to pursue his idea and that he plans to get the opinion of Muslim leaders from other countries.According to SPA, the Saudi king also intends to address the United Nations on the subject.”We have lost sincerity, morals, fidelity and attachment to our religions and to humanity,” Abdullah said Monday, deploring “the disintegration of the family and the rise of atheism in the world ? a frightening phenomenon that all religions must confront and vanquish.”Abdullah’s message of tolerance comes at a time of religious tensions caused by the re-igniting of a two-year-old controversy over Danish cartoons deemed by Muslims to be insulting.Danish newspapers reprinted the controversial cartoon of the Muslim prophet Mohammed last month in defiance of Islamic extremism and to defend freedom of expression.

There are so many things I can write down here, I really don’t know where to start.Atheists didn’t make your cartoon, Your Highness, and we didn’t kill innocent people when they were published. We’re standing on the side, watch as Islamic hordes killed innocent people because of a drawing. A DRAWING!This reminds me of Hitler. All united against the terrible religious minority, whose only crime is speaking, or even just being. I hope the Jews don’t fall for this.And How exactly can a quote about “vanquishing” a group of people due to their philosophy sound like a “message of tolerance”?Folks, for those who haven’t written a letter to the editor recently, now’s the time. Go sick. Post the letters here. MINE IS POSTED IN THE COMMENTS. And if this P.O.S comes to the UN, we will make our presence known.American Atheists urges all people of all religions to voice their concern over this grave and scary message. These are terrorists and terrorist supporters, and they want you on their side.

Please join us this Thursday, March 27, at 7:00 PM ET for Answers in Atheism. This week’s show will feature a recap of the recent American Atheists Conference. A highlight of the conference was the presentation of The Atheist of the Year Award to our host, Edwin Kagin, for his work in organizing and implementing the Rally For Reason demonstration outside the gates of the Answers in Genesis’ Creation Museum on its opening day. We will talk about this accomplishment plus… We will have our usual news reports, Famous Freethinker of the Week segment, and some great music. See you on the radio at www.answersinatheism.net