‘Ask an Atheist’ attracts fewer challengers, more curious listeners

Less than 15 minutes into the fourth annual "Ask an Atheist" panel, the discussion had already shifted to death.

It may seem like a heavy topic for a Thursday evening. But for the four Secular Humanists of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln members sitting on a panel designed to answer questions about atheism, it was just another talking point.

"You see lots of death in nature," said member Emily Zahn, a junior biological sciences major who sat on the panel for the first time. "It's just what happens. I view death as an entirely natural process. It's a fact: We are all going to die. It might be painful, it might not. It's just the end of a life."

And they were just getting started. From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, the panel members answered questions about the origins and nature of their beliefs. They spoke about love, fossil records and everything in between.

About 50 people attended the event in the Nebraska Union auditorium, not including the SHUNL members who patrolled the room with note cards on which attendees could write questions.

For the first time, the second hour of the event consisted of one-on-one and small group discussion between SHUNL members and audience members.

"We got a lot of good questions and we answered them well," Zahn said. "Obviously we're not here to convert people; it's more just to bring understanding. And I think we accomplished that."

There were "surprisingly few Bible quotes" in audience questions, according to moderator and senior English major Neal Gebhard, but the conversation soon turned to Christianity and miracles. Panelists had a succinct response to those questions, however: Don't always believe what you see.

"Just because we don't know how to explain some kind of testimony, it seems kind of a stretch to jump to a supernatural explanation," said Michael Milone, a senior psychology and philosophy major and vice president of SHUNL. "That should be the last resort."

The meaning of life was also a frequent discussion point for the panelists, who said they don't seek out significance in a celestial being.

"I don't see how life could be pointless," said first-time panelist Ethan Van Winkle, a senior physics and math major. "Every single action that I do affects the total of everything. Everything that you're doing is affecting something in some way."

Van Winkle's sister, Heather Poore, attended the event although she is Christian. She was one of many audience members seeking a greater understanding of atheism rather than an arena for argument.

"If I ever want to understand and appreciate what he thinks, I have to step out of my comfort zone," said Poore, who graduated from UNL in 2002 with a degree in elementary education. "I have a very sheltered existence, and I like it that way, but I also have to step out of that."

But not all audience members felt they gained something from the discussion.

"I just wanted to see if there were any plausible arguments," said Matt Simmons, a focus missionary with the Newman Center. "There weren't. It seemed to me to be more of a sense of rebellion."

According to the panelists, though, their beliefs revolve less around rebellion against the beliefs with which they were raised and more around personal fulfillment.

"It's nice to know that all of my accomplishments and all of my failures are my own, not part of some plan," said Kate Miller, a sophomore philosophy major, SHUNL president and returning panelist.

And when the discussion shifted to morality, the panelists were ready to answer a frequently asked question: As an atheist, where does your sense of morality come from?

"I don't value (morality) because someone has said that it's good." Milone said. "I don't value it because it was written somewhere. I value it because it makes the world a better place. It gives everyone a shot at well-being."

jacymarmaduke@dailynebraskan.com