These two particularly exquisite flow charts turned up over the last day or so: one from the Joint Chiefs of Staff that explains the counterinsurgency effort in Afghanistan, obtained by NBC News’ Richard Engel, and the other mapping out the counterarguments on gay marriage, via University of Minnesota, Morris professor PZ Myers’ Pharyngula blog.

From it Quist concludes:

Since Antarctica was much warmer when some of the source-maps were drawn than it is today, the theory that man-made carbon dioxide emissions are the primary cause of climate change must be given up.

The same argument has been made in creationist literature. Science blogger PZ Myers points out that many of the Antarctic details of the antique map are wrong.

Quist was nominated this year as a social studies curriculum expert by the Texas State Board of Education, Myers notes. His candidacy failed when no one seconded his nomination by former board chair Don McLeroy. Quist’s academic work includes a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in speech. He in an adjunct professor at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato.

Her Sunday-only column this week took aim at atheism and what she perceives as its detrimental impact on society. She argues that without faith in God, people have no basis to form a moral framework. As a society we are embracing atheism, she writes, “[b]ut before we do, we would be wise to consider the potential consequences.”

Such as? Bloodshed. “The French Revolution, Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Soviet Union — all sought to replace Judeo-Christian ethics with reason, and ended in massive bloodletting,” she wrote. “In ancient Rome, disabled babies were left on hilltops to die.”

Her column sparked outcry from many atheists who say that faith in a Judeo-Christian God does not form the basis for people’s compassion, sense of equality, ethics and morals. People do.

Craig A. James, author of The Evolution of Religion, responded to Kersten’s column on his blog, The Religion Virus:

Her argument presupposes that God exists and gave us our morality, and presupposes that without God there will be no morality. But if you drop the presupposition, that is, assume God does not exist, then the Bible itself proves that Kersten is wrong! The Bible (and many other supposedly God-inspired writings) is full of all sorts of great moral lessons (and some terrible ones, too), and since these were written by men and women, not God, it proves that humans can be moral without divine guidance.

George Francis Kane, public relations officer for the Minnesota Atheists, said that equality is inherently a secular concept:

Atheists base their moral judgments on the actual effects of actions on peoples’ lives, rather than principles religion claims to know with certainty. The religious conception of equality that Kersten touts is equality before the god of the Bible, and is not realized until the afterlife. Equality before the law is a secular concept that could only arise when the legitimacy of government is based in the consent of the governed, rather than divine election. Atheists demonstrate compassion no less than that of Christians, but based upon quality of life rather than unbending absolutes.

PZ Myers, a Minnesota biology professor and recent winner of the Humanist of the Year Award, responded to Kersten on his blog Pharyngula:

I always like how these doctrinaire promoters of “Judeo-Christianity” primly declare that they have such moral authority, when their faith has such a poor track record of promoting morality. Christians have advocated slavery, have murdered people for the awful crime of miscegenation, have decreed that people who don’t have the kind of sex they prefer are second-class citizens. Christians are thieves, murderers, rapists, and jay-walkers; it seems that having a belief in a transcendent authority actually doesn’t equate to being necessarily law-abiding and ethical or even, shocking as that may be, immune from the temptations of their natures.

But it hasn’t yet tackled Bachmann’s Earth Day floor speech about the Obama administration’s plan to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. Biologist P.Z. Myers quickly debunks some of those claims, including the biggie — that because carbon dioxide is naturally occurring it’s “harmless”:

She claims that not one study has ever been produced to show that CO₂ is harmful, and she goes further to claim that CO₂ is a harmless gas. We could correct that in just a few minutes: give me a large tank of CO₂ and a small room containing Michele Bachmann, and we’ll give her a personal experience.

Update: Bachmann is using the DCCC site to fundraise, according to MPR. She sent out an email that reads, in part:

“The Democrats are gunning for me because I refuse to shrink from a fight. With your help, I can keep fighting for your freedom, for your pocketbook, and for all that the Constitution has secured for the American people for generations.”

In his address on Tuesday, Barack Obama said, “We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and nonbelievers.”

That last word has garnered praise from many corners.

PZ Myers, perhaps Minnesota’s most prominent “nonbeliever”: “It’s a small thing, but appreciated. Everyone seems to be a bit unsatisfied with his specific choice of word, and I agree a bit. The better choice, the word that would have been more inclusive and positive, is ‘freethinkers.’ Someone let his speechwriters know.”

American Atheists’ Ed Buckner: “In his Inaugural Address today, President Barack Obama finally did what many before him should have done, rightly citing the great diversity of Americans as part of the nation’s great strength and including ‘non-believers’ in that mix. His mother would have been proud, and so are we. ”

Ronald A. Lindsay, president of the Center for Inquiry, “a global federation committed to science, reason, free inquiry, secularism, and planetary ethics.”: “For much of American history, agnostics and atheists were denied important civil rights, and in some states, until the early 1960’s, were explicitly forbidden from holding public office. Even after these legal constraints had been removed, nonbelievers were stigmatized or ignored by most politicians. We are encouraged that President Obama has unambiguously indicated he will be the president of all Americans.”

PZ Myers (Wikipedia)

While Catholic bishops and priests can hear confessions about sins as severe as murder or genocide, the Vatican’s 830-year-old Apostolic Penitentiary is “reserved for crimes which are viewed by the Church as even more serious,” writes the UK’s Telegraph. In Rome this week, this secretive “tribunal of conscience” held a two-day panel to discuss what it does and how it works. Crimes so grave they can only be absolved by the pope include attempting to assassinate the pontiff, directly participating in (or funding) abortion or desecrating the Eucharist. The inclusion of that last sin seems to put University of Minnesota professor PZ Myers in a worse class of sinner, in the eyes of Catholics, than genocidal dictators. The Telegraph even mentions the atheist biology professor, who blogged about his desecration of a communion wafer last summer, although it’s not clear from the article whether his case was specifically discussed by the Apostolic Penitentiary:

Cardinal Stafford said there had been a rise in incidents in which people would receive Communion and then spit it out or otherwise desecrate it, sometimes in Satanic rituals.

In July last year an American academic, to make a point about freedom of thought and religion, drove a nail through a Communion wafer and then threw it in a rubbish bin.

Paul Myers, from the University of Minnesota, said later: “I pierced it with a rusty nail. Then I simply threw it in the trash. Question everything. God is not great, Jesus is not your Lord.”

Such sins, which can only be dealt with by the Pope, acting through the tribunal, bring automatic excommunication from the Church. If the Pope decides to grant absolution, the excommunication is lifted.

Blogging about the news yesterday, Myers asked, “But how can I be excommunicated from a church to which I’ve never belonged?”

In response he got hate mail and death threats from across the globe, or what Myers termed “the most impressive demonstration of mass lunacy I have ever seen.” He finally followed through on the threat, piercing a communion wafer with a rusty nail and tossing it in the trash. The Minnesota Independent published an interview with the unrepentant cracker abuser in July.

A phalanx of riot police ready themselves at the RNC. Photo: Tim Roman

Newswise, it was an eventful 2008, thanks to the Republican National Convention, the historic election of Barack Obama, Sarah “In what respect, Charlie?” Palin, John McCain, Michele “anti-American” Bachmann, P.Z. Myers (and the communion “cracker” incident) and, now, the ongoing recount of ballots in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken. MnIndy had a record year: We more than doubled 2007’s readership, welcoming nearly two million unique visitors, and saw nearly 6,000 comments. Here are two gauges of the stories you liked best — top 10s of the most-read and most-discussed stories.

The year’s most-read stories:

10. “Boot print on his back: Photographs, video of 17-year-old RNC protester after run-in with police,” Paul Schmelzer, September 2

12,433 views

9. “Crackdown begins: Food Not Bombs house among Saturday raids,” Jeff Severns Guntzel and Paul Schmelzer, August 30

12,483 views

8. “Youth in iconic RNC protest photo was later beaten by police, according to his mother,” Paul Schmelzer, September 2

14,670 views

7. “Bachmann controversy upends views of her re-election prospects,” Paul Demko, October 21

14,649 views

6. “Police seize ‘propaganda literature,’ staples, curtain rods, and caltrops from raided home on 17th Avenue,” Molly Priesmeyer, August 30

15,571 views

5. “Alcohol, Tobacco and Firecracker?: ‘Explosion’ in St. Paul leads to rounding up anyone with a backpack,” Molly Priesmeyer, September 3

15,739 views

4. “Franken campaign decries frivolous challenges,” Paul Demko, November 21

16,080 views

3. “RNC DIY: Plant this in your yard,” Paul Schmelzer, June 30

16,093 views

2. “Crowd control at the RNC: Fifty million unanswered questions,” Jeff Severns Guntzel, September 7

17,712 views

1. “Norm Coleman: ‘I’m a winner’ and ‘most challenges will be dismissed’,” Chris Steller, November 21

52,110 views

Most-commented stories:

10. “Letter from Alaska: Palin a maverick? Please,” David Noon, September 16: 60 comments

9. “October Surprise: Bachmann raises more than $120,000 for Tinklenberg,” Paul Schmelzer, October 18: 61 comments

8. “DCCC Poll: Bachmann’s lead in the Sixth is down to four points over Tinklenberg,” Andy Birkey: 63 comments

7. “Bachmann controversy upends views of her re-election prospects,” Paul Demko, October 21: 81 comments

6. “Bachmann calls critics of her ‘anti-America’ statements ‘liars,’” Andy Birkey: 81 comments

5. “Boot print on his back: Photographs, video of 17-year-old RNC protester after run-in with police,” Paul Schmelzer, September 2: 88 comments

4. “New McCarthyism: Bachmann calls for investigation of ‘anti-American’ Congress members,” Andy Birkey, October 17: 94 comments

3. “MnIndy interview: Unrepentant science-heathen PZ Myers still intends to prove ‘this cracker is nothing,’” Paul Schmelzer, July 14: 100 comments

2. “Crackdown begins: Food Not Bombs house among Saturday raids,” Jeff Severns Guntzel and Paul Schmelzer, August 30: 100 comments

1. “Youth in iconic RNC protest photo was later beaten by police, according to his mother,” Paul Schmelzer, September 2: 151 comments

Special thanks to our many current and past staffers and freelancers who made 2008 such a success, including: Abdi Aynte, Ken Avidor, Andy Birkey, Joe Bodell, Karl Bremer, Paul Demko, Mike Dvorak, Jeff Fecke, Tom Elko, Dan Haugen, Robin Marty, Jefferson Morley, Tony Nelson, David Noon, Nancy Olsen, Steve Perry, Anna Pratt, Molly Priesmeyer, Britt Robson, Tim Roman, James Sanna, Jeff Severns Guntzel, Peter S. Scholtes and Chris Steller.

More of MnIndy’s Best:

Top 10 photos of 2008
Top videos of 2008

Best RNC tweets

I wasn’t going to make any major investment of time, money, or effort in treating these dabs of unpleasantness as they deserve, because all they deserve is casual disposal. However, inspired by an old woodcut of Jews stabbing the host, I thought of a simple, quick thing to do: I pierced it with a rusty nail (I hope Jesus’s tetanus shots are up to date). And then I simply threw it in the trash, followed by the classic, decorative items of trash cans everywhere, old coffeegrounds and a banana peel. My apologies to those who hoped for more, but the worst I can do is show my unconcerned contempt.

Myers also stabbed the nail into pages from the Qur’an and fellow atheist Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion so as not to single out only one faith. His actions were in response to threats of harm and death that came after a Florida student attempted to take an uneaten host from a church after communion. Myers’ blog post on the topic earned him death threats of his own, as well as the suggestion by some Catholics that he desecrate the Qur’an as well, apparently to raise the ire of Muslims.

We’ll just say it’s a theological demonstration the likes of which we hadn’t encountered before. And for what it’s worth, we’re betting PZ Myers hasn’t either.