But one last, special issue of American Atheist was not enough to satisfy American Atheist members nor its officers and board of directors. The magazine had to be "born again" and published on a regular schedule. Due to logistical problems relating to production, however, it has proved necessary to publish the magazine as a quarterly rather than a monthly as previously was the case. Accordingly, the subscription price is being lowered to $20 per year. Unfortunately, the stunning increase since 1992 in the cost of paper and printing supplies and the escalation in postal rates has made it impossible to provide the magazine free as an incident of membership in American Atheists, Inc. Since there are no gods to suspend the laws of nature (or economics!) for us, we have had to face the reality that the magazine will be available only by special subscription. (A subscription form has been included with this magazine, and we hope everyone will fill it out and mail it in right away.) 

The issue before you has been assigned the volume number 35, a number one greater than the volume number of the last regular issue released in 1992. While there may be some confusion resulting from the equation of volume 34 with 1992 and volume 35 with 1996-1997, that confusion will be far less than what would result if we counted one volume per year and came up with 38 for the new volume. Librarians and everyone else would suppose there were forty missing issues! We hope it will seem obvious to the bibliographically aware, when they see that the volume number of the first new issue is just one unit greater than the last known regular issue published, that publication was suspended for several years. 

The theme of this first new issue is "Millennium Madness," referring of course to the insanity already begun as Christendom counts out the minutes remaining in the twentieth century of the Christian era. In many ways, this issue is a tour-de-force performance by Conrad Goeringer, a contributing editor of the American Atheist and the director of American Atheists On-line Services. Conrad has written a book on millennialism, from which his articles in this magazine have been excerpted. It is our hope that American Atheist Press will be able to publish the entire book. Certainly, the topic is timely! 

In addition to the contributions of Mr. Goeringer, we have an article by Dr. John Higdon on the religious psychology involved in millenialist escapism and an article by James Pullen, Jr., exposing the Apocalypse (the biblical book that is the cause of most of the hysteria now being spread by religious contact) as just an astral allegory interpreting the "signs in the sky" in order to understand what should happen some time in the first century -- not some time thousands of years in the biblical author's future. To place perhaps the last nail in the millennialist coffin, my own article "Where Jesus Never Walked" has been included. It demonstrates that much of the geography of the New Testament is fictional, and that "Nazareth" did not exist during the first century C.E. Without Nazareth, "Jesus of Nazareth" enters the realm of characters such as the Wizard of Oz. If he didn't come the first time, no use waiting for a second Coming! Just in case Jesus of not-Nazareth should return, however, we have a short story by Henry Oliver poking good-natured fun at JC for returning to unholy Toledo instead of the Holy Land. 

We have been unable, in this first new issue, to include all the departments that formerly the magazine contained. Letters to the Editor were left out for the simple reason that letters received back in 1992 no longer are pertinent. Readers of this issue who are moved by its contents to write to us to share their opinions are invited to do so. 

Another department we would like to include in the next issue is Talking Back. This feature provides several short answers to a "typical" religious question often asked of Atheists. Responses are limited to 200-250 words. Two suggested questions to chew on: (1) How can you be moral if you don't believe in a god? Without god, all is permitted; (2) Don't you know that Jesus loves you? Why don't you open your heart and let him come in? 

Me Too is another department we would like to carry once again. This is for essays 650 to 1,500 words long that are written in response to topics covered by American Atheist or of general interest to the Atheist community. 

We hope that this first new issue of American Atheist will be found pleasing in proportion to the amount of work that has gone into producing it. The next issue will, of course, be better!