Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
""~ ~;a.,~
Vol.
No.
50 Cents
--------------------------- --------~--------------------------------------
GENERALl.y
SPEAKING,
In This Issue ..
NEWS
NEWSCOPE
PRAY FOR PEACE
GOD & THE MAGIC SEVEN
LETTERS TO YE EDITOR
BOOK OF THE MONTH
EDITORIAL
I
U
14
16
20
22
23
The Staff ..
EDITOR IN CHIEF
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Robert Anton Wilson Jack Brady
Ralph Blois
CONTRIBUTING
Lou Alt Virgil McClain
CIRCULATION
William Murray
PUBLISHER THE FREETHOUGHT SOCIETY OF AMERICA. Inc.
PRINTING by THE GUSTAV BROUKAL FREETHOUGHT PRESS
GUSTAV BROUKAL
'TAX GIFT'
SPECIAL
FAVORS
Atheist,
Baltimore
12, Maryland
News
fees for exclusive
stories and pictures. The
father is still employed and the family seems to
be faring very well without tax relief other than
that available to anyone and everyone. That this
Roman Catholic family should be singled out is
base discrimination
against all other families,
especially
families which are larger than the
Fischer family.
Just because predominantly Roman Catholic
Canada favored the Dionne quintuplets
is no
reason why our country should favor a family because of the actions of nature, and because they
are Roman Catholic. Many people in the United
States could use a special tax relief measure for
their group - particularly the aged who are on
fixed income.
The bill number and the correct
the appropriate
Senate Committee
article, for your use.
address of
heads this
MEMO
President Lyndon B. Johnson was the first
American to receive the Grand Cross of Merit
from the Roman Catholic Order of Malta.
OF ALL THINGS!
"Ngo Dinh Diem {of South Vietnam). .. rejected
by a Catholic seminary, because he failed to
qualify, was picked up by Cardinal Spellman and
the State Department to be groomed as 'their man
in Saigon'. tt from Wilfred G. Burchett's The Furtive War, p. 83.
And from The Register,
the U. S. RomanCatholic weekly of October 13, 1963, "Mme. Nhu
- outspoken but a sincere convert."
We always
thought they were the worst kind. Remember
Clare Luce Booth? And, who has not read the
book:
DALLAS,
Fourteen
Methodist
TEXAS
Ministers
have rallied to
Page
HISTORY
OF AN ATHEIST
CENTER.
attorney who
soll, agnostic
ficer in the
after the war.
superintendent
attorney and
was a disciple of Robert G. Ingerleader. Walser, who was an ofUnion Army, went to Lamar, Mo.,
He became the Barton County first
of schools,
later prosecuting
then a member of the legislature.
Il
Liberal,
bership
encompassing
town's 612 residents.
Hthe
majority"
WE INSIGN I FICANT
of the
FEW
GRAVEN
IMAGES
is John
E. Shubin,
a member
of
the Russian
Molcke n Christian
Holy Spiritual
Jumpers faith. The driver contends
that the Mo~
tor Vehicles
Code deprives
him of his constitutional right to freedom of worship since the sect
believes
photography
a violation
of Exodus 20:4
of the Bible:
"Thall shalt
images
or any
heaven
above,
or thai is in the
The pastor
of the Old Romanski
Church of
which Mr. Shubin is a member explained
that the
Molokans
migrated
from Czarist
Russia
from
19U5 to 1914 "to live in a land with freedom and
just.ice for all". The main body of the church migrated to Los Angeles
and the majority
of the
sect lives there.
FREEDOM
OF THE PRESS
Protestants
United of Washington,
D. C. last
month released
a statement
in regard to their
difficulties
in purchasing
advertising
in national
magazines.
Answering
a question
which is often
asked,
'The Knights
of Columbus
advertise
in
magazines,
why don't you?' they replied through
their Executive
Director,
Glenn L. Archer,
as
follows:
"The
answer
is simple.
POATJ's advertisements are refused by the major magazines.
Why?
They give many reasons,
but the real one is
probably their unstated
fear of reprisal
by clerical censors.
"On my desk right now are letters from TIME
LOOK, NEWSWEEK and the SA TURDA Y EVENING POST,_ All say the same thing in different
words: NO! (Even though the same ad has run in
five of the nation's
most respected
religious
magaz iues . r"
This appears
to us as a typical
every day
example
of Freedom
of The Press ... for Catholies,
while Protestant
groups struggle
for expression
in leading
magazines,
and Atheist
groups
do not have a prayer
(excuse
the expres s ion l). Yet these
same magazines
prattle
away about the great Free World's Press.
For those of you who subscribe
to the above
magazines
- you all know how to write letters!
Page 3
ALLIANCE
FOR WHAT!!
The United States is aiding Columbia's Public School system through the Alliance for Pro.gre ss . In 1962 the aid was $3,500,000 in grants.
In the
taught to
emies of
employed
schools.
the.
apfor
had
A
documented book by Edmond Paris is a-.
vailable from our book service for $5.00. This
is Genocide in Satellite Croatia, 1941 - 1945.
The book is strong medicine, and anyone who
reads it must be prepared to come away shocked
and deeply disturbed.
Artukovic has previous ly been ruled deportable. He entered this country from Ireland under a false name, Aloys Anich, which is sufficient reason for deportation alone. However,
the immigration service has stayed his deport-
Page 4
$400,000
GOODBYE
The Chicago Sun Times in an editorial decried the actions of the Board. The editorial
said:
"Let us be frank. Obviously, he (the Board member) believes that all Roman Catholics of the
community are opposed to such a clinic even lor
those who are not Catholics
and who have no
scruples against birth control. This is not neeessarilya
correct belief.
"The time is overdue for public officials to face
up to the religious issues involved in discussing birth control and particularly to acquaint
themselves
with the dialogue that is going on
within the Catholic church itself about it."
The
written
fessor
Dame.
The American
Atheist,
Baltimore
12, Maryland
Pronot
imstill
the
fiat
or governmental
directive
upon
AWAKE WITNESSES
"Awake" is the semimonthly magazine published by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. (117 Adams St.k Brooklyn
1, New York) The Watchtower Society is the
voice of the Assemblies of Jehovah's Witnesses.
In Volume XLIV, Number 16 they print a four
page article titled "Bible Reading - But Not in
School" in defense of the Supreme Court Decision.
They ask how the decision stands in the light
of the Holy Bible and answer in this vein:
"For true Christians it (the decision) merely underscores what the Bible clearly teaches-that
it
is the parents'
res ponsibility
to teach their
children true worship. This is made clear not only in the Hebrew Scriptures but in the Christian
Greek Scriptures where fathers are told: "Go on
bringing them up in the discipline and authoritative advice of Jehovah."
(Eph , 6:4; Deut. 6:6,7)
Christians are not to sidestep their God-given res pons ibil ity , trying to turn it over to schools or
the state. God gave it to you parents. He holds
you responsible, ... Rather than talk against a
court decision that places the responsibility
for
religious training where God has already placed
it, Christian parents will talk Bible truths, to
put in the minds of their children the "authoritative advice" of Jehovah God.
AND PRESBYTERIANS
On November 28th the General Council of the
United Presbyterian Church issued a letter to its
3,200,000 members. In the historical existence
of the church only three previous letters have
been issued on matters of such "extreme importance. The letter also appeared in the December issue of the denomination's
official publication, "Presbyterian
Life".
Essentially
the United Presbyterian
Church
said through their General Council that they will
not back down on their support of the Supreme
Court ruling prohibiting Bible Reading and Prayer in the public schools and on their stand for
racial justice.
The letter stated':
"We cannot afford the luxury of being s pectators of history. God calls us to be participants,"
Page 6
." "When children are coerced by law, intimidation, custom or other pressures to express or accept a faith that is neither theirs nor that of
their parents, their humanity is denied."
"When men are turned away from God's house
because of the color of their skin, their humanity is denied. When men, women and children, because of their color, are berated, beaten and
bombed for trying to vote, to get an education,
buy a house, or be served in a public place,
their humanity is denied."
The letter, entitled" Of Judgment and
c iliation " was signed on behalf of the
by Rev. Silas G. Kessler, moderator of
hundred seventy-fifth General Assembly
Rev. Theophilus
M. Taylor, Secretary
General Council.
Rec oncouncil
the one
and the
of the
YOUR HONOR?
In a decision that hits squarely at freedom
of religion, the U. S. Court of Appeals in Illinois has upheld a lower court's denial of a
The American Atheist,
Baltimore
12, Maryland
prisoner's
right to receive the Holy Quran, bible
of the Mus lims. The petitioner,
Thomas Cooper,
age 31, who was sentenced
to two one hundred
year terms ten years ago after a tavern killing,
had asked the court to be permitted
to receive
Mus lim literature.
Canon
John
Poarce-H iggins
of Southwark
Cathedral,
Church of England,
in London, criticized the Brhle this fall as a record heavy with
wrong history and unfulfi l.ed prophecies.
Appeals
Judge F. Ryan Duffy brazenly
ftsserted the denial was based on "certain
social
studies"
which purport to show that the Muslims
are not a religious
movement, but one dedicated
to "the overthrow of the white race".
"I cons idc.r the pre seri. use of the Bible made
by the average Christian
teacher to be one of the
greatest
obstacles
to hunan brotherhood
and interracial
understanding
that exists."
the Canon
said.
In Seattle,
Washington,
an ordinance
has been
proposed for opening housing so that discrimination because
of race or creed would beprohibited. Opposition
was expected,
but the type of
opposition
and the direction
it has taken is unusual.
Rev. Thomas W. Miller, minister
of the Calvary Bible Presbyterian
Church, has appointed
himself 'the voice' of the conservative
religious
groups which oppose
the ordinance.
He daily
preaches
against
the ordinance
in broadcasts
over Radio Station
KNBX, Seattle,
Washington.
Mr. Miller bases
his reasons
for opposition
to
the ordinance
on religious
grounds. He would not
rent to an Atheist
for any reason,
and reasons
in this manner:
"The ordinance
forbids a Christian
to rent a
house
to a Negro who is a Christian
if an
Atheist were first to discover
the availability
of
the accommodation.
I personally
know of a family who would rather rent to a Negro Christian
than a white Atheist because
of many sad experiences with neighbors
who are Atheists."
But whether
he really
wants a Negro Christian for a neighbor
is revealed
in his further remarks:
"What the Negro and white civil-rights
leader reed is more understanding
of the will of God
-- 'Thou shalt not covet'.
As an individual,
every individual,
every person finds acceptance
by forcing his way into another's
life with the
attitude
of being as good as the other fellow?
The real solution to present racial problems will
come from the milk of human kindness
obtained
by the preaching
of the glorious gospel of Jesus
Christ. "
The American
Atheist,
Baltimore
12, Maryland
BUT THEftE
WHAT NOW?
On October
lege
in South
25th of thi-, year St. Mary's ColBend, Ind ie.na , opened a drive to
Page 7
GOODBYE
DR. SILVER
OUT OF THEIR
OWN MOUTHS
VATICAN
SEPARATION
OF CHURCH
AND STATE
volunteer
for a test?
Page
ONLY IN BALTIMORE
EXPLOIT
support
of the foundation
are:
**Francis
Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop
**Governor Dempsey of Conneticut.
**Governor Reed of Maine
**Governor Burns of Hawaii
**Governor King of New Hampshire
**Ex-President
Dwight D. Eisenhower.
**Conrad Hilton
of N ,Y.
The Foundation
releases
news reports
generously headlined
in the local Hearst paper. The
latest tidbit is a plan to form local chapters
in
each state and begin a vast membership
drive.
TM E LITTLE
rolling in
c ontr ib-
The Catholic
control of this gold mine - er,
excuse us - ah, of this children's
home is now
flaunted
in a name change.
Currently
it is
designated
as "Father
Flanagan's
Boys' Home".
The President
Bishop of Omaha,
Need anyone
of it is the
Nebraska.
say
Roman
Catholic
more?
WHAT THEY'RE
The religionists
in this country, in their selfish clamoring,
will never be able to unite together long enough to do anything
other than
to form a new group. The listing above
speaks
for itself, with names known to every intelligent
and informed American.
CHILDREN
SAYING
"Countries
that practice
death control must
also practice
birth control or prepare now for a
time when their people will have to live standing up because
there won't be room to s it or lie
down. "
Dr. Clement Markert
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore,
Mary land
The American Atheist,
Baltimore
12, Maryland
Newscope
Congress has passed and President Johnson
has signed a one and a quarter billion College
Aid Bill.
The bill, authoriz ing money for grants and
loans over the next three years, was passed, 54
to 27, over the protests of senators who objected
to its provision for aid to church-related colleges
and UII ivers ities .A
A floor fight on the college aid bill was led
by Senators Ervin <D., N. C.) and Cooper <R.,
Ky.), who had sponsored an amendment designed
to guarantee a court test of the constitutionality
of a id to institutions with re ligious ties.
This provision was discarded in conference
at the insistence of House negotiators. A s imiJar clause had been defeated on the House floor.
Ervin called the grants to church-related institutions "a violation of the First Amendment."
He and Cooper asked the Senate to reject the
conference bill, then go back and insist on the
amendment. Cooper said it "would be a travesty
if the Congress would permit this bill to pass
without giving the Supreme Court a n opportunity
to say" if the grants are constitutional.
Senator Hill <D., Ala.), chairman of the Labor
and Public Welfare Committee, called the grants
a "complete negation of the fundamental principle of the separation of church and state."
But 37 Democrats and 17 Republicans voted
for the bill, while only 17 Democrats and 10 Republicans opposed the bill. E
Eleven of the 45 senators who had originally
voted for the Ervin-Cooper amendment on October 15 switched sides and voted for the bill withwithout amendment.
This bill, along with tax exemptions, put the
churches now, in strength, in the education business. This is th~ field in which there is most
danger for the shaping of minds is involved.
The American Atheist
of these operations
are as follows:
Business
Machines
(IBM) Corp., and United
Fruit Company Wine, Beef and Trading Stamps ,
:}:
St. Andres Church, Chicago, owns Hollywood Roosevelt and Sacramento EI Rancho hotels purchased for $10 million.
;'0;
have invested $1'.5 million in Laie VilHawaii. Here they feature Samoan fife
and other entertainment
to bait th~
tounst.
Page 12
Baltimore
12, Maryland
for invest-
$11.700,000
133,227
Pennsylvania:
Ohio
California
Maryland
New Jersey
We have one question. When churches in America have 'gift' incomes alone of approximately $4.5 billion a year, when they have incomes
from businesses
-- really only touched upon above, why should they need this additional
windfall from the College Aid Bill?
or- -
.
.
$ 25,200,000
398,662
..... 14%
...... 14.9
13.5
17.
18.
I BELIEVE
I believe for every drop of rain that falls someone gets wet.
I believe that somewhere in the darkest night someone does fret.
Since 1950, all income of a church (or association or convention of churches) is tax exempt
whether it is related or unrelated business in-'
come.
Many churches are moving in fast where there
are urban renewal developments in maj or cities.
The Supervis or of the Federal Government surplus disposal program reports the following figures for the period since 1945:
I believe.
I believe.
dry.
efforts'
The facts are that during World War I, the Roman Catholic church took the lead in urging the
prosecution of the war, and that on both sides.
Most revealing is the fact that in 'The Kaiser's
Memoirs', William II tells of the friendly, trusting relationship
existing between .him and the
Pope (Leo XIII) and how this Pope once had
said to him: "Germany must become the sword
Page 14
Central
course
flict. "
powers
would
only in the last
it ~
CO]t-
This position
of the Roman Catholic; church
was in line with her policy. Thus the "Homiletic
and Pastoral
Review"
of May, 1949 states,
"Ail
sorts of private individuals
may feel that a given
war is unjustifiable;
but that is scarcely
enough
to justify them in refusing
to fight and. undergoing the consequences
therefor."
Roman Cath clies in the United States who have claimed conscientious
objection
have had their claims voiced by the courts on the grounds that their church
did not support
their position .(3) No wonder,
then, that Abrams, author of "Preachers
Present
Arms",
said he was unable to locate a s iuglc
priest who had scruples
against World War 1.
That the major blame for World War II must be
laid at the feet of totalitarianism,
and es pec ia lly Nazism,
is well known. But not equally we'I
known
is the fact that the Roman Cathol ic
church played the leading role in Nazifying
Germany. This, however,
should not seem s ingulcr
in view of the success
of dictators
in Italy, Spa in
and the Dominican
Republic,
all of whom the Roman Catholic
church claims are 99 or more percent hers. The Nazi Party was formed in Germany's most Catholic
state, Bavaria.
The great
majority of the Nazi hierarchy
were Roman Catholics, even though Germany at the time was orly about one-third Roman Catholic.
Adolph Hitler was a baptized
Roman Catholic
(4); so were the Goebbels
(5), "Kaltenbrunner,
Eichmann's
immediate
superior officer, He inric 'i
Mueller,
the Gestapo
chief,
and Rudolf Hes s ,
the Commandant
of Auschwitz
(6), who E tates .n
his autobiography,
"I personally
arranged on 01ders from Himmler in May, 1941 the gassing
of
two million persons between June-July
194J and
the end of 1943, during which time I was Commandant of Auschwitz."
Another was Walter Schultze,
sentenced
as
recently as May 10, 1960 for his part in the murder of 380 mental patients.
He did not feel that
he had done anything
wrong, because
"at that
time an order from the Fuehrer was law for us."
(8) Hitler's vice-chancellor
who suspiciously
es
caped
the death
sentence
at the Nuremberg
trails, was made a Papal Secret Chamberlain
c.
the Cape and Sword by Pope Pious XI. Althougl
The American
Atheist,
Baltimore
12, Maryland
---.-.-
Particularly
vital was the role the Roman
Catholic
Center Party played in Hitler's
rise to
rower. I ts chancellors,
Dr. Bruening and Franz
yon Papen, together
with its head Msgr. Kaas.
japa l prelate and professor
Ecclesiastical
Law
at Bonn paved the way over a period of several
years for Hitler to take over. (12)
The Roman Catholic
church must therefore
e cce pt her full share
of blame for that dark
llotch on the pages of Germany's
history,
the
horrors of the concentrations
camps, as told in
such books as "The
Theory
and Practice
of
Hell" by Kogen; "Forgive-But
Do Not Forget"
by Salvesen,
"Commandant
of Auschwitz"
by
Hoes s , to mention but a few. They tell of the
slaughter
of some seven million
in concentration camps alone,
the majority
of whom were
Jews;
of Doctors
sadistically
degrading
the ir
profession
by performing
all manner of diabolica I experiments
on human guinea pigs, of ever
so many being beaten to death, cooked to death
by steam,
buried
alive
in trenches,
torn to
death by dogs.
The
Concordate
that
the
Vatican
concluded
Page 15
References
1. The Case of Dr. Bruening,
Bernhard Mennes,
pp. 15-79.
2. The Vatican and the War, Camille C laniarra,
p.325.
3. Hitler, Konrad Heiden, p. 10.
4. The Christian
Century, Nov. 17, 1954.
5 .. Wiesbadener
Tagblatt,
Feb. 28, 1960, p.2
6. Die Weit, June 11, 1960, p. 17
7. Commandant
of Auschwitz,
Rudolf
Hoes s,
These
Concordats
gave Mussolini
and Hitler
great advantages.
Each held the Roman Catholic
church to its side of the bargain. Especially
useful to the Dictators
were these Concordats
in
World War II. Then history
repeated
itself,
for
the Roman Catholic church again vigorously
supported the war on both sides.
p,
Pope
really
mean
17.
The foregoing
should be sufficient
to show
how much the Roman Catholic
Church
is responsible
in relation
to the two World Wars and
the Nazi and Fascist
terrors.
1959.
to pray
13.
pp.
14.
pp.
Documents
216/241.
Documents
442-452.
on International
on International
Affairs,
Affairs,
1929,
1933,
It
v;
16
ford
eral
ager
has
year
The number seven has always been popular among those who attempt
to prove the existence
of God. Apparently
one or two reasons
is considered
insufficient.
Let us examine
some of
these
"magic
sevens"
and see if the proof is
valid.
The American Atheist,
Baltimore
12, Maryland
Reader's
Digest for October,
lS3Q., carrie: a
reprint
of a December,
19'f6, article
on sev m
p.oofs of God. The Plain 'I'rut'i, Fe bn.arv , 19;'0,
c.irries a similar art ic le which offe: s seven s !Ui.ar proofs. Let's examine the] 1.
Consider
this:
did you ever notice
how a
legs are just exactly
the right length
b reach from its body to the ground?
If the
1 gs were shorter they would not touch, and if
t .ey were longer they would dig into the ground.
1 he legs are exactly the right length, therefore
(od must have given them to the horse. Silly?
(:f course,
but it is the basis of many religious
a .guments , such as the two we have just exami ed.
The religious
man takes something
that exis.ts
(such as life, a tree, the solar system) and then
The American Atheist
Baltimore
12, Maryland
of facts
about
it.
"You
see,"
he says,
"if this thing did not
and so, it would not exist, therefore
must have given it this quality."
l ive such
Cod
r ors es
. 'umber
11
ust have
4. Man is capable
of reasoning.
been given this power by God.
He
17
Number 6 - Economy of nature. It is so amazing how God provides checks and counterchecks
in nature to prevent one species from overrunning the earth.
Again? The same argument deserves the same answer. There is an added c omment. The checks provided (by what?) have not
been adequate. Many species have become extinct, and at the moment man is very apt to overrun the earth. He should get out of bed once in
awhile and try to make this a better life for living, not make more life to crowd out living.
Comment:
deteriorating
does not indicate that it was ~11
made simultaneously,
or that it was 'made' at
ell.
2 - Design. This is the claim that everything
in the universe operates in a certain way. A design requires a designer - hence, God. This is
the basic argument that most religious persons
use. Let us examine it once more.
Comment: Logic infers that if a complex thing
like the universe requires a designer, merely because it is complex, it must have been designed
by something more complex than it. Hence God
had a designer, ad infinitum.
proph-
ecy,
Comment:
Check these prophecies, which disprove the claim: Gen. 2:16-17; Gen 3:14; Matt 24:
34-35. There are many others.
4. Answered
prayer.
De-
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EDITOR
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\J
letters to Ye Editor
Dear Editor:
The magazine
(November issue) inc luded
some comments from a Russian journal about the
inculcation of Atheism in Russia, but no editorial explanation
made it clear to your readers
whether you favoured the inculcation of certain
ideas (Atheism) and not others (re ligionism ) by
the coercive power of the State.
Put simply, I am a devout believer in the nonexistence of God, but I want awfully to be free
to disbelieve in my own way, and I would feel
every bit as coerced in the Soviet Union (more
so, even) being made to disbelieve
after the
Marxist dialectical
pattern, as I feel coerced
and violated in my freedom here when my kids
are forced to mouth the sickly putty-pieties
of
the masses from social, not so much political,
conformism.
Bette Chambers
Minneapolis, Minnesota
I do not favour the coercive
power of the
State, for any reason whatsoever
- least of all
for the inculcation
of ideas. We agree 105%.
Ye ed.
Dear Editor:
quotes
from
this
source
include:
"Lincoln was an avowed and open infidel. He
went further against Christian
beliefs,
doctrines
and principles
than any man I ever heard."
John
T. Stewart, Lau: Partner.
of ours
Ye ed.
Dear Editor,
Elmer E. Hansen, 3632 Jones Street, Sioux
City, Iowa, would like to get in touch with any
Rationalists
who are amateur radio operators.
He operates WOAF.
Dear Lady.
that
"The Bible
my profession.
Page 20
we quote
his
remark
this
in full
same
here.
My earlier
The American
Atheist,
Baltimore
Dr. Ed. H.
California
12, Maryland
(The enclosure was an article from another freethought journal, and we quote it here, changed
to suit ourname.d.qorporati on.) - ..
'.1'''
to
hQspltals,'Or
cremations
were
carried out as
remembered
us in 'their wlllsand~want tobesure
that such donations stand up incourt. '.-;' -...~ :;.;, . ,:f'-;
each individual
desired.
After all, our bodies
are ours, and our wishes should be respected.
The correct wording of such bequest is:
Ye ed,
I give and bequeath to the Freethought Society of America, Inc., a non-profit organization,
Dear Editor,
incorporated in the State of Ohio, the fol lowing
monies, personal .or real property ...............
:...
AA I sit observing the national observance
to be use'~ by the Soc iety to,"promote fre<;l.;thought, . day, of mourning of the death of our Pres ident
by all l~gal means .as stipulated"int'Jie;;'Artib:r~~'"
Kennedy my": heart and mind 'goes back to the
of I nc or.J:?or'lctionf '-'
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f""'d""">."..'; ,;., 'Dear E'dif6f';r:
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Page 22
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Atheist)
Baltimore
12) Maryland
The most compelling reasons we do not disbelieve, Dr. MacDougall finds, are indifference,
ignorance and superstition,
suggestion, prestige,
and the most compelling incentives to believe
as financial gain, vanity and conspicuous waste,
promoting a cause, chauvinism, prejudices and
'pet' theories,
the thirst for vicarious thrills,
and cultural climate.
He turns to examine just how the hoaxes succeed in different fields. The particular hoaxes
which he scrutinizes are historical hoaxing, government hoaxing, religious
hoaxing, scientific
hoaxing, literary hoaxing, journalistic
hoaxing,
public relations hoaxing, hoaxes of exposure and
hoaxing on the wing.
Although the book covers hundreds of deceptions,
we are able. to judge the depth to
which Dr. M'acDougall exposes, if we take the
Page
23
of his
"
Editoria I
We feel there should be three magazines in
the free thought field. There should be a magazine for beginning Atheists couched in language
and replete with articles of a nature to fortify the
first signs of non-belief. There should be ample
opportunity to express ideas in a large lettersto-each-other section of this magazine, and some
way to contact others to dispel that horrible feel
of a lonene s.' with which the newcomer
to
Atheism struggles.
There should be a second magazine for those
who have staunchly converted but who want to
read theoretics, church history criticism, and to
examine in depth the tenets of religion and the
philosophical foundations of Atheism.
There should be a third magazine for those
who graduate from the above two and who are
ready for action to combat the closing circle of
religiosity which threatens to bring us to 1984
on schedule. We have just exactly 20 years to
get there.
But, alas, there is no divis ion of labor in the
freethought movement, and so this magazine,
coupled with the Murray newsletter undertakes to
fill all three functions.
This makes for some
difficulty as we try to 'sign up' associate ediThe American Atheist,
tsammo7e 12, Maryland
to the diverse
reading
au-
All Atheists,
we find, are individualists.
As we go to press Lou AIt, still ill, could not
.send his to-be-regular column of 'Observations.'
Virgil McClain, .caught in the lay-off at South
Bend (see News) and in the uncertainty of what
will happen now, did not get his popular 'Ripsaw' col~mn in to us. Bob Wilson's manuscript
is lost somewhere in the Christmas mail.
We have a word, too, about our new name.
We are still split in our ranks with many people
feeling we must take a stand and say what we
are and many feeling that we must camouflage
what we are.
In the last analysis,
the decision carne to
rest with your editor. Buck passing stops here.
I am responsible
for choosing the new name.
Atheism will be respectable
when respectable
people say,simply,'I
am an Atheist', first, to,
their fam ily, later to their friends, eventually to
their business associates.
As long as we are ashamed of the label, it
will be shameful in society. As long as we do
not accept it, i.t will_be unacceptable in society.
Page 24-
information, data,
and literature on all religions and promote a
more thorough understanding
of them, their origins and histories.
4. To encourage the development and public acceptance of a humane ethical system, stres s ing
the mutual sympathy, understanding
and interdependence of all people and the c orres pond ing
responsibility of each individually in relation to
society.
to weigh}
or
ponder
~pccial
<5ift Ratcs
.MY N AM E
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City
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THE AMERICAN
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my renewal
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Include
ZIP
ATHEIST
Zip Code
4541 HARFORD
ROAD,
;........................................................
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