Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
December, 1983
$2.50
1963
1983
********
of
AMERICAN ATHEISTS
In 1959, the Murray family started a legal case which was destined to reach the United States Supreme Court
to be decided there on June 17, 1963just twenty years ago. The name of the case was Murray u. Curlett and the
decision of that august body was that bible reading and unison prayer recitation in the public schools of the land
were both unconstitutional exercises vis-a-vis the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
The road from 1959 to 1963 was hard and long. Scores of attorneys were contacted to handle the case and
each and all were afraid of it. Indeed the attorney who drafted the original complaint which was filed with the
court quit the case a week thereafter. The Murray family insisted from the beginning that it should be known
that they were opposed to the exercise of bible reading and prayer recitation because they were Atheists, and
no attorney wanted to mention that in the case. But, Madalyn Murray insisted, and finallyone attorney asked
her to draw up a short statement (about 250 words) on what an Atheist was that would be put into their petition
for relief. That statement was written - and became famous as the media across the land reproduced it
everywhere. Now, these twenty years later, we reproduce it here for you:
"Your petitioners are Atheists and they define their lifestyle as follows. An Atheist loves
himself and his fellow man instead of a god. An Atheist accepts that heaven is somethingfor
which we should work now - here on earth - for all men together to enjoy. An Atheist
accepts that he can get no help through prayer but that he must find in himself the inner
conviction and strength to meet life, to grapple with it, to subdue it and to enjoy it. An Atheist
accepts that only in a knowledge of himself and a knowledge of his fellow man can he find
the understanding that will help to a life of fulfillment.
"Therefore, he seeks to know himself and his fellow man rather than to 'know' a god. An
Atheist accepts that a hospital should be built instead of a church. An Atheist accepts that a
deed must be done instead of a prayer said. An Atheist strives for involvement in lifeand not
escape into death. He wants disease conquered, poverty vanquished, war eliminated. He
wants man to understand and love man. He wants an ethical way of life. He accepts that we
cannot rely on a god nor channel action into prayer nor hope for an end of troubles in a
hereafter. He accepts that we are - in a sense - our brothers' keepers in that we are,first,
keepers of our own lives; that we are responsible persons, that the job is here and the time is
now . "
AMERICAN ATHEISTS
P.O.BOX 2117
Send $40 for one year's membership. You will receive our "Insider's Newsletter" monthly,
your membership certificate and card, and a one year subscription to this magazine.
December, 1983
REGULAR FEATURES
ON THE COVER
2
3
"What is Religion?"
Potpourri
Dial-an-Atheist
Atheist Masters - D.M. Bennett.
Poems
Convention News
American Atheist Radio Series - Madalyn Murray O'Hair
24
25
30
34
36
39
SPECIAL FEATURES
A Collector's Item
16
Senate Joint Resolution 73
17
In the Beginning - Euleta G. Usrey
20
Renovations in Austin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Photo Section
Anthony Comstock, The Original Mr. Bluenose
-
21
23
29
33
FEATURED COLUMNISTS
A Christmas That Wasn't - Margaret Bhatty
Intimacy - Michael Battencourt
A Time for
Receiving - Gerald Tholen
Reflections on the Solstice Season - Jeff Frankel
A New Look at an Old Myth - Merrill Holste
Editor
Robin Murrav-O'Hair
Editor Emeritus
Madalyn Murray O'Hair
Managing Editor
Jon G. Murray
Assistant Editor
Gerald Tholen
Poetry
Angeline Bennett
Gerald Tholen
Production Staff
Art Brenner
BillKight
Richard M. Smith
Gloria Tholen
Dan Flores
26
28
32
35
37
The American Atheist magazine is published monthly at the Gustav Broukal American Atheist Press, 2210 Hancock Dr., Austin, TX 78756, and 1984 by Society of
Separationists, Inc., a non-profit, non-political, educational organization dedicated to
the complete and absolute separation of
state and church. Mailing address: P.O. Box
2117/Austin, TX 787682117. A free subscription is provided as an incident of memo
bership in the American Atheists organizetion. Subscriptions are available at $25.00
for one year terms only. Manuscripts submitted must be typed, double- spaced and
accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed
envelope. The editors assume no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts.
The American Atheist magazine
is indexed in
Monthly Periodical Index
ISSN: 03324310
Non-Resident Staff
G. Stanley Brown
Jeff Frankel
Merrill Holste
Margaret Bhatty
Fred Woodworth
Clayton Powers
Michael Battencourt
Austin, Texas
[The "Innocents"] Can any conscientious person view a quiet, wooded scene
- whether adorned in glistening snow,
gentle tropical rain, or with trees athirst
for survival in some remote semi-arid
region - without experiencing a feeling
of deep appreciation for these gigantic
masterpieces of Nature?
We tend to think in terms of "human
necessities." In so doing can we imagine
a world without trees? These towering
monuments of vegetation preceded humankind by eons - actually contributing
to the evolutionary appearance of many
species in the animal kingdom. They
remain - abundantly providing their
fruits, the tranquility of their shade and
even the resources essential to the sheltering of virtually all living things. But,
there is even more! They are the recyclers of our atmosphere - absorbing
"wastes" and replacing them with lifesustaining oxygen. Thus, they are the
unwavering allies of all air-breathing
organisms.
_
In our growing vocabulary we now
have developed a new phrase: "nuclear
winter." Perhaps we do not yet realize
the meaning of this concept. Is it because
we are complacently blinded by a certain
beauty in the natural seasonal winter
visualized in human comprehension?
Are we really indifferent to the consequences of a "nuclear season" now
within the nomenclature of human technology? Are we so calloused with our
preoccupation for self-destructiveness
that we have reached a point bordering
on total omnicide. Along with our uncontrollable insanities willwe also kill ... the
trees?
Perhaps it is not a common practice
any more for some of us to leisurely stroll
amongst these tall' friends - collecting
our thoughts or momentarily retiring
from our problems. Maybe we have even
forgotten how to admire anything so
innocent. It may well be that we view
them because of their size, as symbols of
strength. Yet, environmentally they are
quite delicate. They continue with us in
much the same manner as a beautiful
shimmering bubble - so long as they
remain untouched by unnatural or hostile change they will continue to add
beauty to everything around them. But,
one touch of an intruding finger of catastrophic atmospheric change - and
they are gone.
Give yourself a solstice gift worth
remembering: Take a walk through whatever manner of woods that are available
to you. You'll enjoy it. I guarantee!
Happy Winter Solstice.
Gerald Tholen
December, 1983
Page I'
Editor,
I admire your work and I would like to do
my share. Unfortunately for me, I do not
have the money right now to help out. I have
a service- connected condition which has
prevented my working for the last three
years.
I do have an idea to contribute which I
hope you will appreciate. Since your organization thrives on publicity, this idea
should help because it will really grab the
headlines.
.
Christians believe that Jesus ascended
into the heavens. I think that his followers
hid the body and made up the story of
resurrection.
If you place ads in newspapers in Jerusalem (both Arab and Israeli), offering a
substantial reward (perhaps one million) for
the recovery of the hidden remains, you will
soon have a multitude of people digging and
searching everywhere around that city.
Doubtless, after this long they won't find
anything, but in the meantime your name
and the movement will be in the news
around the world. Allit willcost is the charge
for the ads. And, just think what would
happen ifsomeone did find some identifiable
remains! I'm sure those people would have
been fanatical enough to bury him with
some object or inscription which would
have identified him.
That would be well worth a million dollars
to prove there was no resurrection. It would
set the religious quacks on their ears. Either
way, you get worldwide publicity. I hope you
will consider using this idea. If, in the past
five thousand years, the money, time and
effort wasted on religion had been used for
medical research, we alllAlP\.lldhave, if not
eternal life, at least ten timestwhat we have
now.
Sincerely,
Sidney E. Baker
Florida
Sidney,
Do you know anyone with one million
dollars to put in trust so that we could have
such a contest? After all, it is only "gentlemanly" to place the bets up front.
Editor
Page 2
MUSINGS OF AN ATHEIST
ON ASYLUM EARTH,
It is 10:30 a.m., and I am sitting at my desk
at work listening to a memorial service on
the radio from North Carolina, home of the
U.S. Marines, dedicated to those who were
killed in the recent futile skirmishes in
Lebanon and Grenada. I have just heard 3
invocations from assorted clergymen lauding the love, mercy and infinite power of an
alleged 3-headed thing that has not cared to
intervene to save the lives of over 250 young
Americans. The obscenity of this charade
-listening to a Marine choir sing the "Battle
Hymn of the Republic," extolling a nonentity
- leaves me in a mixed state of terror,
sadness and despair.
Earlier this morning, I was treated to
another suicide bombing. This time a person who wears either a towel or a tablecloth
died while killing people who wears beanies.
In the meantime, the folks who believe that
virgins have babies, that people can levitate
and walk on water (just to name a few
absurdities) are marching to the beat of a
drummer which commands them to advocate - nay, enforce - the salvation of the
souls (as yet to be located, described or
seen) of the combatants by abandoning
their beanies, towels, and tablecloths, along
with the assorted belief systems that accompany the symbolic apparel. If it were not so
tragic, it would indeed be comical.
We are not close to stopping the carnage
and mayhem happening in the Middle East,
Northern Ireland, and other medieval areas
of the globe, and it will not happen until the
disparate factions evolve into thinking,
logical, and rational human beings. Why is it
that something that is so obvious to me is so
elusive to others? Only the death of religion
shall insure the continuation of life on this
tiny planet. Alas - the inmates have taken
over the asylum.
Arlene J. Gamer
Massachusetts
Editor,
Here's a piece of information for readers
of American Atheist. I think all American
Atheists should be outraged by the following, and should express this both to
senator Paul Tsongas and their own senators:
On Sept. 25, 1983, Senator Paul Tsongas
met with residents of Norwood, MassaDecember, 1983
Austin, Texas
December, 1983
Page 3
December, 1983
some of those ties and we can now operate our homes and businesses
all year round without holing up in a cave for winter. We are still glad,
however, when spring comes again. Winter is the harshest of all the
seasons. The early colonists found that if they could get through the
winter they could make it through the rest of the year.
It was obvious, too, that the christian church itself has no idea when
its own "savior" was born, if indeed one was born at all. It is beyond
me why we have all allowed a simple seasonal festival to be so
perverted and twisted so as to become the cornerstone of a mythical
pyramid to be built over hundreds of years. I willhave a conifer in my
house this year, as last, but I willdo so for a far different reason than
"~ / __
Present ...
~.
We would like to inform you that an error in author credits has been noted in the November 1983 issue of
American Atheist magazine.
The article on page 26, "What Is To Be Done," was not written by Conrad Goeringer as credited. We have since
discovered that the article was misfiled with Conrad's manuscript submissions. Our apologies to Conrad and to the
author of the article (unknown due to the unfortunate mix-up).
As soon as we ascertain who did, in fact, author the article, proper credits will be noted.
Austin, Texas
December, 1983
PageS
ested parties.
The committee appointed by the superior
court subsequently met on four different
occasions and produced a proposal calling
for a central plaza area surrounding an
obelisk-type monument, which would be
inscribed with the names of persons known
to be buried there, as well as an appropriate
religious inscription and a brief history of
the cemetery. The proposal further provided
that a religious statue would be placed near
the plaza, and that the three remaining
original headstones, along with a number of
small white Latin-style crosses, would be
located in the lower cemetery in order to
delineate its general dimensions and to convey the "feeling" of a graveyard. Finally, the
proposal called for a memorial service to be
held to dedicate the site after construction
was completed.
A public hearing was held on April 6,
1982, following notification to interested
persons as prescribed by the superior court.
Approximately thirty-five people attended
the hearing, and eleven of these made some
comment following the committee's presentation of its proposal. Although one speaker
made some negative comments concerning
past neglect of the cemetery, no one expressed any substantive disagreement with
the committee's proposal. Each speaker expressed general approval of the plan; however, none specifically addressed the propriety of the religious statue or the crosses as
elements of the memorial.
Following submission of the committee's
report recommending adoption of its proposal, interested parties were once again
notified by mail, publication and posting,
and ordered to show cause why the report
should not be confirmed, modified, or
rejected. Subsequently, on June 24, 1982,
the superior court entered an order approving the committee's report and ordering
The American Atheist
I Having determined that at least the individual plaintiffs satisfy Article III standing requirements, the court need not consider the standing of the two corporate
plaintiffs. Rabun County, supra, 698 F.2d at 1108-09.
Austin, Texas
December, 1983
Page 7
2The court notes that defendants have been unable to ascertain actual church affiliations for more than half of the fifty-two individuals known to be buried in
Gilbert Cemetery, and it is estimated that up to fifteen hundred persons may be buried in the cemetery. Hence it is difficult to justify the use of specifically christian
symbols as a means to achieving the state's purportedly secular end.
JAcceptance of defendants' offer and selection of a marker shall not be deemed to compromise the claims raised by plaintiff Robinson in Count IV of the
complaint.
Page 8
December, 1983
-------
-----
-----
WHAT IS RELIGION?
\
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Finally, after about 10,000 years of civilization, within this century the governments
of the world, which have used religion
constantly to bolster their hold on humankind , have been challenged with the
question, "What is religion?" Ifstates did not
give special position, privilege and favor to
religion, the question would never come up.
When each state had but one official
religion, it was obvious to whom government largess and favor would go. But, as
more study of religion revealed the contradictions inherent in the babblings of a single
dominant religion, other "branches" of that
religion arose. Interpreting basic tenets
differently, religious zealots would gather
around them those whom they could impress with their theistic logic and begin a
new cult, usually premised on a reevaluation
of the old cult. From judaism, for example,
has come both christianity and islam religions. In turn, in islam many sects have
arisen and some of them are now involved in
hostilities throughout the Middle East.
Christianity was riven with cuItic breakoffs
even before its official founding. Indeed, the
eastern orthodox and roman catholic
branches managed not alone geographic
but ideological breaks. Protestantism was
founded when Luther actually said, "I
protest" to certain tenets of roman catholAustin, Texas
the rationalizations given by christian historians, the basic thrust of the spread of any
religion was to"call to those conquered to
"convert or die." Mass slaughters took
place throughout every geographic portion
of the world. Most frequently the conver.sion of a ruling king signaled the conversion
of the country. As each generation was born
into the dominant" religious culture, it was'
programmed into. an acceptance of the
state's religion. As "new" religions arose,
they were based on reinterpretations of the
older religious ideas, primarily on apurification attempt. Two examples willsuffice.
The most basic early christian argument
concerned the essence of jesuchrist. Were
the father (god) and the son (Jesus) of the
same essence or substance (homoousios)?
Was the son a different person or one with
the father? Was he born of the father? Or
was the son, born in time, only of a similar
essence to the father, existing before time
(homoousios)? Did the son exist before god
as a separate entity, or did he always exist,
being with god as a part thereof? During the
years of the establishment of christianity
thousands of persons throughout the Roman empire died over the issue. More
recent protestant cults have literally come
apart over the quarrel concerned with salvation. Do good deeds count or is belief
Page 9
December, 1983
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PaOCEEDlNGS AND DUATU
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American Atheists
2210 Hancock Dr.
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school prayer.
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1983/
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activiti
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to be unconltitution.l.
The prt ry ba.i. for these
decisionl has been that Ii lent lROIIlent
la"l were found lacking
in any secular purpose and it clear tMt the over.bel.iag
Intent 6f the legisl.turel
in pel.ing thele la"
to
restore daily pr.yer to the public schools.
In addition,
courts found that such la.s have. pri ry effeet of aiding
re'119ion by _king it cl r to atudent. that they ar. being
encouraged to .n9ge in religious activities.
.0
OetOber 20,
1983
Mov ber I,
1983
Madaly" M OtHair
2210 HIlncockDrive
Au.tin, Texas 78768
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Conltitution
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Unit.d
Austin, Texas
States
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of tIN aa-ent.
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s.':;iorU
December, 1983
Page 19
Euleta G. Usrey
IN THE BEGINNING
FOREWORD
It has been a long year as Atheists across our nation have waited for the infamous Reagan "Year of the Bible" to meet its
demise. But December is here at last and we can finally say farewell to this affront to our intellectual sensibilities which
Ronald Reagan foisted upon our nation and our people.
No more can a wild-eyed minister look at us and say, "But president Reagan has proclaimed this, etc., etc., etc." The
nation is finally done with it.
Of course, the book is still here, still in circulation and ready for the next accolades to be laid upon it. We look forward to
that happy day when this mass of irrational hysterical nonsense is laid to rest for good and all times.
Until then, it was thought to be appropriate to present a small contribution on bible lore for the close-out issue of the
year.
And the WASP god made two offspring; the White offspring to
enjoy the suburbs, and the other offspring to survive the ghettoes:
thus he made the segregation a continuing process.
And the WASP god set White offspring in the suburbs to give pride
to their White parents.
And to compete for the indulgence and greed and vanity: and the
WASP god saw that it was perpetual.
And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
And the WASP god said, "Let the other offspring bring forth
.abundantly of violence and rage and passion."
And the WASP god created great institutions, that the other
offspring might experience prisons and asylums and clinics: and the
WASP god saw that it was profound.
And the WASP god blessed them all, saying, "Be fruitful, and
multiply within your race, and fillthe suburbs, and fillthe ghettoes."
In the beginning the WASP god had not yet created the Whites and
And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
the others.
And the WASP god said, "Let the earth bring forth the living
And there existed no social classes; oppression was not yet made
creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and the beast of the
manifest. And the aggression of the WASP god moved upon the
earth after his kind"; and it was so.
situation.
And the WASP god made the beast of the earth and cattle and
And the WASP god said, "Let there be Powers": and there were
every thing that creepeth upon the earth to be consumed by the
Powers.
Whites and the others: and god saw that it was palatable.
And the WASP god saw the Power, that it was convenient: and the
And the WASP god said, "Let us make White values in our image,
WASP god divided the Powers from the subjects.
after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air, that they may have sport."
And the WASP god called the Powers male, and the subjects he
called female. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
So the WASP god created sport in his own image, in the image of
And the WASP god said, "Let there be a race difference on the
the WASP god created he it; hunters and hunted created he them.
earth, and let it divide the habitations of the people."
And the WASP god blessed them, and the WASP god said unto
And the WASP god made the race differences, and divided the
them, "Be aggressive, and oppressive, and deplete the earth's
habitations of the others: and it was so.
resources, and destroy it; and have dominion over the remaining fowl
And the WASP god called these habitations poverty neighborof the air, and over every remaining living thing that moveth upon the
earth."
hoods. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
And the WASP god said, "Let the Whites under the heaven be
And the WASP god said, "Behold, I have also given you every herb
gathered together unto one place, and let the affluent neighborhoods . bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth and every tree, in
appear": and it was so.
the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; it is for your materialism.
And the WASP god called the affluent neighborhoods suburbs; and
And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to
the gathering together of the poverty neighborhoods he called
every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is possible
ghettoes: and the WASP god saw that it was profitable.
use, I have given every green herb and tree"; and it was consumed.
And the WASP god said, "Let the suburbs bring forth indulgence,
And the WASP god saw every thing that he had made, and behold,
greed, and vanity, whose seeds are in themselves": and it was so.
it was very predictable. And the evening and the morning were the
And the suburbs brought forth indulgence and greed and vanity,
sixth day.
whose seeds are in themselves, after their kind: and the WASP god
Thus the Powers and the subjects were created, and the Whites
and the others.
saw that it was enjoyable.
And the evening and the morning were the third day.
And on the seventh day the WASP god ended his work which he
And the WASP god said, "Let there be Powers in places of
had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which
Authority to divide the suburbs from the ghettoes, and let them be for
he had made.
signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.
And the WASP god celebrated the seventh day; because the
"And let them be for generations to give counsel to the offspring":
creation would carryon his will.
and it was so.
And it is so.
3t
Page 20
December, 1983
RENOVATIONS IN AUSTIN
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AN"THONY COMSTOCK
THE ORIGINAL MR. BLUENOSE
This year marks the centennial of the Comstock Act. Here is the story of its author, Anthony
Comstock, the "Roundsman of the Lord."
[On March 3, 1873, during the closing hours of the FortySecond Congress, some two hundred sixty acts were hurried
through Congress without inquiry or consideration. The
signing of these acts into law by President Grant was
performed in the same hurried, reckless manner. Hundreds of
laws were thus signed by the President without the slightest
examination on his part as rapidly as they could be handed to
him, one by one, by an attendant.]
And so it was that without due consideration by either the
Congress of the United States or the President, the Comstock Act of
1873 became law. The provision of the Comstock Act which was to
have the most far-reaching effects and which was to initiate what
some critics have called the American Inquisition, is reprinted here in
full:
"See. 148. That no obscene, lewd, or lascivious book,
pamphlet, picture, paper, print, or other publication of an
indecent character, or any article or thing designed or intended
for the prevention of conception or procuring of abortion, nor
any article or thing intended or adapted for any indecent or
immoral use or nature, nor any written or printed card,
circular, book, pamphlet, advertisement or notice of any kind
giving information, directly or indirectly, where, or how, or of
whom, or by what means either of the things before mentioned
may be obtained or made, nor any letter upon the envelope of
which, or postal card upon which indecent or scurrilous
epithets may be written or printed, shall be carried in the mail,
and any person who shall knowingly deposit, or cause to be
deposited for mailing or delivery, any of the hereinbeforementioned articles articles or things, or any notice, or paper
containing any advertisement relating to the aforesaid articles
or things, and any person who, in pursuance of any plan or
scheme for disposing of any of the hereinbefore-mentioned
articles or things, shall take, or cause to be taken, from the mail
any such letter or package, shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall, for every
offense, be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more
than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned at hard labor not less
than one year nor more than ten years, or both, in the
discretion of the judge."
Twenty two states later enacted their own "little Comstock laws"
modeled after the federal statute. It must be borne in mind that the
Comstock Act is still on the books today, although indiscriminately
and arbitrarily enforced. On January 8, 1971, Congress amended the
birth control section to the effect that no criminal penalties could be
levied if the information or devices were actively solicited by the
recipient, but everything else was left completely intact.
Comstock could not have picked a more opportune time to lobby
in Washington for the passage of his act, for Congress had just been
scandalized by the notorious Credit Mobilier affair involving the
Union Pacific Railroad and numerous Congressmen. It was the
greatest Congressional scandal in the history of the United States and
extended all the way to the Vice-President.
Eager to exploit any situation which would redeem them in the eyes
of the voting constituency, the Congressmen sawin the displays
which Comstock personally brought to Washington for their viewing
a propitious occasion for making the public forgive them for their
Austin, Texas
"His Civil War diary records numerous struggles with the devil and reveals that he had a
severe problem with masturbation. The guilt
experienced by him over this was very near to
being complete trauma."
At the age of nineteen, Comstock enlisted in the Union Army to"
take the place of his older brother who had been killed at Gettysburg.
His Civil War diary records numerous struggles with the devil and
reveals that he had a severe problem with masturbation. The guilt
experienced by him over this was very near to being complete
December, 1983
Page 21
December, 1983
and Pornography.
Probably the most penetrating analysis ever penned of the
censorial mind is that of Harvey O'Higgins and Edward Reede in their
fascinating book, The American Mind in Acrfon. On page fifteen they
write of Anthony Comstock:
"The puritan lived in a state of war with his instinctive self,
which he regarded as his evil self tempting him to live according
to the law of the flesh when he wished to live according to the
pauline law of god. He hated the flesh in himself and he hated
even more fiercely that flesh appearing as the vices of others.
Hence he was a great persecutor, a strong vice-crusader, the
best of witch hunters. The more puritanical the modern
American is, the more he has of these vice-crusading qualities.
It is useless to tell such a man to love his neighbor as himself; he
hates so much of himself. His hate, reservoired within him, gets
its drainage in raids on vice, in the prosecutions and
suppressions carried on by anti-vice societies, and in the
campaigns of reform that call for the punishment of evil-doers.
Nowhere else in the world could modern life produce such
characters as America's Anthony Comstocks."
For proof that the Comstock Act can still be used with an
inquisitorial spirit, we have only to recall the case of Ralph Ginzburg
who was convicted under it. Ironically, Ginzburg had been working
on a biography of Comstock for ten years before he was convicted.
It is to America's great discredit that the ghost of Anthony
Comstock is still with us and his heinous law still on the books.
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December, 1983
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TX 7B768
Page 23
POTPOURRI
IN RELIGION'S PLACE. At every turn two questions meet the Atheist: What willyou put in its place? Why are you "purely destructive'?
What shall we Atheists put in the place of christianity? Nothing. Supernaturalism is a malignant growth. When a surgeon excises a tumor or a
gardener removes a weed, no one asks, "What willyou put in its place?"
The work of the Atheist is like that of the Abolitionist, who in his day heard the same silly cry, "What willyou put in its place?" The clergy
defended slavery as divine and necessary; but it was discovered to be a social evil, and was abolished. Belief in god, with its progeny, the church
and the clergy, means mental slavery, and must also be abolished. The way must be cleared for enlightenment and advancement. When we
cure a man of a disease we restore him to health; we do not give him another disease. Likewise, when we destroy religion, we restore people to
reason.
This is an age of specialization. The New York City classified telephone directory lists a score of wrecking companies, which are purely
destructive, their sole function being to tear down. The stockholder of a wrecking company may be interested in a building company, as the
activities of the two are closely related. So it is with the Atheist. In economics, politics, sociology, ethics, and education, he builds as he sees fit;
but in dealing with religion, he destroys: nothing more. The good is ready to flower, but is retarded by superstitious beliefs. The weeds of
religion prevent the spread of truth. Let the Atheist clear the field of its weeds. Freeman Hopwood
THE DRAGON-SLAYER. Once upon a time there was a dragon- slayer who was busy slaying dragons, when he noticed one day that he was
the only one slaying any dragons. He paused and looked at the townspeople standing around watching him slay dragons.
"Listen," he said, "These creatures are ruining the countryside; they breed like rats, terrorize the children, scare the cows so they can't give
milk, and travel between towns is getting more and more dangerous. It'd help a lot if! didn't have to run these dragons down and stomp them to
death. How about we get together, make some weapons and really give them 'what for?"
"I can't help you," said the woman. "I'm too busy."
"I can't help you," said the old man. "I'm too old."
"I won't help you," said the teacher, "because you're going about this all wrong. You shouldn't fight them at all, you should bore them to
death."
.
"I can't help you," said the farmer. "I have to protectmy farm."
So the dragon-slayer went back to running the dragons down and stomping them to death, and the status remained pretty much the quo for
awhile. After a certain time, tho', the dragons had eaten all the wild animals in the forest and all the weaker, smaller dragons. Then they started
to raid the farmer's farm, and grew so numerous the children couldn't go to school. Travel between towns stopped altogether. The woman
couldn't find any work, and times got hard.
"Listen],' said the dragon-slayer. "Things are getting serious! The dragons are getting bigger and stronger; they're eating your crops and
livestock," he said to the farmer. "Help me set some traps around your farm. You can't teach school ifthe children can't attend class, and are so
scared they can't study," he said to the teacher. "Let's build a high wall around the school building to keep the dragons out. You're not so busy
you couldn't sharpen a sword or make a spear for me once in a while," he said to the woman, "And you're not too old you couldn't hold my coat
for me, at the least," he said to the old man.
"Sorry," said the old man. "I'm much too old to help." And he went back to his rocking chair and made paper airplanes.
"Oh, no," said the woman. "I'm much too busy to help." So she cleaned her house twice a day, instead of only once to have something to do.
"You must have feces for brains," said the teacher. "All you're doing is making them mad. The way to handle this situation is to ignore them,
and they'll go away." So he stayed in his school and dusted his erasers.
"Don't look at me," said the farmer. "If I did that, pretty soon I wouldn't have any farm at all." So he harvested less and less food, and the
townspeople had to tighten their belts.
So the dragons started raiding the farmer's fields and poisoning his soil so no crops could grow. And they drove the teacher out of his school
and made a breeding place of it. And they broke the old man's rocking chair and drove him into his house. And they gave the woman a case of
nerves. And they ate the dragon-slayer.
Pretty soon there was no food at all for the townspeople, because the dragons had eaten the farmer's crops and all his livestock.
Then the dragons got hungry. Timothy Gilmore
REGARDING NOAH'S FAIRY TALE. Most folk don't have the least idea about the actual size of the ark that Noah built - or the
menagerie that he was commanded to take along on that famous rescue mission during the flood. Gen. vi. 15 states that the ark was 300 cubits
long (a cubit was a unit of measurement approximately 17 to 22 inches in length), 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high. Transposing those figures
into our more familiar measurements, we find that the ark must have been about 500 ft. long and 83 ft. wide and 50 ft. high. Into this obviously
UNseaworthy craft Noah and his wife and 3 sons, Shem, Ham, Japheth, and their wives, were commanded to take with them every beast of
their kind, all cattle of their kind, every creeping thing of its kind, every fowl and bird of every sort and all flesh wherein there is the breath of life.
You can read these directions for yourself by referring to gen. vii. 13:15.
There are over 1,600 species of mammalia, 12,000 birds, 600 reptiles, more than a million insects and animalculea - far too numerous to
mention. Oat man put dem all in the ark, he did!
Then, Noah was directed to gatherfood to feed them all. Worse yet, the voyage lasted over a year according to gen. vii. 11 and gen. viii.14.To
top that fishy tale, the ark was 3 stories high, about 2 city blocks long, yet, had ONLY ONE WINDOW and ONE DOOR on each floor. Gen. vii.
19 tells us that the flood water covered ALL THE EARTH to a depth of five and one half miles. They even took a measurement in a mountain
town in the Appalachians, near New York.
To stretch the imagination even further, gen. xi. 6-9 states: "And the lord said, 'Behold, the people are one and they have only one language.'
" BUT, to confuse and contradict he said, "Let us confound their language that they may not understand each other." This is just a couple of
excerpts thrown in heah and theah to confound the masses. Take the birds for instance; Why didn't Noah let them fish for themselves? Those
eight people on the ark had enough to do feedin' the big vertebrates and the 1,000,000 or so insects. Think how the rabbits must have multiplied
during that year! Yet, remember, all the grass 'n grain 'n fruit and edibles were under water. The water was too deep for snorkles. Maybe they
had divin' gear stashed aboard?
Noah didn't need a captain's license in those days. It was just before the ordinance was passed. Their biggest problem was warmin' the soup.
They hadda go easy on the year's supply of wood for the three stoves, one on each floor to cook and heat for the gang. They took turns at
Page 24
December, 1983
showering, although they did run outta soap. But the soap smelled the worst anyway. During Noah's time is when "bird's egg soup" originated.
Also, the "shell game" started soon after. A tremendous problem was created from excess DUNG until a plan was formulated among the flying
group (birds, bees and some insects) to assemble a bucket brigade and make scheduled trips each day to dump it in the sea, see? That's when
the old cliche, "Take it to the dump" originated. All the animals that weighed over a half ton had to shift for themselves. That idea almost sank
the project the very first month. A mastodon during the Mesozoic era did NOT relieve itself soon enough one Wednesday morning and caused
a great deal of trouble on the poop deck, but it soon blew over.
All in all, the trip was both productive and a flop. Starting with 1,254,606 individual specimens, after the year's journey, even with very
carefully regulated (so they thought) sexual planning, the increase in living,breathing organisms had only expanded the total population to a bit
over 17,890,423,680,711,110,546,222.
The ark's draft was only 8'5" below the waterline with the extra load "-- a bit top heavy, BUT Noah had
trained every living thing to hold its breath.
Noah was a "dilly" of a captain, I'll say. EB. "Woody" Cummings
THE CONCEPTION OF JESUS CHRIST. The teaching of the immaculate conception is all too often associated with the conception of
christ, but this is not what the church teaches. According to the church, this immaculate conception applies only to the conception of the virgin
Mary whom, the church claims, was conceived without sin. This does have importance in the unraveling of the virgin Mary myth, which is an
entirely different subject, unrelated to the story of the conception of Jesus christ.
The most widely used account of the conception of christ is given in the first chapter of matthew, and this is the one I shall use. The first
seventeen verses of this chapter are devoted to the genealogy ofi,oseph, from Abraham to Joseph, the husband of Mary. Upon the conclusion
of this genealogy, Matthew immediately shoots this genealogy fullof holes when he states in verse eighteen, "Now the birth of Jesus christ was
on this wise; when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the holy ghost." The
genealogy contained in the first seventeen verses is useless, for in verse eighteen, Matthew tells us that the holy ghost, and not Joseph, is the
father of this christ child. Nowhere in the bible is there given a genealogy of the virgin Mary, and we can know from the statements of Matthew
that this child could not have been a descendant of David. The good christian fathers have defeated their purpose and have become the victims
of their own false teachings, but this is not the fullness of their deceit.
The church insists that this conception produced a mortal human who lived to the age of 33 years, and who did many wonders for which he
was known and loved by thousands of people. Since he is said to have been mortal he becomes subject to mortal examination according to
mortal standards; let us therefore examine this birth and conception recorded in matthew 1 in the light of reality. Matthew has told us that the
virgin Mary was espoused to Joseph, but, before the marriage was consummated, the blessed mother, the virgin Mary, was found with child of
the holy ghost. Now, let us look at what this biblical account does to the mortal concept of social morality and the institution of marriage. It
makes the holy ghost an adulterer. It makes the virgin Mary an adultress. The christ child is a bastard child and Joseph is cuckolded before he
can know his wife. What an ancestry to boast of and what an assortment of immoral patron saints to give to humanity.
This story turns loose on society a ravishing ghost against whom no mortal can prevail. With such a rapist on the loose, who can know that he
has fathered the mouths he is feeding. The clerics may preach this, but you can bet they don't believe it, and I suggest a way to prove this. Ask
your minister what he would do ifhis wife told him she was with child of the holy ghost and was going to bear that child. Every last one of them
would either punch her out or have his wife committed to a funny farm. C. V. Barr
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Austin, Texas
December, 1983
Page 25
"Eat, eat," Himmat Singh urged, piling Miss Gow's plate once
more. "Green vegetables good. Make strong .... n
His English was limited, but he made himself understood to the
missionary. Meals were usually long silent affairs, except for his gentle
admonishing as ifshe were a fussy little girl. Standing behind her chair
he kept her plate well-filled,and though she made gestures of protest
she meekly ate it all.
Watching them from my place across the immense mahogany
table, I wondered about the curious pair. Felicity Gow was over 70,
short and dumpy with heavy hanging jowls. Her jutting lower lip and
her turned-down mouth reminded me of a cross between a mastiff
and a bulldog. Her face was broad, her eyes a wintry blue. She had
long hairs growing from a mole on the left side of her snub nose. They
bristled and quivered when she was annoyed. Her half-dozen chins
merged into her chest without any visible neck, and her bosom jutted
out so prominently that she could easily have breakfasted off her
front.
She had come out to India that February and rented this old vacant
bungalow in the Kumaon Himalayas. Allen Orchard was a small
property above the township of Bhowali, two miles up on a remote
ridge.
Himmat Singh was Miss Gow's "khidmatgar,' a kind of cook-cumbutler-cum-valet. He was fifty,tall and dignified with the lined leathery
features of a Kumaon hillman who has weathered the years. Always
very correct, he wore a resplendent personal livery of a kind which
went out with the raj. It consisted of a knee-length coat of crimson
with a monogram worked on the front in gold thread, white fitting
trousers and a snow turban with a red band around it.
When I went down to Bhowali, shopkeepers and dealers were
curious about the kind of lifeI lived with the crazy English Miss Sahib.
They hadn't expected me to last more than a few weeks. "The lady
who came before you stayed only two days," the postmaster
chuckled.
But my duties were light. In return for my board and lodging and a
small stipend, I kept Miss Gow company, read to her and wrote her
letters. But she reserved the right to dismiss me without notice. This
was because she expected, any moment, to be lifted into heaven.
"I haven't come out to the Himalayas to live a lifeof ease," she said
sternly. "I'm here to await the second coming of christ. The world is
going to end this year. But before the wicked world is judged for their
sins, we Chosen Ones will be taken up, unseen and unknown."
It was a very intriguing idea. I wondered what escape velocity'
Felicity Gow would need to pull free of the earth's gravity. How would
she control yaw and swing in a body as top-heavy as hers? And would
there be any sonic boom as she went?
"I belong to the Tongues People," she told me. "When the holy
spirit is on us we can prophesy in many languages. We know the end
of the world is this year."
This belief sometimes made her act strangely. One of the more
startling events during my stay was the time she woke me in the
middle of a violent summer storm at night, and I watched her from my
window as she put on an astonishing performance for more than an
hour out in the garden.
Thunderbolts crashed on the hilltops and the air crackled with
static. At each flash she lifted her thick arms to the sky and cried,
"Hallelujah! Praise god!"
Page 26
December, 1983
Austin, Texas
December, 1983
Page 27
year, who knew what lunatic impulse would seize her next. She might
launch herself off a peak in the expectation of being carried aloft on
the wind. And supposing she was spirited away unseen and
unknown, what earthly explanation would I give the police?
When I announced my decision to leave immediately, she seemed a
little surprised. "I'd like to go before it snows and buses stop running
down to the railhead;" I explained. "I'll send a coolie up from Bhowali
for my stuff."
She paid me a month's wage, confident I wouldn't survive to spend
it, and let me go. Two christmas seasons have passed since then.
Doomsday hasn't happened yet. I sometimes wonder if she's still up
there on that remote ridge, making a spectacle of herself in every
summer storm, keenly scanning the skies for the chariot of fire and
seeing that Himmat Singh runs up the union jack every day to make
sure she gets into heaven on the right immigration quota.
3rE
INTIMACY
1~~'
~rr
\1' s:
.
-",f
,"
u. -or-.
i.
II
December, 1983
these elemental psychic forces, yet they are strong enough to keep
the repressive mechanisms working so that the forces are not
unleashed all at once. If we all were to give into that bone-deep fear,
and its corollary desire to be known, to be the only one at the center of
creation, our society would not hold. But in the interstices, in dull
eddying moments, the worm in the apple pops its head above the
surface, and in its grim presence we talk to anyone, whether they
listen or not. ~
Frank Zindler
December, 1983
Page 29
"But that large numbers in the first two centuries did persistently and stoutly contend that such a
person as christ had not had a real existence in the body, cannot be effectually gainsaid, and is
well calculated to excite our liveliest suspicions."
gospels of matthew, mark, luke and john; and when there is no
evidence that these books were written before the second century, it
can be readily understood that the lifeand character of the individual
under consideration is extremely mythical, as there is no contemporaneous history showing that such a person lived.
Our opponents frequently quote a paragraph found in Josephus,
corroborating the claim that such a person did live at one time in
Judea. But Dr. Lardner, one of the most eminent christian historians,
long ago pronounced this an interpolation, a forgery, and that it never
existed in the original manuscript of Josephus. This opinion of Dr.
Lardner was also entertained by Gibbon, Ittigius, Blondell, Le Clerc,
Page 30
December, 1983
December, 1983
Page 31
!.-~- -,,- ,
! ---I.:..
A TIME FOR
Page 32
December, 1983
_----=:-G
RECEIVING
small. Most "scientists" we read about have made their "findings" for
business reasons. That is why we have patents - so that individuals
or corporations can capitalize upon them and reap some degree of
compensation or advantage. This was not necessarily so with a very
vew people like Galileo, Newton and even the late Albert Einstein.
Their discoveries, once publicized, could not readily afford profit to
the authors. It is therefore understandable that such disclosures have
never been the subject of accelerated research. In the case of
Newton's laws of gravitation, no one placed great significance on
what gravity is, only what can be gained by the knowledge of what
gravity can do. Money can be made by knowing that water will run
downhill, a profitable energy source. Nobody cares why water runs
downhill! Also, extraplanetary and interplanetary laws of gravitation
can be utilized by the military and by the private-sector telecommunications companies. Again, no one gives a damn why the
phenomenon occurs! Yet, to know why would simply be a nonobligational gift to humanity that would answer one of the oldest
questions locked in humankind's endless curiosities. In the same
context the discovery of processes that enabled researches to
synthetically produce silicone chips for computers was destined to
generate fortunes for those in the industry. But, like Newton's
discovery, no one cares why crystals form - only how to form them!
The whole point is that free, non-profit information, like free non-
A THEISM ABROAD
ATHEIST LIB
Foreword: Charles Bradlaugh led the way for modern Activist Atheism, fighting for the rights of Atheists to participate
in British politics in the 1880s and founding the National Secular Society in 1866. Now, in the one hundred and fiftieth year
of his birth, the organization he started is still going strong.
Barbara Smoker, its current president, made the following announcement on November 5th, 1983, which was also
issued as a press release. The date was particularly important to her since it was the 34th anniversary of her emancipation
from roman catholicism.
Ms. Smoker will be a featured speaker at the 14th Annual American Atheist Convention in April, 1984.
"I would like to take this opportunity to launch a new slogan," Barbara Smoker, president of the National Secular Society, told members at
their annual general meeting in London today. "It is 'Atheist liberation.' "
She continued: "Not until the birth of the Women's Liberation movement did most people - women as well as men - even realize that sex
discrimination remained very much a fact of life. The introduction of Gay Liberation likewise opened the eyes of the public to the weight of
social and legal discrimination that the 1967 Homosexual Act left untouched. It also gave many gays the courage to 'come out' - this, in turn,
giving strength to the movement ...
"Trying out Atheist Liberation on several people in the past few weeks, I find that it clicks. The response to it is never the sterile 'What does it
mean?' as with secularism, prompting a boring dictionary answer, but the very same question that Women's Liberation and Gay Liberation
have always provoked: 'Why do you need it?' And that question is a profitable one, inviting an answer that willconcern topical issues rather
than dictionary definitions.
"The questioner willprobably be astonished to learn that in many areas of lifein Britain today one cannot be a first-class citizen without belief
- or, at least, no obtrusive disbelief -'- in an ancient myth. It is generally believed that religious belief or lack of it is a private matter that, on this
side of the Iron Curtain, entails neither penalty nor privilege. But this is far from the truth.
"First, there are many monetary perks of religion. A religious organisation has automatic: charity status, with its tax exemption and rates
concession. A flagrant instance of the injustice this entails is the fact that when the National Secular Society campaigns in favour of Sunday
trading and Sunday entertainment it has to do so out of fullytaxed income, whereas the Lord's Day Observance Society, on the opposite side
of the same issue, enjoys tax exemption.
"Christian chaplains to hospitals, prisons and the armed forces are paid out of the public purse, while secular humanists who wish to provide
an analogous service are not only given no financial help for it but are often not even allowed to do it for nothing.
"The provision of church schools, for which the taxpayer and ratepayer meet 85% of the capital cost and 100% of the running costs, is a
wasteful duplication of educational resources. It denies children access to ideas other than those of the home background, exacerbating the
problems of Northern Ireland, and laying the seeds of racial violence in immigrant areas where non-christian religious leaders are now
demanding the same right to their own schools as christian denominations enjoy. As for our state schools, the law still requires them to provide
religious instruction and a corporate act of daily worship, as though Parliament can guarantee the existence of a god to be worshipped ...
"Every radio and television company in this country has its religious broadcasting department, with a special budget for every station or
channel. There is, of course, no comparable provision of time or money for broadcasting non-religious views. Even a minority sect like roman
catholicism has many weekly hours of broadcasting time, both for its religious services and in moral discussion programmes.
"In fact, the persistent idea that morality is associated with religious belief pervades the public consciousness and underlies not only the
unfairness in the media but school curricula and the survival of many of our archaic laws - such as the common-law offence of blasphemy,
successfully used against Gay News within the last decade.
"Law reform to allow freedom of choice in such personal matters as voluntary euthanasia is blocked on religious grounds, thus imposing a
god-fearing ordinance on people with no god to fear." $'
Austin, Texas
December, 1983
Page 33
POETRY
1#
LIMRICK
There was a young lady from Sutton
who claimed when she died she'd be fried like a mutton,
but like the rest of us will,
she lay rather still,
and methinks all her fears were for nothin.
HIS PURPOSE
Anonymous
(Refrain):
Louis J. Beyreis
DISOBEDIENCE
'*
Businessmen love
The churches you see;
They hide their deals
Behind its sanctity The christian god is coming to town.
If you think for yourself,
Not told what to do.
Then it's all set,
With the churches you're through The christian god's not coming to town!
>.i.l/./f.
'.~ 'Mr
.:
t-
Joe Baumhaft
Beth M. Applegate
Page 34
December, 1983
REFLECTIONS ON
THE SOLSTICE SEASON
'T
know that the correct date isn't December 25, because the
birthday of Mithras is supposed to be on the shortest day of the
year when the sun starts on its upward course, which is
December 21. However, the mithraites were working from a
faulty calendar which claimed that December 25 is the shortest
day of the year. By the time everything was straightened out,
December 25 was universally acknowledged to be the correct
date of Jesus's birth. The christian corporation wisely decided
that it would be too confusing to change the date again. The
corporation also felt that it might be disturbing to the faithful to
tell them that they had been celebrating on the wrong day, so it
didn't tell them.
"We are glad to report that this administrative decision
reversed the tide of christians flowing into mithraism, and, for
all we know, helped proselytize many mithraites for christianity. It just shows the importance of nimble administrative
procedure and demonstrates that Chrysostom could have
been one of the administrative jewels in the crown of the
christian corporation if he had only put his mind to it instead of
concentrating on being a great preacher and social reformer."
Smith's comparison of the church to a corporation is a very valid
one. Seizing upon something popular and milking it for all it's worth is
standard procedure in the corporate world. That brings me to the
second offensive aspect of "christmas."
OFFENSIVE ASPECT #2:
CRASS CORPORATE COMMERCIALIZATION
'Tis the season to spend big money. Corporations spend millions of
dollars hawking their "christmas" wares through the media, a large
investment which brings an even larger profit. A great deal of this
advertising is aimed at unassuming children who are led to believe
that they simply must have a Smurf-this or a Pee-Man-that to make
the "holiday" complete. There are also the various appeals which
smack of propaganda, such as the appeal to guilt ("Don't disappoint
your loved one(s) this year; buy him/her/them this product."), the
appeal to romance ("He/she will love you if you buy him/her this
gift. "), and the appeal to snobbery ("Give the gift that the
knowledgeable gift giver is giving.").
At one point in time, "christmas" advertising did not commence
until just after "thanksgiving." That has changed drastically. One day
this past August, with the temperature in excess of 100, I received in
the mail a record club catalog offering" christmas" albums and a desk
calendar adorned with "christmas" symbols. Have you ever tried to
entertain thoughts of snow and mistletoe while wearing a pair of
cutoffs and listening to the hypnotic hum of your air conditioner?
Another sore spot with me is the gift that keeps on fibbing
throughout the year: the religious gift. You name it, you can get it.
Jesus saves key rings, meticulously sculptured mangers, last-supper
wall clocks. The mythical jesus, as the story goes, was quite upset
when he saw a temple being used as a marketplace. I'm sure he, if he
existed, would be quite pleased with seeing the marketplace turned
into a temple, at least during "temporary insanity month." One
particularly galling aspect of this type of gift is that it is often
manufactured and/or sold by nonbelievers who couldn't care less
about christianity, but want to get in on the big bucks it can bring. Last
December I went into a gift shop operated by a young lady who is a
professed Atheist. I was shocked when, upon entering, I saw a display
of religiously oriented items. When I asked her why she was carrying
December, 1983
Page 35
such garbage in her shop, she meekly replied "Because it sells." How
can we ever remove the myth from December 25 when those within
our own ranks are helping to keep the myth alive?
"Last December I went into a gift shop operated by a young lady who is a professed
Atheist. I was shocked when, upon entering, I
saw a display of religiously oriented items."
OFFENSIVE ASPECT #3: MASS HYPOCRISY AND IGNORANCE
"Christmas" is the definitive "holiday" in our culture, and the
behavior which occurs during this season reflects just how far our
culture has to go in regard to thinking and reasoning. "Holidays" in
general, and" christmas" in particular, have a "Pavlov's dog" effect on
many people. "Christmas" comes; they give gifts and send out cards.
New Year's Eve comes; they get drunk. "Thanksgiving" comes; they
go to a gathering of relatives they don't care enough about to keep in
touch with the rest of the year. The behavior of this type of individual
is almost totally influenced by calendar and culture. This is the same
kind of person who believes because "it's the right thing to do," and
blindly accepts the story that December 25 is the birthday of
jesuchrist.
'Tis the season for weak-minded individuals to deck the halls with
gross hypocrisy. Few things upset me as much as someone who is a
perpetual pain-in-the-ass the rest of the year, but becomes sickeningly sweet and kind come "christrnastime." These people generally
treat their fellow humans as if they were nonentities, but hand out all
kinds of expensive gifts to help ease their guilty consciences and
"prove" that they aren't such bad people after all. Another pathetic
example of underdeveloped humanity is the wishy-washy individual
who resentfully goes through inane gift exchanges and gives gifts to
people he/she doesn't even like because of not having enough guts to
do what he/she wants to do instead of what he/she has been
conditioned to do.
It stands to reason that so many of the individuals who need the
promise of "heaven" and the threat of "hell" to behave in a halfway
decent manner also need a calendar to prompt them to show love,
consideration, and generosity toward others. I agree with psychologist/philosopher Leo Buscaglia, who said that every day should be
mother's day and father's day and uncle Ernie's day. Love and
kindness should be given without pomp or reservation 365 days a
year.
I have heard many people say that they love the "christmas" season
because there is so much cheerfulness and good will around. The
same things which make them happy make me rather sad and
reflective. I don't like to be teased with shows of kindness and
decency which willdisappear after a certain date has passed. If all of
this "holiday" goodness is genuine, why isn't it continued consistently
throughout the year? I have asked myself this question many times
and have yet to come up with a logical answer for it. Christians have
allegedly been trying to bring "peace on earth, good will toward all
men" for 2000 years. They have failed dismally. It is up to us Atheists,
armed with science and knowledge instead of faith and fable, to lead
humanity on the road toward realizing that difficult but attainable
goal. That goal can never be attained, however, as long as religion
holds its current position of dominance in the world. We can do it ifwe
try, but that means ALL of us. The beast can be beaten.
Happy winter solstice. ~
14TH ANNUAL
AMERICAN ATHEIST
CONVENTION
April 20th, 21st and 22nd, 1984
(Friday, Saturday &. Sunday - Easter weekend)
December, 1983
a'c~!i
--- \,\~~~',~:--------~-------------------------------------
Austin, Texas
December, 1983
Page 37
the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the
camp to meet with god; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the lord
descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the
smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when
the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder,
Moses spake, and god answered him by a voice. And the lord came
down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the lord called
Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And the lord
said unto Moses, 'Go down, charge the people, lest they break through
unto the lord to gaze, and many of them perish. And let the priests also,
which come near to the lord, sanctify themselves, lest the lord break
forth upon them.' And Moses said unto the lord, 'The people cannot
come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, "Set bounds
about the mount, and sanctify it." And the lord said unto him, 'Away,
get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but
let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the
lord, lest he break forth upon them.' So Moses went down unto the
people and spake unto them."
and 24:15-18.
"And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
And the glory of the lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud
covered it six days: and theseventh day he called unto Moses out of the
midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the lord was like
devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of
Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into
the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
Moses' next step, according to the bible story, was to induce some
alleged Hebrew slaves in Egypt to revolt and run away. When Moses
and his followers arrived at Horeb and were relatively safe from the
power of Egypt, he was confronted with the problem of establishing
his priestly authority over his refugees. A convincing way of
introducing them to the god of Moses and Horeb was needed. A
convenient volcanic eruption of Mt. Horeb seems to have filled the
bill.The fire and smoke of the eruption created a powerful impression
upon the ignorant ex-slaves from Egypt, and they tamely permitted
Moses to destroy the golden calf they had made to symbolize the rival
religion they wanted to adopt. Moses considered the golden calf
nothing more than a symbol of heresy and, in righteous rage,
destroyed it.
The fourth and fifth chapters of deuteronomy are understandable
only if we keep in mind the fiery nature of the Hebrew god. The ten
commandments strictly forbid the making of any graven images.
"Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any
things, that are in the heaven above, or that are in the earth beneath,
or that abide in the waters under the earth." (deut. 4:8). The reason
for this strict law lies in the fiery nature of the Hebrew god.
Deuteronomy 4:15 says, "Keep therefore your souls carefully. You
saw not any similitude in the day that the lord god spoke to you in
Horeb from the midst of the fire." The verses immediately following
expand the list of things of which no images were to be made - beasts
of the earth, birds of the air, creeping things, fish, sun, moon, or stars.
This little story ends with a dire threat in deuteronomy 4:23-24:
"Beware lest thou ever forget the covenant of the lord thy god, which
he hath made with thee; and make to thyself a graven likeness of these
things which the lord hath forbid to be made: Because the lord thy
god is a consuming fire, a jealous god." It is hard to imagine how the
English language could state more explicitly or precisely the idea that'
the god of the Hebrews was a fire god. The making, adoration, and
worship of an image or likeness of some man, animal, or natural
object would have amounted to schism or heresy, as Moses so
interpreted it in the case of the golden calf.
The identity of the holy ghost with fire is clearly shown once more in
chapter 2 of acts. The chapter heading, as given in the Douay version,
piously states: "The disciples receive the holy ghost." The story as
related in acts is this: (1) "And when the days of the pentecost were
accomplished, they were all together in one place: (2) And suddenly
there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it
filledthe whole house where they were sitting. (3) And there appeared
to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon everyone of
them. (4) And they were all filled with the holy ghost." We see here
with no uncertainty that the christians appropriated from their jewish
Page 38
December, 1983
Note to readers: All bible quotations in this essay are taken from
the catholic Douay version.)
~
.(Il
LET ME DIE
BEFORE I WAKE .
By Derek Humphry(authorofJean's
Way)
ATTENTION: ATHEISTS IN
THE BEAUMONT, TEXAS AREA!
Those interested in meeting other Atheists in the area and/ or becoming active in
American Atheism, please write:
BEAUMONT CHAPTER
AMERICAN ATHEISTS
P.O. Box 5123
Beaumont, TX 77706
The American Atheist
* * * * *
This is Madalyn Murray O'Hair, American Atheist, back to talk to
you again.
Someone stole something from me. I don't like it. What was stolen
from me - and from you - was one of the most beautiful holidays in
the world. Robert G. Ingersoll (an American Atheist hero of earlier
days) was also angry about this theft. Let me read to you what he had
to say about it.
He wrote a very famous "Christmas Sermon." It was printed in the
Evening Telegram newspaper, New York City, New York, on 19
December, 1891. The ministers of the day attacked the newspaper
and demanded a boycott of it. The Telegram accepted the challenge
and set off an issue across the country. The paper printed the rev. Dr.
J.M. Buckley's attack, and Robert Ingersoll's answer. It developed
into a real donnybrook.
Let's hear what Ingersoll had to say:
"The good part of christmas is not always christian, it is .
generally pagan; that is to say, human and natural.
"Christianity did not come with tidings of great joy, but with a
message of eternal grief. It came with the threat of everlasting
torture on its lips. It meant war on earth and perdition
thereafter.
"It taught some good things, the beauty of love and kindness
in man. But as a torch-bearer, as a bringer of joy, it has been a
failure. It has given infinite consequeces to the acts of finite
beings, crushing the soul with a responsibility too great for
mortals to bear. It has billed the future with fear and flame, and
made god the keeper of an eternal penitentiary, destined to be
the home of nearly all the sons of men. Not satisfied with that, it
has deprived god of the pardoning power.
"And yet it may have done some good by borrowing from the
pagan world the old festival we know as christmas.
Austin, Texas
"Long before christ was born, the sun god triumphed over
the 'powers of darkness.' About the time that we call christmas
the days began perceptibly to lengthen. Our barbarian
ancestors were worshipers of the sun, and they celebrated his
victory over the hosts of night. Such a festival was natural and
beautiful. The most natural of all religions is the worship of the
sun. Christianity adopted this festival. It borrowed from the
pagans the best it has.
.
"I believe in christmas and in every day that has been set
apart for joy. We in America have too much work and not
enough play. We are too much like the English.
"I think it was Heinrich Heine who said that he thought a
blaspheming Frenchman was a more pleasing object to god
than a praying Englishman. We take our joys too sadly. I am in
favor of all the good free days, the more the better.
"Christmas is a good day to forgive and forget, a good day to
throwaway prejudices and hatreds, a good day to fillyour heart
and your house, and the hearts and houses of others with
sunshine."
Would you believe that such a warm christmas sermon could cause
religious people to launch a vicious attack on a newspaper for
publishing it? Ingersoll used the word "borrow." He said that
christians borrowed the pagan holiday. I use a stronger word. They
stole it. They stole the most beautiful holiday of man - and for what?
They claim that this is the birthday of Jesus christ. Let's look at
their scholars and their history and see if this is a fact. You most
probably all know of A.T. Robertson, the late professor of new
testament Greek at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in
Louisville, Kentucky. He had written a standard textbook on the
so-called Broadus Harmony of the Gospels and it is used in every
school of religion across the land. In this book is summarized all the
findings of religious scholarship in relationship to Jesus christ and,
among other things, the date of his birth.
December, 1983-
Page 39
December, 1983
All the Questions You Ever Wanted to Ask American Atheists with All of the Answers
by Jon Murray and Dr. Madalyn Murray O'Hair [paper, 359 p.]
Freedom under Siege, The Impact of Organized Religion on Your Liberty And Your Pocketbook
by Dr. Madalyn Murray O'Hair [cloth, 282 p.]
Separation of Religion and Government
by Frank Swancara [cloth, 246 p.]
Why I Am An Atheist, including a history of materialism
by Dr. Madalyn Murray O'Hair [booklet, 40 p.]
What on Earth Is An Atheist! (A collection of programs from the American Atheist Radio Series)
by Dr. Madalyn Murray O'Hair [paper, 287 p.]
The Bible Handbook (All the contradictions, absurdities, and atrocities from the bible)
by G.W. Foote, W.P. Ball, John Bowden, and Richard M. Smith [paper, 364 p.]
The Case against Religion: A Psychotherapist's View
by Dr. Albert Ellis [booklet, 17 p.]
Pagan Origins of The Christ Myth
by John G. Jackson [booklet, 30 p.]
Sex Mythology
,.
by Sha Rocco [booklet, 55 p.]
Ingersoll The Magnificent
by Joseph Lewis [paper, 342 p.]
A Few Reasons for Doubting the Inspiration of The Bible
by Col. Robert G. Ingersoll [booklet, 30 p.]
Atheist Truth us. Religion's Ghosts
by Col. Robert G. Ingersoll [booklet, 45 p.]
The Logic and Virtue of Atheism
by Joseph McCabe [booklet, 58 p.]
An Atheist's Bertrand Russell
ed. by Jon G. Murray [booklet, 50 p.]
Essays in Freethinking, Vol. I
Essays in Freethinking, Vol. II
Essays in Freethinking, Vol. III
Essays in Freethinking, Vol. IV
by Chapman Cohen [booklets, 112 p./bklt]
$4 each, or set of four vols:
The Best of Dial-An-Atheist
Edited by Newton Berry [paper, 148 p.]
Nobody Has a Prayer
by Dr. Madalyn Murray O'Hair [booklet, 100 p.]
Women and Atheism, The Ultimate Liberation
by Dr. Madalyn Murray O'Hair [booklet, 22 p.]
Fruits of Philosophy
.
by Charles Knowlton, MD [booklet, 58 p.]
History's Greatest Liars
.
by Joseph McCabe [paper, 179 p.]
The Peril of Faith
by Martin Bard [paper, 151 p.]
War in Vietnam - The Religious Connection
by Dr. Madalyn Murray O'Hair [booklet, 83 p.]
An Atheist Epic: Bill Murray, The Bible and The Board of Education
by Dr. Madalyn Murray O'Hair [paper, 316 p.]
Essays of An Atheist Activist
by Jon G. Murray [booklet, 67 p.]
o
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AMENDMENT I
,.
THEIST COpy
"All things whatsoever ye would that
men should do to you, do ye even so to
them."
matthew 7:12
(circa 100 a.d.)
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