AMERICAN ATHEIST

May, 1983

A Journal of Atheist News and Thought

.:'

ING TO

$2.50

1963

1983
AMERICAN ATHEISTS

is a non-profit, non-political, educational organization, dedicated to the complete and absolute separation of
state and church, We accept the explanation of Thomas Jefferson that the "First Amendment" to the
Constitution of the United States was meant to create a "wall of separation" between state and church.
American Atheists are organized to stimulate and promote freedom of thought and inquiry concerning
religious beliefs, creeds, dogmas, tenets, rituals and practices;
to collect and disseminate information, data and literature on all religions and promote a more thorough
understanding of them, their origins and histories;
.
to encourage the development and public acceptance of a human ethical system, stressing the mutual
sympathy, understanding
and interdependence
of all people and the corresponding responsibility of each
individual in relation to society;
to develop and propagate a culture in which man is the central figure who alone must be the source of
strength, progress and ideals for the well-being and happiness of humanity;
to promote the study of the arts and sciences and of all problems affecting the maintenance,
perpetuation and enrichment of human (and other) life;
to engage in such social, educational, legal and cultural activity as will be useful and beneficial to
members of American Atheists and to society as a whole.
Atheism may be defined as the mental attitude which unreservedly accepts the supremacy of reason and
aims at establishing a lifestyle and ethical outlook verifiable by experience and the scientific method,
independent of all arbitrary assumptions of authority and creeds.
Materialism declares that the cosmos is devoid of immanent conscious purpose; that it is governed by its own
inherent, immutable and impersonal laws; that there is no supernatural interference in human life; that manfinding his resources within himself - can and must create his own destiny. Materialism restores to man his.
dignity and his intellectual integrity. It teaches that we must prize our life on earth and strive always to improve
it. It holds that man is capable of creating a social system based on reason and justice. Materialism's "faith" is in
man and man's ability to transform the world cultureby his own efforts. This is a commitment which is in very
essence life asserting. It considers the struggle for progress as a moral obligation and impossible without noble
ideas that inspire man to bold creative works. Materialism holds that humankind's potential for good and for an
.outreach to more fulfilling cultural development is, for all practical purposes, unlimited .

* * **********.*******.*.*** *****.****** *****************

AMERICAN

ATHEISTS

P.O. BOX 2117

AUSTIN,

TX 78768-2117

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.

(VoI.25, No.5) May, 1983

ON THE COVER

REGULAR FEATURES
Editorial: "Are the Only Alternatives 'Dead or Red'?"
Focus on Atheists: "Pittburgh's City Fathers and Brothers"
Dial-an-Atheist

2
10
27

FEATURED COLUMNISTS
Atheism as a Specific Science - Gerald Tholen
If the 'Second Coming of Christ' Were Tomorrow
-

15

Merrill Holste .............................

20

Keep the Home Fires Burning - Margaret Bhatty

The Root of 'Evil' - Richard Smith
Anatomy of Propaganda - Jeff Frankel.

28
29
33

ARTICLES
Remarks of the President to the 41st Annual Convention
of the National Association of Evangelicals
The Religious Adolf Hitler
The Existence of God Can Be Tested - John W. Patterson
The Pentagon's Secret First-Strike Plans - Robert Aldridge

4
8
12
14

POEMS
That Man - Robin Eileen Murray O'Hair
So Simple - Angeline Bennett

19
27

NEWS
Summer Solstice Picnic
Editor-in-Chief
Madalyn Murray O'Hair
Managing Editor
Jon G. Murray
Assistant Editor
Richard M. Smith
Poetry
Robin Murray O'Hair
Angeline Bennett
Gerald Tholen
Production Staff
Art Brenner
BillKight
Gerald Tholen
Gloria Tholen
Alexander Stevens
Richard Richardson

32
The American Atheist magazine is published monthly at the Gustav Broukal American Atheist Press, 2210 Hancock Dr., Austin, TX 78756, and 1982 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 78768-2117. A free subscription is provided as an incident of membership in the American Atheists organization. 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: 0332-4310

Non-Resident Staff
G. Stanley Brown
Jeff Frankel
Merrill Holste
Margaret Bhatty
Fred Woodworth
Clayton Powers

Austin, Texas

May, 1983

Hello, there - and welcome to Howdy Doody time. You recall that in a
previous episode rev. Ronnie had attempted (by invoking world "peace"
and "brotherhood") to arrange a spectacular outdoor Western style barbecue. He had sought to "nuke" millions
of pounds of atheistic commie briskets
(several times over) a la "first and
second strike." He subsequently became aware that his less than enthusiastic battery of chefs (the Congress)
were fearful that such an enormous
pit fire would ignite the entire neighborhood and probably pollute the
whole countryside.
Not to be discouraged, however, his
masterful
thespian-minded
background enabled him to quickly shift to
yet another ingenious plan. If we couldn't have braised commie shortrlbs, he
decided he would bedazzle everyone
with a colossal display of outer-space
fireworks in the form of laser-rays,
particle beams, etc. Surely this idea
would so impress the masses that
they would scarcely notice the 2 trillion+ dollar invoice for the "fireworks." Good old Joe Taxpayer wouldn't mind shelling out for such a marvelous planl The trouble now was that
Joe had been unemployed for the past
18 months and couldn't even afford
half a dozen bottle rocketsl
At this writing our "super-genious
leader" has shifted once again. Not to
be denied his christian
crusade
against "evil," he has decided the only
thing conceivable at this time would
be to totally stupefy the "satanic"
forces with a "bloodless electromagnetic super bomb." Not only would
this knock out attack and' defense
communications - it would also disable the electronic quality control
equipment in their vodka distilleriesl
It doesn't seem likely that this plan
will fare much better, so I thought I
would offer yet another suggestion to
the reverend: Have the U.S. military
design a two-hundred-yard long arrow which can be shot parallel to the
ground. Next time the soviets hold a
military parade outside the Kremlin
we can launch these devices and skewer entire battalions of "evil" red troops
in a gigantic shishkebabl
Gerald Tholen

Page 1

~,!,,:<
~

Jon Garth MUr~ay

ARE THE ONLY ALTERNATIVES

DEAD OR RED?

It sounded like "birds of a feather," with the pope first

stating that Atheism "is at the root of every present evil,"
and the president of the United States followingthat remark
with his statement that "There is sin and evil in the world.
And we are enjoined by scripture and the lord jesus christ to
oppose it with all our might."
Hardly anyone would have believed, hearing them, that it
was the twentieth century. But, it is a century of technology,
science and education, and the columnists, editorial writers
and cartoonists of the hard media were immediately upon
the president's remarks, characterizing it often as a "Darth
Vader speech," or as "cold war rhetoric."
Adam Clymer, of the New York Times, in his "Analysis"
column stated that obviously Reagan had taken the advice
of conservative Paul Weyrich who had told him "to hew to
the social issues," which is advice in exact opposition to that
of the majority of his party. And, the president went to it
with glee. The audience was hand-picked for it, being the
41st convention of the national association of evangelicals.
Seeing the black and white of an international issue, the
speech clearly staked out the opposite poles of a "godfearing America and a godless Soviet Union." Hitting every
emotional issue, abortion, prayer in schools, tuition tax
grants, and the freeze, Reagan identified himself as one of
the "many god-fearing, dedicated noble men and women in
public life." And, Clymer saw this as a clear statement of his
Page 2

May, 1983

(~.

~ ~/
~j

-, \ \~\ \~,:

candidacy for office in the '84 elections. In fact, Clymer went

to and was told by a "high-ranking Republican strategist"
that the speech "could fairly be interpreted as another in a
series of signals that a candidate is talking."
The question is then, could the candidate run on these
"social issues" again?
In the Wall Street Journal, Alexander Cockburn, who is
normally a columnist for the Village Voice, in his "Viewpoint," excoriated the president for his advocacy of judeochristianity. "I must enter a protest against the use of the
'judeo-christian tradition' as an advertisement for freedom
or uplifting human values. To take the 'judeo' part first, we
need only glance at the old testament to find a deity of
savagery, interminably urging his chosen people to acts of
genocide .... Readers whose memories of holy writ have
grown hazy may care to consult the disgusting 10th chapter
of the book ofjoshua (who slew all lifein one country) or the
crazed 28th chapter of deuteronomy, with 54 verses of
curses from god on those straying from his word." Moving
to the new testament, Cockburn notes that, "It could fairly
be argued that two of the greatest blots on what the
president would no doubt call the 'judeochristian era' were
slavery and the subjection of women. Jesus accepted both,
and so did paul. We may add to this the christian tradition of
persecution of heresy, which produced some of the bloodiest pages in human history." It was hardly the kind of
column one would ordinarily find in the staid Wall Street
Journal.
But then Lars Nelson from the New York Daily News
was equally as harsh: "The Reagan administration's view of
the world has always been a little dippy but in recent days it
has gone from bats to worse." He was particularly incensed
with the president's story of a father who stated, "I love my
little girls more than anything. I would rather see my little
girls die now, still believing in god, than have them grow up
under communism and one day die no longer believing in
god." And, he quoted the president's analysis of that:
" 'There were thousands of young people in that audience,'
your president continued. 'They came to their feet with
shouts of joy. They had instantly recognized the profound
truth in what he had said.' " The thrust of the column was
that we obviously are back to "better dead than red" and
that this is bats in the belfry.
The Knight-Ridder newspaper chain is a large and
conservative one. But, its columnist John McMullan was
constrained to ask in headlines "Is Reagan A Zealot?" In
The American

Atheist

analyzing the speech he states, "The president misreads

The Washington Post, hardly a friendly people's paper,
history. He also stretches his scriptures to cover his political hit the hardest with a cartoon:
intentions .... once the tiniest breach appears in the wall of
separation (of state and church), where willit end? There's
no question that history of humankind, and of America in
particular, has been entwined with religion. Indeed, religion
was once deemed a function of the public school system in
the colonies. But the founding fathers knew what they were
doing when they later erected the wall.... If Reagan would
read a little more history, he would know that many of the
red blots on the pages stem from sanctimonious nations
and rulers waging war against 'infidels.' He is setting this
nation upon a dangerous course when he quotes scripture
and characterizes Russia as 'the focus of evil' to win the
christian evangelicals' support of his defense program.
Such pandering to religious bigotry offends us . . . it is
unworthy of a leader of a nation founded upon religious
pluralism."
William Safire, a national conservative columnist, called
the president's speech "astonishing." He analyzed the
William Rusher, the publisher of The National Review,
was coldly furious of any criticism: "A careful study of president's message to be "that the essential contest in the
president Reagan's address to the national association of world was not between life and death (in nuclear war) but
evangelicals ... is absolutely central to any understanding of between god and satan." He felt the president sounded
the man or his presidency .... The central proposition of the more like a "hellfire-and-brimstone evangelist than a politispeech is Reagan's declaration that 'We' - meaning the cal man, much less a president." He sees Reagan as calling
American people - 'will never abandon our belief in god.' "the moral man" to be militant, while "Most voters who take
... Reagan shapes not only his domestic initiative but his their participation seriously want political philosophy in
concept of the world beyond our shores in the light of the action, not spiritual instruction from the president." He
American society's commitment to god ... .' He further . urged Reagan, "Let clerics be clerics, and let the president
be president."
scoffed at "the liberal press."
And Patrick J. Buchanan, who is fanatically conservative
It was all too much for columnist Anthony Lewis.
" 'Primitive,' he raged, 'that is the only word for it. What
and a Russophobe, was forced to characterize the speech
must the leaders of western Europe think of such a as "a fiery sermon from the bully pulpit," while he noted with
speech?" Rusher must admit, with Lewis, "This is not a some satisfaction that the preachers interrupted the presiplatform - on which every last American citizen comfortabdent two dozen times with cheers and applause." Buchanan
ly could agree." But, Rusher wound his editorial up with his was right on target that Reagan "constantly reminds the
conclusion that he believes Reagan has "the enthusiastic
American people that, in the last analysis, this is a struggle
support of the vast majority of the American people" and is between right and wrong, good and evil, light and darkness.
"their leader," in this matter of "good and evil."
... Reagan recognizes and is acting upon the notion, ... that
the American people will not long sustain, with economic
Historian Henry Steele Commager before the speech
sadly commented that, "Reagan has 'no ideas, no undersacrifice and surely not with the blood of their sons, a
struggle they do not recognize as between good and evil."
standing of the Constitution, no understanding of economics. No one can take what the president says seriously
And, of course, Buchanan's remarks give it all away: "Better
Dead Than Red."
anyway. Logically>the only conclusion you can make is that
the Marx brothers are in charge of the economy, the
The Washington Spectator is of the considered opinion
Defense Department and the State Department." His that "Reagan's views of the world were largely shaped by his
evaluation of the speech itself has not surfaced. However, it experiences with the Screen Actors Guild in the late '40s.
is instructive that the Washington Post newspaper refers to
Quoting Patrick Owens, Washington correspondent for
Reagan's press conferences as "The Believe It Or Not
Neuisday, the Spectator goes on, " 'Reagan led an antiShow."

communist faction that collaborated with congressional

Tom Wicker, labeled his protest "Dangerous Doctrines."
investigators and accepted the blacklisting of hundreds of
This columnist appears in many papers across the country,
the union's members.' Reagan interpreted a drive by
and he led off with the statement, "President Reagan has
radicals as an attempt by communists to take over Hollyproclaimed and presumably bases his policy upon two
wood, an idea encouraged by the industry." The New York
dangerous doctrines. The Soviet Union is 'the focus of evil Times, which is quoted, adds "Thus, to Reagan, 'comin the modern world' and 'an evil empire,' while Americans
munism per se is evil and almost all communist movements
are 'enjoined by scripture and the lord jesus christ to
are controlled from Moscow. The Soviet Union is bent on
oppose ... with all our might' the 'sin and evil in the world.'''
world domination. Almost every serious challenge to American interests in the world is manipulated by Moscow. The
The danger "lies in Reagan's vision of the superpower
relationship as good versus evil, and his near-proclamation
Soviets cannot be trusted and seek to lullAmericans into a
of holy war. .. ." Calling Reagan's view "smug," he charges
false sense of security. It is a raw view, one that does not
allow for real differences within the kremlin about policy,
him with having shaken off the strongest restraints on
human conduct."
that differentiates little among socialist and communist
Austin, Texas

May, 1983

Page 3

movements, and that leaves little room for mellowing of

soviet behavior or the development of common interests
between America and the Soviet Union.' The upshot, says a
New York Times editorial, 'is a costly arms race.' "
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., writing for the Wall Street
Journal, being a historian naturally would reach back into
time for his analysis: "Mr. Reagan's sincere conviction ...
marks the fervent revival of the interpretation of the Cold
War as a holy war. This is how John Foster Dulles used to
explain the Cold War a generation ago .... Reagan now
portrays it once again in apocalyptic terms. . . . This
conception ... raises problems. It eliminates any thought of
accommodation or compromise .... war to the death. Mr.
Reagan marks out the world's final dividing line as between
those who reject and those who worship god - the ultimate
bad guys vs. the ultimate good guys .... Reagan ... insists
on "administering a religious saliva test to the world." He
sees the US as the 'focus of virtue.' Inordinate selfrighteousness, the conviction that one is the appointed
partner of the almighty, is a perilous thing. In this area Mr.
Reagan displays insouciant self-confidence. He appeared at
Orlando to have no doubt at all about where god stands on
the vexed issues of the age. God is mit uns. God is a Cold
Warrior. God is against the nuclear freeze. God is against

abortion and for the squeal rule. God is a Reagan Republican." He concludes, "To mistake transient political preferences for the considered design of the almighty is not
only presumptuous; it is truly dangerous." Quoting from a
theologian, he is ominous in his tone, ". . . if America
perishes ... the primary cause would be that the strength of
a great nation was directed by eyes too blind to see ... ; and
the blindness would be induced . . . by hatred and
vainglory."
What Reagan invokes is what the American Atheist has
tried to point out to you for many years: the world is not in a
struggle, as Schlesinger would put it and as a number of
journalists and politicians see it, between "totalitarianism"
and "democracy," but between religion and Atheism. The
United States does not want to compete economically,
politically, or culturally with the USSR; she wants to destroy
that nation, even at the expense of self destruction,
because, in the bitter end, "I would rather see my little girls
die now, still believing in god, than have them grow up under
communism and one day die no longer believing in god."
We are back to "Better Dead Than Red," with Reagan
leading the howling pack of religious nuts heading us all
straight to their self-fulfillingarmageddon.
~

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
(Orlando, Florida, March 8, 1983)

REMARKS OF THE PRESIDENT TO THE 41 ST

ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF EVANGELICALS
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you very much. And reverend clergy all, senator Hawkins, distinguished
members of the Florida congressional delegation and all of you, I can't tell you how you have warmed my heart with
your welcome. I'm delighted to be here today.
Those of you in the national association of evangelicals are known for your spiritual and humanitarian work. And
I would be especially remiss if I didn't discharge right now one personal debt of gratitude. Thank you for your
prayers. Nancy and I have felt their presence many times in manyways. And believe me, for us they've made all the
difference. The other day in the East Room of the White House at a meeting there, someone asked me whether I
was aware of all the people out there who were praying for the president and I had to say, "Yes, I am. I've felt it. I
believe in intercessionary prayer." But I couldn't help but say to that questioner after he'd asked the question that
- or at least saytothem that if sometimes'when he was praying he got a busy signal it was just me in there ahead of
him. (Laughter).
.
I think I understand how Abraham Lincoln felt when he said, "I have been driven many times to my knees by the
overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go."
From the joy and good feeling of this conference I go to a political reception. (Laughter). Now, I don't know why but
that bitof scheduling reminds me of a story- (laughter)which I'll share with you. An evangelical minister and a
politician arrived at heaven's gate one day together. And st. peter, after doing all the necessary formalities, took
them in hand to show them where their quarters would be. And he took them to a small single room with a bed, a
chair and a table and said this was for the clergyman. And the politician was a little worried about what might be in
store for him. And he couldn't believe it then when st. peter stopped in front of a beautiful mansion with lovely
grounds, many servants and told him that these would be his quarters. And he couldn't help but ask, he said, "But
wait, how- there's something wrong - howdo I get this mansion while that good and holy man only gets a single
room?"
And st. peter said, "You have to understand how things are up here. We've got thousands and thousands of
clergy. You're the first politician who ever made it." (Laughter) (Applause).
Page 4

May, 1983

The American Atheist

But I don't want to contribute to a stereotype. (Laughter).

So I tell you there are a great many god-fearing, dedicated, noble men and women in public life, present company
included. And, yes, we need your help to keep us ever mindful of the ideas and the principles that brought us into
the public arena in the first place. The basis of those ideas and principles is a commitment to freedom and personal
liberty that, itself, is grounded in the much deeper realization that freedom prospers only where the blessings of
god are avidly sought and humbly accepted.
The American experiment in democracy rests on this insight. Its discovery was the great triumph of our founding
fathers, voiced by William Penn when he said: "If we will not be governed by god, we must be governed bv tvrants."
Explaining the inalienable rights of men, Jefferson said, "The god who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same
time." And it was George Washington who said that "of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political
prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports."
And finally, that shrewdest of all observers of American democracy, Alexis de Tocqueville, put it eloquently after
he had gone on a search for the secret of America's greatness and genius - and he said:
"Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I
understand the greatness and the genius of America. America is good. And if America ever ceases to be
good, America will cease to be great." (Applause.)
Well, I am pleased to be here today with you who are keeping America great by keeping her good. Only
through your work and prayers and those of millions of others can we hope to survive this perilous century and
keep alive this experiment in liberty, this last, best hope of man.
I want you to know that this administration is motivated by a political philosophy that sees the greatness of
America in you, her people, and in your families, churches, neighborhoods, communities - the institutions that
foster and nourish values like concern for others and respect for the rule of law under god.
Now, I don't have to tell you that this puts us in opposition to, or at least out of step with, a prevailing attitude of
many who have turned to a modern-day secularism, discarding the tried and time-tested values upon which our
value civilization is based. No matter how well intentioned, their value system is radically different from that of
most Americans. And while they proclaim that they are freeing us from superstitions of the past, they have taken
upon themselves the job of superintending us by government rule and regulation. Sometimes their voices are
louder than ours, but they are not yet a majority. (Applause.)
An example of that vocal superiority is evident in a controversy now going on in Washington. And since I'm
involved, I've been waiting to hear from the parents of young America. How far are they willing to go in giving to
government their prerogatives as.parents?
.
Let me state the case as briefly and simply as I can. An organization of citizens sincerely motivated and deeply
concerned about the increase in illegitimate births and abortions involving girls well below the age of consent
sometime ago established a nationwide network of clinics to offer help to these girls and hopefully alleviate the
situation.
Now, again, let me say, I do not fault their intent. However, in their well-intentioned effort, these clinics have
decided to provide advice and birth control drugs and devices to underage girls without the knowledge of their
parents.
For some years now, the federal government has helped with funds to subsidize these clinics. In providing for
this, the congress decreed that every effort would be made to maximize parental participation. Nevertheless, the
drugs and devices are prescribed without getting parental consent or giving notification after they've done so. Girls
termed "sexually active" - and that has replaced the word "promiscuous" - are given this help in order to prevent
illegitimate birth or abortion.
We have ordered clinics receiving federal funds to notify the parents such help has been given. (Applause.) One
of the nation's leading newspapers has created the term "squeal rule" in editorializing against us for doing this and
we're being criticized for violating the privacy of young people. A judge has recently granted an injunction against
an enforcement of our rule.
I've watched TV panel shows discuss this issue, seen columnists pontificating on our error, but no one seems to
mention morality as playing a part in the subject of sex. (Applause.)
Is all of judeochristian tradition wrong? Are we to believe that something so sacred can be looked upon as a
purely physical thing with no potential for emotional and psychological harm? And isn't it the parents' right to give
counsel and advice to keep their children from making mistakes that may affect their entire lives? (Applause.)
Many of us in government would like to know what parents think about this intrusion in their family by
government. We're going to fight in the courts. The right of parents and the rights of family take precedence over
those of Washington-based bureaucrats and social engineers. (Applause.)
But the fight against parental notification is really only one example of many attempts to water down traditional
values and even abrogate the original terms of American democracy. Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant
and the rule of law under god is acknowledged. (Applause.) When our founding fathers passed the First
Amendment they sought to protect churches from government interference. They never intended to construct
a wall of hostility between government and the concept of religious belief itself. (Applause.)
The evidence of this permeates our history and our government. The Declaration of Independence mentions
the supreme being no less than four times. "In God We Trust" is engraved on our coinage. The supreme court
opens its proceedings with a religious invocation. And the members of congress open their sessions with
Austin, Texas

May, 1983

Page 5

prayer. I just happen to believe the schoolchildren of the United States are entitled to the same privileges as
supreme court judges and congressmen. (Applause.) Last year, I sent the congress a constitutional amendment to
restore prayer to public schools. Already this session, there's growing bipartisan support for the amendment, and I
am calling on the congress to act speedily to pass it and to let our children pray. (Applause.)
Perhaps some of you read recently about the Lubbock school case where a judge actually ruled that it was
unconstitutional for a school district to give equal treatment to religious and nonreligious student groups, even
when the group meetings were being held during the students' own time. The FirstAmendment never intended to
require government to discriminate against religious speech. (Applause.)
Senators Denton and Hatfield have proposed legislation in the congress on the whole question of
prohibiting "discrimination"
against religious forms of student speech. Such legislation could go far to restore
freedom of religious speech for public school students. And I hope the congress considers these bills quickly. And
with your help, I think it's possible we could also get the constitutional amendment through the congress this
year. (Applause.)
More than a decade ago, a supreme court decision literally wiped off the books of 50 states statutes protecting
the rights of unborn children. Abortion-on-demand now takes the lives of up to 1112 million unborn children a year.
Human life legislation ending this tragedy will some day pass the congress and you and I must never rest until it
does. (Applause.) Unless and until it can be proven that the unborn child is not a living entity, then its right to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness must be protected. (Applause.)
You may remember that when abortion-on-demand began many, and, indeed, I'm sure many of you, warned that
the practice would lead to a decline in respect for human life, that the philosophical premises used to justify
abortion-on-demand would ultimately be used to justify other attacks on the sacredness of human life, infanticide
or mercy killing. Tragically enough, those warnings proved all too true: only last year a court permitted the death by
starvation of a handicapped infant.
I have directed the Health and Human Services Department to make clear to every health care facility in the
United States that the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 protects all handicapped persons against discrimination based on
handicaps, including infants. (Applause.) And we have taken the further step of requiring that each and every
recipient of federal funds who provides health care services to infants must post and keep posted in a conspicuous
place a notice stating that "discriminatory failure to feed and care for handicapped infants in this facility is
prohibited by federal law. " It also lists a 24-hour, toll-free number so that nurses and others may report violations in
time to save the infant's life. (Applause.)
In addition, recent legislation introduced in the congress by representative Henry Hyde of Illinois not only
increases restrictions on publicly-financed abortions, it also addresses this whole problem of infanticide. I urge the
congress to begin hearings and to adopt legislation that will protect the right of life to all children, including the
disabled or handicapped.
Now, I'm sure that you must get discouraged at times, but you've done better than you know, perhaps. There is
a great spiritual awakening in America - (applause) - a renewal of the traditional values that have been the
bedrock of America's goodness and greatness. One recent survey by a Washington-based research council
concluded that Americans were far more religious than the people of other nations; 95% of those surveyed
expressed a belief in god and a huge majority believed the ten commandments had real meaning in their lives.
And another study has found that an overwhelming majority of Americans disapprove of adultery, teenage sex,
pornography, abortion and hard drugs. And this same study showed a deep reverence for the importance of
family ties and religious belief. (Applause.)
I think the items that we've discussed here today must be a key part of the nation's political agenda. For the first
time the congress is openly and seriously debating and dealing with the prayer and abortion issues - and
that's enormous progress right there. I repeat: America is in the midst of a spiritual awakening and a moral
renewal and with your biblical keynote, I say today, "Yes, let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a
never-failing stream." (Applause.)
Now, obviously much of this new political and social consensus that I have talked about is based on a positive
view of American history, one that takes pride in our country's accomplishments and record. But we must never
forget that no government schemes are going to perfect man. We know that living in this world means dealing
with what philosophers would call the phenomenology of evil. or as theologians would put it, the doctrine of
sin.
There is sin in the world. And we are enjoined by scripture and the lord jesus to oppose it with all our might.
Our nation, too, has a legacy of evil with which it must deal. The glory of this land has been its capacity for
transcending the moral evils of our past. For example, the long struggle of minority citizens for equal rights, once a
source of disunity and civil war, is now a point of pride for all Americans. We must never go back. There is no room
for racism, antisemitism or other forms of ethnic and racial hatred in this country. (Applause.) I know that you have
been horrified, as have I, by the resurgence of some hate groups preaching bigotry and prejudice. Use the mighty
voice of your pulpits and the powerful standing of your churches to denounce and isolate these hate groups in our
midst. The commandment given us is clear and simple: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." (Applause.)
But whatever sad episodes exist in our past, any objective observer must hold a positive view of American history,
a history that has been the story of hopes fulfilled and dreams made into reality. Especially in this century, America
has kept alight the torch of freedom, but not just for ourselves, but for millions of others around the world.
Page 6

May, 1983

The American

Atheist

And this brings me to my final point today. During my first press conference as president, in answer to a direct
question, I pointed out that, as good marxist-Ieninists, the soviet leaders have openly and publicly declared that the
only morality they recognize is that which will further their cause, which is world revolution. I think I should point
out, I was only quoting Lenin, their guiding spirit who said in 1920 that they repudiate all morality thatproceeds
from supernatural ideas - that is their name for religion - or ideas that are outside class conceptions. Morality is
entirely subordinate to,the interests of class war. And everything is moral that is necessary for the annihilation of
the old, exploiting social order and for uniting the proletariat.
Well, I think the refusal of many influential people to accept this elementary fact of soviet doctrine illustrates an
historical reluctance to see totalitarian powers for what they are. We saw this phenomenon in the '30s. We see it
too often today. This does not mean we should isolate ourselves and refuse to seek an understanding with them. I
intend to do everything I can to persuade them of our peaceful intent, to remind them that it was the West that
refused to use its nuclear monopoly in the '40s and '50s for territorial gain and which now proposes 50% cuts in
strategic ballistic missiles and the elimination of an entire class of land-based intermediate-range
nuclear
missiles. (Applause.)
At the same time, however, they must be made to understand we will never compromise our principles and
standards. We will never give away our freedom. We will never abandon our belief in god. (Applause.) And we will
never stop searching for a genuine peace, but we can assure none of these things America stands for through the
so-called nuclear freeze solutions proposed by some.
The truth is that a freeze now would be a very dangerous fra ud, for that is merely the illusion of peace. The reality
is that we must find peace through strength. (Applause.)
I would agree to a freeze if onlywe could freeze the soviets' global desires. (Applause.) A freeze at current levels
of weapons would remove any incentive for the soviets to negotiate seriously in Geneva, and virtually end our
chances to achieve the major arms reductions which we have proposed. Instead, they would achieve their
objectives through the freeze. A freezewould reward the Soviet Union for its enormous and unparalleled military
buildup. It would prevent the essential and long overdue modernization of United States and allied defenses and
would leave our aging forces increasingly vulnerable. And an honest freeze would require extensive prior
negotiations on the systems and numbers to be limited and on the measures to ensure effective verification and
compliance. And the kind of a freeze that has been suggested would be virtually impossible to verify. Such a major
effort would divert us completely from our current negotiations on achieving substantial reductions. (Applause.)
A number of years ago, I heard a young father, a very prominent young man in the entertainment world,
addressing a tremendous gathering in California. It was during the time of the cold war and communism and our
wayof life were very much on people's minds. And he was saying, "I love my little girls more than anything ... " And
I said to myself, "Oh, no, don't. You can't - don't say that." But I had underestimated him. He went on: "I would
rather see my little girls die now, still believing in god, than have them grow up under communism and one day
die no longer believing in god." (Applause.)
There were thousands of young people in that audience. They came to their feet with shouts of joy. They had
instantly recognized the profound truth in what he had said, with regard to the physical and the soul and what
was truly important.
Yes, let us pray for the salvation of all of those who live in that totalitarian darkness - pray they will discover
the joy of knowing god. But until they do, let us be aware that while they preach the supremacy of the state,
declare its omnipotence over individual man, and predict its eventual domination of all peoples on the earth - they
are the focus of evil in the modern world. It was C.S. Lewis who, in his unforgettable Screwtape Letters, wrote:
"The greatest evil is not done now in those sordid 'dens of crime' that Dickens love to paint. It is not even donein
concentration camps and labor camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered (moved,
seconded, carried, and minuted) in clear, carpeted, warmed, and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white
collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voice."
Because these "quiet men" do not "raise their voices," because they sometimes speak in soothing tones of
brotherhood and peace, because, like other dictators before them, they're always making "their final territorial
demand," some would have us accept them at their word and accommodate ourselves to their aggressive
impulses. But, if history teaches anything, it teaches that simple-minded appeasement or wishful thinking about
our adversaries is folly. It means the betrayal of our past, the squandering of our freedom.
So, I urge you to speak out against those who would place the United States in a position of military and moral
inferiority. You know, I've always believed that old Screwtape reserved his best efforts for those of you in the
church. So, in your discussions ofthe nuclearfreeze proposals I urge you to beware declaring yourselves above
it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil
empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle
between right and wrong and good and evil.
I ask you to resist the attempts of those who would have you withhold your support for our efforts, this
administration's efforts, to keep America strong and free, while we negotiate real and verifiable reductions in the
world's nuclear arsenals and one day, with god's help, their total elimination. (Applause.)
While America's military strength is important, let me add here that I have always maintained that the struggle
now going on for the world will never be decided by bombs or rockets, by armies or military might. The real crisis we
face today is a spiritual one; at root, it is a test of moral will and faith.
Austin, Texas

May, 1983

Page 7

Whittaker Chambers, the man whose own religious conversion made him a witness to one of the terrible
traumas of our time, the Hiss-Chambers case, wrote that the crisis of the western world exists to the degree in
which the west is indifferent to god, the degree to which it collaborates in communism's attempt to make man
stand alone without god. And then he said, "For marxism-Ieninism is actually the second oldest faith first
proclaimed in the garden of eden with the words of temptation, 'Ye shall be as gods.' "
"The western world can answer this challenge," he wrote, "but only provided that its faith in god and the
freedom he enjoins is as great as communism's faith in man."
_
I believe we shall rise to the challenge. I believe that communism is another sad, bizarre chapter in human history
whose last pages even now are being written. I believe this because the source of our strength in the quest for
human freedom is not material, but spiritual. And because it knows no limitation, it must terrify and ultimately
triumph over those who would enslave their fellow man. For in the words of isaiah: "He giveth power to the faint;
and to them that have no might he increased strength ....
But they that wait upon the lord shall renew their
strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary ... .' (is. 40:29,31 )(Applause.)
Yes, change your world. One of our founding fathers, Thomas Paine, said, "We have it within our power to begin
the world over again." We can do it doing together what no one church could do by itself. God bless you and
thank you very much. (Applause.)
END

(Editor's comment: If you are not doing your pertto support complete separation of state and churchthe position adamantly held by American Atheists - you are actually condoning the above presidential
pulpit panhandling. Reagan is making this nation a laughing stock abroad as well as among the more
intellectually responsible citizens at home. Adolf Hitler had several parallel opinions. [See next article.])

THE RELIGIOUS ADOLF HITLER

Quotations from Mein Kampf, James Murphy translation. Published by Hurst

and Blackett Ltd., New York, NY.
(Note: This list of quotations doesn't include all of the assorted references that Hitler made to religion. Things such
as thanking god and/ or heaven for an enemy's loss or referring to this loss as "the vengeance of heaven, " calling
his enemies "satanic," crediting "providence" for significant events which happened to himself, etc., weren't
quoted for lack of space. Only those major references to god or religion are mentioned here.)
Page 8

May, 1983

.The American Atheist

Hitler discussing his boyhood days:

"In myfree time, I practiced singing in the choir ofthe
monastery church at Lambach, and thus it happened
that I was placed in a very favorable position to be
emotionally impressed again and again by the magnificent splendour of ecclesiastical ceremonial. What could
be more natural for me than to look upo-nthe abbot as
representing the highest human ideal worth striving for,
just as the position of the humble village priest had
appeared to my father in his own boyhood days?" (p. 15)
Describing a juvenile delinquent:
"He curses god and the world and finally ends up in a
house of correction for young people." (p. 29)

"And the founder of christianity made no secret

indeed of his estimation of the jewish people. When he
found it necessary, he drove those enemies of the
human race out of the temple of god." (p. 174)
When describing what the jews . supposedly do to
undermine aryan civilization:
"Of religion he makes a mockery. Morality and
decency are described as antiquated prejudices and
thus a systematic attack is made to undermine those
last foundations on which the national being must rest if
the nation is to struggle for its existence in the world."
(p.185)

"And so I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the almighty creator. In
standing guard against the jew I am defending the
handiwork of the lord." (p. 46)
"But for each one of these unworthy specimens (of
clergy) we can find a thousand or more who fulfill their
mission nobly as the trustworthy guardians of souls and
who tower above the level of our corrupt epoch, as little
islands above the sea swamp." (p. 74)
"But man restricts the procreative faculty and strives
obstinately to keep alive at any cost whatever has once
been born. This correction of divine will seems to him to
be wise and humane .... " (p. 83)
"I am not ashamed to acknowledge today that I was
carried away by the enthusiasm of the moment and that
I sank down upon my knees and thanked heaven out of
the fullness of my heart for the favour of having been
permitted to live in such a time." (p. 99)
'Their (jews) very existence is an incarnate denial of
the beauty of god's image in his creation." (p. 107)
"What we have to fight for is the necessary security
for the existence and increase of our race and people,
the subsistence of its children and the maintenance of
our racial stock unmixed, the freedom and independence of the fatherland, so that our people may be
enabled to fulfill the mission assigned to it by the
creator." (p. 125)
Discussing the effects of venereal disease:
"Little of god's image will be left in human nature,
except to mock the creator." (p. 146)
"And yet this human world of ours would be inconceivable without the practical existence of a religious
belief." (p. 152)

;'L
,r

"Nations that make mongrels of their people, or allow

their people to be turned into mongrels, sin against the
will of eternal providence." (p. 186)
"Whoever would dare to raise a profane hand against
that highest image of god among his creatures (aryans)
would sin against the bountiful creator of this marvel
and would collaborate in the expulsion from paradise."
(p.216)
Advocating that a state should require that those who
marry are of the same race:
"The state should consecrate it as an institution
which is called upon to produce creatures made in the
likeness of the lord and not create monsters that are a
mixture of man and ape ....
(Miscegenation is a) sin
against the image of god." (p. 226)
" ... it is much more pleasing to god if a couple that is
not of healthy stock were to show loving kindness to
some poor orphan and become a father and mother to
him, rather than give life to a sickly child that will be a
cause of suffering and unhappiness to all." (p. 227)
"And further, they ought to be brought to realize that
(having racially-pure children) is their bounden duty to
give to the almighty creator beings such as he himself
made to his own image." (p. 228)
" ... god be praised and thanked .... " (pp. 226,268)

When discussing giving birth to children who aren't

racially pure:
"The act which brings about such a development is a
sin against the will of the eternal creator. And as a sin
this act will be avenged." (p. 162)

Austin, Texas

"But. thank god (forcing people to attend bourgeois

mass meetings) is impossible. And so it is not surprising
that the sane and unspoilt masses shun these 'bourgeois mass meetings' as the devil shuns holy water." (p.
268)
cant' d on pg 32
May, 1983

Page 9

jfocu~ on ~tbti~t~
Wt art mab at) btll .... anb we won't take it anpmort!
PITTSBURGH'S CITY "FATHERS"
- AND "BROTHERS"
On March 31st, the case of a member of American
Atheists, Pittsburgh Chapter, together with a minister of a
unitarian church of that city and the former pastor of the
Metropolitan (christian homosexual) church was heard by
the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, Pa. The difficult case
has been held up for several years in the "discovery"
process as attorneys of the A.c.L.U. have attempted to
uncover what is behind the cable contract which Pittsburgh
has recently acquired.
The facts are these, please carefully note the dates:
1) In 1976, when it became known that the City (of
Pittsburgh) was drafting legislation with respect to the
franchising of a cable television system for the city, a group
consisting primarily of organizations of the Roman catholic
diocese of Pittsburgh and calling itself "Christian Associates
of Southwest Pennsylvania" was formed. On its staff was
"Father L," who was the director of communications for the
diocese.
2) In November, 1978, the city created a Bureau of Cable
Communications within the city's Department of Public
Works, which was to represent the City in all of its business
with cable television. A Roman catholic priest, "Brother R,"
(F.S.C., Brothers of the Christian Schools, a religious
congregation of the Roman catholic church) was appointed
Superintendent of this Bureau. Prior to this employment he
had been the Assistant Director of Communications to the
diocese, under "Father L" and chairman of the "Christian
Associates" Program Production Committee. As the Superintendent of the City's Bureau of Cable Communications he
was in constant communications with all potential cable
bidders and also attended all meetings of the "Christian
Associates." All of the bidding cable companies knew
"Brother R" was a part of the Roman catholic diocese and
"Christian Associates."
3) The City in January, 1979, created an Advisory
Committee to deal with any proposed cable television for
the city. "Father L" was appointed and served as its
Chairman at all times. "Father L," when writing letters in his
officialcapacity as an appointee of the city, used letterheads
of "Christian Associates" to do so. All the bidding cable
companies knew "Father L" was a part of the Roman
catholic diocese and "Christian Associates."
4) In July and again in October, 1979, the City made a
"Request for Proposals" (RFP) for cable television, which
was drafted by "Brother R." In an Appendix thereto, in a
"Position Paper" drawn by a "Father L" and submitted to
the City Council by a bishop of the diocese of Pittsburgh,
the "Christian Associates" (a Director of which was the
Page 10

May, 1983

~
~
\~

bishop) called for allocation of a separate channel for itself.

The bishop also met with representatives of all the potential
cable bidders and engaged in extensive lobbying of them. In
its reply to the suit filed, the City noted that the "Christian
Associates ... painstakingly pursued a place on Warner's ..
. system."
5) Four companies made replies, Warner Cable, Three
Rivers Cable and Allegheny Cable and Community Cable.
At all times "Father L" and Brother R" met with the cable
companies submitting bids, acting in behalf of both the
"Christian Associates" and the City.
6) At no time did the City make clear that it was neutral
toward the "requests" of the "Christian Associates," and
the potential bidders could only see the apparent favoring of
"Christian Associates' " request by the City.
Therefore, all four bidders included provisions for the
"Christian Associates" in their bidding. Three Rivers proposed to give "Christian Associates" $45,000 toward the
cost of a studio and equipment and to provide "other
equipment." Community Cable proposed to assign a channel to "Christian Associates" and give equipment of an
unspecified value. Warner Cable proposed that it would
provide one channel to the "Christian Associates" and give
that group $60,000 for television equipment as well as
control over all administration and scheduling for that
particular channel. Allegheny Cable proposed to grant
"Christian Associates" the responsibility for two religious
channels.
7) On January 30, 1980, a "Cable Advisory Committee"
(the chairman of which was "Father L") recommended to
the City that the franchise should be given to Three Rivers
Cable. At the same time "Brother R" advised the Mayor to
pick Three Rivers Cable. But, the Council of the City of
Pittsburgh voted for the Franchise Agreement with Warner
Cable and on February 25th, 1980, the Agreement was
signed. That agreement included the Warner Proposal to
The American Atheist

the "Christian Associates," thus making it mandatory that

Warner give one channel and donate over $60,000 worth of
equipment to "Christian Associates." Warner's uneniorceable promises to "Christian Associates" were made, upon
the signing of that contract with the City, into legally
enforceable obligations. The Warner proposal stated that
the "Christian Associates" programming would include
church services, religious education, church tours, religious
holiday specials and syndicated programs, primarily those
of the Roman catholic church. This would require direct
wiring of the Pittsburgh churches involved.
8) On June 29, 1982 Warner paid $60,000 in cash to
"Christian Associates" and obligated itself to make a
channel available to "Christian Associates." This organization immediately was assigned Channel 23 and is currently
operating and programming on the Warner system.
In its reply to the challenge of the A.c.L. U. in behalf of the
unitarian church (which is, according to "Christian Associates," not christian and therefore excluded from Channel
23), the homosexual church and the Atheists, the City
stated that the three were "dishonest," "deceitful" and
"liars" in their initial complaint. In this dirty fight, the
A.C.L.U. pointed out that the "City's accusations are
knowingly false and clearly unethical. As a general principle,
good manners would forbid glorifying such conduct with
any reply. But in this instance, the City Law Department's
appalling behavior requires comment, because it goes to
the heart of the litigation."
It may be some time before the Federal District Court
judge hands down a decision on this case. The City of
Pittsburgh challenges the "standing to sue" of the three
litigants. They, in turn, point out that the City is engaged in
political pandering to an electoral constituency and that the
City is required to be neutral in matters of religion.
The tripartite test laid down by the United States
Supreme Court against which violations of the First Amendment are measured is quite specific. That Amendment
forbids "an establishment of religion" by government.
Through the Fourteenth Amendment it applies to the states
as well as to the federal government. Any law passed by any
state or a political subdivision thereof "must pass muster"
against three tests:
It cannot have a religious purpose, nor a principal effect
that willadvance religion(s).
It may not entangle government with religion in being
carried out.
It must have a secular purpose.
In all aspects, the little game played in Pittsburgh by the
roman catholic church, in collusion with politicians toadying
to the roman catholic vote, fails. The principal purpose of
one television cable channel given to the roman catholic
church for its own purposes, free of any constraints, and in
addition the financing of equipment for religious televising
purposes has only the purpose of advancing not alone
religion in general but the roman catholic faith in particular.
A more straightforward advancement of religion would be
hard to imagine. Conversely, it is impossible to find a
secular purpose unless one frankly takes into consideration
the secular purpose of purchasing roman catholic votes to
obtain office. But, even this is to benefit only office seekers
and the not public as a whole.
Austin, Texas

The web of involvement of the City through its franchising agreement is patent. That it condoned and included
in such agreement the giving of private largess to the roman
catholic church, thereby giving it the mandatory force of
law, is an excessive entanglement. The very least interpretation would lead any reasonably prudent person to
believe that the city had affiliated itself with, or lent its
support to, the "Christian Associates." Yet, despite that
appearance, at no time did the City attempt to affirmatively
assert its neutrality with respect to the "Christian Associates." There were extensive interlinkings and interactions
for a clear appearance that the City supported the.goals and
desires of the "Christian Associates" and, of course, this
especially is to be avoided as the above tests are applied.
The United States Supreme Court has held that a government's effort "... may not lead it into such an intimate
relationship with religious authority that it appears either to
be sponsoring or to be excessively interfering with its
authority." Roemer u. Maryland Public Works Board, 42
U.S. 736 (1976). Government must be neutral in appearance as well as in fact. (1) The mere appearance of support
or endorsement can shape attitudes and actions and
(2) such appearance contains the potential for political and
social divisiveness and conflict. Here there is neither factual
neutrality, nor a facade of neutrality. And, a hostile, bitter,
court case has erupted.
In this instance, again, it is patently obvious that religionists move in on any benefit anywhere and attempt to seize a
big bite of that benefit at the expense of taxpayers or under
cover of approval by government. This entire wretched tale
is one of the Roman catholic church first having its experts
appointed to public office, then using those public appointments for its own benefit and in its own behalf, and then
utilizing those offices to coerce a business into providing
benefits for it. The entire award of $60,000, plus a channel,
smacks of blackmail of Warner. And, as everywhere in the
world, the payola is given in return for the contract.
The suit is a tricky, complicated and multifaceted one.
And, the City of Pittsburgh is fighting the good fight on the
side of the Roman catholic church, while that church, as the
beneficiary of all the scheming, sits smugly by.
It is problematical that the three challengers willwin. The
suit may take five years to climb an appellate ladder.
Meanwhile, during those years the Roman catholic church
has Channel 23 and has received $60,000 worth of equipment. Even ifthe suit were won at the end of that time, there
would be "a five-year precedent in Pittsburgh" that would
be used to pull off the same chicanery in every other city in
the U.S. now just getting involved with cable television.
What is the situation in your city, dear reader? Do you
know?
These are ever-renewed warning situations to American
Atheists. When the dastardly deed is done, they come lately
- or after the fact - to the fray. American Atheists should
have been politically powerful enough, through money and
numbers, to see to it that "Father L" and "Brother R" were
not placed in key positions. Had Atheists occupied those
chairs, none of this would have happened and no suit would
be necessary. Unless we unite today, we won't have that
ability tomorrow.

May. 1983

Page 11

THE EXISTENCE OF A GOD

CAN BE TESTED
by .Iohn w. Patterson
Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
Iowa State University
The following article is actually a series of letters to the editor of the Ames (Iowa) Daily Tribune, printed in the fall of '82,
in response to articles and letters that had also appeared in that paper.

GOD'S EXISTENCE CAN BE TESTED

CREATIONISM CAN BE TESTED

10/26/82

10/16/82

As a scientific skeptic regarding all things supernatural, I

was disappointed in the panelists for the forum on "scientific" creationism.
Science is not nearly so limited as the panelists insisted. It
is quite capable of refuting beyond all reasonable doubt
those things or phenomena which are totally devoid of any
real existence (except in the imaginary sense). In fact, it has
already proven its worth in this regard as the one-time
believers in perpetual motion were made well aware.
Similarly, the once widely held beliefs in "imponderable
aether," in Stahl's "phlogiston" idea, and many other
popular delusions have also been refuted beyond all reasonable doubt by the "tried and true" method of critical
scientific testing.
Thus before one launches into lofty discourses over what
supernatural gods can or cannot create or how they may go
about doing so, one owes it to the public to at least discuss
the issue of whether such gods (or anything supernatural)
really exist. In order to make the "tried and true" method of
scientific testing applicable we need only entertain the
question in the following form:
Resolve: Is it possible that every creator god ever
conceived of by humans is just like every perpetual
motion machine ever conceived? (that is, tantalizing
to be sure, but totally devoid of any real existence
whatever - except in the imaginations of humans,
and particularly the committed believers among
them.)
I submit that if the properly designed tests were carried
out under scientifically controlled conditions (to guard
against frauds, fibbers, and self-deluded enthusiasts), that
the supernatural creator concept would failjust as repeatedly and just as convincingly as did the concept of perpetual
motion years ago. If only we could get some proponents of
"scientific" creationism to cooperate in setting up and
carrying out these tests, we should soon be able to establish
beyond all reasonable doubt whether or not such a creator
god has any real existence outside the realm of pure
imagination.
It seems rather suspicious to me that neither the scientists on the panel nor the theologians had the courage to
even entertain this crucial question of existence. Rather
they either pretended it could not be addressed or they
assumed their way right past it so as to get on to the more
lofty questions of theology.

* * * * *
Page 12

May, 1983

It is easy to devise definitive tests that if passed would

strongly support the existence of an omnipotent creator.
Similar tests have been devised to prove the existence of
perpetual motion, but these have all backfired. With
nothing but complete failures, everybody realizes there is
no such thing as a perpetual motion "generator" except in
our imaginations.
"Scientific" creationists know of this and have wondered
about their "omnipotent creator" idea. What ifit were to fail
just as repeatedly and convincingly in all properly designed
tests? To avoid this possibility they assume their way right
past the inconvenient question of existence. They go right
on to how and when "he" did it - create the universe, that
is. Were they to cooperate in an open and honest program
of scientific tests, the public would soon see that the
scientific case against (the existence of) god is as strong as
that against perpetual motion.
To keep attention away from this awkward fact, "scientific" creationists wrongly insist that science can't deal with
certain kinds of hypotheses - namely those based on
supernatural beings (who could always boycott critical tests
if they wish). Creationists want to deprive us of the right to
critical tests so that we can't justify the rejection of their
religiously based hypotheses. The closest we could come is
to remain forever agnostic, which would be to take no
position at all on this important issue.
Not only is this unscientific, it is sacrilegious as well. Who
are the creationists to presume that god won't prove his
presence in some dramatically difficult critical test? Judges,
chapter 6, and especially verses 36-40 ("And gideon said
unto god, 'If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast
said, Behold, I willput a fleece of wool in the floor; and ifthe
dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth
beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine
hand, as thou hast said.' And it was so: for he rose up early
on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed
the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And gideon
said unto god, 'Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I
will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this
once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece,
and upon all the ground let there be dew.' And god did so
that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was
dew on all the ground."), alleges that god did just exactly
that, thereby proving "his" presence to the ever-skeptical
gideon. Moreover, god performed repeatedly, and in strict
accordance with exacting criteria stipulated by gideon.
The American

Atheist

passed if god really exists and if he chose to participate. In

fact, it was designed so that any success would virtually
assure that a supernatural creator had participated.
Therefore, only a few successes would serve to wreak
havoc amongst Atheists the world over. Certainly the anticreationists in scientific circles would be stunned by plants
appearing out of thin air, and especially if all their proteins
contained only "D"-amino acids but none of the "L" type.
But only anti-creationists could be dazed by such stunning
results; the "scientific" creationists should not. They would
gloat in ecstasy.
Indeed, the creation "scientists" who happened to be on
hand at one of the successful tests would gain unprecedented fame almost instantly. They would be featured on
the videotapes and film documentaries of the successful
creation events, and these would be played in churches and
TV newscasts everywhere. There would be massive conversions of skeptics - especially among scientists - and
persons such as myself would have to just sit through all this
in bedazzled amazement.
In other words, if a god really exists, the test I proposed
jeopardizes only the skeptics and Atheists. It places them at

Religious persons who hold that the bible is true might be

offended by the creationists' assumption that god won't
show up, or that tests can't prove "his" presence or "his"
powers.
But there are better reasons than religious ones for not
exonerating god-based hypotheses from critical scrutiny.
Were we to do so, all sorts of frauds and delusions could be
perpetrated in the name of god, and they'd be assured of the
same protection creationists want. In principle, you could
promote a perpetual motion generator merely by claiming it
was divinely powered, that god himself would keep it
churning away forever. Since critical testing would be a
no-no, scientists and engineers couldn't prove you were a
fraud in court. Disgruntled customers could be told that god
chose to boycott their devices, and so on.
To guard against all these kinds of nonsense, we assume
that critical testing and scientific scrutiny can be applied to
any worthwhile claim or hypothesis. We do not assume that
valuable insights and decisive conclusions are unachievable, just because the claims are couched in religious terms.
Besides, truth never falls to honest, critical testing; only lies,
delusions, and errors do that.

"Thus supernatural concepts ... are rejected by scientists not because science is
helpless to evaluate them, but because ... they have already had their day in court,
and they have proved themselves to be utterly sterile, totally vacuous concepts ... "
A definitive scientific test for establishing the reality of an
omnipotent creator should have the following features. It
should be easy for god to pass if he really exists, but
impossible to pass, if he does not. I'm sure there are better
examples, but here's my favorite. At some prearranged
place and time, there should appear (instantaneously and
right out of thin air) a small cluster of live shrubs. To guard
against allclever magicians, we further stipulate that all their
protein helices must be made up exclusively from amino
acids with right-handed twists. Because all the protein
found in the earth's biosphere is made exclusively from
left-handed amino acids, we could rule out (beyond all
reasonable doubt) that these special shrubs were from
planet earth. Any number of biochemistry labs could check
the handedness quite easily. By pre-arranging the time and
place, "Live-Eye" TV crews could be all set up to document
the dramatic event. That way, neither the scientists nor the
creationists could lie about what really took place.
Passing this kind of a test should be impossible unless
there really is an omnipotent creator present, but should be
quite easy for anyone who has created an entire universe
out of nothing. But if no successes result after a few tens or
hundreds of trials, we willhave proved that the creator idea
is as imaginary and unreal as perpetual motion.

* * * * *
SCIENCE NOT LIMITED
11/9/82
My creationist opponents must take god's alleged existence and his alleged supernatural power much less seriously than do I. Either that or they are telling whoppers to
protect beliefs they know to be shaky. Let me explain.
The test I proposed was so stringent that it could only be
Austin, Texas

tremendous risk, while subjecting believers and creationists

to virtually no risk at all. Their most dismal record of failures
could easily be "explained away," for god can refuse to
participate as frequently as he chooses (as we know).
With so many positive gains in the offing (including so
many potential converts), and so much in the way of
supernatural power on their side, and with virtually nothing
to lose, why do the creationists and my other opponents
ridicule my test as being "silly" or "foolish"? If they had any
reason to believe their own claims, the creationists and
believers would not scoff at my challenges and discourage
the tests. Rather they would welcome them much as a
gambler welcomes a no-lose "sucker-bet."
In my view, the real explanation is this: My opponents
have so little confidence in their own claims that they won't
even participate in "no-lose" tests. Isuspect their claims are
either whoppers or cherished delusions. I think the critical
tests are scoffed at and discouraged because the claims will
seem ridiculous when they are tested seriously.
Having my challenges scorned and ridiculed is not a new
experience for me. My perfectly reasonable "bathroom
scale" test of a levitation leader at MIU (Fairfield Ia.) was
also dismissed as "unscientific" and "silly." I was informed
that any true scientist would have known that the "transcendental" levitation forces are not amenable to scientific
testing. My "restore-the-amputated-limb" tests are viciously rejected by faith healers, and particularly by those who
claim to be "conduits" through whom the "almighty" still
works his most miraculous of supernatural healings. I also
have a "darkroom test" for seers of the human aura. It too
has been much maligned by seers, nonetheless.
The main reason that supernatural notions are no longer
accepted in science is the same as the main reason that
perpetual motion no longer is. It's not that science can't deal

May, 1983

Page 13

are rejected by scientists not because science is helpless to

evaluate them, but because like perpetual motion, they
have already had their day in court, and they have proved
themselves to be utterly sterile, totally vacuous concepts,
no matter what practical use one tries to make of them.
Science is not as limited as religious believers and
"scientific" creationists would have us believe.

with such concepts - it can. The reason is that countless

hypotheses and theories based on supernatural concepts
have already been entertained by scientists - particularly
by scientists of the Dark Ages. - but all have failed to bear
fruit. They have failed just as repeatedly as all the contraptions based on the concept of perpetual motion. Thus,
supernatural concepts (such as gods, demons, angels, etc.)
~

THE PENTAGON'S SECRET

FIRST -STRIKE PLANS
by Robert C. Aldridge
(Robert Aldridge was an aerospace engineer for 16 years and designed submarine-launched ballistic missiles and MIRVs
for Poseidon submarines. Becoming convinced that Trident missiles were intended for first-strike use, he resigned.)
We Americans tend to rely heavily on the "authorities"
and the "experts" to make crucial decisions for us. That
trust, as far as military strategy is concerned, has led us to a
precarious balance in nuclear brinkmanship. The situation
is far more dangerous than most people can comprehend.
While public announcements have lulled us into the false
belief that our country willfire nuclear weapons only if they
are fired at us first, the Pentagon has pursued a more
sinister course for many years. Military interest in a surprise
nuclear attack that will completely disarm the opponent
started as far back as the mid-'SOs.Then, under the Nixon
administration's deception that limited nuclear exchanges
might be feasible, development of aggressive strategic
weapons gained momentum which increased under Gerald
Ford and Jimmy Carter.
I first recognized this trend in 1970 when I was a design
engineer on the submarine-launched Trident missile. Icould
see that the deadly accuracy which the Pentagon desired
was more than that needed for a defensive policy. It was the
type of pinpoint precision one would need to destroy such

Here's how a preemptive first strike would work. It would

probably start in space. Destroying the opponent's early
warning satellites would reduce the likelihood that he could
launch his missiles before they were destroyed. Shooting
down his communications spacecraft would hinder getting
the fire command to missile commanders - especially
those at sea in submarines. And putting navigation satellites
out of order would make any surviving retaliatory missiles
less likely to hit their targets.
Then the enemy's land targets would be destroyed by
super accurate missiles. These targets would include, along
with silos and command posts, communications centers,
nuclear storage depots, bomber bases and submarine pens.
At the same time, all hostile missile-launching submarines at
sea would be sunk. Then, just in case some targets are
missed, there would be a defense against return missile fire
and enemy bombers.
Here's how the technologies line up. New mosaic infrared
sensors are being tested to detect satellites and compute
their target trajectories. Likewise for approaching missiles

". . . every contingency for nuclear war will have to be preprogrammed so the
computer can make the decisions and run the game. Anybody who has worked with
computers knows what a risky situation that would be."
things as concrete and steel missile silos and command
posts buried deeply underground - the targets one would
destroy before they could be brought into play. This caused
me to resign from that work and become a critic of the arms
race. But the rebuttal I constantly received when I explained.
the aggressive nature of the new weapons was that missilecarrying submarines are invulnerable and, therefore, an
unanswerable first strike is impossible because the subs
would be certain to retaliate. But ifit could be shown that all
hostile submarines could be tracked and simultaneously
destroyed, US weapons programs would have to be viewed
in a different light. I focused my research on antisubmarine
warfare, and what I discovered really frightened me. I then
looked into other aspects of a first strike scenario. Allof the
necessary technologies are there in development and they
should all reach maturation by the mid-80s.
Page 14

May, 1983

and bombers. Homing interceptors, launched from the

ground, will be fired at satellites and missiles to dispense a
cloud of projectiles in their path - anyone of which would
be lethal with its 27,000 mph impact velocity. In addition,
killer lasers are being developed which will, with finite
precision, surgically zap any unwanted satellites and missiles from the sky.
Land targets will be obliterated by new submarinelaunched Trident missiles, land-based mobile Missile-X
(MX), and tenacious long-range cruise missiles which willbe
launched from ships, trucks, aircraft and submerged submarines. Missile-toting subs would be instantly demolished
by aircraft, ships and attack submarines. They would
already be set up for the kill by new underwater sensing
arrays aided by satellite surveillance and computerized
automation. All of these intricate systems will be closely
The American Atheist

interconnected by a sophisticated command, control and

communication network which must function so fast that a
human being cannot enter the decisionmaking loop every contingency for nuclear war will have to be preprogrammed so the computer can make the decisions and run
the game. Anybody who has worked with computers knows
what a risky situation that would be.
No, this is not science fiction. This is a Pentagon dream
coming true. Admittedly, this presentation is scanty, but I
hope it will spark deep concern. A thorough treatment is
available in The Counterforee Syndrome, obtainable from
the Institute for Policy Studies, 1901 Que St., Washington,
DC 20009.
Only four or five years remain to blunt the cutting edge of
this fast-approaching first-strike strategy. We must stop
Trident, Missile-X and cruise missiles before it is too late.
Soon all of these deadly technologies willbe so far along that
they will carry through to completion under their own
momentum. Then it willbe inevitable that nuclear weapons

will be used someplace at some time. When that happens,

as Defense Secretary Brown has pointed out, "The odds
are high ... that control would be lost on both sides and the
exchange would be unconstrained. Should such an escalation occur, it is certain that the resulting fatalities would run
into scores of millions." (Dept. of Defense Annual Report
Fiscal Year 1979 by Secretary of Defense Harold Brown,
February 2, 1978, p. 53.)
All our past experience indicates that when the United
States achieves a new military capability, the Soviet Union
seeks to match it. With both superpowers at a standoff in
first-strike weaponry, the slightest spark could trigger
nuclear cremation.
AT PRESENT WE ARE MOVING RAPIDLY TOWARD
THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR III, which could be
the war to end all wars, all peace and all human life on this
planet. Any hope of avoiding such disaster depends on an
informed public determined to put the brakes to this deadly
momentum.

Gerald Tholen

ATHEISM AS A SPECIFIC SCIENCE

matical possibilities encountered during the dealing of cards
or the throwing of dice. It is therefore imperative that we
require persons presenting themselves as "scientists" to be
specific as to their particular scientific expertise! Many
other areas of understanding may be similarly vague.
Words that "appear" to have definitive clarity may, in fact,
have little precise meaning at all!We, at American Atheists,
are continually perturbed by titles like "humanist," "rationalists," etc .... humanists and rationalists as opposed to what
- "inhumanists,' and "irrationalists"? According to the
definitions of humanism, I should think that all human
beings regard themselves as "humanists" of a sort. I would

In most of the articles I have written you may have noted

that I place emphasis on the need for clear comprehension
of the words we use in any communication of ideas and
opinions. As the sum total of human knowledge expands, it
becomes increasingly important that specificity in language
be applied in any verbal illustration of human experience.
Words are the symbols used in the expression of thoughts.
Slang (the informal use of vocabulary) is quite often
incorporated in contemporary oral discourse. In such
situations one must understand that the word symbols used
may perhaps be afforded additional "meanings" which were
not originally incorporated in legitimate definitions. It

"It was prior philosophical considerations that led to an acceptance of supernaturalism in the first place -, not empirical evidence."
should be also noted that many words that we use
incorporate rather broad application. As an example let us
consider definitions of the word science: 1) a branch of
knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths
systematically arranged and showing the operation of
general laws; 2) systematic knowledge of the physical or
material world; 3) systematized knowledge of any kind; 4)
any skill that reflects a precise application of facts or
principles.
With these definitions in mind it is easy to understand that
one need not be a protege of Albert Einstein to regard
himself/herself as a "scientist!" A casino dealer may be
presumed to be a "scientist" knowledgeable in the matheAustin, Texas

also be inclined to feel that any "humanist" would regard

himself/herself as being "rational" within the confines of
his/her individual intelligence! Without being overly critical I
must state that such self-assumed titles seem to reflect a
somewhat presumptuous quality.
Iam an Atheist. By so identifying myself I do not presume
to be more concerned with the overall human condition
than other human individuals. Neither am I implying that I
have "superior" capabilities in answering everyday problems that are faced by all human beings! Iam an Atheist only
as opposed to: a theist! I find no credible evidence to
support any acceptance of supernaturalism. In that context
I am also a "scientist" because I have comprehensively

May, 1983

Page 15

investigated the "evidences" of theism. During the acquisition of my own particular views concerning reality, it
became obvious that an in-depth understanding of the
science of physics was of utmost importance. If one is to
logically abandon the concept of "supernaturalism" he/she
must do so with positive conviction. After all, it was prior
philosophical considerations that led to an acceptance of
supernaturalism in the first place - not empirical evidence!
In an earlier article I explored the definition of existence. If
something exists, it must demonstrate its existence by
certain identifiable criteria. To "exist" something must:
I} have actual substance or relation to substance, 2}must in
some way be identifiable to the senses, 3} exhibit displacement (occupy space or register dynamic presence), 4} in
some manner be measurable. In short, "existing" entities
must have some manner of presence in order to qualify their
ability to have any external effect on any other existing
thing. As an example, I then proposed that a "hole" has no
(empirical) existence whatsoever! A hole is definable only
by the presence of the substances which surround it. Those
substances, of course, are in no way a part of the hole itself!
Their removal would immediately disclose that the "hole"
had no manifest claim of form
or effect. It was simply an illufigure 1.
sion. Illusions are simply misLine fb is
interpretations made by the
equal to
mind - information not corline bd
rectly aligned or only partially
understood. (See figure 1.)

I have written a number of ideas into previous columns

with the intention of explaining certain observances in
physical science. Many of you have commented favorably
concerning those ideas. Some have thought they were
"unrealistic" and a bit "far-fetched." When I stated that
"light" does not actually "exist," (Am. Atheist, Nov. 1981),
you may have wondered about my "sanity." Yet, at the
~~d
same time I included that "light" is simply a property of heat
Illusions have long been used by mystics to support their energy - (an important part of the basic concepts of
particular prevarications and/or "beliefs." The fact that physical phenomena). Problems arise when researchers try
many people are capable of being deceived by mystics
to separate light (as an independent entity) from heat
demonstrates their naive understanding of reality and of energy. Our sensory perceptions of light then produce an
their inability to relate to the actually simple nature of illusionary "pseudo-existence" due to the interpretative
physical existences.
methods of our optical nervous system. Then, operating
As I stated earlier, the rapid expansion of knowledge in from this "apparent" individual quality (illumination), we
physical science has left many persons hopelessly disillu- proceed to attach a separate set of characteristics to the
sioned in their attempts to understand the now very phenomenon we call "light." Once again we have been
complex questions concerning the physical presence of our deceived by a "parlor trick" -induced acceptance of what we
universal system. One may then be easily tricked into perceive to be so. Yet, our senses readily tell us that
abandoning the acceptance of precise physical laws by the "images" can be produced by any number of alternate
use of seemingly innocent "parlor tricks." For example, if I wavelengths of heat energy, i.e. TV, radar, thermal photowere to tell you that I could float a "chunk of iron" in a body graphy, etc.
of water you might possibly think that I am somewhat less
Occasionally an individual possessing unique comprehenthan "intelligent." Yet, if you were to cautiously place a sion of the physical sciences appears upon the stage of
sewing needle very lightly upon the surface of a bowl of very human intellect. It is no secret that Albert Einstein was such
still water, you would find that my statement was quite a person. Yet, by his own statements we are obliged to
know that he was only human (as I will attempt to explain
sincere and true. We must be aware that the laws ordering
later in this article). In his later years his interest was
physical possibilities are quite astonishing when amended
by relativity and critical analysis. What appears to be very consumed by his attempts to comprehensively identify a
complex at first glance ultimately becomes quite simple unifying force that could explain, in a simplified manner, all
when it is thoroughly understood. In the case of the cosmic (universal) occurrences. Had he succeeded we
might now be able to understand the still complicated
"floating" needle, physical principles concerning cohesion
and adhesion are factors which tend to add "magical" transformation of energy to matter and vice-versa. So
qualities to certain very simple occurrences. Bodies of impressive were his accomplishments, in spite of failing to
reach his goal, that the mystics of our society (religionists)
"heavier-than-water" substances will "float" under certain
circumstances provided that other phenomenal principles have made fanatical attempts to infer that this genius among
are brought into play.
men was a believer of supernatural nonsense. How many
Page 16

May, 1983

The American Atheist

times have you heard the contextual quotation - "god

doesn't play dice (with nature)"? Let me now offer a
quotation that most of you perhaps have not heard!: "Thus I
came - despite the fact that I was the son of entirely
irreligious (jewish) parents - to a deep religiosity, which,
however, found an abrupt ending at the age of 12. Through
the reading of popular scientific books I soon reached the
conviction that much in the stories of the bible could not be
true. The consequence was a positively fanatic (orgy of)
freethinking coupled with the impression that youth is
intentionally being deceived by the state through lies; it was
a crushing impression. Suspicion against every kind of
authority grew out of this experience, a skeptical attitude
towards the convictions which were alive in any specific
social environment - an attitude which has never again left
me, even though later on, because of a better insight into
the causal connections, it lost some of its original poignancy." - Albert Einstein (Volume I of Albert Einstein:
Philosopher-Scientist, Harper Publications, 1949,1951).
The quotation is on the first page of autobiographical notes
written by Einstein himself.

~\~

~--

)~ \
~~ ~~

"IN ORDER TO BE AN IMMACULATE

MEMBER OF A FLOCK OF SHEEP ONE
MUST, ABOVE ALL, BE A SHEEP
ONESELF"
- Einstein
A comprehensive study of Einstein's writings, formal or
informal, will readily ascertain his position.regarding theological observations. He was most certainly (regardless of
any religionists' claim to the contrary) an Atheist! More
importantly, the same such study will reveal that he was
grossly misunderstood and misinterpreted by contemporary "scientists." Many people errantly regarded him as a
genius in the field of mathematics. He was not! In his own
words again: "The fact that I neglected mathematics to a
certain extent had its cause not merely in my stronger
interest in the natural sciences than in mathematics but also
in the following strange experience. I saw that mathematics
Austin, Texas

was split up into numerous specialties, each of which could

easily absorb the short lifetime 'granted' to us .... This was
obviously due to the fact that my intuition was not strong
enough in the field of mathematics to differentiate clearly
the fundamentally important, that which is really basic, from
the rest of the more or less dispensable erudition." Einstein (from the same previous source). Due to the
constrictions of human lifespans he chose to devote his time
to theoretical physics even though he later realized that
mathematics would present itself as an integral part of any
scientific endeavor. His main interests lay in the fact that no
mathematician could devise the necessary equations to
satisfy the requirements of scientific proofs without the
astute observations of an articulate theorist.
Attempts to understand observations continuously point
to an ongoing need to be specific in terms and to be always
aware that empirical fact must be a constant guideline when
considering any of the numerous aspects of the real world.
Einstein did not dispute Newtonian principles - he enhanced them with relativity. His calculations ultimately will
be regarded as "amendments" to "Newton's laws" which
willcause them to be pertinent to the universal system in all
respects and within the limits of all inertial systems (An.
inertial system is a frame of reference in which a body
remains at rest or moves with constant linear velocity
unless acted upon by forces. It can refer to a macrocosm or
a microcosm.). At that point we will have achieved his
evasive goal - a unified field equation.
Let me explain. In his phrase, "the curvature of space,"
he inadvertently, along with other physical theorists, led
others to assume that "space" may indeed have "form" or
"shape." In the conventional sense empty space - devoid
of all substance/energy or points of reference (dimensions),
has no shape whatsoever. However, space, in the physical
sense, does have physical coordinates in the form of
substance/energy (i.e. electromagnetism, constant heat/
energy, and other energies such as X-ray, radio, gamma,
etc. These energy/substances are present throughout the
universal system.
.
Some time ago there was presumed to be an inner-space
"substance" called aether. The "aether" seemed to provide
a logical medium for the "transmission" of energy through
space. However, this concept was later abandoned because
no measurable evidence could be offered to support the
theory. Also, a number of contradictory arguments (supported by experimentation) were presented which substantially repudiated the existence of any such inner-stellar
substances. On the other hand, there has been no mention
of the fact in any works I have read that "energy" does not
need a medium of transmission! Again, let me explain: in
Einstein's own equation, E equals mc-, he demonstrated
that both E (energy) and m (matter) are simply manifestations of the same basic substances - the energy particles.
In a word, they can both be legitimately defined as substance. Any "substance," regardless of form, can move
freely through empty space without a "medium" or conductor! Energy then, is its own medium of transmission.
Actually, this is even more readily understandable if one
considers the consequence of any assumed inner-space
"aether" substance. If such a conducting medium were
present, it would afford a measurable resistance to the
energies transmitted through it. In the vast distances of
solar-to-planet or interstellar transmissions, it is very likely

May, 1983

Page 17

that "light," heat, etc. would be significantly absorbed by

that resistance. It would therefore be quite impossible for us
to detect the presence of even relatively "close" stars.
Consider for a moment the considerable amounts of solar
energy that are "absorbed" by the earth's relatively thin
atmosphere.
It becomes obvious that we have again become victims of
our own perceptions. We have errantly assumed that,
because electricity needs a conducting wire to move
through our own environment, other energies must likewise
need a "conducting" material. This is not necessarily true!
In fact, as I have explained, any presumed "conducting"
material would ultimately inhibit the transmission of energies over vast distances.
There are other equally interesting factors concerning
our unquestioning acceptance of word definitions. Unfortunately, "scientists" are quite often guilty of misinterpretations of word meanings as well as those not academically trained in science. It is quite common to hear
researchers and theorists use words like gravitational "pull"
or "attraction." The use of such terms implies an assumed
ability for one body to negatively influence another body.
One of the first orders of business in even fundamental
physics is to determine that negative "attraction" is a
physical impossibility! There has never been any evidence
to support such an incredible assumption! Force may be
applied positively by one body against another in competition for available space. Any attempted inclusion of "negative force" is simply without legitimate argument.
No matter who states otherwise - whether it be
"scientist" or layperson - there are only two distinct
manifestations of "force." One is the property of "momentum" resulting from the collisions of substances in motion.
The other is the property of "resistance" resulting in the
countering of momentum by substances at rest or travelling
in opposition to other substances in motion. Therefore we
can state that any force is the direct result of motion.

experiment had you placed two needles in the bowl of water

- the needles would have eventually been forced together by
figure 2
the greater surface tension
a = external
(pressure) of the water on the
lines of
outer sides of the needles. (See
force
figure 2.)

N-=
N'

a~
ta'
a1

a'= shorter
lines of
force

:::::m

Physical phenomena are not so difficult to comprehend if

all pertinent factors are included. Yet we hear otherwise
credible scholars in physics using terms and expressions
that sometimes indicate they do not have clear understandings of certain physical principles. Quite often significant errors in their presentations can be realized when they
attempt to explain certain phenomena. Allow me to illustrate two such incidents.
Carl Sagan in his series "Cosmos" gave two contradictory examples of what might occur if one dropped a
"handful" of "black hole" substance on the earth's surface.
Example 1: the black hole substance, being so enormously
dense and "heavy" would penetrate right through the
earth's crust and fall downward through the gravitational
center of the earth and past its center. Then, due to to
gravitational influence from the opposite direction, would
reverse the direction of its falland head back again through
the earth's center - repeating this maneuver a number of
times until it lost is "fall" momentum and eventually came to
rest at the earth's gravitational center. The earth would thus
be permeated by a series of holes "like a swiss cheese" (sic).
Example 2: (in another segment of his series) any physical
body in close proximity to even a very small quantity of
black hole substance would be immediately crushed into

"As Einstein once stated, the universe would go about its business of ,being' whether
or not there was a 'god' or 'gods.' Therefore the idea of religiosity and fantasy are
reduced to a value of zero in any physical equation."
Consider the definition of the word "pull" - to take hold
of and cause to move toward or after oneself. In other words
- to push from the opposite side of something and in the
direction of oneself. The object being moved is then actually
being pushed by applying a positive force to jts opposing
side. This constitutes a classic example of simple mechanics. Newton, in his original explanation of orbiting bodies, .
regarded those bodies as being pushed from their inertial
straight line of motion by infinitessimal "blows" toward the
central massive body.
Gravity can be explained in an equally simplified manner
if all factors are considered: i.e. 1) space is filled with
energy/substance; 2) energy/substance is fluid (capable of
flowing and changing shape at a steady rate when acted
upon by a force); 3) all fluid substances register internal
pressure; 4) two or more bodies immersed in a fluid
substance experience a decrease in pressure (in "lines of
force" between them) when in relatively close proximity.
You would have noted this in the earlier "floating needle"
Page 18

May, 1983

the black hole's mass by virtue of its enormous gravitational

influence! Ifeither of his observations is correct - obviously the other must be wrong!
The other incident was in a recent article in the April '83
issue of Discover magazine - a rather impressive article
concerning the intricacies of nuclear physics was featured.
It described the recent predictions and subsequent discovery of the "W" particle. The story centered on the combined
works of notables in physics such as Steven Weinberg,
Abdus Salaam, Carlo Rubbia and Sheldon Glashow. I will
not go into detail as to the entire content of this article for
reasons of brevity. But, rest assured, these gentlemen
command great. respect in the world of physics. Neither
would I attempt to argue with their findings concerning the
"W" particle (or any other of the components of the energy
particle system). My comments are reserved for their
mention of the "four basic forces" in the universe electromagnetic force (evidenced by photons), the "weak"
force (evidenced by Wand Z particles), the "strong" force
The American Atheist

(evidenced by gluons), and gravity (evidenced by the yet

undiscovered graviton particles. I call your attention to the
significance of the use of "yet undiscovered"
graviton
particles! )
If the particles which have been credited with the
phenomenal
existence
of gravity have not even been
identified, then the entire theoretical concept 'of gravitational force cannot be intelligently considered through their
arguments. Certainly, gravity does exist! My question is:
how credible is the concept of "four forces" in the face of
such an enormous void in its nomenclature.
I stated earlier
that gravity alone - amended by relativity - can account
for the structure of all universal forces! This is the concept
for which Albert Einstein was seeking explanations.
He
apparently overlooked in his own findings that energy was,
in fact, a substance/form
entirely capable of exerting a force
(pressure). No matter how many "particles" are presently
known - or how many may yet be discovered - they will
all simply and ultimately contribute to that single necessary
compelling universal force - gravity! They all simply are
components of the "fluid" substances which are found in
physical space and which contribute to a relatively constant
internal pressure which is peculiar to any given fluid body
which neither increases or decreases in overall content.
This fact is further realized by then recalling the First Law of
Physics which iterates that matter and/or energy can
neither be created nor destroyed (annihilated) - only
transformed.
For a period of some 5 years now I have attempted to
relate many of the things included in this concept to various
members of the "inner circle" of physicists and astronomers. Dr. Harlan Smith (head of the UT dept. of astronomy)
commented that gravity/pressure
concepts seemed reasonable as did the head of the physics dept. at UT some two
years ago. However, Dr. John Wheeler (head of theoretical
physics at UT) seemed "uninterested"
when I talked with
him by phone early in '82. (I might add that Wheeler is now a
physics associate of Dr. Steven Weinberg at UT.) I am now
convinced that there exists an elite inner circle of scientists
who are not sympathetic
to ideas unless they originate
within that apparently closed group. This is altogether
disappointing to me since it is well-known that Albert
Einstein himself was, at an early age, considered somewhat
of an "upstart" in the then equally closed circles of science.
More disappointment
came to light when, at a lecture by
the noted Abdus Salaam at the world-famous
Solvey
physics conference held at the University of Texas, the
famous speaker was introduced as a practicing mohammedan who had translated the koran. He was introduced by
none other than Dr. John Wheeler. I failed to see the
significance of Salaam's adherence to islamic mythology
being pertinent to his list of "credentials"
in the world of
physical science. Subsequently,
yet another bit of disappointment crossed my visions of "chivalrous
scientfic
honor." It was a statement
made by the same John
Wheeler: "I am willing to go anywhere, talk to anybody,
raise any question, make a fool of myself 100 times over to
make some small advance toward this great goal (opening
new areas of physics)." - Austin American Statesman,
Feb. 20, '83.
Whether or not any of the physical observations herein
are popularly accepted, they are based entirely on demonstrable physical principles. They deserve consideration.
Austin, Texas

They conform to the physical principles explored by Albert

Einstein. I feel that a simple oversight on Einstein's part kept
him from solving the so-called "secrets" of the universe. As I
stated earlier - and by his own admission - he was only
human. This was never so pointedly obvious as it was when
he stated in his own words (included in my first quotation
from his autobiographical
notes) "an attitude which has
never again left me, even though later on, because of a
better insight into the causal connections, it lost some of its
original poignancy."
In this regard Einstein adequately
illustrated his human naivete. Religion is intent on destroying "science" in its entirety. His atheistic views were, to say
the least, very poignant throughout his lifetime interests physical theoretics!
It is now very clear to me that there are persons who,
either deliberately
or unintentionally,
misinterpret
and
misinform their contemporaries
when exploring the possible activities of the material system. Quite often invalid
assumptions are injected by such persons in their attempts
to justify their claims and explanations.
The "ultimate
universe" - the totality of all existing things - is cyclical. It
is perpetual in its existence as stated by its first and most
fundamental law. Therefore it has no need for any supernatural entity. As Einstein once stated, the universe would
go about its business of "being" whether or not there was a
"god" or "gods." Therefore,
the idea of religiosity and
fantasy are reduced to a value of zero in any physical
equation. Zero represents nothing!

That Man
You query who that man might be
Who mounts yonder noble steed.
See his worn and battered arms,
New decked with happy laurel wreaths.
See the people cheer him so.
For they love his deeds.
Surely they love his deeds.
You asked the right man to tell,
For I am his squire, his faithful servant.
He left not long ago to fight,
To fight a horrid enemy,
Who was not yet known.
He was alone in his valiant vision,
Except for me, who only half understood.
The people laughed and jeered,
"We have no enemies." they said.
And they graced his new-made arms
With many a rotten egg.
He still went on, alone but for me,
Who only half understood.
Now understand that lonely gleam of his eye
And frown hid beneath a joyous smile.
For he knows that he has not yet fought
And they will laugh at the next like him.

Robin Eileen Murray-O'Hair

May, 1983

Page 19

Merrill Holste

IF THE
"SECOND COMING
OF CHRIST"
WERE TOMORROW
It is recorded in the new testament that jesus promised
his disciples he would return to them quickly in power and
glory. The words he used are recorded for us in matthew
24:29-31,34,42-44 {"Immediately after the tribulation of
those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall
not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and
the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall
appear the sign of the son of man in the heaven: and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the
son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound
of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from
the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other ....
Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass, till all
these things be fulfilled.... Watch therefore: for ye know
not what hour your lord doth come. But know this, that if
the goodman of the house had known in what watch the
thief would come, he would have watched, and would not
have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye
also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the son of man
cometh."}. See also matt. 16:28 {"Verily I say unto you,
There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death,
till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom."}, mark
13:5-37 {"Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many
shall come in my name, saying, 'I am christ;' and shall
deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumors
of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be;
but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be
earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and
troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. But take heed
to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and
in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be
brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony
against them. And the gospel must first be published among
all nations. But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up,
take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do
ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that
hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the holy
ghost. Now the brother shall betray the brother to death,
and the father the son; and children shall rise up against
their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And
ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that
shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. But
when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of
by daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, [let him
Page 20

May, 1983

The American Atheist

that readeth understand,] then let them that be in Judea flee

to the mountains: And let him that is on the housetop not go
down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing
out of his house: And let him that is in the field not turn back
again for to take up his garment. But woe to them that are
with child, and to them that give suck in those days! And
pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. For in those
days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning
of the creation which god created unto this time, neither
shall be. And except that the lord had shortened those days,
no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he
hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. And then if any
man shall say to you, 'Lo, here is christ;' or, '10, he is there;'
believe him not: For false christs and false prophets shall
rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, ifit were
possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have
foretold you all things. But in those days, after that
tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall
not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the
powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall
they see the son of man coming in the clouds with great
power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall
gather together his elect from the four winds, from the
uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet
tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is
near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things

to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I willgive you a

mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be
able to gainsay nor resist. And ye shall be betrayed both by
parents, and brethren, and kinsfolk, and friends; and some
of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be
hated of all men for my name's sake. But there shall not a
hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your
souls. And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with
armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then
let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let
them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them
that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the
days of vengeance that all things which are written may be
fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them
that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress
in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall
by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into
all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the
gentiles, until the times of the gentiles be fulfilled.And there
shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars;
and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the
sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for
fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on
the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And
then shall they see the son of man coming in a cloud with
power and great glory. And when these things begin to
come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your

"The disciples of jesus waited in vain for the second coming. Generation after
generation passed without the promised signs, wonders and supernatural prodigies."
come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I
say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, tillall these
things be done. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my
words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour
knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven,
neither the son, but the father. Take ye heed, watch and
pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the son of man is
as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave
authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and
commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye
know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or
at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest
coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto
you I say unto all, Watch.") and the 21st chapter, verses
6,8-28,32-36 of luke ("And as for these things which ye
behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be
left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
... Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come
in my name, saying, 'I am christ; and the time draweth near:'
go ye not therefore after them. But when ye shall hear of
wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things
must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by....
Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places,
and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great
signs shall there be from heaven. But before all these, they
shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering
you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought
before kings and rulers for my name's sake. And it shall turn
to you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not
Austin, Texas

redemption draweth nigh.... Verily I say unto you, This

generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven
and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass
away. And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your
hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness,
and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you
unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell
on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray
always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these
things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the son of
man.").
The disciples of jesus waited in vain for the second
coming. Generation after generation passed without the
promised signs, wonders and supernatural prodigies. We
are still waiting. If the second coming were tomorrow, what
manner of person should we expect to see? Let us review
the new testament record. From it we should get some
advance information on the character of christ.
John tells us (1:10), "He was in the world and the world
was made by him." and in (10:30), john quotes jesus: "I and
my father are one." In matthew 3:17 and mark 1:11 we are
told that there "came a voice from heaven saying, 'This is
my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.' " Thus we
expect jesus, being one with his father, god, to have some of
the infinite knowledge possessed by his father, creator of all
things.
Yet, it is remarkable that jesus, son of the infinite, and one
with the omniscient, knew less of the scientific facts about
the earth on which we live than grade-school children do
today. Jesus must have thought the earth was flat, for
May, 1983

Page 21

.,

--,
I
I

./

~~~~=-==~==~--~.~
matthew 4:8 ("Again, the devil taketh him up into an
exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.") and luke 4:5-6
("And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed
unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And the devil said unto him, 'All this power will I give thee,
and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to
whomsoever I will I give it.' ") tell us that jesus reported
seeing all the kingdoms of the earth from a high mountain.

"And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in
heaven shall be shaken."), or go wandering around from
place to place (matt. 2:9 - "When they had heard the king,
they departed; and 10, the star, which they saw in the east,
went before them, till it came and stood over where the
young child was."), and that the sun and moon were mere
lights to be turned off or on at the whim of fickle deity (mark
13:24 - "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun
shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.").
The sky, or heaven, was a material covering through which
the rain leaked from time to time, or it could be plugged up
for as much as three years (luke 4:25 - "But I tell you of a
truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of elijah, when
the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when
great famine was throughout all the land;" gen. 7:11 - "In
the six hundredth year of noah's life, in the second month,
the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the
fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of
heaven were opened;" gen. 8:2 - "The fountains also of the
deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain
from heaven was restrained."). Jesus referred many times
to the queen of Sheba's journey "from the uttermost parts
of the earth" (matt. 12:42 - "The queen of the south shall
rise up in the judgment with this generation,
and shall
condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the
earth to hear the wisdom of solomon; and, behold, a greater
than solomon is here;" luke 11:31 - "The queen of the
south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this
generation, and condemn them: for she came from the
utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of solomon;
and, behold, a greater than solomon is here.") to visit
solomon. Since part of Arabia is more than 1,500 miles away
from Judea, jesus's mountain would have been over 100
miles high for him to see that distance! Jesus believed
convulsions of nature, earthquakes,
eclipses of sun and
moon, were signs having to do with weal or woe, good
fortune or calamity for men. He predicted such signs would
announce his second coming. See matt. 24:24,29-30 - "For
there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall
show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were

"It was common knowledge among ordinary Greeks that the earth was round, but
among the Hebrews, the 'chosen people' of god, and to jesus, son of the 'omniscient
god,' the earth was still flat!"
possible, they shall deceive the very elect .... Immediately
Pythagoras, the Greek "Samian Sage" knew the earth was
after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened,
round, and he lived more than 500 years before christ was
and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall
allegedly born. Eratosthenes,
proceeding
arong correct
geometric principles, quite accurately measured the circum- ' from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be
shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the son of man in
ference of the earth in the third century before the alleged
heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and
birth of christ. Archimedes, about 200 years before the
they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven
alleged birth of christ, knew and taught the rotundity of the
with power and great glory;" mark 13:22,24-25 - "For false
earth. It was common knowledge among ordinary Greeks
christs and false prophets shall rise. and shall show signs
that the earth was round, but among the Hebrews, the
and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect .
"chosen people" of god, and to jesus, the son of the
. . . But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be
omniscient god, the earth was still flat! Also, they believed
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the
the stars were small lights fastened to the underside of
heaven so that they could become dislodged and fall off stars of heaven shall fall and the powers that are in heaven
shall be shaken;" luke 21: 11-12 - "And great earthquakes
(matt. 24:29 - "Immediately after the tribulation of those
shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences: and
days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give
fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. But
her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the
before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and
powers of the heavens shall be shaken." and mark 13:25Page 22

May, 1983

The American

Atheist

persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and

into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my
name's sake."}.
Jesus expounded some theological ideas that we would
consider rather crude. His words, as given in matt. 18:8-9
are these: "Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee,
cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to
enter into (heavenly) lifehalt or maimed, rather than having
two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if
thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee." In
matt 5:28-29 ("But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh
on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with
her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee,
pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee
that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy
whole body should be cast into hell."), jesus is reputed to
have said that whosoever looks at a pretty girl and finds
himself feeling desire for her has committed adultery
already, the cure being to pluck out his eye and cast it from
him. The same theological animosity toward offending,
sinful hands, eyes and feet is expressed by jesus in mark
9:43,45,47 ("And ifthy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better
for thee to enter into lifemaimed, than having two hands to
go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: ...
And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to
enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell,
into the fire that never shall be quenched: ... And if thine
eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into
the kingdom of god with one eye, than having two eyes to be
cast into hell fire."). In matt. 19:10-12 ("His disciples say
unto him, 'If the case be of the man be so with his wife, it is
not good to marry.' But he said unto them, 'All men cannot
receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there
are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's
womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made
eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made
themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.' ")
jesus suggested that since it was good not to marry, it would
be well for a man to be castrated to become a eunuch. This,
of course, would eliminate desire for the pretty girl, might
save an eye and would help insure entry into heaven tater. it
is to be regretted that christians in these mollycoddle days
shrink from such heroic measures for making certain their
eternal destiny.

mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the

mother; the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."}. Luke
14:26 reports jesus as saying, "If any man come to me and
hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children and
brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot
be my disciple." The same sentiment is repeated in matt.
10:21 ("And the brother shall deliver up the brother to
death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up
against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.");
19:29 ("And everyone that hath forsaken houses, or
brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or
children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a
hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life."); mark 10:2930 ("Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left
house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife,
or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he
shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and
brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands,
with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.");
and luke 18:29-30 ("Verily I say unto you, There is no man
that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or
children, for the kingdom of god's sake, Who shall not
receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world
to come life everlasting.").
If jesus returned tomorrow, he would no doubt begin
re-introducing our doctors of medicine to the ancient
methods of curing all sorts of illness and disease. Jesus, son
of the omniscient, worked his cures of epilepsy, insanity,
fever, blindness, lameness, leprosy, inability to speak, etc.
by exorcising and "casting out" devils and evil spirits, and he
even conversed with the devils he dislodged (Note: our
modern fad for germs and viruses and antibiotics had not
been invented in those days.). In the 5th chapter of mark
verses 2-13 ("And when he was come out of the ship
immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an
unclean spirit, ... But when he saw jesus afar off, he ran and
worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said,
'What have I to do with thee, jesus, thou son of the most
high god? I adjure thee by god, that thou torment me not.'
For he said unto him, 'Come out of the man, thou unclean
spirit.' And he asked him, 'What is thy name?' And he
answered, saying, 'My name is legion, for we are many.' And
he besought him much that he would not send them away

"Itmight be that jesus could teach our doctors how to cast out the evil spirits causing
cancer of the lungs."
Happy family relationships appear to have been very
displeasing to this son of omniscience, for christ promised
his highest rewards to those who abandoned loved ones.
Matt. 10:34-36 records his ideas regarding the family thus:
"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I come
not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man
at variance against his father, and the daughter against her
mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
And a man's foes shall be they of his own household." Luke
12:51-53 repeats this ("Suppose ye that I am come to give
peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from
henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three
against two, and two against three. The father shall be
divided against the son, and the son against the father; the
Austin, Texas

out of the country. Now there was there nigh unto the
mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils
besought him, saying, 'Send us into the swine, that we may
enter into them.' And forthwith jesus gave them leave. And
the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and
the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they
were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea."} it
is related how jesus showed an amazing proficiency by
curing one man who was infested with a whole legion of
devils. These were exorcised and chased into a herd of
swine which then ran into the sea and drowned. it might be
that jesus could teach our doctors how to cast out the evil
spirits causing cancer of the lungs. This would enable our
modern cigarette addicts to puff up a bigger cloud of stench

May, 1983

Page 23

than ever without getting cancerous lungs. The tobacco

interests (which include, incidentally, the "moral majority's"
senator Jesse Helms) would pay handsomely for this
knowledge, making huge profits for the christian church.
There would be many disagreements between jesus and
modern historians on the facts of history. Jesus taught that
adam and eve were the parents of the human races tmatt.
19:4 - "Have ye not read, that he which made them at the
beginning made them male and female."; mark 10:6 - "But
from the beginning of the creation god made them male and
female."). He taught also that the deluge of noah was a
historical event (luke 17:27 - "They did eat, they drank,
they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the
day that noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and
destroyed them all."). These stories are considered to be
myths by modern historians, and many bible students now
agree that this is so. Philologists have read the rock-carved
record of the Egyptians which go back continuously for
more than 4,000 years before the alleged birth of christ, far
past the time when adam and eve were supposed to have
lived, and have found no mention of noah's flood. Also,
human remains have been found in Palestine whose antiquity, as determined by carbon dating techniques, is ten,
twenty and more thousand years before the alleged birth of
christ. Jesus regarded the book of daniel as authentic
history (matt. 24:15 - "When ye therefore shall see the
abomination of desolation, spoken of by daniel the prophet,
stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:"), but historians claim it is one of the crudest
forgeries ever perpetrated. The cuneiform records left by
the Babylonians disprove the legend of daniel at the
Babylonian court. The book that bears his name shows
internal evidence of having been written more than 400
years afterward when the facts of Babylonian history had
been forgotten (American Atheist Ed. - See Is the Book of
Daniel a Forgery? by Frank Zindler, available through
American Atheist Press). Jesus regarded the book ofjonah
as historical. In matt. 12:40he says, "For as jonas was three
days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the son of
man be three days and three nights in the heart of the

WE D("A/ANP
3 IIR

1:'1

c~{)c/ FIX lOllS

1\1

II

,.

- ..

c:::=:.. __

"Itwould be interesting to hear what our modern labor organizers would have to say
about jesus's attitude toward ... free-wheeling employer-employee relations. It is
clear that jesus felt that owners had the legal right to pay anything they chose and
that a penny a day was a just wage."
earth." Modern historians regard the origin of'the story of
jonah to be an ancient solar myth.
Christ preached to everyone improvidence and carelessness for future wants and needs. In matt. 19:21 and mark
10:21 jesus told a young man desiring eternal life: "Go and
sell whatsoever that thou hast, and give to the poor, and
thou shalt have treasure in heaven." In luke 18:22-25 ("Now
when jesus heard these things, he said unto him, 'Yet
lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute
unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and
come, follow me.' And when he heard this, he was very
sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when jesus saw that he
was very sorrowful, he said, 'How hardly shall they that
have riches enter into the kingdom of god! For it is easier for
a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to
Page 24

May, 1983

enter into the kingdom of god.' ") jesus gave the same
advice to a rich ruler. The ruler was reluctant to comply, so
jesus added the further remark, "How hardly shall they that
have riches enter into the kingdom of god! For it is easier for
a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to
enter into the kingdom of god." And jesus, speaking to his
disciples, said, (luke 6:30)"Give to every man that asketh of
thee: and of him that taketh away thy good ask them not
again." Further, in luke 12:33 jesus said, "Sell that ye have,
and give alms." Matthew 6:19,25,34 reports at considerable
length the improvident viewpoint: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. ...
Take no thought for your life what ye shall eat, or what ye
shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on ....
The American Atheist

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow

shall take thought for the things of itself." Finally, jesus told
a parable about a rich man and a beggar named lazarus
(luke 16:22-23): "And it came to pass that the beggar died,
and was carried by the angels into abraham's bosom: the
rich man also died, and was buried: And in hell he lifted up
his eyes, being in torments, and seeth abraharn afar off, and
lazarus in his bosom." Truly jesus's advice was the antithesis of our present practice of trying to provide for a
family, educate children and to assure financial independence for our old age. Probably jesus preached as he did
because he expected the" end of the world" to occur within
the lifetime of his hearers. The doctrines of jesus would be
considered preposterous in a climate such as prevails in
Minnesota. Jesus would certainly be anathema to modern
bankers and savings institutions which depend for their
business upon the thriftiness and frugality of our people.
Jesus upheld the institution of slavery. In luke 12:42-48
("Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord
shall make ruler over his household, to give them their
portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant,
whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a
truth I say unto you, that he willmake him ruler over all that
he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, 'My lord
delayeth his coming;' and shall begin t6beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be
drunken; The lord of that servant willcome in a day when he
looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware,
and willcut him in sunder, and willappoint him his portion
with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his
lord's will,and prepared not himself, neither did according
to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that
knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be
beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is
given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men
have committed much, of him they willask the more.") he
related a situation in which he recommended that the
"servant" - meaning "slave" - should be beaten with
many stripes. The apostles preached similar sentiments
many times. See ephesians 6:5 ("Servants, be obedient to
them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear

scribed as being slaves but were called "servant." In

addition to slaves, the bible mentions hired workmen who
bound themselves to serve for a period of time, a day, a
week, or a number of years. In matthew 20:1-12 ("For the
kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder,
which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his
vineyard. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a
penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went
out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the
market place. And said unto them; 'Go ye also into the
vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you.' And they
went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth
hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went
out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them,
'Why stand ye here all the day idle?' They say unto him,
'Because no man hath hired us.' He saith unto them, 'Go ye
also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye
receive.' So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard
saith unto his steward, 'Call the laborers, and give them
their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.' And when
they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they
received every man a penny. But when the first came, they
supposed that they should have received more; and they
likewise received every man a penny. And when they had
received it, they murmured against the goodman of the
house, Saying, 'These last have wrought but one hour, and
thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the
burden and heat of the day.' "), workmen were hired to
labor in a vineyard. A disagreement arose as to wages and
jesus approvingly quoted the hypothetical employer (1315): "I do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me (to
work) for a penny (a day)? Take that thine is, and go thy
way: Iwillgive unto this last even as unto thee. Is it not lawful
for me to do what I will with mine own?" It would be
interesting to hear what our modern labor organizers would
have to say about jesus's attitude toward such free-wheeling
employer-employee relations. It is clear that jesus felt that
owners had the legal right to pay anything they chose and
that a penny a day was a just wage.
We wonder what the reaction of people today would be to
jesus's idea of social justice. We quote luke 19:26-27: "For I

"We could expect jesus to be very critical of our modern 'fad' for sanitation. In
mark 7:15 he declared it silly to wash hands, cups, pots and brazen vessels."
and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto christ.");
3:22 ("Servants, obey in all things your masters
according to the flesh; not with eye-service/as menpleasers;
but in singleness of heart, fearing god. "); I timothy 6:1 ("Let
as many servants as are under the yoke count their own
masters worthy of all honor, that the name of god and his
doctrine be not blasphemed."); titus 2:9 ("Exhort servants
to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them
wellin all things; not answering again."). Slavery, voluntary
or involuntary servitude, was the universally accepted and
widespread way of lifein bible times. Slavery is still common
in the Near East today. The word "slave" occurs only twice
in the bible. In one of these instances (jeremiah 2:14 - "Is
Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he
spoiled?"), it is used as a synonym for "servant." In
numerous places throughout the bible, persons are decolossians

Austin, Texas

say unto you, That unto everyone which hath shall be

given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be
taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would
not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay
them before me." These words are printed in red letters,
indicating them to be the actual words of jesus, believe it or
not.
We could expect jesus to be very critical of our modern
"fad" for sanitation. In mark 7;15 he declared it silly to wash
hands, cups, pots and brazen vessels, saying: "There is
nothing from without a man, that entering into him can
defile him." However, we read in john 13:4-10 ("He riseth
from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel,
and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin,
and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with
the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to
May, 1983

Page 25

simon peter: and peter saith unto him, 'Lord, dost thou
wash my feet?' Jesus answered and said unto him, 'What I
do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.'
Peter saith unto him, 'Thou shalt never wash my feet.' Jesus
answered him, 'If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with
me.' Simon peter saith unto him, 'lord, not my feet only, but
also my hands and my head.' Jesus saith to him, 'He that is
washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every
whit: and ye are clean, but not all.' ") that jesus did believe in
the washing of feet after eating. When simon peter suggested that the hands and head should be washed also,
jesus reprimanded him. In those days, among people in
bible lands, it was the custom to eat from a single dish
around which all sat. At his last passover jesus remarked
(matt. 26:23), "He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish,
the same shall betray me." (mark 14:20 - "It is one of the
twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish."). We now visualize
the group: thirteen hobo preachers - penniless, tattered
and unkempt; living on handouts (See matt. 6:19 - "Lay
not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth
and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through
and steal;" matt. 10:9-11 - "Provide neither gold, nor silver,
nor brass in your purses, Nor scrip for your journey, neither
two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is
. worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city or town ye
shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide tillye
go thence;" luke 12:22-30,33 - "Take no thought for your
life,what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put
on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than
raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor
reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and god
feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?

water supply for the city of Jerusalem. Its construction was

credited to king hezekiah (II kings 20:20 - "And the rest of
the acts of hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a
pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the city, are
they not written in the book of chronicles of the kings of
Judah?"; II chronicles 32:30 - "This same hezekiah also
stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it
straight down to the west side of the city of David.") about
700 years before the alleged birth of christ. Modern
excavation has shown that siloam was connected by means
of a tunnel to a source of clean spring water in the hills
outside the city walls. If jesus attempted a similar cure
today, advising his patients to go wash in one of our modern
city water reservoirs, we can easily imagine our sanitation
authorities having him arrested and jailed, given a psychiatric examination for insanity, and then putting him into a
mental hospital and into a ward reserved for patients having
.delusions of grandeur ~ patients who believe themselves to
be Napoleon, George Washington, "Richest Man in the
World," jesus christ, and even god himself. Any modern
mental hospital has a ward fullof such patients whom jesus
would find congenial company. People suffering from
delusions of grandeur had a chance to start new religions in
bible times, but now they are put into mental hospitals.
The new testament record indicates that in those days
there were more than a few who thought jesus to be insane.
We read in mark 3:21-22: "they went out to lay hands on
him: for they said, 'He is beside himself (a lunatic).' And the
scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, 'He hath
beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out
devils.''' We read in john 10:20, "And many of them (jews)
said, 'He hath a devil and is mad.' " John 10:33 ("The jews

"People make a big show of belief in christ's religion, but they practice its precepts
less than ever. Their mouths proclaim faith, but their actions reveal skepticism."
And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature
one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is
least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies
how they grow; they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say
unto you, that solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like
one of these. If then god so clothe the grass, which is today
in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much
more willhe clothe you, 0 ye of little faith? And seek not ye
what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of
doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the
world seek after: and your father knoweth that ye have need
of these things .... Sell that ye have, and give'alms; provide
yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the
heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth,
neither moth corrupteth."); sitting around a pot picking
from it bits of food with unwashed hands (mark 7:2 - "And
when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled,
that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.").
Another instance showing how jesus would disagree with
modern ideas of sanitation is related injohn 9:6-7("When he
had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of
the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with
the clay, and said unto him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.' ").
Here we are told how jesus anointed a blind man's eyes with
spit and clay and then told him to wash in the pool of Siloam.
The pool of Siloam was an important part of the public
Page 26

May, 1983

answered him, saying, 'For a good work we stone thee not;

but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man,
makest thyself god.' ") indicates that the jews threatened to
stone jesus because he blasphemed and claimed to be god
(delusions of grandeur). If jesus returned today and proclaimed himself to be "the son of god," and if he preached
the doctrines recorded in luke 18:27 ("The things which are
impossible with men are possible with god."); matt. 10:34-36
("Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came
not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man
at variance against his father, and the daughter against her
mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.");
matt. 18:8-9 ("Wherefore ifthy hand or thy foot offend thee,
cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to
enter into lifehalt or maimed, rather than having two hands
or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye
offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for
thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two
eyes to be cast into hell fire.") and other items quoted
above, he would be judged insane and much too dangerous
to public safety to remain at large.
People make a big show of belief in christ's religion, but
they practice its precepts less than ever. Their mouths
proclaim faith, but their actions reveal skepticism. They
spend vast fortunes building showy, expensive churches
The American Atheist

here and now, but they do every thing in their power to

postpone to the last minute their journey through the pearly
gates, to the "many mansions" promised by christ in john
14:1-4 ("Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in god,
believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions:
ifit were not so, I would not have told you. I go to prepare a
place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am,
there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way
ye know."). Professing christianity and joining a church is
still "the thing to do." But the great fund of scientific
information we have available today proves conclusively
that the christian religion is only another primitive mythology no better than the religions of ancient Greece, Rome,
Egypt and Babylon.
We Atheists insist everyone has the right and duty to read
and consider all sides of every proposition. Those who learn
to think for themselves, disregarding the dictatorship of
preachers and prelates, find their new-found liberty to be a
rewarding experience.

SO SIMPLE
The sun comes up, the sun goes down
Seeds germinate and flower
Rains fall lightly, rains deluge
No need to praise, no need to cower.
The bright skies darken, grey turns to blue
Trees stretch up then are no more
Winds speak gently, winds rampage
No need to grovel, no need to adore.
The babe is born and the animal dies
We breathe then call it a day
End and beginning, beginning and end
No need to worship, no need to pray.

Angeline Bennett

DIAL AN ATHEIST
CHAPTERS OF AMERICAN ATHEISTS

DIAL- TH E-ATH EIST

Tucson, Arizona

(512) 458-5731

(602) 623-3861

Eastern MIssouri

(314) 771-8894

Phoenix. Arizona

(602) 267-0777

Northern New Jersey

(201 ) 777-0766

Sacramento. California

(916) 989-3170

Albuquerque. New Mexico

(505) 884-7630

S. Francisco. California

(415) 974-1750

Schenectady. New York

(518) 346-1479

Denver. Colorado

(303) 692-9395

Ft. Lauderdale. Florida

(305) 584-8923

Charlotte. North Carolina

(704) 568-5346
Oklahoma City. Oklahoma .. .. (405) 677-4141

Tampa Bay. Florida

(813) 577-7154

Portland. Oregon

(503) 771-6208

Atlanta. Georgia

(404) 329-9809

Philadelphia. Pennsylvania

(215) 533-1620

Chicago. Illinois

(312) 772-8822

Evansville. Indiana

(812) 425-1949

Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania
Houston. Texas

(412) 734-0509
(713) 664-7678

Lexington. Kentucky

(606) 278-8333

Salt Lake City. Utah

(801 ) 364-4939

Boston. Massachusetts

(617) 969-2682

Lynchburg. Virginia

(804) 993-2525

Detroit. Michigan
Des Moines'. Iowa

(313) 721-6630
(515) 266-6133

Northern Virginia
Virginia Beach. Virginia

(703) 370-5255
(804) 428-0979

Austin, Texas

_._

May, 1983

Page 27

Margaret Bhatty

KEEP THE HOME FIRES BURNING!

Ifthere is one thing which astonishes Indians it is the utter
gullibilityof the average American who gets caught up in the
"mysticism of the East." For those of us who are acutely
aware of the strong element of fraud in Indian godmen and
gurus, it is difficult to understand what it is that their
western disciples seek. How is it that so many are so
convincingly conned into swallowing all that nonsense?
What makes them think that any rubbish coming out of
India has to be special because it is antiquated, benighted,
incomprehensible and downright irrational? In the final
analysis I suppose the "religious mentality" is the same
wherever it is found.
The following news item appeared in an Indian newspaper early in February. It is this kind of story which delights
the more pious among Indians. It "proves" there's nothing
modern science teaches which wasn't already known to the
ancient Aryans a couple of thousand years ago. It read:
"Agnihotra, the ancient Indian practice of worship
by burning specific substances in fire, is now being
practiced in many countries as 'homatherapy' to cure
disease, relieve mental stress, control pollution and
increase farm yield.
According to Mr. Barry Rathner, an American
psychologist who is conducting research on the effect
of agnihotra in reducing mind tension in the department of experimental psychology at the University of
Pune (Poona), homatherapy can cure epilepsy in
children and improve the IQ of mentally retarded
ones."

"For those of us who are acutely aware of

the strong element of fraud in Indian
godmen and gurus, it is difficult to understand what it is that their western disciples seek."
How was this feat achieved? By exposing a group of
affected children to a strong whiff of burning cowdung
chips, pure ghee (clarified butter), and rice placed in a
copper pyramid to the accompaniment of particular mantras (magical formulas or chants) at sunset and sunrise!
According to Barry Rathner, psychologist, three epileptic
children were cured after four months, and the IQ of the
retarded ones was found to have increased. Interestingly,
their appetites allegedly became normal and they gave up
smoking!
Rathner's "erudition" is impressive. Agnihotra, the vedic
"science" of yajna (fire sacrifice), says he, "is based on the
fact the mind is affected by the biorhythms of nature
Page 28

May, 1983

corresponding to the undulations of the earth. Various

rhythms of nature corresponding to the rotation of the
earth and other cosmic objects affect the human mind and
body. Burning specific substances in fire and uttering
particular mantras (magical formulas or chants) under the
conditions of certain rhythms of nature produce specific
effects in the atmosphere."
In short, smoke in collaboration with the earth's rotation
and undulation, bio-rhythms and sound vibration (from the
mantras) allegedly can increase the IQ of even the most
retarded.
The ritual needs a semi-pyramid-shaped copper pot and
firewood from trees but not those with thorns or bitter fruit.
Cow dung chips, pure ghee and uncooked rice grains are
tossed into the fire with suitable mantras. Sunrise and
sunset require different mantras.
Rathner claims that Dr. Arvind D. Mondkar, a microbiologist experimenting on the effects of agnihotra on
bacteria, found a reduction in the microbe count by 91.4% in
the room. So the fire ritual is supposed to be a fumigant and
a disinfectant as well! It should be mentioned that Indian
peasants burn cow dung chips in their homes for cooking
fuel, but they die of pestilence and disease nonetheless.
Mondkar claims nevertheless that "agnihotra fumes are
rich in formaldehyde and other substances which have an
inhibitory effect on micro-organisms." He makes this claim
in a magazine published from Virginia, USA.
In agriculture the alleged effects of agnihotra are "astonishing." Grape-growers around Poona "found" that
seeds germinated in 21 days instead of the usual six months.
Rathner claims that a German company has prepared a
pesticide from agnihotra against disease in mustard plants.
Pharmaceuticals being produced in West Germany are
"effective" against colds, headaches, skin fungus, nonhealing wounds, herpes, hay fever, migraine, whitlow,
tonsilitis and diarrhea.
Allof this, mind you, out of bottles containing only fumes!
Agnihotra is very popular in America, says Rathner. In
fact, a non-stop ritual has been going on round-the-clock at
the "Agnihotra Press" farm in Baltimore, Maryland, since
September 4, 1978.
But the fact that Rathner and his friends from Maryland
have evidently failed to inhale any common sense into their
heads through their lungs makes me suspect that there are
indeed some tenacious cases of moronism which agnihotra
fumes simply cannot cure.

The American

Atheist

Richard Smith

t,.

THE ROOT OF 'EVIL'

I must confess I enjoy a little escapist literature now and
then. The escapist literature that I enjoy most is Scientific
American. "What?," you say, "That's not escapist literature! Escapist literature is stories like Superman comics or
Harlequin romances with simple plot formulas, routine
characters, and happy endings." Ah, but that's not all there
is to it! When I read Scientific American, I escape into a
world where everyone at least tries to be reasonable, where
people at least try to avoid making asinine conclusions that
aren't firmly rooted in facts. In the dream world of Scientific
American, the suffocating and even life-threatening influence of religion in the world is almost completely ignored,
and no effort whatsoever is made to do anything about it.
Once in a while it describes the arms race with some sober
concern. But in the world of Scientific American the
problem usually appears to be "distant" rather than immediate. Once in a while the magazine will "bravely" come out
and reprove such supernatural beliefs as psychokinetics,
the Bermuda Triangle, and even creationism, but the more
powerful, prevalent and therefore serious supernatural
beliefs of judaism or christianity are never discussed.
Reading Scientific American can be a soothing experience.
In its world one feels like people are generally sane and
rational and that sane and rational people are in charge of
things.
When Iwake up from its idyllicstate, I find it difficultto get
up and face the real world. In the real world insane irrational
people are in charge of things. A truly religious lunatic
controls the most destructive military force in the world's
history, and he keeps getting more and more military.
power. When I wake up in the morning, I sometimes ask
people, "Is preacher Reagan still president?" When they tell
me, "Yes, I'm sorry, but he is," I go back to bed for a few
minutes to mull it over. These days can be so depressing.
There is little doubt in my mind that karol wojtyla (alias
pope john paul II) was one of the people who most helped
Reagan, the most state/church-fusion oriented president in
the US's history, get elected. This is evidenced by the
numerous public and secret meetings Reagan has had with
Terence Cardinal Cooke and by Reagan's obsequious
behavior when he was in Rome visiting the vatican. The
pope wants more than anything else to turn Poland into a
catholic state and he thinks Reagan might try to help. After
all,he sees what the US does for the religious state of Israel.
So, pardon me, but I had to croak when the media made a
big splash over the pope's statement on Jan. 2nd that
"Atheism was the cause of all the evil in the world." This was
soon followed by Reagan's assertion of the same thing in
Orlando, Florida, implying, of course, that this would be
ample cause alone to plunge us all into World War III.
I am reminded of the brouhaha that was made over
Austin, Texas

another religious nut, Alexander Solzhenitzyn, when he

came to the US. Many other religionists in this country
expected him to do great things. Harvard University, one of
the centers of capitalist materialism (not necessarily the
explicit and thoughtful Atheist kind) in the world, regally
hosted him, providing him with the forum of a commencement address, among other things. What did he say? He
condemned the West for being "too materialistic" and for
not being concerned about "spiritual" values. (He now lives
in a spacious resort in Vermont). He obviously wanted the
USSR to return to the "good old days" under the czar, the
russian orthodox church and Rasputin. We're always
hearing about how the USSR is supposed to be having great
problems in supplying people with the good and necessary
material things in life, and there was Solzhenitzen condemning people for having and wanting a better life!Maybe
there was a reason why he was locked up for awhile!
I am also reminded that it was a pope, innocent II (they
sure do have ways of turning words around, don't they),
who when asked about how to tell the difference between
the "faithful" and the "not-so-faithful" just before the

May, 1983

Page 29

massacre of the Albigensian "heresy," said, "Kill them all.

God willfind his own." It is perfectly logical, given religious
premises, for a religionist to make such a judgment; yet it is
plainly horrible.
These assertions of religionists that Atheism is the cause
of "evil" are tragicomic. The question should be - how can
anyone believe such an absurd claim? Of course, the pope's
idea of "evil" is anything that upsets his apple cart - his
facile control over the simple "minds" of millions of people.
Objectively speaking, however, the only real "evil" is the
material conditions which make people's' lives painful,
fearful, and desperate rather than pleasurable, calm, and
sane. (There is also one other "evil" - the passivity and
apathy of humans in the face of life-threatening conditions.)
It doesn't take a great deal of analysis to see that it is
religion which exacerbates and is, in fact, one of the primary
causes of these "evils." It would be a cliche, if it were not so
painfully true, that the places on this earth which are most
under the control of religion are also the poorest, the least
dynamic, and the most disease-prone. They are also among
the places most likely to resort to violence or violent
revolution. Need I cite the examples?: India, Latin America,
Ireland, the Mideast. It was just in early March of this year
when several hundred moslems were massacred by hindus
in India. The United States, which was founded on a
principle of separation of state and church, would eventually find itself in the quandary of these other countries ifthe
increased fusion of state and church which Ronald Reagan
is pushing became solidly established.

just as much as you - am working for a moral

reconstruction of the German people. Since the last
war, Germany has been in need of more and better
christianity, more churches, and a stop must be put to
the spread of Atheism. What we need is a more
profound interface in order to preserve ourselves as a
people. I am a catholic, but I am asking you to help me
in my great task.'
"Hitler then asked us to propose ways and means of
cooperating with him. He promised us that as soon as
he obtained power, the church would not only retain
all its rights but would be entitled to greater support
from the state, and would have control of the schools.
In brief, there would be a better understanding
between the government and the church than had
been the case in the Weimar Republic.
"I must admit that we all had a very favorable
impression from the modest way in which Hitler
spoke, and I knew that from that time on he could
count on the majority support of the protestant clergy
in Germany."
Compare this with the message of Ronald Reagan to a
convention of evangelicals printed on another page of this
magazine (in which the concluding paragraph invokes
Thomas Paine to promote fundamentalist christianity
which Thomas Paine clearly, bravely and outspokenly
opposed).
Speaking of Adolf Hitler and sources of" evil," let's review
the ghastly program for the jews (which Hitler was to carry

"Itwould be a cliche, if it were not so painfully true, that the places in the world which
are most under the control of religion are also the poorest, the least dynamic, and the
most disease-prone."
The places in the world where religion is least in control
are usually those where poverty and disease are at the
lowest levels, where personal violence is not a daily threat to
human life, and where there is the least passive public
acceptance of the threat of nuclear destruction, i.e. Western Europe and Japan. Even christians must admit that
Atheism has brought great improvements in recent times to
the lives of moslems in the southern part of the USSR. By
demoting religion, ending moslem suppression of women,
and promoting material improvements like education,
health care, and industry there, the life of people in a
formerly moslem-controlled region has been made vastly
better that that of their religious counterparts across the
border (confirmed by not-so-well-publicized reports by the
New York Times).
Recently, John Patterson brought to my attention a
passage from a book called The Eyewitness Hitler by Allen
Churchill (Random House, 1979, p. 45). It was a graphic
demonstration, with frightening suggestive parallels to
America today, of the role religion had to play in the rise to
power of the worst evil to hit the world in the first half of this
century, as agreed upon by almost everyone now alive nazism. Here is what a man by the name of Martin
Niemoller had to report about the collaboration of the
protestant clergy (not to mention that of the catholics) with
Hitler beginning with a meeting in January, '31:
"He nodded to all of us and said, 'I have asked you
to come here because I want to persuade you that I Page 30

May, 1983

out in "spirit") of a famous religionist by the name of Martin

Luther in 1543:
"First, to set fire to their synagogues or schools ....
Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and
destroyed ....
Third, I advise that all their prayer books and talmudic
writings, in which such adultery, lies, cursing and
blasphemy are taught, be taken from them ....
Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach
henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb....
Fifth, I advise that safe conduct on the highways be
abolished completely for the jews ....
Sixth, I advise that ... all cash and treasure of silver
and gold be taken from them ....
Seventh, ... let whosoever can, throw brimstone and
pitch upon them, so much the better ... and if this be
not enough, let them be driven like mad dogs out of
the land ... .'
Would the pope or, less probably, Ronald Reagan, when
faced with this, call Luther an "Atheist," since obviously
here was somebody who was a major influence in causing a
massive evil?
The greatest example of "evil" in the world today is the
threat of nuclear destruction. The government which has
always led in the promotion of that military threat is the one
right here in the US. It most zealously promoted them in
periods of blatant fanatical religiosity such as the '50s
McCarthy era when "In God We Trust" was made a
The American

Atheist

national motto (in violation of the First Amendment to the

US Constitution) and such as the "moral majority" era now.
As demonstrated in Reagan's speech, this military buildup is
"justified" by claims that "Atheism is evil" and that the
"only" way to end the arms race is to "negotiate" with the
"evil-doers" by building up a bigger and .better military
threat. This is the insanity known also as Catch-22.
It is often the case that those who make the most smoke
often have the most to hide. This is certainly true in the case
of judeo-christianity.
While the religious nuts make a lot of
smoke about how the world is "evil," there isn't much
example of goodness to be found in their allegedly "holy"
book. Recently I was committed to the task of re-examining
the bible for the purpose of re-publishing The Bible Handbook. I was stunned at how many more atrocities were
committed in the name of religion than I had remembered
when reading that book under religious "tutelage" (translated, that means blindfolding). If anybody wants to find
plenty of "evil," he or she can find it right there.
Here are some of the most heinous examples:
"And the lord said unto moses, 'Go in unto
pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart
of his servants, that I might show these my signs
(plagues) before him: And that thou mayest tell in the
ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have
wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done
among them; that ye may know how that I am the
lord.' " ex. 10:1-2. (If this were true, the alleged
jehovah knew that he had to make signs for anyone to
believe he existed, but he has "forgotten" that now.)
"And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a
rod, and he die under his hand ... if he continue a day
or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money."
ex. 21:20-21.

by lying with him. But all the women children, that

have no known a man by lying with him, keep alive for
yourselves.' " num. 31:1-18.
"But of the cities of these people, which the lord thy
god doth give thee (Israel) for an inheritance, thou
shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: but thou shalt
utterly destroy them, namely the Hittites, and the
Amorites, the Canaanites,
and the Perizzites, the
Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the lord thy god hath
commanded thee." deut. 20:16-17. (The unfortunate
inhabitants were given no warning by the "almighty"
of what they should expect.)
"Then the spirit of the lord came upon jephthah ....
And jephthah vowed a vow unto the lord, and said, 'If
thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon
into mine hands, then it shall be, that whatsoever
(whosoever) cometh forth of the doors of my house to
meet me, when I return in peace from the children of
Ammon, shall surely be the lord's, and I will offer it up
for a burnt offering.' ... And jephthah came to Mizpeh
unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to
meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was
his only child .... And it came to pass at the end of two
months, that she returned unto her father, who did
with her according to his vow which he had vowed."
judo 11:29-31,34,39.
"The lord is 'long-suffering,'
. . . by no means
clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children, and upon the children's children,
unto the third and to the fourth generation."
num.
14:18.
" 'How shall we do for wives.' . . . And the
congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the
valiantest, and commanded
them, saying, 'Go and

"When a large number of people, enough to be the deciding factor in electing

someone to be the controller of the nuclear buttons, are convinced that an irrational
form of barbarism is a source of 'goodness,' then we are all in real trouble."
"Whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he
shall surely be put to death." ex. 31:14-15.
"Both thy bondmen (slaves), and thy bondmaids,
which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are
round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and
bondmaids. Moreover, of the children of the strangers
that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and
of their families. . . . And ye shall take them as an
inheritance for your children after you, 'to inherit them
for a possession;
they shall be your bondmen for
ever." lev. 25:44-46.
"And the lord spake unto moses, saying, 'Avenge
the children of Israel of the Midianites.' ... And they
slew all the males .... And the children of Israel took all
the women of Midian captives, and their little ones,
and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks,
and all their goods. And they burnt all their cities
wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with
fire. And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both
of men and of beasts ... and moses was wroth .... And
moses said unto them, 'Have ye saved all the women
alive? ... Now therefore kill every male among the
little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man
Austin, Texas

smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of

the sword, with the women and the children. And this
is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy
every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.'
And they found among the inhabitants
of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no
man by lying with any male .... And benjamin came
again at that time and they gave them wives which
they had saved alive of the-women of Jabesh-gilead."
jud.21:7-14.
..
"Wherefore david arose and went, he and his men,
and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and
david brought their foreskins, and they gave them in
full tale to the king, that he might be the king's son-inlaw." I sam. 18:27.
"And he (elisha) went up from thence into Beth-el:
and as he was going up by the way, there came forth
little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said
unto him, 'Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald
head.' And he turned back, and looked on them, and
cursed them in the name of the lord. And there came
forth two she bears out of the woods, and tare forty
and two children of them." II kings 2:23-24.
May, 1983

Page 31

nightmarish scenario when people who are themselves a

source of "evil," are given uncritical attention when they
claim that disbelief in their alleged system of "goodness" is
the source of "evil." In an age when this appears to be a
growing pretext for starting a nuclear war, it is ever more
vital for people who know better (like those who edit
Scientific American) to speak out and tell the truth. When a
large number of people, enough to be the deciding factor in
electing someone to be the controller of the nuclear
buttons, are convinced that an irrational form of barbarism
is a source of "goodness," then we are all in real trouble.
Now, more than ever religion is the problem - not the
answer.

"And if the prophet be deceived when he hath

spoken a thing, I the lord have deceived that prophet,
and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will
destroy him from the midst of my people." ezek. 14:9.
"Think not that I (jesus) have come to send peace
on earth: I came not to send peace, but ~ sword."
matt. 10:34.
It is quite clear from these passages that judeochristianity
itself is one of the most fundamental sources of "evil." Any
politician who claims that the answer to problems in this
world is to mindlessly submit to people who claim their
authority to be based on this particular form of religious
insanity is only compounding the problem. It is an especially

3t
THE RELIGIOUS

ADOLF HITLER

"It is not merely that our police officials today have at

their disposal a staff of eavesdroppers and other such
rabble who are ready to play traitor, like judas, for thirty
pieces of silver." (p. 300)
"Anyhow, the jew has attained the ends he desired.
Catholics and protestants are fighting with one another
to their hearts' content, while the enemy of aryan
humanity and all christendom is laughing up his
sleeve." (p. 309)
Discussing the so-called "contamination"
of aryan
genetic stock with Jewish genetic stock:
"The two christian denominations look on with indifference at the profanation and destruction of a noble
and unique creature who was given to the world as a gift
of god's grace." (p. 310)
Advocating racially pure marriages:
"Everybody who has the right kind of feeling for his
country is solemnly bound, each within his own denom-

cont'd

from pg 9

ination, to see to it that he is not constantly talking about

the will of god merely from the lips but that in actual fact
he fulfills the will of god and does not allow god's
handiwork to be debased. For it was by the will of god
that men were made of a certain bodily shape, were
given their natures and their faculties. Whoever destroys his work wages war against god's creation and
god's will." (p. 310)
"And god does not follow the principle of granting
freedom to a nation of cowards, despite all the implications of our 'patriotic' associations." (p. 342)
"Therefore, the jew follows his destined road until he
is opposed by a force superior to him. And then a
desperate struggle takes place to send back to lucifer
him who would assault the heavens." (p. 364)
"But at that great moment heaven made Germany a
present of a great man." (p. 375)

FOURTH ANNUAL SUMMER SOLSTICE PICNIC

Time:

June 11th and June 12th, 1983

all weekend - any time

Dress:

very casual, western, country, whatever.

(/
~

~I!

The old rustic American Atheist Museum, adjacent

to Prides Creek Park, Petersburg, Indiana.
Agenda: comraderie only - no directors or business meeting.

Place:

New video tape exhibits. A report about what happened at the National Convention in San Francisco. A chance to
meet casually a a whole group of other Atheists. A personally guided tour of the Museum by the old philosopher, Lloyd
Thoren. Astronomy slide show. Plans for future exhibits, especially for kids - showing inclined planes, wedges, levers,
pulleys and axles which enabled man to build idols, churches and huge historic monuments dedicated to non-existent
gods, but more importantly tools used to construct sensible things like hospitals, safe shelter, better roads, aquaducts and
dams for clean water and many other useful projects.
The American Atheist Museum telephone number is: (812)
354-6608. If you can't make this annual event, all vacationing Atheists always receive a warm welcome all summer long.
Feel free to call Lloyd or Pam Thoren at the Museum for local directions and accommodation suggestions. For airport
pickups at Evansville - call the same number
Page 32

May, 1983

The American

Atheist

Jeff Frankel

THE ANATOMY OF
PROPAGANDA
It was a fine autumn afternoon. I was leaving Chicago's
Wrigley Field after viewing a baseball game between the
Cubs and the Cardinals. Shortly after I passed through the
exit gate, a young man, looking almost robotic, approached
me and handed me a pamphlet. Although no blow had been
struck, I was the victim of an intended assault. The weapon
was christian propaganda.

The pamphlet began with an attack on "highly trained

Atheistic agencies" which, according to the writers of the
pamphlet, have crept into the American system and spent
millions of tax dollars to deceive the public. These "socialist
Atheists," they claim, are inviting thousands of aliens into
our country while promoting the abortion of American
babies, and are working with federal government agencies
designed to destroy freedom of religion. The pamphlet also
maintains that the field of psychiatry, spawned by Sigmund
Freud, "one of the world's leading perverts," has turned
thousands of hardened criminals out into the streets, and
that "all other religions, philosophies, or doctrines are tricks
of the chief trickster (satan)."
Just as a person with a basic knowledge of martial arts
can repel a physical attack, a person with a basic knowledge
of logic and semantics can repel such an attack on the mind
and the emotions. Naturally, all the pamphlet did was make
Austin, Texas

me laugh. I couldn't help but wonder, however, how many

weak minds were manipulated and twisted by that short but
dynamic work of propaganda.
Propaganda is a word which means many things to many
people. To a semantics student, there is no such thingnote the italics - as "propaganda." It is a word in our heads,
corresponding to no entity in the outside world; a word to
which everyone probably gives a somewhat different meaning. One rather concise definition refers to propaganda as
"any attempt to change or control attitudes, beliefs, or
actions by means of mass communication." Immediately
coming to mind are political and advertising campaigns,
where a specific end, rather than a mutual search for truth,
is the goal.
It has been said that no hard and fast line can be drawn
between propaganda and education, but there is a clear
distinction between the two. The educator attempts to
present various sides of an issue, giving the grounds for
doubting as well as the grounds for believing the statements
he makes, and the disadvantages as well as the advantages
of every conceivable course of action. The aim of the
educator is to induce the individual to collect and evaluate
evidence for himself, and assist him in learning the techniques for doing so. In other words, the educator gives you
the information and the techniques so you may come to
your own decision. The propagandist, on the other hand,
presents a one-sided, prejudiced view of any issue in
question. In other words, the propagandist gives you only
the in/ormation that he sees fit, attempting to make you
come to the decision to which he desires you to come. _
It's rather ironic that the word propaganda, as it is used
today, has a religious origin. The term is derived from the
title and the work of the congregatio de propaganda fide
(congregation for the propagation of the faith), an organization of roman catholic cardinals founded in 1622 to carryon
missionary work. Long before its use by the likes of Adolf
Hitler caused the masses to view the word in an "evil" light,
religionists were using propaganda to scare, smear, deceive, and enslave. The tactics of the church through the
ages have been a big influence on the propaganda machines
of several political regimes. In his book Guides to Straight
Thinking, Stuart Chase stated "It is interesting to note how
a well-oiled propaganda machine, like that of Moscow, or of
Goebbels, develops an apparatus almost theological. There
is a supernatural hierarchy of gods and devils, together with
sacred writings." Apparently, the political demigods have
learned well from their religious counterparts.
An understanding of the goals of propaganda and the
fallacies of logic which the propagandist uses is important in
analyzing the statements of politicians, advertisers, and, of
course, religionists. It is crucial that people learn the

May, 1983

Page 33

techniques employed by propagandists and use this knowledge in analysis of both the bible and the methods used by
christians to increase the flock To aid in this education, I
am presenting a list of the thirteen most common fallacies of
logic, followed by a list of eight special procedures employed
by propagandists. Included are examples of how many of
them are employed by christians.
THE THIRTEEN MQST COMMON
FALLACIES OF LOGIC
1. OVERGENERALIZING - Arguing from special case
to general rule without enough cases to warrant a generalization. The categorization of all Atheists as communists
simply because the Soviet Union is an Atheist nation is a
classic example of this fallacy.
2. THIN ENTERING WEDGE - A special type of
overgeneralization involving prediction. "If this is done, that
(usually dire) willfollow." The use of this fallacy was a major
factor in the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment. "If the
ERA is passed," its opponents, usually fundamentalist,
declared, "the family unit willbe destroyed, homosexuality
willrun rampant, and your daughters wili be drafted."
3. CA USE AND EFFECT - "If it happens after this, (it's
assumed) it was because of this." Jerry Falwell and his
political cohorts Jesse Helms and Ronald Reagan were
recently guilty of this fallacy in an attack on Madalyn Murray
O'Hair. They claimed that a multitude of social ills, ranging
from increases in crime and drug addiction to the national
"epidemic" of venereal disease, were the direct result of the
removal of mandatory prayer from public schools brought
about in 1963 by a lawsuit filed by Dr. O'Hair.

live in this neighborhood without a haircut and a shave."

The barber indignantly replied, "Why blame me for that
man's condition? He has never given me a chance to help
him. If he would come to my shop, I could make him look
like a gentleman." Having the barber where he wanted him,
the minister said, "Then don't blame god for allowing these
people to continue in their evil ways when he is constantly
inviting them to come and be saved. These people are
slaves to sin and evil habits because they refuse the one who
died to save them." Allegedly, the barber saw the point.
The minister's comparison is spurious at best. Many
people have been repulsed by the story of Kitty Genovese,
the young woman who laid dying of stab wounds in front of
the apartment building in which she lived while her neighbors ignored her screams. Had someone called the police,
medical help could have possibly been summoned in time.
Many had the power to help; but none did. Our society
tends to look down on those who have the means to help
those less fortunate, but do not. If there were a god like the
one the bible describes, he would be all-seeing, all-knowing.
He would be hearing the cries and screams of the suffering
daily. He would have the power to help; but he does not.
Apathetic people are criticized; an apathetic god is idealized. The comparison of an all-powerful god to a barber,
each helping only those who come to him, is a poor one
which raises an interesting question. The barber will help
the ungroomed only for cold, hard cash. Is that how this
minister and his god operate, too?
7. APPEAL TO REVERED AUTHORITY - An appeal
often to great figures or documents of the past which have
become symbols, stirring emotion rather than reason. "It

"... the word propaganda ... has a religious origin. The term is derived from the title
and the work of the congregatio de propaganda fide ... , an organization of roman
catholic cardinals ... "
4. GETTING PERSONAL - Forsaking the issue to
attack the character of the person defending it. Atheists in
general, and Madalyn in particular, are frequent targets of
this one. It takes less mental energy to call someone a
communist or a devil than it does to logically refute their
arguments.
S. YOU'RE ANOTHER - When the arguer, seeing he
can't refute his opponent's argument, simply says "my point
may be bad, but yours is just as bad." This one comes in
handy to the propagandist when all else fails because, if it
works, it puts the argument back on an "equal" footing.
S. FALSE ANALOGIES - "This situation," it is argued/
"is like that situation;" but it isn't. An example of this fallacy
comes from one of those five minute "inspirational" programs which are often heard on radio.
A minister and an Atheist barber were walking through
the city slums together. The barber comments, "If god were
as kind as you say, he would not permit all this poverty,
disease and squalor. He would not allow those poor bums to
be addicted to dope and other character-destroying habits.
I cannot believe in a god who permits these things." The
minister was silent until they met a rather unkempt man
with hair down to his neck and a half inch of stubble on his
face. The minister commented, "You can't be a very good
barber or you wouldn't permit a man like that to continue to
Page 34

May, 1983

says so in the bible" is the oldest continuing example of this

fallacy. A sign was once posted in British schools: "The
teacher could be wrong; think for yourself." Ifa similar sign,
one pertaining to the bible, could be displayed publicly
throughout the country, we'd see a lot more thinking and a
lot less religiosity.
8. STATISTICAL
PROOF - A subclass of the above
fallacy. Doctored statistics are commonly used by propagandists to "prove" their points. A common use of this
fallacy by christians is compiling statistics from public
opinion polls where the questions are generally posed in
such a way that the answerer can respond only in a black or
white manner, withno regard for important shades of grey.
Falwell ran a poll of this nature in several national magazines
in '81 pertaining to the creation-evolution debate. One of his
questions was, "Do you agree that public school teachers
should be permitted to teach our children as fact that they
descended from apes?" Even the most avid Darwinian,
regarding not apes, but a form related to both apes and
humans, as humans' ancestor, would have to answer "no"
on that one. Think of the propaganda edge the response to
that question gave to Falwell. Statistics from surveys of this
nature have been used to "prove" how the "majority" favors
creationism or school prayer, or is against abortion or the
ERA.
The American Atheist

9. APPEAL TO THE SENTIMENTS OF THE CROWD

- A regularly used ploy of the propagandist.
Often
combined with other fallacies, it is aimed at arousing
emotion and appealing to the prejudices of the listener.
Most people suffer from various frustrations which often
result in aggressive impulses of various tendencies, If the
propagandist can open a channel for some mass frustration,
he can ride high on its torrential sweep. Such was the case
of father Charles Coughlin, who played on the prejudices
and insecurities of his radio listening audience during the
depression,
developing mass support to the extent of
establishing first a political lobbying group, then his own
political party. (More on the life and activities of father
Coughlin in a future issue of The American Atheist.) Falwell
and the moral majority have also followed this path, using
social, economic, and political uncertainty as a foundation
for building their empire.
10. ARGUING IN CIRCLES - The use of a conclusion
to prove itself. Ask many christians why they believe in the
bible, and they will tell you "Because it's the word of god."
How do they know this? "The bible says so."
11. SELF EVIDENT "TRUTHS". Religions of all types
abound with these. The bible is said to be a book of self
evident truths. All too often people avoid the job of getting
facts together and weighing them. Instead they state an
assumption,
taking for granted that there will be no
disagreement.
Far too many people assume the bible is
true, simply because so many people believe it. When you
hear "everybody
knows ... " or a similar phrase, it's a
warning that a self-evident "truth" is just around the corner.
12. BLACK OR WHITE - Forcing an issue with many
aspects into just two sides, and so neglecting those shades
of grey which, as I said earlier, are so important. "Those
who are not for us are against us," is a cry often heard from a
power hungry individual seeking to further his cause.
Whenever a christian makes that statement, he has biblical
precedent behind him. In matthew 12:30 and luke 11:23
jesus proclaimed "He that is not with me is against me: and
he that gathereth not with me scattereth." Another example of christ's dichotomous thinking appears in the sermon
on the mount. "No man can serve two masters; for either he
will hate one and love the other; or else he will hold to one
and despise the other." (matthew 6:24). Black or white
thinking is a common method of operation among fanatics
and would-be demigods.

verbal-association
(The accusation is based on a characteristic of a person similar to a characteristic
of someone of
questionable repute.).
Propagandists generally employ all of the aforementioned
fallacies at one time or another, but are especially fond of
3,7,12, and 13. Propagandists
are also well versed in a
variety of special procedures.

* * * * *
EIGHT SPECIAL PROCEDURES
EMPLOYED BY PROPAGANDISTS
1. THE DELIBERATE USE OF UNSCRUPULOUS
MEANS TO FURTHER THEIR ENDS. From the catholic
strongarm tactics of the crusades and the inquisition to the
smear tactics of the moral majority, unscrupulous
tactics
litter christian history. One deception that is often used is
the lauding of what was considered black yesterday as white
today. When Abraham Lincoln was president, he was often
the subject of christian attacks because of his lack of
interest in religion. After his death, he was claimed by
churches and said to have been a very religious man.
Creationists, who viewed science as a satanic force during
the days of William Jennings Bryan, now use that "satanic"
force in an attempt to prove the creationists point of view.
2. THE BIG LIE. A lie is a false statement, but a big lie, as
Hitler described it in Mein Kampf, is a work of art. The
bigger and more improbable it is, he said, the more stunning
the effect. The effect cannot be achieved, however, without
pounding reiteration in the mass media. Apparently this
idea was not lost on Jerry Falwell. In his attempt to establish
the moral majority as a political force during the '80
presidential campaign, Falwell "stretched the truth" in his
statements to the media on several occasions. During the
winter and spring of '80, Falwell claimed his television
program had a viewing audience of 25 million. At the
Republican National Convention in Detroit that summer
an aide of Falwell's set the total at 50 million. The Arbitro~
ratings for February of that year set the actual ratings for
Falwell's program at 1.5 million. Falwell claimed several
times during the campaign that moral majority membership
was in the area of 2 to 3 million. In October '80, the
executive director of the Washington state chapter of moral
majority stated that its membership
of 12,000 was the

"Propaganda identifies the scapegoat, and simultaneously identifies the hero who
will save the people from impending doom. Here, the "hero" is the carrier of the faith,
who will put the people "right with god:"
13. GUlL T BY ASSOCIA TION. Without this brand of
crippled thinking, the plague known as "McCarthyism"
would have never gotten off the ground. The fallacy arised
when unlike things are equated and the definition is
spurious. This fallacy ran rampant during the inquisition,
when the relatives of condemned heretics were also condemned, for no reason other than blood relationship to the
heretic. Variations of this fallacy are guilt-by-physicalassociation
(a trip to the USSR by American Atheist
members, for example, would give the christian propagandist a golden opportunity to use that fallacy) and guilt-byAustin, Texas

largest of the fifty state chapters.

Simple mathematics
reveals that if every state had that many members, moral
majority would be 600,000 strong - a long way from 2 to 3
million.
Falwell has been known to use the phrase "ministerially
speaking" to joke about his exaggerations
in regard to
statistics. But Falwell's "exaggerations"
don't stop with
statistics. Falwell has claimed he met with Jimmy Carter in
the Oval Office and Carter told him he had to have
homosexuals on his staff because there were homosexuals
in the US who needed representation
in Carter's inner
May, 1983

Page 35

benign label with one which sounds more malignant. For

circle. In the October 11, '82 issue of Time, Carter was
quoted as saying, "I have never had a private meeting with
example, the Equal Rights Amendment sounded far more
menacing to many christians under the label of secular
him. He has never been in the Oval Office. I have never had
any such conversation."
humanism. To students of semantics, this is known as
3. THE SCAPEGOAT AND HERO TECHNIQUE. The . replacing purr words with snarl words. "Secular" and
concept of the scapegoat is religious in origin. Qn the day of
"humanist" are terms a significant portion of the christian
atonement the Israelites chose a live goat by lot. The high
community have been conditioned to view as snarl words,
priest laid both hands on the goat's head and confessed the
associated with satanic forces. A nice tool to use to shoot
"sins" the people had committed during the past year. The
down something as purr sounding as an Equal Rights
Amendment.
goat, "full of transplanted sin," was then banished to the
wilderness, leaving the people feeling quite relieved.
* * * * *
Atheists are often used as scapegoats by religionists. The
Looking back on the allegations laid out in the pamphlet I
most recent example came in Greccio, Italy on January 2 of
this year. Pope john paul II told a gathering there that
was given, one immediately sees fallacies 4,9, and 12 along
with special procedures 2,3, and 7. One can pick up virtually
Atheism is "the root of every present evil," and lack of faith
any religious tract, or listen to the message of many of the
is responsible for everything from "the destruction of
mass media ministers, and find an abundance of propaincipient life to every social injustice through the loss of
every moral sense." The attack on Dr. O'Hair by the three
ganda techniques and/or fallacies of logic.
I willnot try to say that every single christian organization
stooges - Falwell, Helms, and Reagan - is another good
in existence today employs propaganda tactics. That would
example of scapegoating.
be a gross example of fallacy on my part. I realize that there
Propaganda identifies the scapegoat, and simultaneously
are many religious organizations which are as honest and
identifies the hero who willsave the people from impending
doom. Here, the "hero" is the carrier of the faith, who will honorable as they can be working within the framework of
put the people "right with god.".
the faith which they profess. But I will say, without fear of
4. THE CREA TION OF MARTYRS. One needs only to
valid contradiction, that there are far too many who do
employ propaganda tactics. There may be those who would
view the symbol of christ on the cross and hear the phrase
"he died for you" to see how important martyrdom is to
accuse the American Atheists of being propagandists.
christinanity. The catholics have a long list of martyrs in Those who feel that way should go back and read the fifth
their history, some who have been elevated to sainthood. In paragraph of this column, and come to an understanding of
the case of building a modern day martyr, a real or
the difference between education and propaganda. Then
supposed injustice may be seized upon and inflated to
they should take the listing of logical fallacies and propaextreme proportions by publicity. A certain christian huckganda techniques that I have provided, and use them in
ster, host of his own religion-oriented talk show, built
analyzing this magazine or any other literature written and
himself up as a martyr to his audience while he was under
distributed by the American Atheist organization. Whoever
investigation by the government for alleged misuse of does so will find fallacies at a minimum and propaganda
contributions, claiming the charges were built up in an
techniques conspicuous by their absence. After doing that,
attempt to silence his ministry. A martyrdom focuses
I suggest an objective analysis of a piece of christian writing.
popular attention on a specific personal outrage, and is Anyone making the comparison with an open and inquiring
often more effective than tons of printed arguments.
mind will learn about the difference between propaganda
1. THE CONSTANT POSSESSION OF THE OFFENand education in general, and the difference between many
SIVE. The smart propagandist, repulsed on one position,
of our world's christian organizations and the American
Atheists in particular.
has a new offensive in readiness. When church business
isn't going well, you can always expect an attack on "the
REFERENCES
enemy," be it Atheists, secular humanists, rock music, or
Guides to Straight Thinking by Stuart Chase. Harper and
video games. With the growth in believers failing to keep
pace with population growth, the faithful are in a state of Brothers. 1956. (This book was especially helpful with its in-depth
analysis of logical fallacies and its chapter "The Anatomy of
panic. That's why the likes of Falwell and the pope have
Propaganda,"
which provided both vital information and the title
seen fit to unleash vicious attacks on Atheism in recent
for this column.)
months.
Encyclopedia Britannica. Macropedia Volume 15. Fifteenth
6. THE EMPLOYMENT OF NONVERBAL SYMBOLS.
Edition. 1981.
Christianity has a number of established symbols, ranging
Prime Time Teachers by Jeffrey K. Hadden and Charles
from the cross to the nativity scene ("christmas" is always Swann. Addison-Wesley. 1981.
an excellent season for progaganda). As in the logical
Psychology; Understanding Human Behavior by Sartain,
North, Strange, and Chapman. McGraw-Hill. 1973.
fallacy, "appeal to revered authority," this technique is used
to appeal to emotions over reason. Christian organizations
often come up with new symbols with which to associate
their current message.
7. DECLARING A CONSPIRACY EXISTS WHEN THE
GOING GETS TOUGH. The allegations made by our
friend, the talk show host, when he was under investigation
is an excellent example of this one.
8. DOUBLE TALK. Use of a single word or term in two
different senses in the same context. Also the replacing of a
Page 36

May, 1983

The American Atheist

ATTENTION EARTHPEOPLE! Have no fear. Captain Darth Reagan will zap

the ungodly ICBMs with his holy vaporizer rays of biblical "benevolence"!

V
AMENDMENT

CONGRESS

SHALL MAKENO

LAW RESPECTING
-l
~

V1

-l

>

0='
t""'"

V1

3:
m
Z

-l

.' .

:','.... ')lThere'is
sin in the world. And we
~
are enjoined by scripture and the
lord jesus to oppose it with all our
might."
~"Wewill never abandon our-belief
.:
In go d "
Ronald Reagan:
,

,-;

!>.

o
~

;Aj

-ao
z
t""'"

o
;Aj
"'tl
;Aj

"And yet this human world of ours

would be inconceivable without the
practical existence of a religious belief."
"... god be praised and thanked."
"G ott mit uns."
Adolf Hitler
.~

-::t
0='

-az
-l

-l

::t

m
~
;Aj

ir:

v:
~

0-;

rn

~
~

><

0:::

;Aj

V1

r.ro ~O 'HJggdS .ro WOagg~d gHl

aNlaaI~8V

~O :dOg~gHl