American Atheist Magazine Sep 1977

THIS
ISSUE:
The Church And The Left

Carter: God Before Government
Th
There Is No God
Fanciful Facts About Jesus
$1.25
Vol. 19, No.9
September 1977
AMERICAN ATHEISTS
"Aims and Purposes"
1. To stimulate and promote freedom of thought and inquiry concerning
beliefs, creeds, deqrnas, tenets, rituals and practices.
religious
2. To collect and disseminate information, data and literature on all religions and
promote a more thorough understanding of them, their origins and histories.
3. To advocate, labor for, and promote in all lawful ways, the complete and absolute
separation of state and church; and the establishment and maintenance of a
thoroughly secular system of education available to all.
4. To encourage the development and public acceptance of a humane ethical system,
stressing the mutual sympathy, understanding and interdependence of all people
and the corresponding responsibility of each, individually, in relation to society.
5. To develop and propagate a social philosophy 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.
6. To promote the study of the arts and sciences and of all problems affecting the
maintenance, perpetuation and enrichment of human (and other) life.
7. 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.
"Definitions"
1. Atheism is the life philosophy (Weltanschauung) of persons who are free from
theism. It is predicated on the ancient Greek philosophy of Materialism.
2. American Atheism may be defined as the mental attitude which unreservedly
accepts the supremacy of reason and aims at establishing a system of philosophy
and ethics verifiable by experience, independent of all arbitrary assumptions of
authority or creeds.
3. The Materialist philosophy declares that the cosmos is devoid of immanent conscious purpose; that it is governed by its own inherent, immutable and impersonal
law; that there is no supernatural interference in human life; that man-finding
his
resources within himself--can and must create his own destiny; and that his potential for good and higher development is for all practical purposes unlimited.
I
I
Vol. 19,
No.9
EDITORIAL/Guest
Editorial
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
NEWS
The Church And The Left.
.
Carter: God Before Government
.
Funds Misused by Church
.
Graham Won't Talk About Money
.
Carter Vatican Pick Assailed
.
Sontarck Dies
.
FEATURE ARTICLES
Con Ed Execs Find God/Fiction: By Art Buchwald
The Nonexistence
of God Is A Scientific Fact/Clifford H. Knowlton
The Controversial
Beliefs of Sherwin Wine/A Detroit Interview
Arguments for Abortion/Shibles'
Corner: Warren Shibles
Attack of The Turkish Carpets/Musings of Murray: Bill Murray
There Is No God/Fred Woodworth
Censorship And The Catholic Crunch/Speaking for Women:
Anne Gaylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
AMERICAN ATHEIST RADIO SERIES
Fanciful Facts About Jesus.
ATHEIST BOOK REVIEW
Lucifer's Handbook.
. . . . .
. . . . . . . .
POEMS
September,
2
3
.4
5
8
.. 12
.. 15
13
14
16
19
21
22
. . . . 29
. .25
. .31
28
Editor-in-Chief/Madalyn
Murray
O'Heir,
Managing Editor/William
J. Murray,
Editor/Jon G. Murray, Assistant Editor/R. B. Shirley, Design/Valerie L. Murray,
Circulation/John I. Mays, Non-Residential Staff/Anne Gaylor, Warren Shibles, Jo
Kotula, Production Coordinators/Ralph
Shirley, H. B. Hawkins.
The American Atheist magazine is published monthly by American Atheists, 2210 Hancock
Drive, Austin, Texas, 78756, a non-profit, non-political, tax-exempt, educational organization.
Mailing address: P. O. Box 2117, Austin, Texas, 78768; copyright CO 1977 by Society of
Separationists, Inc.; subscription rates: $15.00 per year; $25.00 for two years. Manuscripts:
the editors assume no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts. All manuscripts must be
typed, double-spaced and accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
THE AMERICAN ATHEIST MAGAZINE

Post Office Box 2117
Austin, Texas 78768
Enter my subscription for one year at $15.00 (two years at $25.00).
NEW
Total Enclosed $,
Name
Address
City, State, & Zip
RENEWAL
_
1977
ON THE COVER
Paul Marsa, our New Jersey Chapter
director, was born in Newark, New Jersey
on April 16, 1934. He completed high
school in Newark and immediately was
caught up in one of our nation's wars. At
age 18, in 1952, he joined the United States
Marine Corps with the usual basic training at
Parris Island, South Carolina and combat
training at Camp Pendelton, California.
He served "action" time in Korea until the
truce was concluded there in July, 1953 and
from that he received a Purple Heart citation. He was honorably discharged as a
Sargeant with the l st Marine Division in
October, 1955.
A seven year marriage produced three
children, Alan, now 15, Jon, now 14 and
Robert 13, and five (so far) Mercedes Benz
automobiles, with which Paul has a love
affair. He was divorced in 1967 and his
oldest son now lives with him in Jersey.
Paul has always been involved in building.
But in 1967 he joined the Hess Oil and
Chemical Corporation and now is an owner
of one of their stations, as well as a partner
in the McBride Car Wash in West Paterson,
New Jersey. Of course, we expect all
Atheists in Menlo Park, New Jersey to give
Paul their business. You all need gasoline
for your automobiles and all of them need
washed.
Paul's father died when he was four; and
his mother (mostly through Paul's persuasion) is a good Atheist. He is the only state
chapter director who has had the good
fortune to have a parent convert!
Paul is a walking sense of humor. He
describes his own conversion to born-again
Atheism as follows: "All babies are born
Atheists. They are then converted to some
religion by parents. Although I know I was
born, I remember little prior to age 12. It
was about that time when cousin Arnold
said I was an Atheist. 'What is an Atheist?'
I asked. After hearing the definition of an
Atheist from an Atheist I was delighted
to hear that I was not alone. This only is
a lesson to all parents to beware of cousins
everywhere."
For as long as Paul can remember he has
been fighting for his ideas, ideals and rights.
He found many freinds: Jefferson, Paine,
Ingersoll, Voltaire, Edison. In 1969 he
happened to tune to WMCA radio in New
York, to the Long John Nebel Show, to
hear a six hour debate between members of
the clergy and Dr. O'Hair. He immediately
contacted our office and has been one of
our most militant and fearless members
since.
With Jo Kotula, our own Atheist artist,
he started the New Jersey Chapter in 1975.
He may be contacted at P. O. Box 361,
Metuchen, New Jersey, 08840 or call
(201) 494-1771. We urge you to contact
Paul who is preparing a law suit to be filed
early next year. See his editorial on page 2.
Throughout our land every right, which belonged to secular persons and to our secular governmental operations, is
being subverted by reliqion. It creeps over us like crab grass
creeps over a lawn destroying everything before it. More and
more privileges are demanded by the clergy, by the churches,
by their schools, by their hospitals, by their crqanizations,
First they steal' our "symbols". With those safely in the religious camp, they demand money and power and privilege.
It is our duty as American Atheists to stop them now,
where they are, and to force them back to where they should
be. Religion is a private affair between man and the gods he
invented. It has no place at all in secular government. If we
wait for the religious to give up their special positions, special
favors, their tax-exemptions, their tax free businesses, their
domination of our lives, we will wait forever. But - more
important - during that time, while we wait, they usurp more
and more of our-riqhts, gain more power, wallow in more
privilege and fund it all.with tax money.
We can't wait.
The time for' us to act was 200 years ago - in 1776 and immediately thereafter. Since the Atheists did not act then, we
are in more trouble now. Therefore, I begin now.
There is no better way to show you what I mean than by
what I have done and am doing and expect to continue to do.
I quote an article written by a reporter, Anita Susi, for The
News Tribune newspaper of Woodbridge, New Jersey. The
article appeared on August 12, 1977.
ATHEISTS: STOP BORO IN PRAYER
EDISON-An Atheist group last night announced plans to
stop the Metuchen Borough Council from holding customary'
pre-meeting invocations on grounds they violate the First
Amendment of the Constitution.
The N.J. Chapter of American Atheists met last night at
well. Marsa claimed Metuchen contains about $9 million in
the home of Paul Marsa, on Oliver Ave. to discuss its Metuchen
campaign and celebrate the birthday of Robert Ingersoll, a tax-exempt church property within its two square miles.
19th Century orator who laid much of the groundwork for
Fellow Atheists staged a reading of selections from the
works of Robert Ingersoll, who was born August 11, and died
today's Atheist philosophy.
The Metuchen issue was triggered in May of 1976 when
in 1899. Ingersoll, a self-proclaimed Agnostic, served as atMarsa, then a borough resident, refused to stand for both the
torney general of Illinois at one time, Marsa said. The readings
prayer and flag salute at a council meeting. After Marsa pro- were accompanied by a record of Wagner's music and refreshtested the custom, the Metuchen council voted to substitute
ments.
a period of silent meditation, but several council members
Marsa said the national American Atheists, who are led by
Dr. Madalyn Murray O'Hair of anti-school prayer fame, are
have continued to opt for prayer when their turns to chair
planning a campaign to restore "E Pluribus Unum" as the
the meeting arrive.
More than a year after the invocation controversy, Marsa national motto. "In God We Trust" was substituted as the
said he is still dissatisfied with the Metuchen Council's method
motto during the Eisenhower-Nixon administration,
Marsa
of opening a meeting.
said.
"I want it out. It's unconstitutional," Marsa told his fellow
Atheists last night. Marsa noted that one of his Edison neighWell; that is the end of the article, but it is only the beginbors is a member of the township council. When he asked the
ning of what we plan to do. I expect everyone in New Jersey
council member if Edison held invocations at its meetings, the
who sees this magazine to get in touch with me immediately.
reply was "Of course not. It violates the First Amendment,"
We need your support in what we are doing here. We need to
know one another. We need to shake hands, to talk, to see
Marsa said.
The invocation is only the beginning of Marsa's complaint,
other faces, to recognize that we have social and intellectual
needs which are not being met living in raucous Christian
he added. He said he objects to placement of signs giving direccommunities. You know me, I'm on the cover of the magations to churches on streetside easements which belong to the
zine this month. I expect to hear from you - now - the
government.
"That land belongs to me, the taxpayer," he said, claiming
day you read this editorial. Don't let the crab grass grow under
the
church siqns are installed by government employees as your feet: get to me!
_____________________________________________________________________
-PAULMARSA
SEPTEMBER, 1977/AMERICAN ATHEIST - 2
Dear Editor:
Sometimes it's strange and ironic
how an opposing philosophy will
preserve a gem of wisdom by giving,
that gem, a different interpretation.
On the back of our one dollar bill
is the reverse of 'The Great Seal'.
It pictures a pyramid with a separated
cap-stone and a single human eye in
glorification. The seal has the Latin
phrase 'Annuit Coeptis', meaning "a
promise to begin", at the top. At the
bottom, in Latin, are the words 'Novus
Ordo Seclorum', meaning "a new
order of the ages".
A legend has persisted and survived
that this was given to Thomas Jefferson by a stranger in a black cape while
he (Jefferson) walked in his garden
one night. The legend insists that this
was a warning against the evil Christianity.
Many years later, after it had been
adopted for 'The Great Seal', Bishop
Carroll, a Jesuit and founder of
Georgetown University, had been reading Virgil and found a similar Latin
phrase. He immediately gave the Latin
a providential meaning 'He (meaning
god) watches over us'.
If the true meaning is ever revealed,
I wonder how long it would survive.
Jack Lewis
Lake Placid, Florida
Dear Editor:
Re: The news item "Investigating
The Effects of Religious Cults on The
Health And Welfare of Their Converts" (The American Atheist, May,
1977).
I'd like to tell you about a destructive cult I infiltrated, the Worldwide
Church of God (a.k.a. The Armstrong
Cult). I attended hundreds of their
meetings over a nearly 5-year period
(i.e., December 1968-November 29,
1973). And I've read thousands of
pages of their literature.
On November 29, 1973, I sought
to allay a psychological maelstrom by
going to one of their meetings. A
fanatically-idiotic
WCOG minister
exorcised me. I was subsequently
taken to a psychiatric ward at a nearby hospital on December 1 by my
mother. This fanatic visited me about
six times during my incarceration
(Dec. I-Dee. 28, 1973). He badgered

me by spewing out such insanity
as (1) "Think of the kingdom of god
24 hours a day". (2) "You've got god's
Bible. You will read god's Bible 24
hours a day". I've since become
adamantly opposed to this cult.
A good refutation of this destructive cult can be found in (1) God- The
Greatest Hoax by Ralph Shirley (2)
Age of Reason by Thomas Paine (3)
The Bible Contradicts Itself and (4)
Herbert W. Armstrong And His Worldwide Church of God, both by John
Bowden.
Tony F. Tezak,Jr.
Layton, Utah
Dear Editor:
... Me and my wife are the last
members of our families who use
Christian names (Josd = St. Joseph,
Catalina = St. Catherine)'
For nine months we looked after a
non-Christian name for our first son,
and we finded!:
Heimdall (from nordic mythology)
Sven (old, before-Christians,
Swedish name)
This is a good example of how to
begin to change things in our Christians societies: 'Don't use Chrisitians
names anymore; stop the forcing
tradition.'
... We shall overcome.
Dr. Jose M. F. Santana
Sweden
[Dr. Santana has written us often explaining that he struggles with English
grammer. He does better than any of
us do in Swedish. Do we have a
Swede out there, fluent in the
language, to help us correspond?-Ed.)
We thought it might be appropriate to
include in the "Letters to The Editor"
column the following anonymous letter which is one copy of a number
mailed to William B. Boone, Dr. Nolan
Estes, of the Dallas School Board,
Reilly PTA President, Dallas Times
Herald, Dallas Morning News, and,
TO THE TEACHER OF MY CHILD:
Today my child returned from the
second day in Kindergarten
and
informed me that "Today my teacher
told us about how god made us."

When my children grow to adulthood I want them to be tolerant, and
non-biased, well-adjusted individuals,
capable of choosing their own mates,
vocations, friends, and rei igious beliefs. My children are aware that
my own personal beliefs do not include a god, a heaven or a hell. They
also are aware that I do .not necessarily expect them to accept my beliefs
as their own; rather that they are
free to explore and question in their
minds and with others until they find
satisfaction for themselves.
The situation is different however,
for a five year old child. I have spent
those five years of my child's life
teaching respect for others including
adults. Along with that I have explained that as a part of learning and
going to school my child would come
in contact daily with a person who,
related to a child's world, "knows
everything." I think you will agree
that most children at ages 5, 6, and
7 are of the opinion that "if my
teacher says it, it's right." This presents problems when that teacher is
outside of his or her area of expertise,
or when dealing with interpretive subjects such as religion.
I do not fault your beliefs; they are
yours. I don't want to argue about
your religious convictions; they are
yours.
At the same time I do not want you
taking advantage of your position as
my child's teacher, whether intentional or not, to impose your religious
beliefs on an impressionable little
mind; a mind not really prepared to
weigh, challenge, doubt, and choose
on such a deep and personal subject.
I am keeping this letter on an
anonymous basis so that this situation
can be rectified without attention
being directed to you personally at
this time. In the event this situation
continues it will be necessary to deal
in a more direct format.
I will appreicate
your mutual
concern to this matter.
Signed
A Parent of one of your students.
(We encourage you to express your ideas,
criticize, etc., in this section. Please write:
P. O. Box 2117, Austin, Texas, 78768.)
SEPTEMBER,1977/AMERICAN
1/
ATHEIST - 3
The Church Seeks A

Heaven on Earth--with
A Leftist Tilt
By ROBERT NIELSEN, Staff Writer
[This article is reprinted from The Toronto Star.
The Star is considered a liberal daily newspaper.
-Ed.]
It was probably inevitable that when people
stopped believing in a heaven in the sky, the
church would start seeking heaven on earth.
Since earthly heavens, or utopias, must be pursued through politics, the church is becoming
politicized. And since the political Left has a nearmonopoly of utopian schemes and visions, the
church is being politicized on that side.
By "the church" is meant the major churches,
which in Canada are the United, the Roman
Catholic
and the Anglican.
Fundamentalist
churches are inclined toward conservative views
and lesspolitical action.
The leftist bias of church leaders and activitists
often shows through.
In international policy, the church reserves its
sharpest condemnation for rightwing authoritarian
governments such as those in Chile and Brazil,
and the white supremacist regime in South Africa.
It follows through by harrying businessesthat invest in those countries and by giving non-military
assistanceto African "Iiberation" movements.
'Churches have accepted a

neo-Marxist thesis'
Its protests against the more widespread repressions of human rights in Communist countries tend
to be perfunctory. It ignores the plight of the
former Baltic states swallowed up by the Soviet
Union, although their people are subject to oppressive minority rule - by Russians.
A spokesman for the Canadian Catholic foreign
aid department says that its analysis of economic
relations between the West and the Third World

was "not exactly Marxist." But it and the other big
churches have accepted a neo-Marxist - and incorrect - thesis about these relations, which is that
they are characterized by capitalist exploitation of
the poor countries.
At home, the church inclines towards a Socialist
analysis of society's ills. A Labor Day statement in
1975 by the Canadian Catholic bishops "read like
an old CCF pamphlet," according to Gregory
Baum, a leading Catholic theologian. The CCF was
more fundamentally Socialist in principle than its
successor the NDP; it was dedicated to the"eradication of capitalism," though by democratic
means.
In action, the church sides with environmental
and native people's lobbies against northern
development projects such as the Mackenzie Valley
pipeline. Here anti-capitalism and anti-industrialism
serve a nostalgic yearning for a simpler, more virtuous society which the natives are thought
capable of recreating.
Many church leaders and activists would honestly disavow utopian ism in favor of a more modest
pursuit, social justice - a quest which they believe
is amply warranted by the Christian gospels. But
the utopian spirit occasionally surfaces with an
ecstatic cry.
The Canadian Churchman, organ of the Anglican
church, surely believes that it has glimpsed utopia
in the making. In Communist China, of all places.
A Churchman editorial said flatly that the
Chinese have eliminated individualism and its vices
- ambition, self-centredness, defensiveness, competitiveness. They have thus been "freed to care
for each other, to work with each other, to love
.eachother."
The Churchman neglected to mention that the
rulers of China systematically incite the people,
including young children, to hate whomever they
designate as domestic and foreign foes. At the moment, for instance, the Chinese people are not
being "freed" to love the "Gang of Four" and its
accomplices. The official propaganda campaign
against them, in which all must join, resembles the
daily Five-Minute Hate in Orwell's 1984.
The Churchman's endorsement of a collectivist
The news which fills one half of the magazine is chosen to demonstrate, month after month, the dead reactionary hand of religion. It dictates
our habits, sexual conduct, family size, it censures cinema, theater, television, even education. It dictates life values and lifestyle. Religion is
politics and, always, the most authoritarian and reactionary politics. We editorialize our news to emphasize this thesis. Unlike any other magazine or newspaper in the United States, we are honest enough to admit it.
model is obviously a long way from the church's

former preoccupation with savingindividual souls.
The church' has been invaded by young
graduates of 1960's radicalism who have suceeded
in influencing the leadership. They are usually not
much attracted to pastoral work - offering
spiritual counsel to the troubled, comforting the
sick and consoling the bereaved. They think politically, they think big, and they think of collectivist corrections for man's fallen state.
~ long way from

former preoccupation'
The leftward trend is most pronounced at the
top and in the central bureaucracies. Many lay
members, as well as local ministers and priests, are
dubious about it. It has provoked sharp dissension
within the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches.
Christian businessmen are naturally perturbed to
seethe church assailingan economic system which
they helped to build up, and which they regard as
imperfect but benign.
When the United Church department of Church
in Society came out swinging (rather inaccurately)
at the huge Reedforestry proposal in northwestern
Ontario, it didn't bother to consult its minister
at Red Lake, Rev. Ian Harland. Harland happens
to believe the project is highly desirable, not only
to employ jobless Indians and whites, but also to
revive a dying forest through cutting and replanting.
The church proposed no substitute for resources
development in that area. The only visible alternative is more welfare.
"Where it tries to regain influence, the ecclesiastical establishment does so by fanning the popular
hostility to capitalism, by insisting on justice in
this world and by de-emphasizingthe next," Ernest
van den Haag, an American sociologist, has 'observed. "Churches now try to gratify the longing
for moral justice by advocating inchoate welfare
measuresinstead of pointing to heaven."
The church's devotion to social justice is unquestionably sincere. But there is a difference between seeking social justice on an issue-by-issue
basis and embracing an ideology which promises
social justice. Some Christians believe that the
church should always stand apart from political
ideologies.
'Some believe church

should stand apart'
A spokesman for this view is the German
Catholic scholar Hans Kung. Writing on "social

relevance" in his best-selling' book On Being A
Christian, Kung holds that it is entirely possible
for a Christian to be a Socialist, even (with reservations) a Marxian Socialist, and that it is also
possible for a Christian to be neither.
Perhaps, though, there's an historical logic,
with an element of revenge,in the church's turning
against capitalism. Because nothing, not even
science, did so much as capitalism to undermine
traditional religious faith in a hereafter. It did so
in many ways, but chiefly by producing such abundance as to demonstrate that most people can win
the good life, materially, here on earth.
We Have
A Question
Upon taking office, Jimmy Carter swore that he
would protect and defend the Constitution of the
United States. But, in Plains, Georgia, on August
7, he taught a Bible class and warned the students
and fellow worshippers not to substitute "a nation,
or a flag or a way of life or government for god."
Well, so much for his pledge to support and defend our Constitution; that pledge meant nothing
to him. Always when a Christian is confronted
with the choice of justice or god, law or god, civil
rights or god, human dignity or god, the Bible
thumpers are on the side of god.
The Bible lesson is usually taught in Plains,
Georgia, these days by Fred Gregg, a local insurance man. But this time, the 45-minute class,held
on the balcony of the First Baptist Church offered
a picture of the President's views on the relationship between religion and government.
Carter instructed the class that there is a danger
in putting faith in government instead of in god.
However, our founding fathers, not too far away
from the strife of intolerance both in Europe and
on our colonial shores thought otherwise. They
were so concerned that such an idea had before
demonstrated its incompatibility with all human
rights that they put a fail-safe instrument into the
government of the country. It is called "The First
Amendment" and is a part of our "Bill of Rights".
This means nothing, to Jimmy Carter, or to any
Christian in the United States. The lesson is everywhere apparent. Look around you. A "decent
respect for the opinion of mankind" and the "right
to life, liberty and happiness" must be restored.
The religious fanatics are out to restore the
medieval suppressions of those rights. Our ques-
SEPTEMBER,
1971/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 5
(We Have A Question)
tion: are you going to let the "born-again"

tians accomplish their ends?
Chris-
Vatican Wants Federal

School Money But Not
Federal Controls
By JANIS JOHNSON
Washington Post Staff Writer
The Vatican for the first time recently called
upon Catholics around the world to put pressure
,on their governments to provide public aid for
parochial schools and warned against allowing
Catholic schooling to become education for the
rich.
In a 10,OOO-word document, the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education expressed support
for teachers' unions in Catholic schools, urged
priests, brothers and nuns not to abandon teaching
and insisted that the church's schools must meet
high professional standards.
With the exception of the union issue-currently
a hotly debated item in the American Catholic
church-the
Vatican statement "affirms what has
for a long time been the policy" of American
bishops, according to a U.S. Catholic Conference
spokesman.
Russell Shaw, the spokesman, speculated that
the statement would have little impact on U.S.
Catholic efforts to obtain federal and state school
aid and merely "gives a word of encouragement"
to lobbying efforts espoused by the American
church hierarchy in recent decades.
Ed Doerr of Americans United which was
founded after World War II in part because of the
parochial school aid issue, discounted the Vatican
statement as merely making "explicit
a policy
which has been implicit for a great long time" in
the United States.
Robert O'Dean, who coordinates the interfaith
Impact Protestant lobby under the auspices of the
National Council of Churches in Washington, said,
"I don't anticipate any changes in relationships
between Catholics and Protestants over this."
In the United States, Catholic Conference
. spokesman Shaw noted, "the problem as we see it
is not so much legislative" but the Supreme Court's
interpretation.of what public aid is constitutionally
SEPTEMBER,
1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 6
acceptable.
Currently the greatest push for Catholic school
aid is at the state level, he added. Lobbying in Congress is "in a kind of holding pattern" until the
Supreme Court resolves the issue, he said.
The high court has wrestled with the basic
theme since 1947 when Catholic-Protestant
rela
tions were at a low point over public aid to paro
ch ial schools and American representation at the
Vatican.
Since then, the court has struck down nurnerour
state laws enacted to assist Catholic schools and
has dimmed Catholic hopes of obtaining substantial public aid.
In a decision some weeks ago, the court reaf
firmed its position that states can provide textbooks to parochial school pupils, but said the
First Amendment barrier between church and state
forbids the supply of other instructional materials,
instructional
equipment and field-trip transporta
tion.
The Vatican document pointed out that Catholic schools in some countries serve only the rich,
and it attributed this .to the state's failure to appreciate the benefits of a Catholic school system
and to support it financially.
Italy, Spain and West Germany are among coun
tries that subsidize Catholic schools, usually on a
per-pupil basis.
Almost 30 million children attend primary and
secondary Catholic schools in the world, according
to Vatican statistics. The American Catholic school
enrollment was 3.4 million in 1976, down from
5.6 million in 1964.
Rising costs of Catholic education in the United
States have boosted tu ition from less that $100 a
few years ago in subsidized schools to $300 or
more, and in schools supported entirely by tuition
to more than $2,000.
One factor in the financial difficulties, the statement said, is the sharp decline in the number of
teaching clergy, nuns and brothers. These teachers,
who are paid substantially
less than laity, form
about a third of the fulltime teachers in American
Catholic Schools.
In encouraging teachers to take full advantage of
professional organizations, it added fuel to the current controversy
in the United States involving
many bishops who oppose federal intervention
through the National Labor Relations Board in
disputes between Catholic school administrators
and a growing number of Catholic teacher unions.
The Vatican statement, stressed, however, that
"where difficulties
and conflicts arise about the
authentic
Christian character of the Catholic
school," the authority of the church's hierarchy

"can and must intervene."
FUNDS MISUSED
BY CHURCH
By DAVID L. BEAL
of The Journal Staff
The former director of development for the
Archdiocese of Milwaukee charged recently that
the archdiocese, by concealing and failing to
act on improprieties in its Office of Finance,
breached its employment agreement with him,
forcing his resignation.
Philip E. Prickett, who held the post from late
1970 until last December, made the charge in a suit
filed in Circuit Court.
In the lawsuit, Prickett alleged that the archdiocese understated the costs of and collections
from its annual fund appeal, granted $42,000 in
interest free advancesto a private computer firm
and routed thousands of dollars more through a
private company in a questionable arrangement for
psychiatric counseling to priests.
Prickett asked the court to either reinstate him
in his old job, with back pay and benefits, or to
award him $250,000 in compensatory damages,
plus legal costs.
Among the chargesmade by Prickett:
The archdiocese, in literature for this year's
fund drive, "knowingly understated by $150,000
the amount of cash received from the 1976
campaign."
The Office of Finance concealed substantial
costs incurred in buying two residencesin Brookfield last year, one for Archbishop William E.
Cousinsand the other for Cousins' housekeepers.
Archdiocesan employees, including Richard
Czarnecki, comptroller, have devoted time and
archdiocesan facilities to. work for the private
business interests of Kenneth F. BurgessJr., the
archdiocesan financial administrator who runs
the Office of Finance.
The archdiocese told the public that the costs of
the fund drive were 6% o-fthe amount contributed,
but costs incurred through practices related to its
data processingfirm, Computer Utilities of Wisconsin, Inc., lifted the true figure to somewhere between 9% and 10%. Burgesswas a director of the
firm.
Questionable dealings between the Office of
Finance and Computer Utilities led Prickett to
resign in November, 1973. The next month, he
rescinded his resignation after Cousins asked him
to stay on and the archdiocese promised to remedy
the conflicts of interest and improprieties that he
had complained about. Eventually, however, the
archidocesewent back on its pledge.
The archdiocese paid Belco, Inc., a private corporation headed by Burgess, $30,000 to $40,000
annually, supposedly for professional services,and
$8,000 to $11,000 annually, supposedly for expenses. After he learned about these payments,
Prickett asked for an explanation and was told by
archdiocesan officers that the payments were for
psychiatric care of priests. However, Belco is not
Iicensed to provide such services, nor is anyone
associated with the firm known to be a psychologist or psychiatrist.
The archdiocese paid $631 to Belco to pick up
Burgess'dues to the Milwaukee Athletic Club.
Prickett, who ran the annual fund appeal from
1971 through 1976, gave this account of his
problems:
By the summer of 1973, he recommended to
the Archdiocesan Development Committee that a
firm more qualified than Computer Utilities be
retained. The committee investigated and agreed.
However, while Prickett was out of town, Burgess
initiated a study, at a cost of $8,300 to the archdiocese,that led to retention of Computer Utilities.
Robert . Bartfeld,
president of Computer
Util ities, asked Prickett for a $10,000 advance,
without interest. Prickett refused, saying it would
be an improper use of archdiocesan funds.
Advance Approved
Burgess approved the $10,000 advance, interest
free, ordered archdiocesan employees to pay the
monthly fees and told them not to inform Prickett.
Prickett then resigned. He returned to his job in
December, 1973, after archdiocesan officials assured him that he would be included in all discussions affecting his office.
But within a month, control of all computer
operations relating to the fund appeal-95% of
the services provided by the firm for the archdiocese - had been transferred to Burgess' office.
Last summer Prickett found that Burgesshad advanced another $32,000 interest free, to Computer
Utilities.
Computer Purchase
He also discovered that early in 1974, after
SEPTEMBER,1977/AMERICAN ATHEIST-7
(Funds Misused by Church)
Computer Utilities came up short of the money

needed for its planned purchase of computer hardware, the archdiocese bought the equipment.
Archdiocesan
officials
declined
to comment,
and Burgess could not be reached.
FIRM'S OFFICER QUITS

Thomas A. Lancour, vice president for Computer Utilities, confirmed reports that he resigned
from the firm, effective July 15.
Lancour had been in charge of the firm's archdiocesan business. He said he wouldn't deny that the
controversy at the archdiocese was an element in
his resignation.
Public Fund Report

Refused by Graham
Religious News Service
Minneapolis-"
As long as we have the Lord's
stamp of approval that is all we need ... "
That -is the way George M. Wilson, executive
vice president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic
Association, explained the organization's refusal to
make public its financial statement to a Washington group that evaluates charitable endeavors.
The Graham
association
is classified
as a
"church" by the I nternal Revenue Service and does
not have to file a report of finances with the
government or anyone else.
The Council
of Better Business Bureaus, a
private Washington
group that monitors
about
10,000 groups that seek money from the public,
has tried 10 times since 1973 to secure an audited
financial report from the Graham association.
The requests have been ignored, according to
Helen O'Rourke,
a vice president of the council
and director
of the bureau's philanthropic
advisory service.
Wilson said the Graham association board has
taken the position that publicizing
the association's finances would be "counter-productive"
in
bringing in contributions.
Small givers might question whether their gifts were needed if there were
SEPTEMBER,
1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 8
reports of mu lti-rn ill ion dollar

budgets he. e
plained.
"We have no problem with donors," Wilson co
tinued. "They believe in our integrity."
He said the association does reply to questio
from donors, but feels it would be a waste
donor dollars to respond to the Better Busiru
Council and other organizations that ask for fina
cial information.
The association, he held, maintains the "hiqht
standards of business practices"
and is audit
annually by a national accounting firm, Ernst at
Ernst.
One of the most detailed articles about ~
Graham association's
finances was published
February by the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer as pc
of a series on the evangel ist.
According to the Observer, contributions
to ~
association
in 1975 totaled a little more th
$32 million, 90 per cent of the association's $:
million budget. The average contribution
was I
ported at $8 to $10 with 40,000 to 50,000 letn
received weekly.
To keep gifts coming the association's comput
prepares 20 to 25 million letters annually aski
for money. In 1975, mailings cost $1.6 millio
About
10 per cent of the 1975 budget, or $2
million was spent on Decision magazine, a 16-pa
monthly
mailed to 3.5 million contributors
in V
United States.
According to figures provided to the Obser
$8.8 million was spent in 1975 on radio, televise
and films.
Most of that went to televise ~
Graham
crusades in 310 metropolitan
ars
Where's the rest of the money - Graham is n
giving any real details.
Free Sterilization
It begins to appear there will be no more ab
tions financed by public funds for the poor wi
can't pay. So far, so good.
But why not give free sterilization
instead? Th
there would be no more abortions or unwantl
children
and our welfare and crime preble
would be less severe, saving money for taxpayers,
Prevention still is better than cure.
E.M. EDSAl
Warn
held the religious provisions of the First Amendment applied to the acts of states and local governments, that the due process clause of the 14th
Amendment "nationalized"
the First Amendment,
making its restrictions appl icable to all jurisdictions. The Jehovah's Witnesses began a series of
test cases against states and municipalities
that
limited their missionary activities. (Query: Was a
state tax on gas used by a minister a tax on "religion"?)
Close behind were militant
secularists who
wanted to prevent any tax support to religious
(mainly Catholic) schools. There must have been
times when a Supreme Court conference on an
impending decision resembled a Church Council,
with Justice Douglas (of all people) asserting the
United States was a "religious nation whose institutions
presuppose a Supreme Being," Justice
Jackson suggesting impishly that for a secular court
to define religious rights was in itself a violation of
the separation of church and state, and other
judges drifting
from pillar to post as the spirit
moved them.
To summarize,
while the Supreme Court's
decisions often buttressed basic rights of conscience and contributed to an improved climate of
civil
liberty,
they
also created a decisional
shambles. If, e.g., you protected religious conscientious objectors, weren't they getting a special break
compared to the guy who simply didn't want to
get shot?
vvheres The Wall Between
Church And State?

"Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof." On its face this First Amendment provision
seems simple enough, and its
formulators did not worry about fine spun distinctions. To them it merely meant that the United
States should not have an established church (as
did the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut)
and endorsed the principle of religious toleration.
Thus if you had approached them and inquired
whether this Amendment gave anyone the right to
set up a religion and claim immunity from taxation, they would have thought you suffered from
a "choler" and sent you to be bled by Dr. Benjamin Rush. Similarly, if on religious grounds you
refused to work on Saturday, they would sympathetically have sent you to see your local legislature to ask for the right to celebrate a different
Sabbath without punishment.
Taken for granted was the right of the "civil
magistrate" to define religious behavior, a position bolstered by both Roger Williams and John
Locke. Thomas Jefferson may have interpreted
the First Amendment as erecting "a Wall of Separation between Church and State," but the state retained the right to locate the ,wall.
The state, for example, would
not interfere with the activities
of a law-abiding religious body a "Church." But when it came to
dealing
with
the
Mormons,
whose "free exercise" of rei igion
included polygamy, the authorities went amok and were supported by the Supreme Court.
The poor Mormons, who were
probably as upright and principled a group as the 19th century
produced,
were
persecuted,
driven West, and virtually subjected to martial law before they
abandoned plural marriage.
However,
beginning
in the
1940's the Supreme Court, followed by other Federal and state
forums, began what has now
become an endless quest to
solve insolvable puzzles. First, it
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HO)TA6ES mREA1ENED WITH '
HAVlN6 WEIR BEAVS CUT
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SEPTEMBER,
1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 9
(Where's The Wall Between Church And State")
Or another: What about laws mandating Sunday

as a "day of rest"? The term is a bit obsolete, but
for our purposes the question is, "Does this constitute a breach on the wall between church and
state?" It is the Christian Sabbath, and the laws
were not initially passed to encourage trips to the
beach. A Sunday holiday (holy day) was a special
break for Christians. A pure logician has no problem: "Sure it violates the First Amendment."
(The Court did an end-run, holding Sunday holidays to be a sort of customary, secular, you know,
habitual day of relaxation.)
But then what about the Jews, Seventh-Day
Adventists and others who celebrate Saturday?
The politician has no problem: "Sure, let them
take off Saturdays and make up the lost time
during the week. Let the Jewish kids stay home
from school on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur,
the Christians on Christmas and Good Friday, the
Buddhists on the Gautama's birthday, and the
Moslems ... well, the month of Ramadan is a bit
much, but give them one day a week." No votes
lost on that scenario, but doesn't it violate the
First Amendment by giving special privileges to the
religious?
All this is background music to the big one
coming up: the Internal Revenue agents (and state
tax collectors) are sharpening their quills for some
extremely questionable "religions" with very substantial assets.How do you sort out the fakirs from
the bona fide churches? (An Atheist at this point
would argue they're all in the same bag! Perhaps
our next Supreme Court Justice should be a canon
lawyer ... but then, wouldn't that violate ... ?
Book Challenges Belief

Christ Was Son of God
By MICHAEL DENNIGAN
London (UP!) - Within days of publication, a
new book on religion seems certain to enter the
best-seller lists-and provoke furious protest among
Christians the world over.
"The Myth of God Incarnate," a 200-page paperback, sets out to challenge the long-held Christian belief that Jesus Christ was the 'Son of God'
and divine in his own right.
Despite its title, the book is not the work of
anti-Christian propagandists. It is instead the fruit
of the thinking of seven eminent theologicans,
some of them ordained clergymen.
The battle was speedily joined. A group of I

ford and Cambridge Anglican theologians, joil
by Roman Catholic Bishop Christoper BU1
auxiliary bishop of Westminster, announced pi
to produce a counter-blast.
Anti-"myth"
churchmen homed in on
seven's interpretations 'of early Christian texts
which they based their argument that Christ h
self never claimed he was divine.
"Facile lampooning," said critic Prof. HYI
Lewis of London University's history and philo
phy of religion department. "In the light of!
dence available to all, the Jesus whom we enCOI
ter in the New Testament cannot be accounted I
as a merely finite being."
"Careful thought," said Lewis, would bri
modern Christians back to the faith in Christ's
vinity laid down in the definitive Councils of I
caea and Chalcedon.
Even before the book was released, a newspa
leak touched off controversy that spilled over in
a confrontation between several of the auth
and religious affairs reporters outraged by wn
they considered an attack on the very roots
Christian faith.
The theologians stood firm in their assert!
that Christ in his lifetime did not lay claim to I
vinity and that he was elevated to the status of 91
by early Christians influenced by pagan and oth
Mediterranean beliefs.
"Jesus the actual, real man did not present hil
self as god incarnate," according to Dr. John Hie
professor of theology at Birmingham Universit
"Jesus in our proposals did not think he was 9(
incarnate."
Hick edited the book and acted as chief spoki
man. He is a member of the United Refon
Church.
Cautioning against "execssive alarms" over tl
book, he said, "There is actually nothing ne
about the central themes." He asserted thi
modern theologians in general accept the idea thi
the historical Jesus did not present himself as ga
incarnate" and added, "Christian laymen tods
are not fully aware of it."
The book aimed to bring "this consciousne
gently and responsibly" to Christians, to enabl
them to maintain faith in the light of moden
scientific and philosophical advances.
"You must believe that makes sense in you
own time," said Prof. Dennis Nineham, warden 0
Oxford's Keble College, another contributor.
"When I try to form a picture in my mind 0'
this Jesus and of his teachings with the help of 1a
(Continued on page 12,
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THE MAGAZINE OF LIFE AND LONG LIVING: YOUR PASSPORT TO THE FUTURE!
'1
SEPTEMBER, 1977/AMERICAN ATHEIST -11
(Book Challenges Belief

Christ Was Son of God,
continued from page 10.)
years of Biblical scholarship available, I feel

that Jesus wasn't a
Christian," said Hick.
"He lies at the origin of Christianity. He
did not teach the doctrine of the Trinity,
the doctrine of the
Resurrection and the
messagefrom god that
the world would be
savedwhen his son was
killed," he said.
Carter
Vatican Pick
Assailed
By David E. Anderson
UPI Religion Writer
President Carter has ~
named
David
M. ~
Walters, an active Ro- ~ or
man Catholic lawyer ~y
/'
from Miami, Fla., as his "personal representative"
to the Vatican.
But no sooner was the ink dry on the announcement than the strict church-state separationists
began criticizing the appointment.
In addition, Congress appears to be on the verge
of passing legislation that would allow the government to appoint a full-fledged ambassador to
the Holy See.
Walters is a Master Knight of the Order of Malta
in the Knights of Columbia and a member of Serra
International. He has practiced law in Miami since
1950 and before that was with the Department of
Justice.
Carter's Southern Baptist co-religionists, however, were very unhappy with the appointment.
The Rev. Jimmy Allen, elected only weeks
before as the new president of the 12-millionmember Southern Baptist Convention, sent Carter
a telegram expressing distress at the appointment.
James E. Wood, executive director of the Baptist
Joint Committee on Public Affairs blasted the appointment as "ecclesiastical" and reiterated the
historic Baptist position against "special recogni-
tion of a religious body by the government ... r

Diplomatic representation by the United States
at the Vatican has had a varied history. In 1848,
for example, the United States established full
diplomatic relations with the Vatican but two
decades later, in 1867, Congress passed legislation
prohibiting the use of any public money to fund
such an envoy.
In 1951, President Truman named Gen. Mark W.
Clark as his representative to the Vatican but the
appointment drew such protest that he was forced
to withdraw it.
President Nixon named former diplomat Henry
Cabot Lodge as his personal representative, and
although there was some criticism of the action, it
did not reach the height that the Clark appointment did. Lodge continued to hold the appointment under Ford.
Meanwh ile, the Senate voted to repeal the 1867
law and it is now before a House-Senateconference
committee.
If the repeal is finally authorized, it would allow
Carter, if he chooses, to upgrade Walter's appointment to that of full ambassador rather than pert
sonal representative.
CON ED EXECS
FIND GOD
FICTION
By ART BUCHWALD
Aug. 4, 1977, The Denver Post
Washington-There are no Atheists at Consolidated Edison. Ever since the New York blackout
Con Ed lawyers have been working day and night
to prove that what happened was an "Act of God."
If they can't prove that the Lord did it, they will
be spending their next 20 years in court fighting
lawsuits from the Bronx to the tip of Staten
Island.
I stopped by to see how Con Edison's lawyers
were doing.
"God bless you," the receptionist said as she
looked up from her Bible.
"I just wanted to speak to one of Con Edison's
lawyers," I told her.
"Thee comest at the wrong time," she replied.
"Mr. Flaherty is at Mass,Mr. Bradley is at a prayer
breakfast meeting and Mr. Seligman is with his
rabbi."
"MY, THIS SOUNDS like a religious office."
"Con Edison would never hire a lawyer who
didn't believe in god," she said.
"They must have been pretty shaken up by the
blackout," I said.
She sighed. "The Lord moves in mysterious
ways. We must not question 'His' decision to black
out New York at a most inopportune time. He
must have been very angry at the city or 'He'
would have never sent down those bolts of lightning to smite our power lines."
"Then you people believe that it was god who
did it?"
"As Mr. Flaherty wrote in his brief yesterday,

'The Lord giveth light and He taketh it away. The
power of Con Edison is in His hands.' "
"So you are not looking for any other reason
for the blackout?" I asked.
"What other reason could there possibly be?
Every safeguard known to man was in operation at
the time. But there is no failsafe when the Lord
turns 'His' wrath against sinners."
"Is it Con Edison's position that New Yorkers
are sinners?"
"Verily," she said. "You have only to walk
down 42nd St. or Eight Ave. to know why god was
enraged. We are living in a virtual Sodom and
Gomorrah," she said.
"Why didn't god just black out the porno shops
and theatres showing X-rated movies if 'He' was
so mad?"
"Even the Lord cannot smashone of our circuits
without putting the others out of commission.
Besidesthis happened in the summertime and there
was sinning going on all over the city."
"1 FORGOT ABOUT THAT."
"Con Edison knew about the sinning, and our
engineers feared the wrath of god for a week
before the blackout. But we felt that, as a power
company, it was not our place to warn the populace that if they continued their behavior the Lord
would loose the fearful lightning of 'His' powerful
swift sword."
"00 you think the 'Act of God' defense will
hold up in court?"
"We can only pray it will. If the courts decide
against us, then no one will ever believe the Lord is
trying to tell the people something. As Mr. Bradley
said to his Bible class yesterday, 'If this blackout
doesn't make people believe in God, nothing
will.' "
I heard an organ in the background.
"What's that?" I asked.
"It's the beginning of Vespers. Con Ed has
Vesper servicesfor its employees every day."
"Is this something new?"
"We started them the day after the blackout.
AMERICAN ATHEIST POST CARDS

Are you sick and tired of those religious cards you get from friends in the
mail. Post cards of the Tabernacle in Salt Lake or some hugh cross in Seattle?
Now is your chance to answer them with an Atheist post card. Yes, a beautiful,
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These cards are now available from American Atheist Press for 20 cents each
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For your full color post cards of the American A theist Center,
order today from
American Atheist Press

P. O. Box 2117, Austin, Texas 78768
(Texas state residents please add 5% sales tax.)
(Con Ed Execs Find God)
It was the legal department's

idea."
"Is it an electric organ I
hear?"
"No, it's manual. The Lord
only knows when 'He' will
strike us again."
*
TO
TO BUY OR SELL
REAL ESTATE
IN THE FOOTHILLS OF
THE LOS ANGELES AREA
Contact an All-American Atheist
Spencer D. Blackwelder
Realtor
BIBLE BApTIST BOOKSTORE

Located at Pensacola Bible Institute
Box 7135 Pensacola. Florida 32504 Phone (904) 477 8812
American Atheists,
Inc.
P. O. 'lox 2117
Austin, Texas 73768
. DATE
August 3, 1977
SUBJECT
PURCHASE ORDER:
5 copies
C>~
Catholic
Power Today by Avro Nanhaunan
Kenneth D. Lansing
H!lnager
Blackwelder Realty
2722 Foothill Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 91214
A few comments from our readers
concerning the Baptist '1 FOUND IT'
campaign:
"I lost it"
"I never needed it"
"Who wants it"
"I stepped in it"
"
SEEING IS BELIEVING
Above is a purchase order from Baptist bookstore requesting
anti-Catholic books from an Atheist publisher.
-Ed. ----------------------~------------~~----------------.)
The Nonexistence of God Is A Scientific Fact

Clifford H. Knowlton
The proof: A scientific fact is a close agreement of

a series of observations of the same phenomenon
by trained observers and verifiable at any time.
If the nonexistence of god conforms to this
definition, then the nonexistence of god is a
scientific fact-not Truth with a capital T, but a
scientific fact. Thus to qualify as factual, requires
two things-observation and verification.
For the first requirement, we have a" the observations of scientists over the past 2500 years.
The results of these observations have been
expressed in millions of equations, accounting for
many things, from the orbit of the spheresto the
flow of sap up the trunk of a tree.
It is said that scientists can only measure material things and god is spirit. Yet, if there really
are any non-physical, spiritual or godly forces effecting changes in matter, the scientists could
measure these changes in matter. If any scientist found such a change,it would put an unknown
quantity, "X", into the equation and render it
indeterminate. In scientific equations of the last
2500 years, this has not occurred. THIS SATISFIES THE FIRST REQUIREMENT.
For the second requirement, scientists and
engineers a" over the world are constantly verifying these equations. If any influence of god should
foul up one of these equations, it would be known
in every civilized country. THIS SATISFIES THE
SECOND REQUI REMENT AND THE NONEXISTENCE OF GOD IS A SCIENTIFIC FACT.
(Continued on page 18.)
Here, now and go

The eontroversia
of Sherwin Wine
"I am an Atheist ... (school) discrimination on the basis of philosophy, talent and
sex should be allowed ... Israel has made
the Jew insular and chauvinistic ... When
people tell me their identity is in being a
woman, Polish, a Black Muslim or a Ku
Klux Klansman, I don't believe them ... "
Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine is not one to
mince words. His shoot-from-the-hip style
hason numerous occasionsdrawn the ire of
the nation's Jewish orthodox community
which has publicly denounced Detroit's
"Godless Rabbi." In 1965 Wine wasbooted
out by his own Birmingham congregation.
Undaunted, the 47-year-old maverick relocated with loyal followers in Farmington
Hills. Today, capacity crowds flock wherever he speaks.
As a 17 year-old Central High School
senior, Wine was to display the brilliant
intellect and sarcastic wit that would be his
trademark when he was honored as the
nation's top student in American History in
the annual Hearst NewspapersAwards.
Picking up his formal and street education in the Dexter-Davison area, Wine
studied philosophy at U-M and went on to
graduate fron Cincinnati's Hebrew College
in 1956. He then served two years as an
Army chaplain in Korea. The dapperly
dressed Wine is a confirmed bachelor and
founder of the Society of Humanistic
Judaism, which serves3,500 people in six
cities.
Wine holds that ''What a man does is the
only adequate test of a man's belief." He
believessynagoguesare a permanent shelter
for puberty, and that urban people have
very little need for god. "In an urban
environment people worry about human
power; both the good and evil of our city,"
says Wine, "are the creation of man."
Humanistic Judaism has no religious
restrictions. Included in the Temple Birmingham congregation are several gentiles
and many young people who believe
they have responded to the secular revolution of the "New Jew" who is mobile,
intellectual, science-oriented, skeptical, ine ore
novative, a money expert, Atheistic and aggressive.
Detractors call Rabbi Wine's flock "Super Jews."
The followers of Humanistic Judaism couldn't
agree more. Freelance writer Henry Kingswell /I found
Rabbi Wine in his office at the Birmingham Temple.
u.s.
"8 f
DETROIT: How does an ordained rabbi, a spiritual

leader of the Jewish community with a new million
dollar temple and a congregation of over 300 families
explain to his religious members that there is no god?
WINE: That's gutless and unimaginative, but a ques-
SEPTEMBER, 1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST -16
1'.-1 b
u
e Intereste
d iIn heaven, 1'.-1

d
u nee mOil
tion I've heard a thousand times before. It's not that

I have a non-belief in god, but that I've chosen not
to use the word. I regard theword 'God' as troublesome because it keeps people from dealing with their
own problems effectively and leads them to do things
that are totally irrelevant ... like prayers and worship.
Believing in god is simply irrelevant to solving human
problems. It is delegating one's own power and resources to some sort of authoritarian father figure. . .
My decision has been to stop using the word god and
instead to talk about brotherhood, love, justice ... The
w(
co
m
ti~
of
m
W
be
M
ca
Je
odless:
al heliefs
Judaism. The only real world to us is the

natural world, not the supernatural ... If
god wants the supernatural world to play
with, be my guest.
DETROIT: Explain your philosophy.
WINE: What I call Humanistic Judaism is
based on the basic humanism principle that
the only world that matters is the one we
live in right now. That man has the power
to solve problems-maybe with help from
other people-but
certainly not with
prayer. Humanism means self-reliance, the
affirmation of personal power to think. For
us the heart of reiigion is not god, prayer or
worship-but
human behavior, the way
people look at themselves... The real issue
in life is how do you behave, how do you
relate to your fellow man-and not 'do you
believe in God.' Lots of people who say
they believe in god are real bastards.
DETROIT: What about the Bible?
WINE: The Bible-and other traditional
religious books, do not answer the questions raised by modern man. As documents
for a modern, technological, urban society,
the Bible, Koran, Torah and other sacred
scriptures defy the principle of reason.
Humanism holds that truth does not belong
in a book because all books have mistakes ... all books have authors ... Moses,
Einstein, Jesus, Philip Roth or what-haveyou. Tomorrow a new piece of evidence
could possibly turn up that would prove a
book mistaken and change your mind.
There are much more satisfying, informative and entertaining books to read than
those written 2,500 years ago. The problem
with religious texts like the Bible is that
their intellectual framework is authoritarian ... it was written for a society that
believed in an authoritarian god. Almost
~ everybody in the Bible was a shepherd,
~ fisherman, farmer or some sort of king.
i Nobody lived in the city, the settings were
IS usually rural. You can't take shepherdsand
~ farmers and the problems that grew out
of a pastoral, arcadian society and make
them models for people who live in big
cities ... The modern, urban, technological
man can learn a hell of a lot more from Bertrand Russell
and Erich Fromm than he can from Mosesand Jesus.
DETROIT: Is there any evidence that the churchorganized religion-will
help bring people together?
WINE: Well, let's say that a young Catholic priest today
has a lot more in common with a young rabbi or a
young reverend than during any time in history ...
Modern religions are more and more humanistic in their
lifestyles and approach to problems, and less and less
theistic. Idealistically, they are much closer and share
many of the same humanistic, revolutionary concepts.
ore lnfcrmctlerrebeut the place ... "

word god is just dragging in a word that is confusing to
contemporary, urban lifestyles and carries an historical
meaningthat, in the long run, has always proved negative and unproductive ... The issueof god is an absence
of imagination. There are other words, other concepts,
muchmore creative and efficient for describing reality.
Weshouldn't turn any word or person into an idol. To
be totally creative is to say 'Kiddo--I'm never trapped.'
My congregation is composed mostly of well-educated, professional and business people. Not all are
Jewish, but all share a common belief in Humanistic
SEPTEMBER,
1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 17
(The Controversial Beliefs of Sherwin Wine)
Western culture has permeated and influenced

almost all the world churches. For instance, at one
time nearly all religions were deeply concerned
with life after death. But one rarely hearsthat kind
of thing coming from a pulpit nowadays. People
care about what is going on today-how can they
better their position in life-and could care lessfor
having lectures in ancient Latin or Hebrew and all
the patented promises to heaven or hell ... Today
a minister, priest, rabbi or what-have-you must
servethe audience. Peoplewant to be inspired, and
that's a revolutionary change. Entire congregations
are crying out that they want to be changed in one
way or another. They want variety, in some cases
it's outright entertainment and the churches are
changing their emphasis from one of prayer and
worship to that of fellowship and counseling. If
that means more guitars, poetry, clinics and
X-rated films ... well, that's how the churches are
going to hold people's attention and fulfill people's
needs. Ultimately the religions that survive will be
those which accept humanistic goals and transcend
themselves, teaching that it's not how people
relate to god, but how people relate to themselves
and other human beings.
DETROIT: Are you ready for hell?
WINE: Ha-Ha. Sure, why not. Besides,I'm not sure
I would want to be in heaven anyway. Before I
would be interested in heaven I would need more
information about the place and what they do
there.. I don't want to go to some eternal spot
before I know what the programs and activities
are. I might find heavena bore ... and I'm not too
sure I would like god. Hell might be just the right
spot-valhalla! For me, physical death is mental
death: when the body decays the central nervous
system goes. Life after death hardly seemspractical, either in heaven or hell. It exhausts me just
thinking about the subject. I mean you're speaking
of eternity and like I say, I'm afraid that heavenis
not all it's cracked up to be and god may be an
absolutely dull and boring person ... Who wants
to spend time trapped in spacewith a dull, boring
person?I don't.
DETROIT: That is exactly the kind of dialogue
that your detractors find indignant and sacrilegious. They say you should cool it. How do you
deal with their anger?
WINE: Well, I don't mind dealing with hostility
if it's over important matters. I enjoy the whole
process of convincing, persuading, talking,
arguing-I enjoy it. Some people get very uptight,
I don't. Controversy has never been burdensome to
to me, it hasnever been traumatic or terrible. Hell,
ATHEIST -18
IV
it's fun. Even obscene letters, they don't upset

me. I realize that there's a lot of sick people out
there, but as a human being, a Humanistic Jew,
I can't preoccupy myself with thoughts of what
others th ink of me. I must get on with my work.
(The Nonexistence of God Is A Scientific Fact,
continued from page 14.)
If the earth were following a square path around

the sun, there would be reason to suspect a spiritual influence, for gravity and momentum could
not account for such a phenomenon.
Primitive Man has always invented a god to account for phenomena which he could not explain.
Supernaturalists still claim that province which is
just beyond the known, as the province of god.
Scientists have been pushing back the unknown for
at least 300 years. Vast areas have been taken out
of god's dark province. Everything within these
areas has been explained and measured, without
finding any extra-physical influence. For as far as
we have pushed the god-assumption back, the
only thing that we havefound influencing matter is
matter itself, in the form of energy.
There will always be an unknown, and the
clergy, with its understandable conflict of interest, will always in desperation try to see a god
lurking back in the shadows of the still unknown.
Is it not time we began to realize that god is not
even there? In any case:
IT IS A SCIENTIFIC FACT THAT
THERE IS NO GOD.
THINK AHEAD!
c..,':) C'.,:)
The Eighth Annual American Atheist Convention will be held in San Francisco, California in April of 1978. Contact the convention
coordinator, John I. Mays, for information
on how you can prepay your expenses with
monthly payments.
We are expecting hundreds of people more
than attended the Chicago '77 convention.
Please contact us early so we will be able to
reserve the correct number of rooms.
For information write to:
John I. Mays, Convention Coordinator
American Atheists
SHIBLES' CORNER
'ftTarrenshihles
cArgurnents for cAbortion

The abortion issue revolves around a number of
unclear concepts such as "person," "soul," "right,"
"moral," "natural," "innocent," ethical terms, etc.
One's view about abortion will only be as clear
as his understanding
of such concepts. Because
values are ultimately determined in terms of the
individual's own knowledge and desires, he must
determine for himself, on the basis of the arguments what conclusion he wishes to draw. It is
hoped women will also be allowed to have the
intelligent free choice which will allow them to be
potentially and actually emotionally fulfilled, and
complete human beings. Whatever decision is made
the individual and society will have to accept the
conseq uences.
The Abortion Issue
It is said that no one changes his view on the
issue. There are just emotional pressures and irrational debates on bills and resolutions. If so this is
a comment on the nature of our legislative process.
Shouldn't honest open rational inquiry rather be
the method of deciding issues. This would mean a
close look at intelligent arguments and not arguments from authority,
the majority, tradition,
familiarity, or dogma.
The abortion issue is bascially an issue between
reason and religion, intelligence and emotion. One
reason why rational argument about abortion does
not seem to apply is that anti-abortionists
base
their views on religion and authority.
To decide the abortion issue then do not say it
is moral or immoral, right or wrong. That means
nothing. One must rather look at the arguments,
look at the consequences. The following will thus
show that it is inhumane and harmful to disallow
abortion or restrict abortion any time during
pregnancy.
No Personal Bias
I have and love children and have no personal
concerns in this area. It is because I have concern
for living persons and because the arguments
convince me that I support abortion. The following
arguments are meant to promote objective discussion. It is not intended as an attack on anyone
person or group of people.
The anti-abortionist
position is a return to
ecclesiastical law.
Church-state separation is violated. "Restrictive
abortion
laws, passed originally
for medical
considerations
are being retained
today
for
religious reasons. Separation of church and state is
... fundamentally
involved." (NARAL Summer
1972)
Church-State
Issue
Both Senator Edward Kennedy and President

John Kennedy, though Catholic, opposed the imposition on all members of society of a religious
view concerning abortion. It was thought that to
do so is to ignore separation of church and state.
wishes to impose his religious
belief "an ti-abortion" on to all people.
Right Without Responsibility
Anti-abortionists
want the right for no one else
to have abortions, without themselves taking on
the responsibility for the unwanted, deformed or
deprived .children.
Anti-abortionists
should be
willing to themselves care for all children of
mothers not allowed to have abortions. There is
no right without responsibility. Catholics, as nearly
the only anti-abortionists
group, should take care
of such children. They have not, however, offered
to do so.
Conflict of Interest
The abortion issue shows how religious belief
interferes with objectivity in government and the
legal system. Loyalty to the church is a conflict
of interest. Is the public servant a servant of the
state or the church?
Abortion
Issue Dictated by The Pope
The religious person has his answer to the aborSEPTEMBER, 1977/AMERICAN ATHEIST
- 19
(Arguments for Abortion And Against Current Legislation Opposed to Abortion)
tion issue dictated by church authority

by reason and inquiry.
Absolute Authority
rather than
Argument
The Pope, John XXIII wrote, "Human life is

sacred- all men must recognize that fact. From its
very inception it reveals the creating hand of god.
Those who violate his laws ... offend the divine
majesty ... " (Mater et Magistra, May 15, 1961)
What is striking about the Catholic view is its absolutism. It is absolute because based on divine
authority. We should not offend the divine majesty. But man must accept the responsibility,
accept the consequences of his actions. To put the
burden of responsibility on god is to avoid using
one's intelligence to make decisions. The most Rev.
Leo Maher, Roman Catholic bishop of the San
Diego, California diocese, ordered April 18, that no
Catholic be allowed holy communion who admits
publicly to membership in the National Organization for Women (NOW) or any other pro-abortion
groups.
Did the Catholics originally wish to oppose
abortion so there will be more Catholics?
Tax-exempt Catholic and religious institutions
engage the government in needless litigation over
the abortion issue. This makes their tax-exempt
status questionable. [See U. S. Code 501 (c)]
Harmful to Believe in Metaphysics
Right to one's religious or other beliefs is defended in the United States but this only applied
if such beliefs were not harmful to society. But
the Catholic position is harmful to a rational society. Abortion
is mainly a private religious
problem. But should Catholics be allowed to produce so many children and overpopulate and raise
them in dogma, and bring forth monstrous births
and bring burden on society and the taxpayer?
Catholic As Anti-Inquiry
And Anti-Medicine
Anti-abortion forces opposed fetal research. This

means less can be done to keep the pregnant
woman and the fetus healthy or prevent monstrous
birth. In the middle ages the church held that
disease was only caused by sin and impeded
medical practice and research. It was a sin to go to
a doctor. Anti-abortionists
view is based on their
own fear of hell and of not obtaining an afterlife.
Killing The Mother
SEPTEMBER,
1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
The Catholic believes the mother should be allowed to die rather than abort or harm the embryo. Dr. Robert Hall (Abortion,
1970 p. 425)
stated that his view "consists in observing a moral
law [pseudo or metaphysical]
regardless of the
consequences
for individual human beings." He
states that the view is a "one-dimensional"
stressing that the embryo be saved at any cost, without a
full consideration
for society or the life of the
person involved.
It seems that no non-religious association favors
restrictive abortion laws but all of the major legal,
medical,
social, religious institutions
(except
Catholic and Orthodox Jews) oppose restrictive
abortion
laws. National
Medical
Association,
United Church of Christ, American Psychological
Association, American Health Association, and at
least 60 other such organizations which are religious or non-religious oppose restrictive abortion
laws. (NARAL 1972) In fact, many Catholics
themselves favor abortion. The National Catholic
Reporter (4-2-71) revealed that 40% of two thousand women seeking abortions in Boston were
Catholic. The President's Commission on Population growth found that 39% of Catholics favored
abortion, 50% believe that it should be performed
under some circumstances, and 9% oppose it under
any circumstances. A 1972 gallop poll shows that
54% of the Catholics interviewed think the decision to have an abortion should be up to the
woman and her physician. There is even an 800
member Roman Catholics For Repeal of Abortion
Laws organization in Pennsylvania.
The anti-abortionist's
metaphysical
principles
such as soul and concern for souls in an afterlife
take priority over concern for the living. The
Catholic anti-abortionist
stresses a mystical next
life at the expense of and lack of concern for
people in this life. Anti-abortionists
are not concerned for this life. The Catholic view seems not to
be concerned with the consequences for man. If by
aborting one embryo the rest of mankind would be
saved from destruction then they would still favor
not aborting.
Metaphysics Can Kill
The abortion issue turns on whether or not the
fetus has a soul. If religious metaphysicians decide
that people who do not go to Catholic church do
not have souls then it may be acceptable to them
to kill such "people." Metaphysics and religion
have negative consequences. The pregnant woman
- 20
MUSINGS of MURRAY
hill IDurray
Attack of The Turkish Carpets

It was Saturday, the 23rd of July of this year,
and I was sitting at my desk writing news - well,
call that rewriting news. I was doing a story about
a problem the Arab Moslems were having in
northern Africa. Just about the time I was explaining the details of ten Egyptian pilots flying Frenchmade jet fighters and using U.S. satellite photos to
destroy a Soviet radar installation
in Lybia I
stopped. So Moslems want to kill each other in
the name of their god. Of course, 'Allah' is fighting
on both sides and the three Soviet technicians
who died in the attack died because 'Allah' was
not on their side. But what god was assisting the
two Egyptian pilots who were shot down?
Egypt kicked out the Soviets years ago because
President Sadat decided god wanted his country
to be a capitalist nation. Libya invited the Soviet
military to move there because their leaders decided god wanted Libya to be a Socialist nation.
Meanwhile, back in Moscow, a Baptist minister
gave a Saturday night sermon blessing the Soviet
technicians for giving their lives for god and communism.
So here we are, back on Saturday the 23rd of
July and an Egyptian writer is doing a story on the
glorious destruction
of a radar installation
in
the name of 'Allah'; a Libyan reporter is writing
about the grand air defense that shot down two
planes; a French columnist is explaining to all of
Paris that the jets were shot down because of poor
pilots, not faulty French equipment; and a committee of Tass news editors are still trying to figure
out how to explain to the Russian people why
three Soviet technicians were killed in northern
Africa.
Meanwhile, Bill Murray, in Austin, Texas, is trying to figure out which imaginary god was on
whose side in the battle. I started to hope that
something simple would come over the UPI wire,
like "Jesus Christ Refused Mastercharge Account
by Local Bank Due to Lack of Established Credit".
But the story never came and I was stuck with the
French jets, the U.S. Satellite, the Russian radar
station and a Moslem prophet that didn't even
show up for the battle.
Should I have the divine hand of Christ assisting

in the manufacture of the French jets or the divine
hand of Mohammed guiding the anti-aircraft fire
that shot them down. It was with this thought that
I dropped the entire story in the trash, got myself
a can of beer and started to poll the other members
of the staff at the Atheist Center about going bowling that evening. After all, who gives a damn about
what god got whose equipment shot up if you're
an Atheist anyway?
At this point you should disregard everything
else you have read in the column because the story
is actually about bowling and the divine powers
that led me to win all three games with a 170
average despite the French jets, the Russian radar
station and the anti-aircraft guns personally aimed
by Mohammed. In this case, the divine hand was
the Coors Brewing Co. of Golden, Colorado. I
cannot bowl worth a damn until I have had at least
three beers and a hot dog. I am not alone in getting divine help. At midnight, that same day, a
friend called me to tell me of a deep religious experience. He had consumed one entire fifth of
scotch and then talked personally to the 'Virgin
Mary' about a Russian radar station in Argentina
that was attacked by Japanese pilots flying Turkish
carpets. I told him to take two tabs of LSD,
lapse into a coma and call me back in about three
years.
Now the 'Virgin Mary' has never talked to me.
For that matter I never talked to her either. There
are only three things you can do when you are
wide awake at 12:30 in the morning. Either you
drink whiskey, talk to god or exercise your body
in a pleasurable manner. I decided on all of the
above. After the physical part I made myself a
drink and called god on the telephone to talk
about French jets. The confusion started with the
long distance operator.
"Hello ... could you please connect
god?"
"Which one," she said.
"Oh, Jesus Christ, I guess."
SEPTEMBER,
1977/AMERICAN
me with
ATHEIST
- 21
"
(Attack of The Turkish Carpets)
"I'm sorry sir, those lines are busy, could someone else help?"
"Well, I don't know, see I'm doing this story
about the Egyptian pilots in the French jets bombing this Russian ... " She interrupted me, "Oh yes,
I believe Mr. Brezhnev is holding for Mr. Christ
about the same thing. Couldn't Mr. Mohammed
help?"
"Well, okay. If I can't talk to Christ I'll go
second best and talk to Mohammed."
"I'm sorry sir, but Mr. Mohammed is on the line
with a drunk about some jet carpets with Japanese
pilots. "
I poured myself another drink.
"Is there anyone available?"
In a few seconds she was back. "I have three
Greek and two ancient Roman gods available."
"No, that just would not help with a story on
French jets and Arab bullets." So, I asked her to
whom Christ was talking. It turned out she listened
in a lot and was able to give me the inside story.
The Pope had been hitting the wine pretty heavy
all day and had called Christ to get assurance that
no Swiss pilots flying jets, made in Canada, would
attack the Vatican radar system which was installed by Ugandan technicians and operated by
Hungarians. Christ agreed but warned the Pope
that he could not do a thing about Japanese pilots
on Turkish jet flying carpets armed with Polishmade machine guns.
So I asked her why the Pope was still on the
phone with Christ. She came back on the line in
about fifteen seconds.
"Some problem the Pope is having with keeping
something erect. I guess the antenna."
"Oh," I said and hung up.
I just can't write a good story without good relia ble source material. Okay, no story on the Russian radar station, the French jets and the Egyptian
pilots.
I picked up the phone and called a local number.
"Hello, Harry. Yeah, what's the scoop on those
Japanese pilots flying the turkish jet carpets again?
Ah! Armed with Polish machine guns. Interesting.
Say Harry, did Mohammed say if they were headed
toward Italy? Hey, great Harry. I think I can make
a prediction. Great Harry ... "
~
As the ship was sinking rapidly, the captain called
out "Anyone here know how to pray?"
One man stepped forward. "I do sir."
"Good," said the captain, "you pray, the rest of us
will put on life preservers. We are short one."
Contributed by Gilbert P. Haskins
There Is No God
By FRED WOODWORTH
THERE IS NO GOD. What is called "God",
namely, a supposed-to-be all-knowing, everywhere
present supreme wise spirit, CANNOT exist, for a
number of reasons. I hope to be able to show to
any reasonably open-minded person who will take
the trouble to read my arguments (and who will
not assume that I am in league with "the Devil", or
that I am an evil agent of "godless Communism"),
that there is not the least reason to put any stock
in the claims of persons who think such a supreme
spirit exists.
Let me begin by noting that most of those who
today think it is proper to believe in a god do so
automatically,
because others before them have
done the same. That this is not a good reason for
doing anything ought to be apparent to all. If,
then, you happen to think already that my own
claim in the title of this essay is wrong, won't
you search your mind and think of when, if ever,
anything BUT the automatic assumption of a god's
existence was ever presented to you as a viable
belief? Actually, the belief in a god has been traditional for many centuries, just as many other
notions have been. This one, like countless ones
before it, needs to be subjected to logic, analysis,
and impartial testing, not just blindly accepted in a
stupid suspension of critical thought.
According to Christianity, two gods exist: the
good god and the god of evil, the Devil. Thus, anybody could really choose which of the two to worship; but what if it could be shown that there was
not, logically, any difference? Consider that the
"good" god MUST be either totally powerless and
superfluous, or else non-existent, since this god is
necessarily either responsible for conditions being
as they are today, or else powerless to prevent this.
An ancient series of questions and answers inquires
and concludes:
. "Is god willing to prevent evil, but not able?

Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is
malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence
cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call
him god?"
Why believe in an ineffective or powerless god?

Why believe in an evil god? One would be better
off to worship the sun; at least the sun exists.
But Christianity, whose notion of a god prevails in our culture, makes other claims that he is
wise, that he created the real world, that he is
merciful, that he is a god responsible for beauty,
that he knows everything.
And yet these qualities are not possible, either in
combination with each other or separately. Can
god think of a task he cannot accomplish? If so,
then he has imagined a case in which he is not
omnipotent. But if he cannot think of such a case,
then he is not all-knowing.
If he was necessary to create the real world, in
its infinite complexity, then who was necessary to
create god, who is presumably still more complex?
If he is responsible for beauty, he is likewise
responsible for ugliness. Is there any justice in
praising him for the beautiful, but keeping silent
about the hideous? Some religionists seem to delight in ascribing to "God" the credit for having
made apple trees in fields of green, under a blue
sky; but where is their creator when we contemplate the fact of tapeworms? I think that I would
be embarrassed to have to admit that I believed in
an "all-wise" god who made tapeworms. But the
very religionists who use the beauty argument most
frequently, are never heard at all on the subject
of the disgusting things likewise ascribable to their
god. And no wonder!
If he is wise, why did he not compose a coherent
account of what he wanted mankind to do? The
very god who, according to those believing in him,
made every last electron spin in its orbit everywhere throughout the universe, still cannot write
a clear, unmistakable
volume of instruction
to
human beings who are supposed to follow his
wishes. Instead, he gives us the Bible, a ridiculous
jumble of ancient superstitions, contradictions,and
vague, wandering narratives that show nothing so
much as how senile the priests were who wrote
them.
God, according to the Bible, created the Devil.
God, being all-knowing, must have known what the
Devil would do; why, then, did he create him?
Likewise, if god really wanted to "save" mankind,
why not do it by the simple methods already used
when creating the world - namely, by just snapping his fingers? God seems to be given to utilizing
methods of senseless complexity: he wants a world
of goodness, yet creates the Devil; wants to help
mankind, but only sends among us an agent who
spreads confusion and helps nothing, absolutely
nothing. Christ's so-called purpose-to
save man-
is futile, since a god who could create the cosmos

could surely "save man" without resorting to a
ridiculous ritual in Palestine. Further, from the
evidence of the Holy Wars and Inquisitions carried
out by those believing in Christianity, it must be
concluded that Christ's advent was a major tragedy
to the human species, since it has worsened
considerably the lot of millions.
If the Bible was God's attempt to prove to mankind that he existed, then he must have wished for
mankind to believe this. But, as the best way to
make mankind believe in god would be for this god
to publicly, unmistakably, make himself known to
us, it is apparent that god's methods were lacking
in intelligence.
Thus, I myself can think of
methods superior to those of "God"; but a god so
incompetent
that any mere mortal can surpass
his mind is an absurdity. God must not exist.
If god is just, why has he created a world of injustice? The reply that our world is a test by god
to see which among us will do this or that, is a
reply that is very poorly considered. Millions of
young children are maimed or killed, or born with
gruesome deformities - thus, god does not even
have the sense to apply his test to all under equal
conditions.
Even the Driver's License Bureau is
wiser than "God"!
One of the Anarchist writers of many years ago,
Johann Most, observed that the edicts and commandments of "God"
" ... are obscure; they are conundrums, which
the subjects for whose special benefit and enlightenment they are issued, can neither understand nor solve. The laws of this hidden
monarch require explanation, but those who explain are ever at variance themselves. Everything
that they relate about their concealed sovereign
is a chaotic mass of contradictions.
They speak
of him as exceedingly good, but still there is
no individual existing who does not complain
of his mandates. They speak of him as infinitely
wise, but yet in his administration
everything
opposes common sense and reason. They praise
his justice, and still the best of his subjects, are
as a rule least favored. They assure us that he
sees everything; still his omnipresence alleviates
no distress. He is, they say, a friend of order, yet
in his domain everything is confusion and disorder. All his actions are self-determined,
yet
occurrences seldom if ever bear out his plans.
He can penetrate the future, but does not know
the things that will come to pass. . .. All his
enterprises are for the sake of glory, yet his
purpose, to be universally glorified, is never
attained. He labors incessantly for the welfare
SEPTEMBER,
1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 23
(There Is No God)
of his subjects, but most of them are in dire distress for the necessities of life ...
He is an Almighty who is omnipresent,
yet
descended from Heaven to see what mankind
was doing; who is merciful, and yet has at time
permitted
the slaughter of millions. An Almighty, who damned millions of innocents for
the faults of a few ... who created a Heaven
for fools who believe in the 'gospe1', and a hell
for the enlightened who repudiate it ... "
"God" - as revealed in his book of edicts and
narratives - is practically an idiot. He has nothing
to say that any sensible person should want to
listen to.
Now, some charge that our view of "God" is
ethnocentric.
They are anxious to bring in gods
which do not create, control, or know anything,
and which are completely
powerless,
futile
intangibilities
having no qualities
of matter,
energy, or even location. They wish to prove that
"God" is a "process", or a "consciousness",
or
some other non-descript vagueness which neatly
escapes having any properties assigned to itself so
that detractors could discuss the logical implications of them. Conceptually speaking, it is meaningless to say that "God" is a process or a consciousness. But once this piece of verbal sleightof-hand is let pass unchallenged,
the modern
religionist can point with triumph to things that
do exist, such as processes, consciousnesses, and
"prove" his "god" exists.
It works this way: First a religionist refuses to
concede that he believes in the "old" god. His
new god serves no purpose that he will define, so
it cannot be attacked, but only denied. Evidently,
then, religion has learned something from the
attacks by us Atheists: it has learned to be
non-specific. Thus, "God" is now "the wind", or
something else. But we must point out that this is
only an attempt to preserve the notion of a god
after the substance has been destroyed. Lacking
any separate function, such as being creator of
the universe, etc., the idea of a god is completely

to no purpose.
Not the least evidence exists that there is really
a god of any kind, and unless there is evidence, it
is harmful to believe that any such god exists,
because then the illogical way of thinking can be
extended to other areas of society, as indeed it
has. A civilization that holds that it is proper to
believe positively in something for which there is
no evidence at all, perverts the fundamental
structure of logic upon which human civilization
itself rests.
We Atheists
make a revolutionary
claim:
Nothing exists unless it can be proved to do
so-the
burden of proof being upon those who
assert. The advance of the human intellect has
been one long battle for this rational principle,
against a vicious host of advocates of all kinds of
nonexistent
things:
angels,
humours,
stellar
spheres, dragons, ends of the earth where the
explorer would drop off, warlocks and monsters,
and so on - and, lastly, "God". He who is too
weak to deny "God" perforce lives in a fantasy of
unseen presences-the
very walls may seethe with
extraordinary
witchery, and the neighbors turn
into toads at midnight.
There is no god. As expressed by religions, the
history of "God" is silly, unfactual, and con tradictory. As set forth by theologians, the idea of
"God"
is an argument that assumes its own
conclusions,
and proves nothing.
And as expressed socially, the belief in "God" is reactionary and harmful, standing forever in the way of
betterment of the human condition. -There is no
god; there are only churches with an interest in
preserving themselves. There is no god; there are
only people who believe because others told
them it was so. There is no god; there is only the
real world with its ugliness and beauty and
violence and peace and happiness and pain. If the
world is to be made beautiful and peaceful and
happy, "God" won't do it. We will.
~
In the preceding article, Fred Woodworth sums up the basic idea of Atheism in his last two sentences ... "If the world is to be made beautiful and peaceful and happy, 'God' won't do it. We will."
The editors of the American Atheist believe this piece of work by Mr. Woodworth deserves distribution
to the community in general. The American Atheist Press has printed Fred Woodworth's There Is No
God in pamphlet form and it is now available. There Is No God is priced at 50 for $1.00. Due to the cost
of postage, 50 is the minimum order.
Send $1.00 for each 50 copies of
There Is No God by Fred Woodworth
to AMERICAN ATHEIST PRESS
Texas state residents add 5% sales tax.
SEPTEMBER,
1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 24
No. 107-July 27,1970

Hello there,
This is Madalyn Murray O'Hair, American Atheist,
back to talk with you again.
Although we got little or nothing solid out of the
last discussion on the New Testament, I thought we
migh t try again.
Several programs back I talked to you about the
concept of casting out of devils. Jesus Christ was
excellent at doing this. If you want to take the account of Matthew, 8: 28-30, you find that in the
country
of the Gergesenes,
two persons were
possessed with devils and Jesus drove the devils into
a herd of swine, which ran and jumped into the sea.
On the other hand if you read Luke, 8:26, it was
one man, and there were so many devils in the one
man that when they were driven out the entire herd
of swine was filled with them and they ran and
jumped into the sea. This according to Luke all happened in Gadarenes.
Now I have these maps. And I have been having a
hard time with them. In order to make this come out
anywhere near right, Gergesenes and Gardarenes have
to be one and the same place, but I don't know why
two authors who were divine called the place by different names and why they didn't know if it was one
man or two or how many was in the herd of swine.
But, then like Voltaire thought about it - what was a
herd of swine doing being kept in a Jewish country?
The entire problem of the gospels contradiction of
each other is studied by theologians under the title of
"Synoptics of the Bible." The word synoptics means
to have an overall view. What the religionists do and you should do this too - is to cut out the parts
of the Bible and lay them side by side in four
different rows: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John ...
and see if you can get anyone of them to substantiate
the story of the other. Over and over the "timing"
of John is quite different from that of the other
writers, whether dealing with the same story or not.
For instance Luke v, 6 puts the miraculous draught
of fishes at the beginning of this ministry of Jesus.
John xxi, 11 actually puts it after his death and
resurrection.
The so-called Lord's Prayer was delivered during the Sermon on the Mount before the
people according to Matthew. Luke shows it was

before the disciples alone in xi, 1. It goes on and on.
Even such a world famous miracle as the feeding of
the multitude
is given contradictory
accounts.
Matthew, Mark and Luke say the food was brought
by the disciples (Matthew xiv, 15-17; Mark vi, 35-38:
Luke ix, 13). John says it was brought by a lad (John
vi, 9). According to John, Jesus walked across the
sea. According to Matthew and Mark he only walked
half way. Only Matthew relates that Peter also tried
to walk on the sea and failed. Mark and John do not
mention this. The raising of the widow's son from
death at Nain is only related in Luke. Luke alone also
relates the raising of Lazarus. The omission of these
accounts in the other gospels is unaccountable.
Matthew, Mark and Luke declare that the purging
of the temple was made a few days before the death
of Jesus. John says it was three years before his
death. He cursed the fig tree, according to Matthew,
after he purged the temple. Mark says he did it
before.
At the last supper the Eucharist was supposedly
instituted. The Eucharist for you non-religious people is the renewing of the idea of the sacrifice of
Christ's body and his blood. Matthew, Mark and Luke
says this was where it was invented. John says the
ceremony instituted or started here was the washing
of feet. John actually does not mention the Eucharist
and Matthew, Mark and Luke do not mention the
washing of the feet. Considering that the entire idea
of the Catholic Mass comes from this - this is incredible. John makes the whole thing into an ordinary
meal a day before the Passover. The rest make the
Last Supper take place on the Passover, it is the
Paschal meal. This is the eating of a lamb slain and
eaten on the Passover. This in turn is the celebration
by the Jews of their liberation from slavery in Egypt
and is celebrated on the 14th of Nisan. Surely, this
important holiday should have been more accurately
reported.
It never gets any better. Matthew ix, 9 says that
Jesus stilled the tempest before Matthew was called
from the receipt of custom. According to Mark, it
was after Matthew (or Levi) was called (Mark ii, 14
and Mark iv, 35-41).
Again the ministry of Jesus was mostly confined to
Judea according to John and lasted three years. The
other three say it was mostly in Galilee and lasted one
year.
Matthew and Mark make Jesus announce his betrayal at the Last Supper. John recounts it happening
after the meal. Matthew and John make Jesus say
who should betray him. Mark and Luke say he did
not. At another point Matthew and mark say that the
Jewish council who planned to arrest Jesus, decided
SEPTEMBER,
1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 25
(Fanciful Facts About Jesus)
not to do so on the feast day, the very day on which

the same writers say he was arrested. John says the
preliminary examination of the prisoner was before
Annas. The others say it was before Caiaphas.
Jesus was charged, according to all the Gospel
writers, with blasphemy, but there was no Jewish
law against anyone calling himself a "son" of god.
The Jews could not have asked for the death sentence
for blasphemy for that had long been abolished. The
Jews were forbidden
to hold any criminal trial
during the Passover, or any feast for that matter. The
Jews never employed crucifixion as a punishment.
Jesus was handed over to the Jews says. John.
Matthew and Mark say he was handed over to the
Roman soldiers. Peter says it was the Jews in Acts v,
30 but he says that Christ was simply "hanged on a
tree" .
On the way to the place of execution John says
Jesus carried the cross. Matthew, Mark and Luke
say that a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, carried
it. Mark says Jesus was crucified at "the third hour"
- that is our nine in the morning. Luke says it was
"the sixth hour" - our noon. But John says, at the
sixth hour Jesus had not been sentenced, and according to him the crucifixion took place much later.
Matthew says on the day of crucifixion ... and
I quote here, "Many bodies of the saints which slept
arose, and came out of their graves after his resurrection." None of the other Gospel writers even mention
this. The Roman historians did not see it - no one
else did.
The mother of Jesus, according to John, was
present at the Crucifixion. No one else names her
though they do mention Mary Magdalene. Poor
Joseph, as we have indicated had vanished for years
already then.
When was Jesus crucified? Let me quote Remsburg
who sums it up in his book The Christ. "Of 100
Christian authorities who attempted to name the year
in which Christ was crucified, twenty-three say the
year 29, eighteen say the year 30, nine say the year
31 , seven say the year 32, thirty-seven say the year 33
and six say the year 35, A.D."
That is only the beginning of the argument on the
date. The text of Matthew, Mark and Luke say it
occured on Friday the 15th of Nisan, John says it
was Thursday the 14th. And many Christian authorities have argued that this is all wrong because Jesus
had to be crucified on Wednesday the 13th in order
to give a clear three days before his resurrection.
Now - how old was Jesus when he died? Most
Christians say he was 33 which is a double of the
magic number 3, which is magic enough to have the
Father, Son and Holy Ghost worked into a holy
ATHEIST
- 26
trinity. So what do we do with Irenaeus who is a

revered church historian. He wrote in his book
Against Heresies, written perhaps about 180 A.D.,
that Jesus was over fifty years of age when he died.
He knew nothing about a crucifixion at all and I
quote his words: "Jesus came on to death itself,
that he might be the first born among the dead, that
in all things he might have the pre-eminence; the
Prime of Life, existing before all, and going before
all." Now, this would be nothing but words, words,
words, except for one thing: he claims he got this
'testimony'
from Poly carp who actually got it from
John who was 'the disciple of the Lord'. Now - who
is going to doubt information directly from one of
the twelve apostles, long before the time of Paul?
It's a nasty problem, all of it.
And, then, there is the matter of the Passover. As
I said a moment ago, this is the feast in which a lamb
is slain and eaten. There is much theological argument
that Jesus himself was the Paschal Lamb which was
eaten at the feast. Certainly the barbaric habit of
drinking the blood of Jesus, and eating the flesh of
Jesus, still a symbolic part of the mass would substantiate that this idea may have some substance.
But, let's take a look at the most important part of
the story of Jesus Christ: the resurrection. According
to John, Mary Magdalene alone first visited the tomb
on the morning of the Resurrection. But, Matthew
says it was Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. Mark
says it was Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of
James and Salome - but we know that they were the
brother and sister of Jesus, so it must have been
Mary, the mother of Jesus in this account. Luke says
Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James
and other women were there. Mark says they came
"at the rising of the sun". John says, "when it was
yet dark". Luke says the stone covering the tomb
had been rolled away. Matthew says the tomb was
closed. Matthew says the women met 'an angel'.
Mark says it was 'a young man'. Luke says it was
'two men'. John says it was 'two angels'. Matthew
says the angel was outside. Mark, Luke, and John
say the two they saw, either men or angels, were inside the tomb. Luke says they were standing.
Matthew, Mark and John says everyone was sitting.
Now, all of this is the inspired word of god and
men have been slaughtered by the millions over a
period of 1,675 years simply because god never got
his story right in the telling of it.
According to Matthew, the women actually saw
Jesus. According to Luke, they did not. Luke says
that only one disciple - Peter - visited the tomb.
John says there were two, Peter and John. John says
that Peter went into the sepulchre. Luke says he did
not - he merely looked into it and departed.

Now just for fun, let's throw the tales told by Paul
into this entire mess and see what comes out. This is
in respect to the appearances of Jesus after his death.
Matthew says Jesus appeared to the two Marys, and
to the eleven in Galilee. Mark says it was to Mary
Magdalene, to two of his disciples, and then to the
eleven at meat. Luke says the appearances were to
Cleophas and his companion, to the eleven, and to
others. The order is quite different in John, who has
first to Mary Magdalene, then to ten disciples, then
to the eleven, and finally to Peter, John and others.
But, Paul in 1 Corinthians xv, 5-8 gives a different
list. After the resurrection, Jesus was first seen by
Cephas, then by the twelve, then by "five hundred
brethern at once", then by James and all the apostles,
and finally by Paul himself "as of one born out of
due time". So - we have here stories that Jesus first
appeared to Mary Magdalene, or else it was the two
Marys, or else it was Cleopas and his companion.
Take your choice. If you choose Mary you're in
trouble. Matthew says Mary knew it was Jesus when
he first appeared to her. John says quite clearly, she
"knew not it was Jesus." Then of course according to
Matthew the appearance
to the disciples was in
Galilee, while according to Luke it was Jerusalem.
Five miles difference is nothing for a spook, I realize,
but for eleven men to cover that distance on foot,
it must have been a chore. In any event when they
say Jesus, according to Luke, the disciples were
"terrified and afrighted". John, however, says "The
disciples therefore were glad when they saw the
Lord. "
Since I am a woman I watch with a keen eye what
is said about women anywhere. So, I notice that according to Paul and to Luke, Jesus was not seen by
any woman after his resurrection. Keep that in mind
when you hear later all that Paul had to say about
women.
The only thing I have been discussing here are
actual concrete events upon which there should be
some agreement from writers who had a direct hot
line to god and could get all information first hand.
I have not touched on the theological ideas at all.
That is for a later session.
But, let's finish this up with the ascension. First,
only two of the evangelists even mention it: Mark
and Luke. Matthew and John say absolutely nothing
about it. The earliest manuscripts of Mark did not
give an account of the ascension either. What he says
in the later manuscripts is 16: 19 "So then after the
Lord has spoken unto them, he was received up into
heaven, and sat on the right hand of god." I can see
in my mind's eye all those pictures of Jesus Christ
which I saw in the Preshyterian
Sunday School
when he floated up into heaven, like a balloon on a

loose string, with beautiful white robes never even
rippling as he wafted up into the clouds. Luke says
something else, in 24: 51 "And it came to pass, while
he blessed them, he was parted from them and carried
up into heaven". As I look at these two meagre passages now I wonder where my church ever got the
idea for those pictures. None of this can really be
interpreted as an "ascension into heaven". Oh, dear,
I think we have all been had!
This informational broadcast is brought to you as a
public service by American Atheists, a non-profit,
non-political,
tax-exempt,
educational
organiztion
dedicated to the complete and absolute separation of
state and church. This series of American Atheist
Radio programs is continued through listener generosity. American Atheists predicates its philosophy on
materialism. For more information, or for a free copy
of this script, write P. O. Box 2117, Austin, Texas.
That zip is 78768. If you want a free copy of this
particular script ask for number 107. The address for
you, again, is P. 0. Box 2117, Austin, Texas, and that
zip is 78768.
I will be with you again, next week, same day of
the week, same time, same station. Until then, I do
thank you for listening-goodbye
for now.
~
THE BIBLE HANDBOOK

FOR ATHEISTS
Edited by Foote and Ball
A New American Atheist Press Book
Originally published in England in 1888, The Bible Handbook was in its 10th edition in
that country in 1953. For the
first time an American edition is
available.
Dr. Madalyn Murray O'Hair
has written the forward for this
first American edition published
by American Atheist Press. The
Bible Handbook for Atheists is
a must for every Atheist's library. It is a complete
guide to the total absurdity of the old and new
testament.
Paperback, 176 pages
$3.95
Send $3.95 for each copy of

The Bible Handbook for Atheists
Make checks or money order payable to:

AMERICAN ATHEISTS
(Texas state residents add 5% sales tax.)
SEPTEMBER,
1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 27
"
IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE
I've felt the velvet softness of a cocker spaniel's face

I've heard the raucous call of crow and jay
I've seen a desert sunset and touched mountain snow in
summer
I've shared a lover's tryst as night took day.
"
I have seen exotic colors bloom in tropical profusion

I have watched a miracle unfold called age.
I have cuddled baby creatures with a sudden rush of instinct

I have smelled salt ocean air and pine and sage
I have tasted milk and honey and the bitterness of gall

I've watched history which one day will be sieved
I have paid the piper dearly ... on occasion got home free
I've breathed deeply of existence
I have lived.
-ANGELINE
BENNETT
IF I WERE GOD
I'm glad that I'm not the Christian god
For my, what would I do?
To make them stop their bloody quarrels
Their feuds both old and new.
Give aid and comfort to them

For they alone were good.
And in my name they'd even bless
The hand upraised to kill
Asserting as they always do
To represent my will.
Imagine me as god would be

In heaven on a throne
While quarreling sects in every land
Claim me as their own.
I'd be asked to bless their battle ships

Their bombers, guns and shells
With which they turn a fruitful earth
Into a thousand living hells.
Their bloody hands upraised to me

Beseeching me to aid
The one against the other
As each their brother slayed.
I'm glad I'm not the Christian god

I'm afraid the job I couldn't fill.
But if I could, to hell they'd go.
As sure as I'm Sam Hill.
The priests of every fighting clan

Insisting that I should
-SAM HILL
THE NEW GENERATION
A baby is born, (a "clean white sheet.")
It's brain unblemished, clear and white.
Then some priest at baptismal meet
Upon this clear, clear sheet, will write.
With a priest's exact instructions,

How parents can help dwarf child's brains,
With some abject superstitution,
They help "forge" unnatural chains!
"Holy water," as rancid ink,

Used to "brand," the name he'll carry.
With Christians Brothers' wine to drink,
To help perform the treachery!
Help plant seed that festers the "mind"

That's designed to "block life's road-way".
Never to look around to "find"
A different, or better, way.
Preacher and parent first connive,

With aid of love's delirium
First to bring It, in world alive,
Then, to keep It forever "dumb."
Cursed by story of "Adam's Fall,"

The Fish story of Jonah's whale,
Ridiculous "miracles," all.
Each an Imaginary Tale!
-KARL E. PAULI
SPEAKING for WOMEN

annegaylor
Censorship And The Catholic Crunch
The "dead reactionary
hand of religion" is
always on us, as Madalyn Murray O'Hair is fond of
saying, and it even affects what we may read and
hear and see. In Madison, Wisconsin we were
reminded of this recently in a painful fashion when
the Catholic Women's Club succeeded in getting
the irreverent Mary Hartman moved to one o'clock
in the morning, an hour which effectively killed
viewing.
Madison is a liberal city, as accepting as any in
the country, with the exception of those on the
west coast. Yet much of the local media is controlled, not by liberals, but by "huckleberries".
Last season, when Mary Hartman debuted around
the country, no Madison TV station picked it up.
Madisonions got to read about Mary Hartman in
Time and Newsweek and the New York Times,
but it was a full year before the local NBC affiliate bought the first year of programming, and we
were able to join Mary Hartman fans. The program
soon became a bright spot of the day for many Mary Hartman particularly appeals to feminists.
A spoof of soap opera has a tonic effect for women
trying to fight the stereotype of being female. But
in Madison our enjoyment was doomed to end
prematurely, thanks to religion.
Perhaps it wasthat roadway strewn with nuns
or maybe just the general irreverence, but the
Catholic Women's Club of Madison decided they
knew what was best to "strengthen
the moral
fiber" of our community. What was best was to get
Mary Hartman dropped, or at least shifted to an
impossible time.
The Catholic Women's Club, 750-strong, first
waged a letters attack on the station. That effort
was not successful, because the station knew the
program was immensely popular. Then, switching
tactics, the Catholic women began a mail campaign
to get sponsors to drop their advertising on the
program, and in the words of Mrs. Hubert F. Alt,
president of the group, "It worked beautifully."
So, one Catholic group was able to dictate the
viewing of many thousands of Madisonians. The
program's time slot was filled with innocuous
drivel, and only those who can sleep until 10 a.m.
are able to see Mary Hartman. Needless to say,

Madison has not seen the anti-sexist "All That
Glitters" or that entertaining spoof of talk shows,
"Fernwood
Tonight." The Catholic crunch awes
the local media, much of it Catholic owned or
Catholic controlled.
Television viewing, of course, is a minor problem
in the fight against religion. We are seeing women's
rights hard hit by religious groups in every area.
Under the leadership of Catholic Phyllis Schaflay,
the attack on the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
has effectively halted its ratification. International
Women's Year delegations, conceived to further
women's rights, have been taken over in several
states by religions. All the delegates to the national IWY conference from Hawaii, for example, will
be Mormons, even though Mormons comprise only
three per cent of Hawaii's population. Since the
U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1973 upholding
legal abortion,
a religious crusade has been
mounted against women's right to choose abortion.
If Congress will not vote for a Constitutional
Amendment to ban abortions, the religious fanatics
are prepared to call for a Constitutional
Convention to abolish abortions-in
line with sectarian
teachings. A new goal of the Catholics is to axe
Planned Parenthood's
funding, because contraception is still evil in the eyes of the Catholic
Church. This spring a Planned Parenthood clinic
in St. Paul-Minneapolis was bombed and burned
-a total loss. The culprit was not found, but who
else would be interested in doing such a ridiculous
thing but some religious nut!
Feminists have been slow to realize that religion
is the enemy. But with the blatant funding of the
anti-abortion
effort by the Catholic Church and
the takeover of the effort to achieve women's
equality by anti-ERA religionists, more feminists
are coming to see clearly that sexism has its roots
in religion.
Elizabeth 'Cady Stanton said it best over a
century ago: "The Bible and the Church have been
the greatest stumbling blocks in the way of women's emancipation."
3!E
SEPTEMBER,
1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 29
(Arguments for Abortion And Against Current Legislation Opposed to Abortion, continued from page 20.)
is prevented
from aborting
by metaphysical,
Catholic and religious dogma and belief. She is
thus deprived of choice and control of her body.
The abortion issue shows that beliefs in souls,
spirits, angels, of all types have specific negative
consequences e.g., disallow a poor or dying woman
to abort her 19th child.
Metaphysical
anti-abortion
arguments
cause
harm. One is in effect asked to accept. metaphysics.
Consider a woman before an inquisition-like examining board saying, "I need an abortion because
I am poor, ill, without a husband," and receiving
the reply, "We must now examine the theological
and metaphysical question of the nature, of being
and the soul, whether or not the embryo is a person, and what might offend (as Pope John XXIII
says) 'The divine majesty.' " Belief in soul is the
basic issue. Looking for a soul in a fetus is inquisition-like. It is like looking for witches in people.
The Bible says, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to
live." Also the abortion medical examining boards
are like inquisitions.
Appeal to Lack of Knowledge And
Confusion to Gain Power
The abortion issue is a way the Catholic church
attempts to appeal to the public's confusion about
Lucifer's Handbook
SCIENTI FIC HUMANISM
is the most widespreadreligious philosophy of the
20th century. But this philosophy assumes
a nontheistic universe. LUCIFER'S HANDBOOK is
a simplified explanation of why modern
intellectuals reject traditional religious concepts.
life and death in order to gain power by authority

and by the argument from ignorance.
Pictures And Shock Technique
of Anti-Abortionists
technique
of presenting
greatly magnified pictures of the fetus for shock
effect may be nullified by the horror pictures of
mothers who die because of illegal abortion or
childbirth, beaten or murdered unwanted children,
monstrous births, famine and disease due to overpopulation,
mothers
who commit
suicide or
become psychotic due to having unwanted children, women whose whole life is made miserable
due to children she neither physically, financially
or psychologically can care for.
Birth As Act of God Or Love
One may mistakenly confuse or associate having
a child with an act of nature, an act of love, or love
of god, or love of life, etc. Having a baby is not inevitable or a symbol of an act of god or the devil
or any mystical figure. If one loved life and people
he should rather look at the arguments for and
against as well as the consequences. It is argued
After 20 years of research,an outstanding

collegeprofessor has compiled all of the arguments
for the existence of god that have been
proposed throughout the centuries. Thesearguments, and all of the objections to them,
have been condensedand simplified so that any
high school student can understand the entire
controversy in one evening.
~--------------------------------------------------------------Yes! I want
copies of Lucifer's Handbook, by Lee Carter at $5.00 per copy. Please
find enclosed $
(Make check or money order payable to AMERICAN
ATHEISTS, P. O. Box 2117, Austin, Texas 78768.) Or charge to my:
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SEPTEMBER,
1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 30
)
I
JI
~
LUCIFER:S HANDBOOK
Lee Carter, Ph.D.
Lucifer's Handbook
is a 160 page paperback
book,
5Y4" x 8Y4" in size. The type is clear, the paper is

bright white, giving a wholesome touch to this small
book. The title is unfortunate since it adds some substance to the concept of Satan ism.
This is one of the best of the summaries of arguments for and against the god idea that this editor
has seen. There are at best, just a handful of arguments for god concepts. One would think that in the
8,000 years of human history that we have on hand,
one argument - the very existence of god - would be
compelling enough to have caused every person to
bow the knee. However, since god has not manifested
himself (herself, itself) it has become the burden of
those who create god concepts to justify the idea before mankind.
Arguments for and against god have roughly fallen
in to just several categories. Basically there are five of
these. First, there is the direct sensory experience.
This is real to the person having the hallucination of
a confrontation with god. The second theory set has
to do with "intuition" or "mystical insight" that is an
internal encounter with god, not having to do with
sensory experience. The third theory set is one of
"faith". In this one accepts that someone else has had
a direct sensory experience with god, or has had an
intuitional perception of the same. The fourth theory
set depends on authority. The authorities fall into
different categories also:
The authority of an institution-the
church.
The authority of a book-the Bible, the Koran, the
Veda, the Upanishads, etc.
The authority of an individual-Moses,
Mohammed, Krishna, Thor, Ra.
The fifth theory set is one of argumentation and depends on "logic" and "rational" proof. Usually these
are based on what is called a priori grounds ... this
is "self evident truths" which the religionists conjure
up.
The author of this book, Lee Carter, Ph.D. (incidentally, that is a pseudonym) deals with two categories into which he divides god-theories, those which
come from "revealed" theology and those which
come from "natural theology.

In "revealed" theology he finds five arguments.
Example: argument (b) "We know it is true because
millions of people have believed it, lived and died by
it." His rebuttal is exactly the right kind for a layman
who has advanced this argument: Millions of people
have believed it, but in the thousands of years of
human recorded history, at least double that many
have not believed it, not lived by it and not died by
it.
In "natural" theology he reviews the teleological
argument, the a priori argument, the cosmological
argument, the ontological argument, the moral argument, Pascal's wager and the argument from E.S.P.
Don't be frightened away by the big words. That is
part of the religious game. The religionists beat ideas
to death with words. The author puts easily into your
grasp a complete understanding
of what the argument is and shows how easily it is refuted.
There is a fine section of the book having to do
with contradictions in the Bible which have not been
covered by prior researchers. This is interwoven with
conflicts of modern beliefs with those posited by the
Bible.
The author says he is writing a "simplified critique
of popular religion" and he is right. He puts this in
laymen's terms so that one can meet and counter all
the religious arguments.
Since the book is good, naturally the author could
not find a publisher who would take it. Because of
this, he was forced to have it typeset and printed
himself, by an independent printer. This caused the
price of the book to be increased. The author could
not afford to print 50,000 copies as do the big
publishers in the United States when they pour out
religious trash. Printing in huge quantities brings
down the unit cost of any book. Since the author
could only afford a limited printing, his unit cost is
high. However, the book is a good one and in order
to win an argument at work, with relatives, the
ordinary Atheist, can afford the $5.00 it costs for the
psychological benefits he receives as a "winner" in
a debate.
(See advertisement, page 30.)
SEPTEMBER,
1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 31
(Arguments for Abortion And Against Current Legislation Opposed to Abortion, continued from page 30.)
that if one loves people and life he will support unrestricted abortion. Do not feel guilty about having
an abortion.
Familiarity
Argument
To argue that abortion is wrong because it is not

a familiar practice in our culture during our lifetime is unjustified. We cannot argue that war is
right merely because it is a familiar or customary
practice. Actually, common law in England (13271803) and America (1607-1830) allowed a woman
to terminiate pregnancy at will. The early antiabortion laws were based on religion and poor antiseptic technique. Now techniques are excellent.
Only the familiar religious argument remains. Antiabortionists are often persuaded by a misguided
sentiment. It is not humane to act merely from
pity or sympathy. The arguments and full consequences must be looked into.
Appeal to Sentiment
And Ignorance
Anti-abortionist
groups appealed to the confusions of the average person, to sentiment, to
mother instinct, to spirits and souls, to threat of
hell and the afterlife, to confused uses of ethical
terms; to arguments from ignorance or uncertainty.
Argument from "Nature"
Do not think "Abortion is wrong because it is
not natural." "Natural" is another medieval and
obscure term used as a way to try to convince us
that only one way is right. Abortion is as "natural"
as birth. Man "naturally" controls his environment
and must do so if he is to survive. Bacteria are "natural" but Jome are harmful and cause disease.
Disease is ':;hatural." It is not adequate to say that
having children is a "natural" female instinct or
needed for natural femal sexual development. You
do not need a baby to be a woman or to be
feminine. You don't need to be passive or submissive or home-bound to be a woman. Having an
abortion may be a "natural" female development
which allows a woman to be more sexually adequate and emotionally,fulfilled.
If a woman thinks
she must have children to be feminine or be a
woman then should she keep having twenty or
more children?
The Conscience Argument
Conscience
SEPTEMBER,
is no guide to whether
1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
abortion
- 32
is
right or wrong. Conscience is based merely on what

we happened to learn or be told in our culture.
Rather we should base our decisions on honest,
open, rational inquiry and intelligent and informed
discussion. Conscience is no substitute for clear
argument. Appeal to conscience as a guide in itself is another way to promote blind prejudices.
Catholics Oppose Sex
The Catholics oppose and opposed sterilization
and contraception.
The negative consequences of
that are too vast to mention. Abortion is a similar
issue. The church denied preventative measures and
denied abortion as well. Catholics traditionally
held that sex is for the purpose of procreation.
The effect is to deny sex or kill woman by overbearing of children.
The Catholic Position
The Catholic Hospital Associaton has the principle that every unborn child must be regarded asa
human person with all the rights of a person from
the moment of conception.
J
"Person"
A;gument
For the Catholic the embryo has same status as

mother. Pope Pius XII: "Even the unborn child,
being in the same degree and by the same title as
its mother." On this view the mother does not have
right to her body. She is merely equal to and on
the same level as an embryo. Since about one of
three fertilized eggs never becomes implanted in
the uterus but is released at menstruation,
each of
these released eggs would be a person.
"Is the fetus really a person?" This is a misleading question because it suggests that there is some
absolute criterion for "person." There is none. It
is people who choose what to call a person and
that choice depends on our goals and the consequences of the description. But why call the fetus
a person? It doesn't look or act anything like a
person. In any case, it makes no sense to ask if
the fetus or embryo is really a person. Because the
embryo is not what we usually mean by person it
need not be murder to abort it. No humane purpose seems to be served by regarding the embryo as
a person. In the 1973 Supreme Court decision,
Justice Blackmun stated, "The unborn have never
been recognized in the law as persons in the whole
sense."
~
(To be continued in The American Atheist, October 1977 issue.)
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!I

American Atheist Magazine Sep 1977

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THIS

The Church And The Left

Vol. 19, No.9

THE AMERICAN ATHEIST MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER, 1977/AMERICAN ATHEIST - 2

(Dec. I-Dee. 28, 1973). He badgered

told us about how god made us."

The Church Seeks A

'Churches have accepted a

relations between the West and the Third World

SEPTEMBER, 1977/AMERICAN ATHEIST - 4

model is obviously a long way from the church's

~ long way from

'Some believe church

Catholic scholar Hans Kung. Writing on "social

(We Have A Question)

tion: are you going to let the "born-again"

Vatican Wants Federal

school," the authority of the church's hierarchy

(Funds Misused by Church)

Computer Utilities came up short of the money

FIRM'S OFFICER QUITS

Public Fund Report

reports of mu lti-rn ill ion dollar

vvheres The Wall Between

Church And State?

PtQPlE ~EATEN AND STA'BLJ V,

HAVlN6 WEIR BEAVS CUT

OFfl vmAT DO THEY

(Where's The Wall Between Church And State")

Or another: What about laws mandating Sunday

Book Challenges Belief

SEPTEMBER, 1971/AMERICAN ATHEIST - 10

The battle was speedily joined. A group of I

___-.... EXTENSION Magazine

If you can't take it with you, why go?

If the answer is yes, join us. If not, you are consigning

towards the achievement of extended youth and vitality.

Clip and return to

Yes, enroll me as a subscriber. Enclosed is $

U Please send a sample copy. Enclosed is $2 to cover cost and shipping .

SEPTEMBER, 1977/AMERICAN ATHEIST -11

(Book Challenges Belief

years of Biblical scholarship available, I feel

SEPTEMBER, 1977/AMERICAN ATHEIST -12

tion of a religious body by the government ... r

"As Mr. Flaherty wrote in his brief yesterday,

AMERICAN ATHEIST POST CARDS

American Atheist Press

SEPTEMBER, 1977/AMERICAN ATHEIST -13

(Con Ed Execs Find God)

It was the legal department's

BIBLE BApTIST BOOKSTORE

Power Today by Avro Nanhaunan

The Nonexistence of God Is A Scientific Fact

The proof: A scientific fact is a close agreement of

SEPTEMBER, 1977/AMERICAN ATHEIST -14

SEPTEMBER, 1977/AMERICAN ATHEIST - 15

Here, now and go

DETROIT: How does an ordained rabbi, a spiritual

d iIn heaven, 1'.-1

tion I've heard a thousand times before. It's not that

Judaism. The only real world to us is the

ore lnfcrmctlerrebeut the place ... "