Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Vol. 19,
EDITORIAL
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
NEWS
Brainwashing by Big Religion
.
Churches Defy Laws
.
Religion Intolerance Again .
Carter Advocates Rei igion ..
Religious Judge Investigated
FEATURE ARTICLES
Bible-belt Journalism/Speaking for women: Anne Gaylor
Catholic Propaganda in Press, TV And Radio/Shibles Corner:
Warren Shibles
Rob~rt G. Ingersoll/A Sketch of His Career, Carl Shapiro
Spirit, Soul, And Mind/Frank R. Zindler
AMERICAN ATHEIST RADIO SERIES
Ingersoll on The Holy Bible
FREETHOUGHTPOETR~
No.7
July, 1977
2
3
.4
.6
.. 9
. 11
.12
18
20
26
28
23
30
MAGAZINE
RENEWAL
ON THE COVER
In late June, the American Atheist
Center was moved to a new location .
This prestigious building, in the center
of northwest Austin, has one of the finest
'addresses' of which the city can boast.
Beautifully landscaped in the style of
the American southwest, the entrance is
an architectural delight of Spanish influence. Palmyra, palm trees and pinoak trees
add the final touch.
The building has thirty-two offices
and work areas, richly paneled or framed in
brickwork. Old red Spanish tile, or thick
carpentry enhance the feel of a luxury
building. Richly textured orange, brown and
green lined drapes give protection from the
sun on the arched windows set into the
brick.
It is just exactly the building of dignity,
of integrity, that matches the image American Atheism is here to stay.
This is the end of "a struggling effort"
of a few people and a few families and the
beginning of an important corporate thrust
to obtain the civil libertarian rights which
have been denied to American Atheists
since the inception of our nation.
You may be proud of this citadel of
rational thought as it presents in a very
physical way the solidness which the organization has now found.
"Open house" will extend to all members and subscribers of the magazine during
the ensuing summer months. Come and
see - come and identify with us - come
and be proud of the heritage we, - and you,
build.
(See center spread for the 'Inside Story")
_
MOVING?
Name
Address
~~I
---'J
JULY, 1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST - 2
~
And, now, we really need your help. Mustering all of
our resources, we managed to wipe out $120,000 of the
cost of the building, but we have a mortgage of $140,000.
We are doing our part: we work here night and day - to
say nothing of day and night. Won't you help now by put
ting your money where your heart is?
We would like to payoff
the mortgage as soon as we
possibly can - along with its 9Y:.%(gulp) interest rate.
Anything you can do to help will be appreciated. We
will even take a dollar, a dime, a hundred, a thousand anything.
American Atheism has a home. Let's make it a paid-of
one. And, then, we can go from there.
Editor
(See illustration of Building Fund Barometer, page25.)
D1P~
~o~
~11
a fifuIDre----:-:------:----:--::----:-~
Dear Editor:
At the Convention, I, and I believe
just about everyone else was very
frustrated during the selection of the
"Hypocrit of The Year." We were far
more repulsed by the likes of Anita
Bryant and John Conlon than we were
by Eldridge Cleaver or the Porno
Priest. But Bryant and Conlon did not
fit the category.
It occurred to me (unfortunately,
after I left the convention) that, in
focusing on the Hypocrit, we are
missing a splendid opportunity
to
demonstrate the irrationality
and
bankruptcy of religiously based morality.
I propose that American Atheists
establish an award to be (tentatively)
known as the "Religionist of The Year
Award". This award will go to the
religious person who, during the preceding year, has by word or deed acted
the most repugnantly while being
motivated by and acting consistently
with his or her religious beliefs.
If we had had this award at the
Convention, the winner (probably
Anita Bryant) would have been chosen
with far more feeling and enthusiasm
than was shown for the Hypocrit
award.
While I know that you are unbelievably busy, I would appreciate hearing reaction from you, others at the
Center, or any other member. I am, of
course, open to any improvements in
the content or wording of my pro-
magazine,
the
eminent
American
author, Gore Vidal, admits to Atheism.
During an interview, in which he expresses distaste for Judeo-Christianity,
he makes the statement,
"I'm an
Atheist." (This is on page 26 of the
magazine).
(2) Noted
anthropologist
and author, Dr. Ashley Montagu, expressed Atheist thoughts on a recent
"Phil Donahue"
show. Although he
used words like skeptic, "agnostic",
and doubter; it seemed to be Atheist
to me. (3) There are two interesting
books which I have recently read:
"The Cosmic Connection" by Dr.
Carl Sagan, gives a brilliant account
of the theory of evolution, and also
some insight into how the scientific
community views the "God" concept.
....,...._____,
JULY, 1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
DEPROGRAMMER
JAILED
(UPI-Denver)
- A federal judge in Denver
denied a request by religious deprogrammer Ted
Patrick that he be credited with jail time servedin
California. U.S. District Judge Alfred Arraj did not
give any reasons for the denial. Patrick of San
Diego was convicted in 1974 of abducting two girls
to deprogram their religious beliefs. Denver District
Judge Zita Weinschienk last April sentenced
Patrick to one year in prison but suspendedthe
sentence on the condition he not become involved
in any similar cases. Patrick was sentencedto ajail
term in California the next year on a conviction
for abducting a 19-year-old member of the Hare
Krishna sect.
The news which fills one half of the magazine is chosen to demonstrate, month after month, the dead reactionary hand of religion. It dicta
good habits, sexual conduct, family size, it censures cinema, theater, television, even education. It dictates life values and lifestyle. Religion'
politics and, always, the most authoritarian and reactionary politics. We editorialize our news to emphasize this thesis. Unlike any other
zine or newspaper in the United States, we are honest enough to admit it.
.
JULY, 1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
-4
George Robeson
c..u
U..J
Vatican real-estate
deals 'net mil/ions'
VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican and its
religious orders own at least a quarter of Rome's
real estate and have sold some of their holdingsat
great profit without paying Italian taxes, a magazine said.
L'Europeo, a major independent weekly, said
the transactions - some involving millions of
dollars - turned historic religious buildings into
modern hotels and banks.
The magazine said the Holy See's holdingsex
tend from buildings in the heart of Rome'shistoric
center to over 5,100 acres on the outskirts of the
Italian capital. It said the holdings include extensive property around the Piazza Navona, the Colosseum and the Spanish Steps and plush Parioli
sections.
The Vatican withheld immediate comment,but
Vatican observers said L'Europeo's report did not
seem "scandalistic and appeared within reason."
The Vatican is the center of Roman Catholicism
and the world's smallest state, with an areaof
108.7 acres. But L'Europeo said it controlled "
real empire" in real estate holdings exemptedfr
taxes through the 1929 concordat that regul
relations between the Holy See and the Itali
government.
THE HUMAN RACE HAS SUFFERED FOR CENTURIES AND IS STILL SUFFERING FROM THE MENTAL DISORDER
KNOWN AS RELIGION, AND ATHEISM IS THE ONLY PHYSICIAN THAT WILL BE ABLE TO
EFFECT A PERMANENT CURE.
JULY, 1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
-6
n:h."
National Council's resolution, approved
dissent, urgesthe interfaith organization's
churches to adopt similar procedures.
ber churchesincluded such vast organasBaptists,Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyer how many ministers will preach on
orderin coming summer Sundays.
rmerchild evangelist
urges belief in self
By LORRAINE RUFF
Correspondent,The Oregonian
LLIS - In 1950, at the age of 4, child
Marjoe married a couple, a marriage
challengedall the way to the California
Court. He was the first and last ordained
21 to perform such a rite.
the time the curly-topped preacher in
was7, he wasworldly wise.
and still is a very big business," the
Marjoe told a standing-room-only
n State University as part of the
CONference,a celebration of illusion
.now a successful film and television
it wasn't hard to leave the ministry
neverreally believed in what it was he
'from the beginning. "But the people
me.And the bottom line is that I was
service.All entertainers get paid for
I alwaystook the offerings after the
said."And only those people who
hadbeenhelped made an offering,"
anyth ing."
Looking back, Marjoe said he found himself
taking positive things out of perhaps negative
experiences.
"If my mother tormented me about learning all
those sermons, it just means now I can step out on
a sound stage and have a script memorized in a
very short time," he said.
The Examiner
$15MHlion
A Year
GREEDY
REV. IKE
Like
countless
other
preachers and con men, Rev.
Ike
bilks
the
public-the
poor,
black public-of
$15
million a year while screaming, "I used to be black until
I turned myself green."
Rev. Ike, whose real name
is Frederick
Eikerenkoetter,
cares nothing of what people
think of him. "Don't wait for
pie-in-the-sky
by-and-by
when you die. Get your pie
now-with
ice cream on top,"
he preaches.
Ike, who believes "There
are no poor people,
only
people who are not aware of
the
riches
of god within
them,"
has 16 Rolls-Royces,
six deluxe homes and tailored
suits that cost up to $1,000.
Though Ike gets a relatively modest salary-$50,000
a
year-he
has an unlimited
expense
account.
And he
JULY, 1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
-8
"I
'What
thought
to
kind of god is
sittmq up in heaven
I'm down here catching
That's when I decided
out of the ghetto and i
mo' (money)."
When he was 14, he
preaching
in
ba
Though he claims to
degree in religion, Ike
to reveal what sch
attended.
Ike married Eula
the 1960's, and she 0
the United Church's h
in real estate, publishi
various educational
tions.
The couple h.
son, Xavier, 11.
Ike, who receives
two
million letters a
-most
filled with
proclaims,
"I don't
you think I'm god,
as you think the same
about yourself."
Is He Satanist Or Scholar?
lastspring,
advice Controversial Figure
to school
to a ban
.... a monk? Satan?
nsored
and nearly a year before Smith was
unting and typing teacher without
official reason.
ght nothing more about the little
I this year, when it resurfaced among a
mors, complaints and accusations
hiswife, Judee,an English teacher.
s wife, who wouldn't allow her name
id recently. "1 haven't seen it, mind
say he has a figure of the Devil in,
heworships."
is an inexpensive, lacquered monk
t bearing a small white cross and
ing a book. Mrs. Smith bought it for
'x or sevenyears ago in a Myrtle
, "It's not a religious symbol,
s had respectfor the Benedictine
it's just kind of a spiritual link with
through the ages.The monks were
studied and thought and led us
Ages."
rship is reflected in a 3-inch-thick,
k stamped with gold lettering:
usingPublic Funds for Religious
reted by Federal Court Decie doctoral disertation and it
fN.
rch 7 meeting, Laney told of an enI yearsago with a young man who
from Pfeiffer Collegeand was teaching
on satanism at Albermarle High
't certain that was Smith. "From
, I thought it was right and if it wasn't,
r Smith denied ever teaching
at
Igh School or teaching satanism anythe Rev. Wendell Davis, pastor of
tist Church in Charlotte and a
nationaladvisory council of Ameria Baptist dominated group, called
chap" and an honest man who "is
"
II
II
II
Judge Investigated
"If it [the U.S. Constitution] can be interpreted
to mean that a man can't serve the Lord where he
is, it should not only be rewritten, it should be
taken out," Goodwin said after learning of the
investigation.
Goodwin said he interprets the meaning of the
separation of church and state clause to be "that
the church will not rule the country."
When the Santa Clara County Human Relations
Commission wrote to Goodwin deploring the
action, he sent back this reply:
"Whether you like it or not, the commission is
an instrument of god. It is better that you know
this now, while you have time to straighten out
your own thinking rather than find out later when
it is too late and claim surprise."
The State Judicial Commission took its first
action in February, informing Goodwin it had
launched an investigation into charges he violated
the separation of church and state doctrine and
had "brought the judicial office into disrepute."
When the judge replied by publicly warning
commissioners to worry about their own salvation,
they sent him another memorandum "telling me
to keep my mouth shut," Goodwin said.
Within hours after he received it, Goodwin
gavethe memorandum to the press.
The commission was silent for about two
months after that but sent another letter warning
him to choose between "your ministry and your
civil responsibilities."
The letter also said his actions impinge on the
rights of members of other rei igions and nonbelievers.
Goodwin denies that he wants everyone to
become a Baptist. He said in an interview that he
would permit a Jewish defendant to attend a synagogue as a condition of probation or a Moslem to
visit a mosque.
"But I don't think they'd get anything out of
it," Goodwin added. "I'd pray that they find the
error of their ways."
There are no comments as to where the judge
would tell an Atheist to go.
In response to the State Judicial Commission's
warning, Goodwin wrote: "Destruction must come
to any nation, to any judicial system, which rests
Judge Overruled
One of the go-to-church sentences handed down
by Bible-toting Municipal Court Judge Hugh Wesley Goodwin has been ruled unconstitutional by
the presiding judge of the Fresno County Superior
Court.
An 18-year-old admitted rapist who was being
held in the California Youth Authority facility in
Stockton for violating that term of his sentence
was recently freed as a result of the reversal.
.
Sentencing criminals to go to church instead of
prison violates the sparation of church and state
provisions of the U.S. Constitution and the California Constitution, Superior Court Judge Hollis
G. Best ruled.
The government, including judges, is banned
from ordering anyone to attend or avoid any religious services or beliefs as a condition to anything,
Best ruled.
"The court, as an arm of the state, is prohibited
from using its power to compel a person to attend
church," the judge's written decision says.
"Despite a laudable secular purpose of rehabilitation, such has a primary effect which advances
religion. As the record here indicates, it involves
the court and the probation officer in active participation with the church as a means of monitoring compliance by the probationer with his probation.
"The court makes itself both a sponsor and a
participant in rei igious activity."
The decision upholds Goodwin's motives for
more than
200 go-to-church
misdemeanor
sentences since Gov. Brown appointed him to the
bench last year.
lilt is apparent, however, that the condition was
imposed not for punishment, deterrence or reparation, but for a different purpose specifically
recognized (by law), that of reformation and rehabilitation of this youthful offender," Best's decision says.
The ruling came in a writ of habeus corpus application filed by Fresno Public Defender Melvin
Nitz In behalf of Samuel Allen Alford, who was
given a year's suspended sentence Dec. 30 on the
condition he attend St. Rest Baptist Church.
Alford who pleaded guilty to raping a girl, failed
to attend the church, however, and was ordered
to the Stockton facility in February.
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE?
Churches Say No
The Washington Star
Legislation now before a House subcommittee
requiring financial .disclosure by all organizations
soliciting charitable contributions by mail is unacceptable to religious organizations, according to
testimony by several religious spokesmen, Baptist
Pressreports.
lilt is not acceptable because ... it violates the
constitutional requirement that church and state
be separated," John W. Baker, associate director
in charge of research services of the Baptists Joint
Committee on Public Affairs, told the Postal Personnel and Modernization Subcommittee of the
House Post Office and Civil Service Committee.
U.S. Rep. Charles H. Wilson, D-Calif., chairman of the subcommittee, re-introduced the measure after it failed to reach the House floor in the
last Congress. The bill "would require organizations solicitng charitable contributions from the
public to disclose at the time of solicitation some
basic information concerning how the money
collected is actually spent," Wilson said.
Baker asserted that H. R. 41's provisions for
establishment of uniform accounting systems and
the development of procedures to assure compll-
an amendment to the bill exempting religious organizations," he said. "This is a serious First
Amendment problem in my view. The track record
of the federal government in the area of regulation
is bad. It frequently becomes harrassment."
Wilson opposes any exemptions, including religious organizations, as do most charitable organizations like the American Lung Association, the
National Kidney Foundation and others.
Both Harkins and Baker expressed the fears of
churches about regulations which would be created
to enforce the bill. "Regulatory agencies often
adopt elaborate and subtle definitions which go beyond the intent of Congress, even where the congressional intent is clear," Harkins noted.
Baker conceded, "We are gun-shy because of
such things as the I RS regulations on 'integrated
auxiliaries' of the church which far exceed the
intent of Congress and attempt to define the
ministry of a church."
Rep. Gene Taylor, R-Mo., also questioned the
effect of the bill. "My concern is for the thousands
of small churches all across the country trying to
do their job. Congress has unintentionally imposed
bureaucratic boondoggles on people by passing
laws without thinking of the consequences. I want
to know if the First Baptist Zion Church of
Theodocial, Mo., will have to fill out a lot of forms
because they wrote me for a contribution. I'm
not a member of that church but my mother was
and I went to Sunday school there as a boy."
Dill objected to the provision which would require a statement as to what percentage of the
money collected was used for the actual charity
and what went for administrative costs.
Church's Anti-Gun
Lobby Under Fire
By Robert Herzberg
Spotlight
VATICAN AMBASSADOR?
Our Sunday Visitor
Almost since the founding of the nation, the
United States has had diplomatic contact with the
Vatican. In 1848 full diplomatic relations were
established but in 1867 Congress passed a bill
prohibiting any appropriations for formal relations with the Vatican.
Since that time this nation has kept in contact
with the Vatican, sometimes through special envoys, sometimes through the ambassador to Italy.
A quarter of a century ago there was talk of reestablishing full diplomatic relations but that
broughtsuch furor the whole idea was dropped.
But in mid-May the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee adopted an amendment to a State
Department funding bill that would allow the
present Administration
to establish diplomatic
relationswith the Vatican if it wished to do so.
A complaint filed in Washington with the Internal Revenue Service charges that the Board ofChurch and Society of the United Methodist
Church is acting as a tax-exempt front for the
National Coalition to Ban Handguns.
If true, it violates conditions of the tax exemption granted the church organization. The organization could lose its exempt status for church
work and be forced to pay back taxes.
The anti-gun group would also lose its chief
source of funds: contributors who take a tax reduction by giving to an anti-gun lobby through the
church organization.
The complaint was filed by the Citizens Com,
mittee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
The complaint referred to a brochure published
by the anti-gun group which states it is "financialIy administered" by the church group. It is further
charged that "individuals inquiring about the
exempt status" of the anti-gun group are "pro(Continue on page 19.)
The'INSIDE STORY'
/'
JULY, 1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 17
'
Blhle-helt JournalisDl
All of us, no matter what part of the country we
hail from, are subjected regularly to "Bible-belt
journalism". The local reporters dish it out, and
so do the national wire services. I refer specifically
to the "miracle" and "narrow escape" story that
credits all happy endings with the power of prayer.
One of the midwest's leading daily newspapers is
the Milwaukee .Journal. It thinks it is good, journalism professors tell their students it is good, and it
has wide readership in Wisconsin. My own opinion
of it is that it has always been a somewhat sterile
newspaper. Except for one excellent, irreverent
social and political cartoonist, the paper tries so
hard to be objective that it has lost its own personality in the process. But one area where objectivity is regularly by-passed is in its reporting of the
efficacy of prayer.
Earlier this year a woman, who was never apprehended,
kidnaped
an eight-month-old
baby
at a shopping center in Greendale, a Milwaukee
suburb. The baby was being wheeled in his stroller
by his five-year-old brother while his mother
shopped,
when-the
kidnaper approached
the
older boy and asked if he were looking for his
mother. Although the boy responded that he was
not, the woman wheeled the stroller away. A
short time later the child was found unharmed in
a grocery cart at another shopping mall. The
Tournal's coverage of this incident was titled:
"BLESSED EVENT; KIDNAPED BABY FOUND
IN OUTPOURING OF PRAYER".
The .Journal reporter pulled out all the religious
stops in writing the story. "BABY RECOVERED
AMID TIDE OF PRAYER" was the secondary
headline,
and "The
power
of prayer came
through," was the mother's opening quote. The
story went on to describe how the mother, after
reporting the kidnaping to police, phoned a friend
and "fellow" member of the Schoenstatt movement of the Catholic Church, and asked her to
pray that the woman who took the child would
have a "change of heart". This woman phoned
others and asked them to pray.
"By the time all the phone calls were completed,
we had 200 persons whose prayers were storming
heaven," the mother is quoted as saying.
Prayers are still being said, according to the
Journal, for the woman who took the baby so that
she will get "what she really needs-a child of her
JULY, 1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST -18
(Bible-belt J ournaJism)
Fellow
Atheist
Realtors
Let's exchange referrals
and referral fees.
JULY, 1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 19
CSlttd-tu'e(J't~,'U'M't~SM4te4-
as much as
to take over
It is propathoroughly.
Second Vatican Council, The Decree on The Instruments of Social Communication: "Whether
and prejudice.
Spanish Catholics especially are violently antiSemitic. Hitler's anti-Semitic line appealed to many
Catholics in Germany as elsewhere. The Catholic- .
Jewish marriage is frowned on even more than the
Catholic-Protestant
marriage. For mixed marriages
to be allowed the non-Catholic is required to be
instructed in Catholicism, all children are required
to be baptized and raised as Catholics, and the only
ceremony will be the Catholic ceremony. Catholics
do not recognize marriages by non-Catholic ministers or civil authorities. Before 1966 this would
result in excommunication.
For the Catholic, Protestantism is often regarded
as even more dangerous than communism. Canon
1937: "Catholic children must not attend nonCatholic, neutral, or mixed schools." "Too often
the Irish Catholics in America have lived, thought,
voted, played, married, and gone to school as Irish
Catholics rather than as citizens of the United
States." Pluralism or allowing a plurality of views
in society is the view of the state. But it is not the
view of, for example,
the Catholic religion.
Catholics favor pluralism to have their religion
favored but their own religion is absolutely opposed to pluralism or any non-Catholic
belief.
The Catholic religion is intolerant of the secular
and of other religions. The Church of Christ, which
subsists in the Roman Catholic Church is necessary
for salvation. (Art. 14, Vatican 11). Under Catholic
Canon 1325 all Protestants are heretics and along
with Jewish religion, denied as a faith. Believers
in all non-Catholic religions are damned to hell.
On the Catholic view all non-Catholics will and
should after death burn in hell forever and they
will always be conscious of the pain and torture.
In Spain, non-Catholics are discriminated against.
In Spain, Protestants are treated as criminals and
subversives. Regarding Catholic oppression of Protestants in Spain the Christian Century (1950)
wrote, "Not even Russia presents a similar spectacleof systematic cradle-to-the-grave discrimination
againsta religious minority." (F 57).
The Spanish Catholic Church up until the 1870's
excommunicated Catholics who ate with Protestants. In Italy a member of the Church of Christ
wassentenced to six years in prison for criticizing
the Catholic Church.
Portugal a completely
Catholic country constantly carried out inhuman
exploitive policies in its colonies. In Angola
hundreds of Protestants were killed by Catholic
Portuguese troops. These troops tortured and
slaughteredover 30,000 men, women and children.
Doctrineof Catholic missionaries is: "The pilgrim
bacf
mon
the
abou
was
in re
T
cern
INGERSOLL ON THE
HOLY BIBLE, PART I
No. 437-May, 1977
Hello there,
This is Madalyn Murray O'Hair, American Atheist,
back to talk with you again. For the next several
months, I am going to acquaint you, in depth, with
the writings of Robert G. Ingersoll, who lived just
about 100 years ago in the United States and who
was the bravest spokesman we had up to that time,
in respect to Atheism.
This-which
I read now-is Robert Ingersoll concerning the Holy Bible:
"Somebody ought to tell the truth about the Bible.
The preachers dare not, because they would be driven
from their pulpits. Professors in colleges dare not,
because they would lose their salaries. Politicians dare
not. They would be defeated. Editors dare not. They
would lose subscribers. Merchants dare not, because
they might lose their customers. Men of fashion dare
not, fearing that they would lose caste. Even clerks
dare not, because they might be discharged. And so
I thought I would do it myself.
"There are many millions of people who believe
the Bible to be the inspired word of god-millions
who think that this book is staff and guide, counselor
and consoler; that it fills the present with peace and
the future with hope-millions
who believe that it is
the fountain of law, justice and mercy, and that to
its wise and benign teachings the world is indebted
for its liberty, wealth and civilization-millions
who
imagine that this book is a revelation from the
wisdom and love of god to the brain and heart of
man-millions who regard this book as a torch that
conquers the darkness of death, and pours its
radianceon another world-a world without a tear.
"They forget its ignorance and savagery, its hatred
of liberty, its religious persecution; they remember
heaven,but they forget the dungeon of eternal pain.
"They forget that it imprisons the brain and corruptsthe heart. They forget that it is the enemy of
intellectualfreedom.
"Ministers wonder how I can be wicked enough to
attackthe Bible.
"I will tell them:
"This book, the Bible, has persecuted, even unto
death, the wisest and the best. This book stayed and
stopped the onward movement of the human race.
This book poisoned the fountains of learning and misdirected the energies of man.
"This book is the enemy of freedom, the support
of slavery. This book sowed the seeds of hatred in
families and nations, fed the flames of war, and impoverished the world. This book is the breastwork
of kings and tyrants-the
enslaver of women and
children. This book has corrupted parliaments and
courts. This book has made colleges and universities
the teachers of error and the haters of science. This
book has filled Christendom
with hateful, cruel,
ignorant and warring sects. This book taught men to
kill their fellows for religion's sake. This book
founded the Inquisition, invented the instruments of
torture, built the dungeons in which the good and
loving languished, forged the chains that rusted in
their flesh, erected the scaffolds whereon they died.
This book piled fagots about the feet of the just.
This book drove reason from the minds of millions
and filled the asylums with the insane.
"This book has caused fathers and mothers to shed
the blood of their babes. This book was the auction
block on which the slave-mother stood when she was
sold from her child. This book filled the sails of the
slave-trader and made merchandise of human flesh.
This book lighted the fires that burned 'witches' and
'wizards.' This book filled the darkness with ghouls
and ghosts, and the bodies of men and women with
devils. This book polluted the souls of men with the
infamous dogma of eternal pain. This book made
credulity the greatest of virtues, and investigation the
greatest of crimes. This book filled nations with hermits, monks and nuns-with the pious and the useless.
This book placed the ignorant and unclean saint
above the philosopher and philanthropist. This book
taught man to despise the joys of this life, that he
might be happy in another-to
waste this world for
the sake of the next.
"I attack this book because it is the enemy of
human liberty - the greatest obstruction across the
highway of human progress.
"Let me ask the ministers one question: How can
you be wicked enough to defend this book?
"That book [the Bible] is the chain that binds, the
dungeon that holds the clergy. That book spreads the
pall of superstition
over the colleges and schools.
That book puts out the eyes of science, and makes
honest investigation a crime. That book unmans the
politician and degrades the people. That book fills
the world with bigotry, hypocrisy and fear.
"The Bible has been the fortress and defense of
nearly every crime.
"Across the open Bible lay the sword and fagot.
JULY, 1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 23
JULY,1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST - 22
He
ba
ce
d
I
t
a
t
t
i
fi
INGERSOLL ON THE
HOLY BIBLE, PART I
No. 437-May, 1977
Hello there,
This is Madalyn Murray O'Hair, American Atheist,
back to talk with you again. For the next several
months, I am going to acquaint you, in depth, with
the writings of Robert G. Ingersoll, who lived just
about 100 years ago in the United States and who
was the bravest spokesman we had up to that time,
in respect to Atheism.
This-which
I read now-is Robert Ingersoll concerning the Holy Bible:
"Somebody ought to tell the truth about the Bible.
The preachers dare not, because they would be driven
from their pulpits. Professors in colleges dare not,
because they would lose their salaries. Politicians dare
not. They would be defeated. Editors dare not. They
would lose subscribers. Merchants dare not, because
they might lose their customers. Men of fashion dare
not, fearing that they would lose caste. Even clerks
dare not, because they might be discharged. And so
I thought I would do it myself.
"There are many millions of people who believe
the Bible to be the inspired word of god-millions
who think that this book is staff and guide, counselor
and consoler; that it fills the present with peace and
the future with hope-millions
who believe that it is
the fountain of law, justice and mercy, and that to
its wise and benign teachings the world is indebted
for its liberty, wealth and civilization-millions
who
imagine that this book is a revelation from the
wisdom and love of god to the brain and heart of
man-millions who regard this book as a torch that
conquers the darkness of death, and pours its
radianceon another world-a world without a tear.
"They forget its ignorance and savagery, its hatred
of liberty, its religious persecution; they remember
heaven,but they forget the dungeon of eternal pain.
"They forget that it imprisons the brain and corrupts the heart. They forget that it is the enemy of
intellectualfreedom.
"Ministers wonder how I can be wicked enough to
attackthe Bible.
"I will tell them:
"This book, the Bible, has persecuted, even unto
death, the wisest and the best. This book stayed and
stopped the onward movement of the human race.
This book poisoned the fountains of learning and misdirected the energies of man.
"This book is the enemy of freedom, the support
of slavery. This book sowed the seeds of hatred in
families and nations, fed the flames of war, and impoverished the world. This book is the breastwork
of kings and tyrants-the
enslaver of women and
children. This book has corrupted parliaments and
courts. This book has made colleges and universities
the teachers of error and the haters of science. This
book has filled Christendom
with hateful, cruel,
ignorant and warring sects. This book taught men to
kill their fellows for religion's sake. This book
founded the Inquisition, invented the instruments of
torture, built the dungeons in which the good and
loving languished, forged the chains that rusted in
their flesh, erected the scaffolds whereon they died.
This book piled fagots about the feet of the just.
This book drove reason from the minds of millions
and filled the asylums with the insane.
"This book has caused fathers and mothers to shed
the blood of their babes. This book was the auction
block on which the slave-mother stood when she was
sold from her child. This book filled the sails of the
slave-trader and made merchandise of human flesh.
This book lighted the fires that burned 'witches' and
'wizards.' This book filled the darkness with ghouls
and ghosts, and the bodies of men and women with
devils. This book polluted the souls of men with the
infamous dogma of eternal pain. This book made
credulity the greatest of virtues, and investigation the
greatest of crimes. This book filled nations with hermits, monks and nuns-with the pious and the useless.
This book placed the ignorant and unclean saint
above the philosopher and philanthropist. This book
taught man to despise the joys of this life, that he
might be happy in another-to
waste this world for
the sake of the next.
"I attack this book because it is the enemy of
human liberty-the
greatest obstruction across the
highway of human progress.
"Let me ask the ministers one question: How can
you be wicked enough to defend this book?
"That book [the Bible] is the chain that binds, the
dungeon that holds the clergy. That book spreads the
pall of superstition
over the colleges and schools.
That book puts out the eyes of science, and makes
honest investigation a crime. That book unmans the
politician and degrades the people. That book fills
the world with bigotry, hypocrisy and fear.
"The Bible has been the fortress and defense of
nearly every crime.
"Across the open Bible lay the sword and fagot.
JULY. 1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 24
In order to payoff
this mortgage within
three years, which
is our goal, we need
$3,888.00 monthly
in contributions. Or
to payoff the
mortgage in five
years, we need
$2,333.00 monthly
Building
in contributions.
Fund
Barometer
GOOd
ROBERT G. INGERSOLL
By Carl Shapiro
Does it not seem strange that a man who was the
most illustrious lawyer and. orator of the late
nineteenth century, a national spokesman for the
Republican Party, who was interviewed and written about countless times by
major newspapers, a champion
of causes only in fashion in
recent times, and who has left
a legacy of twelve engrossing volumes - is hardly even
heard of nowadays?
That man was (Col.) Robert
G. Ingersoll,
an ex-Union
Army officer who because he
was such an artist with words,
was called "The American
Demosthenes,"
and due to his
high style of living was affectionately
dubbed
"Royal
Bob" by President Garfield.
To find out why Ingersoll
has been virtually ignored in
most conventional and school
history books since his death
in 1899, is quite simple,
when we realize that he was
also known as the "Great
Agnostic."
From the mid1870's and until he died at age
66, Ingersoll went up and
down the country shedding
enlightenment
through
a
multitude of controversial and
anti-religious
lectures.
But
they were much more than
mere lectures. An evening of
Ingersoll was an inspiring and
uplifting experience, and that
is no doubt the reason his
commanding presence packed
the halls with avid, enthusiastic listeners.
But do not think for a
moment that all of Ingersoll's
admirers agreed with his secularist views. Indeed, many did not, but they came
and filled the houses - in many instances just to
hear his thrilling words, thoughts that were fueled
ultal/9-1899
JULV.1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 26
(Robert G. Ingersoll)
SPIRIT, SOUL,
AND MIND
By Frank R. Zindler
Whenever I peruse a dictionary, I am struck by the
amazing number of words which refer to nothing at
all in the real world. Many of the words are obviously fabulous: leprechaun, unicorn, gremlin, Philosopher's Stone, Zeus, elf, Fountain of Youth, ghost,
etc. Others, though referring equally to non-existent
things, are less obviously fabulous: The Mean Sum,
The Average Citizen, vital force, spirit, soul, and in at least some of its accepted meanings - mind.
Why the human species has invented so many
FREE~THOUGHr------~
THE HONKERS
CALL
A CROSS OF GOLD
THE LUNATIC
ar
te
di
10
er
no
ex
du
un
ha
de
Religion!
prolific fiend,
Who peoplest earth with demons, hell with men,
And heaven with slaves.
-Alan H. Schwartz
RELIGION
POETRY-
-Shelley:
"Queen Me."
NOAH--------------------------------------------------------Nut who built a huge wooden boat he named the S.S. Ark.
He got word from the Boss that it would rain for forty days and forty nights and that he had
better get two of each species of animal on board this boat so that the conservation people would
be happy.
He built the boat and then he got all those elephants, camels, zebras, dogs, cats, cows, goats,
worms, insects, hawks, eagles, sparrows, dinosaurs, and many others on the boat. It was really
crowded!
Then, for forty days and forty nights ... nothing! No rain ... nothing!
God laughed and laughed at Noah for getting suckered on such a hairbrained hoax.
(Noah was sore at god for a long time after that. Have you ever smelled a wooden boat with
fifty-six thousand animals on board after forty days and nights?)
------------------------------------------JULY,1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST - 30
SUMI-E
STUDIO
es
Am An Atheist
Is is the original sound track of the two LP record set produced by Dr. Madalyn Murray O'Hair in 1965.
recordsare no longer available but they are reproduced in their entirety on these cassette tapes. The
matter dealswith the total effort to remove prayer from public schools in the United States as well
r. Q'Hair's personal philosophy of Atheism.
) hourslisteningtime
$14.95
RICANATHEIST RADIO SERIES
setof tapescontains four (4) 15-minute programs by Dr. Madalyn Murray O'Hair as they are broadon radio stations nationwide. The sets presently available are:
SET4
RAMS:
osephLewison Robert G. Ingersoll
Ingersollon The Holy Bible, Part I
Ingersollon The Holy Bible, Part II
Ingersollon The Holy Bible, Part III
PROGRAMS:
440-lngersoll on The Holy Bible, Part IV
441-1 ngersoll on The Holy Bible, Part V
442-lngersoll on The Holy Bible, Part VI
443-Robert G. Ingersoll on Superstition
1 Hour.
"
$10.00
$10.00
$10.95
$11.95
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Order any of the above today from:
AMERICAN ATHEISTS
P. O. Box 2117
Austin, Texas 78768
JULY, 1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST - 31
JULY. 1977/AMERICAN
ATHEIST
- 32
Membership
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is S}t," x 11" parchment
paper.
Dr. O'Hair signs each certificate
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Only
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TX
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Friend,
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You have
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lew
freedom
another
and from
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raxes
thallhe
sc
can
There
tion
over 75
are
in our
of
lhe
100
church
are children
church.
Church
million
these
persons
poputattcn
year.
1977
o!
most
total
do go to church,
MEMBER
AMERICAN ATHEISTS
on America;
million
poputa
anendance
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SIngle f~lly
a mlOlmum
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who
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S6Y,
the profits
all
ta",on
flom
nesses, 'ncome,
stocksandboods.
and
on
the"
Churcht-s
tax,
no
bus.nesses
Slowly
PiY
Income
and
bul
no
tn.
be exempt
JOHN ATHEIST
ANY STREET
ANY CITY, U.S.A.
Wall
U",tOO
out
StrHt
Press,
from
Us,ng
on
churches
Church
other
thai
alone
no
own
C.
B.
exceeds
Ameflcanoorporations.
ta tree.
the
wealth
,n
tax.
StaU1
S.
toter
found
Roman
assets
01
lease
BemiS
the
on
Stales
General
business
reply envelope
Southern
able
Burlington
Trud<s,
and
Cathol,c
Church
b<t(:k seal,
can
and
M'lls.
Borden
Fruehauf
TrallefS
IIVt any of
iICIreements
....
,11> hanks.holels,
steelmIIlS,$Ulltrma.keIS.g.s.o
lone crack,ngnlants,
horthcontrollHllmanu'actur
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to 'pUfC;hne
of
Mad:
Ruhber,
Mowrs,
Mobil
restaurant
alleys.laundroes,
P<lnles.
comer
presses
seenons
Prlnl
'trading
stamps',
ch.aons,olfocebuoldlngs.bowhng
department
stores.
',nance
com-
The~enthOayAd\ltn(lstsarClry'nglO
lhe
health
food
market
With
the
"Lorna
Llnda"brandofthilchurch-allra/l'r~.
Sample
of
monthly
"Insider's"
Normally four pages describes activities
Roman
II
plants
Meats,
It lSii
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raxes e h,gh
Protestanu
Rath
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with
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televiSion,
have
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arrangements
.s called
The
buslneliS
for churches
W.th
operate
spec,,1
what
mtthod
Inher'tance
and
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property
YIeld from
holdm~.
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bus"
on our economy.
holdings
not in
businesses,
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made
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all ccrpcraucn
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and
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billion
received
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motl~ated
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repOMs
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