From ai815@freenet.carleton.caMon Aug 21 11:10:46 1995 Date: Wed, 29 Mar 1995 05:26:09 -0500 From: Greg Erwin To: 72724.3223@compuserve.com, Carol.Roberts@mixcom.com, depearce@lexmark.com, breton@macpost.scar.utoronto.ca, tseditor@aol.com, TomwFlynn@aol.com, albert.4@postbox.acs.ohio-state.edu, gilletta@uwstout.edu, jimdew@macc.wisc.edu, aa357@freenet.buffalo.edu, freethnker@aol.com, Jamie.Enns@Eng.Sun.COM, darwnfsh@usa.net, LaHumanist@aol.com, kris.taylor@smorgasboard.org, lloydk@teleport.com, ry94ad@badger.ac.brocku.ca, apabel@prairienet.org, perfecto@pcnet.com, Eric.M.Kidd@Dartmouth.Edu, ftp@locust.cic.net, rblair@shl.com Subject: April 1995 Nullifidian Here it is. ############################################################ ############################################################ ______ / / / / / /__ __ / / ) (__ / / (__(__ __ |\ ( ) ) / / | \ | / / . _/_ . __ / . __ __ | \ | / / / / ) / ) / / ) __ ) / ) ) \| (__(__(___(__(__(___(__(__(__(__(__(__/ (__ =========================================================== *The*E-Zine*of*Atheistic*Secular*Humanism*and*Freethought** =========================================================== ############################################################ ###### Volume II, Number 4 ***A Collector's Item!***##### ################### ISSN 1201-0111 ####################### ####################### APR 1995 ########################### ############################################################ nullifidian, n. & a. (Person) having no religious faith or belief. [f. med. L _nullifidius_ f. L _nullus_ none + _fides_ faith; see -IAN] Concise Oxford Dictionary The purpose of this magazine is to provide a source of articles dealing with many aspects of humanism. We are ATHEISTIC as we do not believe in the actual existence of any supernatural beings or any transcendental reality. We are SECULAR because the evidence of history and the daily horrors in the news show the pernicious and destructive consequences of allowing religions to be involved with politics or government. We are HUMANISTS and we focus on what is good for humanity, in the real world. We will not be put off with offers of pie in the sky, bye and bye. ############################################################ ############################################################ =><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><== || Begging portion of the Zine || ==><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><== There is no charge for receiving this, and there is no charge for distributing copies to any electronic medium. Nor is there a restriction on printing a copy for use in discussion. You may not charge to do so, and you may not do so without attributing it to the proper author and source. If you would like to support our efforts, and help us acquire better equipment to bring you more and better articles, you may send money to Greg Erwin at: 100, Terrasse Eardley / Aylmer, Qc / J9H 6B5 / CANADA. Or buy our atheist quote address labels, and other fine products, see "Shameless advertising and crass commercialism" below. =><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><= || End of Begging portion of the Zine || =><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><= Articles will be welcomed and very likely used IF: ( they are emailed to: ((ai815@FreeNet.Carleton.CA; or, godfree@magi.com), or sent on diskette to me at the above Aylmer address in any format that an IBM copy of WordPerfect can read; ) and they don't require huge amounts of editing; and I like them. I will gladly reprint articles from your magazine, local group's newsletter, or original material. There are currently about 140 subscribers, plus each issue is posted in some newsgroups and is archived as noted elsewhere. If you wish to receive a subscription, email a simple request to either address, with a clear request for a subscription. It will be assumed that the "Reply to:" address is where it is to be sent. We will automate this process as soon as we know how. Yes, please DO make copies! (*) Please DO send copies of The Nullifidian to anyone who might be interested. The only limitations are: You must copy the whole document, without making any changes to it. Or, at least clearly indicate the source, and how to subscribe. You do NOT have permission to copy this document for commercial purposes. The contents of this document are copyright (c) 1995, Greg Erwin (insofar as possible) and are on deposit at the National Library of Canada You may find back issues in any place that archives alt.atheism. Currently, all back issues are posted at the Humanist Association of Ottawa's area on the National Capital Freenet. telnet to 134.117.1.22, and enter at the "Your choice==>" prompt. ARCHIVES Arrangements have been made with etext at umich. ftp to etext.umich.edu directory Nullifidian or lucifers-echo. For America On-Line subscribers: To access the Freethought Forum on America Online enter keyword "Capital", scroll down until you find Freethought Forum, double click and you're there. Double click "Files & Truth Seeker Articles" and scroll until you find Nullifidian files. Double click the file name and a window will open giving you the opportunity to display a description of the file or download the file. And thanks to the people at the _Truth Seeker_, who edited, formatted and uploaded the articles to the aol area. /=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\ Shameless advertising and crass commercialism: \_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/ Atheistic self-stick Avery(tm) address labels. Consisting of 210 different quotes, 30 per page, each label 2 5/8" x 1". This leaves three 49 character lines available for your own address, phone number, email, fax or whatever. Each sheet is US$2, the entire set of 7 for US$13; 2 sets for US$20. Indicate quantity desired. Print address clearly, exactly as desired. Order from address in examples below. Laser printed, 8 pt Arial, with occasional flourishes. [NOT ACTUAL SIZE] <-------------------2 5/8"----------------------> _________________________________________________ |"Reality is that which, when you stop believing |/\ |in it, doesn't go away." [Philip K. Dick] | | |Greg Erwin 100 Terrasse Eardley | 1" |Aylmer, Qc J9H 6B5 Canada | | | email: ai815@FreeNet.Carleton.CA | | |________________________________________________|\/ _________________________________________________ |"...and when you tell me that your deity made | |you in his own image, I reply that he must be | |very ugly." [Victor Hugo, writing to clergy] | |Greg Erwin 100 Terrasse Eardley | |Aylmer, Qc J9H 6B5 Canada Ph: (613) 954-6128 | | email: ai815@FreeNet.Carleton.CA | |________________________________________________| Other stuff for sale: Certificate of Baptism Removal and Renunciation of Religion. Have your baptism removed, renounce religion, and have a neat 8" x 11" fancy certificate, on luxury paper, suitable for framing, to commemorate the event! Instant eligibility for excommunication! For the already baptism-free: Certificate of Freedom from Religion. An official atheistic secular humanist stamp of approval for only $10! Pamphlet on "how to get excommunicated" included FREE with purchase. Poster 8x11: WARNING! This is a religion free zone! All religious vows, codes, and commitments are null & void herein. Please refrain from contaminating the ideosphere with harmful memes through prayer, reverence, holy books, proselytizing, prophesying, faith, speaking in tongues or spirituality. Fight the menace of second-hand faith! Humanity sincerely thanks you! Tastefully arranged in large point Stencil on luxury paper. Order from the same address as above. /=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\ ============================================================ Neat books available from H.H. Waldo, Bookseller! Books by Ingersoll! Heston's 19th Century Freethought Cartoons! Holy Hatred, by James A. Haught......................$21.95 The Trouble With Christmas, (signed by the author) by Tom "Anti-Claus" Flynn............................$13.95 Evolution & the Myth of Creationism, by Tim M. Berra......................................$ 8.95 Freethinker's Pictorial Text Book, (1 & 2, separately) reproduction of 1890 and 1898 books by Watson Heston, by Bank of Wisdom Freethought Hero Emmet Fields .....$30.00 and many, many more. Ever changing inventory. Friendly letters and news from Robb Marks, Proprietor. add $2 postage/handling for first book & 0.50 for each additional book. (All prices US$) Send 2 first class stamps for H.H. Waldo's current catalog. (Use international reply coupon, or get hold of US Stamps) TO: H.H Waldo, Bookseller P.O. Box 350 Rockton, IL 61072 or phone 1-800-66WALDO !!! tell 'im: "that nullifidian guy sent me!" ============================================================ /=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\ TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Recent Equipment purchases. 2. FREETHOUGHT CHAIN LETTER 3. RELIGION and HATRED they're not supposed to be synonymous, are they? 4. Open letter to prayer advocates, (feel free to reproduce) 5. Open letter for the next person that calls Hitler an atheist 6. The Sarva darsana samgraha of Madhava: The doctrine of the Carvakas, or Materialists =========================================================== || BEGINNING OF ARTICLE || =========================================================== Recent Equipment purchases and expenses. I have registered as a sole proprietor. This makes the space in the house used for producing the zine tax deductible. It also cost $180. I have recently been able to purchase a 386-SX from a friend, but have, as yet, not paid for it. (Thank you, Colin, for patience.) I also bought a Zoltrix 14.4 voice/fax/data modem. The store wanted the money up front. I would eventually like to get a decent printer, as I can see that actual printed products are much more likely to be able to be sold for money. I have also signed up with a local provider of a much better internet connection, at less than $20 per month. When I can afford to take the course on setting up a home page, and learn how to use all the ftp, telnet, finger and other stuff, big changes may happen. I need the time and the money to take the course to find out what to do. Further down the line are a scanner and OCR software, to be able to capture text from newsletters, old books, and so on; and then finally an even better computer (486 or Pentium, multi- media, CD.) Donations, even purchases, have been few and far between. The main purchases have been of the quote labels, also few and far between. ========================================================= || END OF ARTICLE || ========================================================= "Faith may be defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable." [H. L. Mencken] =========================================================== || BEGINNING OF ARTICLE || =========================================================== FREETHOUGHT CHAIN LETTER From: "TIMOTHEUS(GORSKI)" <72724.3223@compuserve.com> To: BlindCopyReceiver:; Subject: Freethought Chain Letter Message-ID: <950327023432_72724.3223_FHP30-1@CompuServe.COM> Ever get "THE SAINT JUDE LETTER?" It's a chain letter that asks you to duplicate and send to others for "luck." Legal, too, since it's not a money scheme. Richard Dawkins (of Selfish Gene and Blind Watchmaker fame) and Oliver Goodenough called the St. Jude letter a "mind virus" and a "postal parasite" in the 9/1/94 issue of the British journal NATURE. Below please find a FREETHOUGHT CHAIN LETTER. Please send it on to as many others as possible. You don't need to be told of the benefits of spreading the message of rationalism, or of the dangers of people acting on principles other than that of reason. For those of you who get *The Freethought Exchange,* this is a slightly altered "dumbed-down" version of the letter printed in #17. Let's send freethought around the world a few times! REASON, THE ONLY ORACLE You have been sent this letter for a reason. Its message is vital to you. It began some 12,000 years ago, somewhere in what is now central Europe. A scout for a small band of hunters, his name now lost to us, scratched out "bear coming" on a stone and threw it to his companions. While others fled to safety, two of the tribesmen consulted with their shaman, who announced that the bear was a divine messenger sent to tell them where to find game. As a result, the three were fatally mauled by the bear they had been warned of. This is no joke. Send 20 copies of this letter to others. Send no money as reason is priceless. About the year 340 B.C.E., two Roman traders received this letter, urging them to rely on facts and think rationally. One of them noticed darkening clouds low on the horizon and a slight increase in the wind. He decided to delay his departure by sea. The other merchant was in a hurry to sell his goods abroad and paid a seer to tell him that it was a good time to set sail. When the worst storm of the century struck, the first trader was safe in his house with his ship tied up at the dock. The other was far out at sea and his vessel was lost with all hands. Rational thought works. The world is sorely in need of it. Accordingly, this message must leave your hands as soon as possible. Do note the following: the authorities in a major city during the Middle Ages scorned as blasphemy this letter's call to reject superstition and choose rational thinking. They tried to destroy all copies of its message. When the Black Death swept into the country, these people and those who trusted them packed themselves into churches to pray to their God. Many succumbed to the contagion in this way. When the letter was again discovered, the Enlightenment and the Age of Reason followed. Montezuma of the Aztecs received this letter at about the time that Cortez landed on the coast of Mexico. Having already supposed the Spaniards to be supernatural visitors, by the time Montezuma realized the truth it was too late. Thomas Edison began his long career of invention and innovation immediately after following the advice of this letter. Marie Curie, Alexander Graham Bell, Wilbur and Orville Wright, Robert Goddard, Alexander Fleming, Albert Einstein, and numerous others all experienced similar remarkable results. Others gained fortunes after deciding to apply the principles urged by this letter. Remember, send no money. And please don't ignore this note. Your very life and the future of humanity depend on its message. LIBERTY OF THOUGHT IS THE LIFE OF THE SOUL KNOWLEDGE IS POWER REASON IT WORKS ========================================================= || END OF ARTICLE || ========================================================= The basic test of freedom is perhaps less in what we are free to do than in what we are free not to do. --Eric Hoffer =========================================================== || BEGINNING OF ARTICLE || =========================================================== RELIGION and HATRED they're not supposed to be synonymous, are they? *In Northern Ireland, on Halloween 1993, Protestant terrorists burst into a Catholic pub, shouted "trick or treat" and opened fire, killing seven and wounding eleven. *In Bosnia, in 1992, Orthodox Christian Serb gunmen herded Muslim families into a basement and tossed in grenades, then joked that the screams sounded 'just like a mosque.' *A Catholic man living in Annapolis, Maryland pleaded guilty of 1994 to beating his mother to death with a small statue of the Virgin Mary. *A Beverly Hills, Michigan reverend pleaded guilty in 1991 to robbing 14 banks of $47,000 to pay for his daily use of prostitutes. He got seven years in prison. *A Columbus, Ohio televangelist was sentenced to 104 years in prison for child pornography and engaging in sex with children. He used the video equipment of his church to make the "kiddie porn." *A woman evangelist of Pace, Florida, was charged in 1990 with telling a mother to beat her baby daughter in order to drive out six demons. The mother pleaded guilty to pummeling the infant to death and the evangelist was convicted of first degree murder, and sentenced to life in prison. *In Oregon in 1993, a fundamentalist woman shot an abortionist clinic doctor and called it "the most holy, the most righteous thing I've ever done." A Florida man who killed an abortion clinic doctor was called a "hero" by a fundamentalist magazine. HOLY HATRED ^^^^^^^^^^^ Religious Conflicts of the '90s ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ James A. Haught ISBN 0-87975-922-4/cloth/$21.95/225pgs/photos Order your copy today! Phone 800-421-0351 Fax (716)-691-0137 Immediate shipment.. Prometheus Books; 59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228 ========================================================= || END OF ARTICLE || ========================================================= "In every country and in every age the priest has been hostile to liberty; he is always in allegiance to the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection of his own." [Thomas Jefferson] =========================================================== || BEGINNING OF ARTICLE || =========================================================== Open letter to prayer advocates, (feel free to reproduce) You recently have called for support for "the traditional right to have prayer in schools." I do not know where you find such a right. The whole thrust of the constitution, the Bill of Rights and the commentary on these documents by the founders of America indicates an overwhelming desire to be free from such falsely named "liberties." James Madison and Thomas Jefferson refused to proclaim days of fast and thanksgiving, because this would be perceived as an entanglement of government and religion. Other early presidents felt and acted the same. They were well acquainted with, and had a fear of the pernicious aspects of an established church, an idea which they loathed as much as they hated the ideas of aristocracy and monarchy. No early leader would have accepted a knighthood, as did George Bush, such an action would have been repellent to their egalitarian convictions. Let us first establish what we are considering. Private prayer has, or course, never been banned. Any person too lazy to study, or who feels comfort in so doing may offer up private prayer at any time in any place. What is prohibited is government sponsored prayer, which has serious coercive aspects, especially in a school context where the victims would be young, impressionable children. The history of the objection to the idea of an established church and forced attendance at prayers and services (as well as government collection of tithes and other "donations") is not a history of atheists and communists trying to break down piety, but that of dissident religious sects trying to freely practice their beliefs according to their consciences. You should be well aware that in Great Britain, the fight for the right not to join the established church took centuries to win. Before it was won, many dissident sectarians, such as Quakers, Methodists and Plymouth Brethren (it seems strange that such mainstream folks were once considered dangerous cultists) were tortured, died, paid fines and served prison sentences rather than violate their consciences, by going to established church services or paying to support them. I am sure that, at the time, many Anglicans were outraged that such radicals wanted to deny them their "traditional liberty" to have Anglican services in schools and at work, sponsored and paid for by the government with tax funds collected from everybody. Of course, in Catholic countries, everybody has the "right" to be subjected to Catholic services and prayers, (and to pay for them); and in most Muslim countries, your "traditional liberty" is currently the law of the land, and anyone who doesn't participate in Islamic prayer and services is in danger of life, limb and liberty. Christian evangelization is outlawed and, in many countries, such as Saudi Arabia, public Christian services may not be held. What makes you think that your church will be the state church? Because of the history of coercion which they had seen in Catholic and Protestant Europe and experienced under the Church of England, the founders of America determined that the best system would be one in which everybody had the right to practice a religion, but in which no one would be forced to practice or support any particular religion, or indeed, any religion at all. The horrors of the Inquisition, and then, Protestant reaction to Catholic tortures were fresh. Books of martyrs were the stuff of children's reading lists. Protestants burned at the stake by Catholics, Quakers hanged by Puritans, Catholics beheaded by Anglicans; for good reason, the founders of the United States wanted to avoid the consequences of a state religion. If these legal and historical arguments do not sway you, could you please consider the effect that being labelled an outsider and "different" has on a young child. I know Jews, Muslims, atheists and Hindus, who had miserable school experiences because they were singled out as different, because the Christians in the school insisted on staging public coercive prayers, in which they could not, in conscience, participate. You may not believe this, but atheists have a conscience and this conscience does not permit them to lie by pretending to pray. Many Catholics do not feel they can participate in Protestant prayers; Jews and other non Christians are excluded as well. Is it not simpler, fairer and more compassionate to let each person be religious (or not) in the way that he or she wishes? People can pray communally in church before and after work or school and all weekend. People can pray privately all day long, if they so desire. What they should not be able to do is to force others into a religious practice, which violates their conscience, and currently violates the law of the land. I am hoping that in a future article you will admit your error and stress that you do not sanction coercing others into Christian religious practices. As well, you should study the writings of the founders of the United States and become acquainted with their revulsion toward an establishment of religion, and the major steps they took to avoid it, or indeed, even the appearance of it. I will close by stressing that this is not an attack on religion, nor on prayer, or on any other religious practice; it is simply a request that you recognize that the American tradition is one of freedom to freely practice any religion, (as long as no laws are broken) as well as the freedom not to practice religion. The tradition is also that the government does not support any particular religion, including even a vaguely defined Christianity, and should not support religion or religious activity in any way. This last "tradition" is being sadly eroded of late. I am sure that you would object (and rightly so) if any of your tax money was spent on promoting a cult such as Scientology, or the "Church" of Satan. I, too, feel that my tax money should not be spent on religion, while at the same time wholeheartedly supporting the freedom of each and every person to practice or not practice religion, whether in private or in groups. ========================================================= || END OF ARTICLE || ========================================================= "While we are under the tyranny of Priests [...] it will ever be in their interest, to invalidate the law of nature and reason, in order to establish systems incompatible therewith." [Ethan Allen, _Reason the Only Oracle of Man_] =========================================================== || BEGINNING OF ARTICLE || =========================================================== Open letter for the next person that calls Hitler an atheist Feel free to use this, edited in any way you like, (same applies to the previous letter) the next time someone refers to the Nazis as atheists, or remarks that Hitler was an atheist. This one went to The American Spectator. Changing the first two paragraphs to reflect the specific offence that you note should do the trick. Dear Editor: Your book review of Cultures in Conflict: Christians, Muslims and Jews in the Age of Discovery by Bernard Lewis, reviewed by Francis X. Rocca, contained a totally inaccurate and slanderous insult to atheists when talking about the destruction of the Jewish community of Salonika: that the worst fanatics of the past were no match for the atheistic killers of our own century. Perhaps Mr Rocca's Catholicism is his motivation for displacing the blame for the murders of the Jews and others from Herr Hitler, life-long Catholic and ally of the Pope, onto atheists, but the lie just does not work. Hitler and the Nazis in Germany found no conflict between their desire to murder the Jews of Europe and their Christianity. In fact, the history of Christianity was their ally, and an inspiration to them. I apologize if Francis X. Rocca is not a Catholic. For instance, the writings and sermons of Luther provided ample justification for killing Jews and considering them to be subhuman creatures. The yellow star on the sleeve, the ghetto, denial of citizenship, and restriction of opportunity in business and employment, quotas in universities, as well as calculated and casual murder, were all Christian traditions of long standing revived by the Nazis. It was the atheists and humanists of the Enlightenment who forced the Catholic and state Protestant churches of Europe to abolish these disgusting Christian practices. It was the Christians throughout Europe who fought against the Enlightenment, with its radical notions of science, secularism and egalitarianism, until their champion, Hitler, reintroduced the practices of medieval Christianity, with their full approval. Until he started to lose. In North America, the Catholic priest Father Coughlin had an extremely popular anti-Semitic pro-Nazi radio show throughout the 30s. In Catholic Quebec, the nationalist Abb‚ Groulx contributed essay after essay in Le Devoir admiring Germany and recommending that Quebec Catholics follow Hitler's example. And Canada's Prime Minister, commenting on the possibility of admitting Jewish refugees, cracked the witticism, "None is too many," happily leaving them to their fate. >From the earliest anti-Semitic lies placed in the Bible in regard to "blood guilt," through the crusades, which often began with some warm-up slaughtering of the local Jews to get the Crusaders into the proper frame of mind for killing other non Christians in the Holy Land, right up to the Nazis and their Christian collaborators throughout Europe, (there were willing and eager Jew hunters in every conquered country, Christians, every one) and even to the post war Catholics who provided sanctuary and refuge for Nazi war criminals on the run, to Popes who honour former Nazis with knighthoods; hatred and murder of Jews has been a basic part of the holy Christian religion. We honour those who aided Jews to escape the Nazi net because their help and heroism were exceptional, and not the rule. I believe it was when the Nazis started losing the war that many former allies suddenly began to recognize certain of their errors. If we hope to learn from history, we must not let self-serving Christians substitute their lies for reality. For those Christians who have started believing their own lies, and think that Big Brother can rewrite history and thereby erase what actually occurred, I might recommend Lucy Davidovitz's War Against the Jews, which has a through analysis of the Christian roots of the anti-Semitism that culminated in the Holocaust. By the way, this century was hardly the first time that organized Christians committed mass murders of Jews. The Nazis actually had implemented many of the policies that modern Republicans and conservative Christians are clamouring for: they had a state church, daily prayers in the schools and compulsory creedal statements; they forbade abortions, rejected feminism, outlawed homosexuality, and would not allow non Christians in government or business. The Nazis were not atheists, they were the Christian Coalition in power. They were allies of the Pope, and were acknowledged by Christians throughout the world as bulwarks against atheistic socialism and defenders of western Christian civilization. Until they began to lose. I will admit that it is possible that your reviewer is simply an incompetent researcher and grossly ignorant of history, rather than a deliberate liar. Please print this and retract the lie. ========================================================= || END OF ARTICLE || ========================================================= '...the Bible as we have it contains elements that are scientifically incorrect or even morally repugnant. No amount of "explaining away" can convince us that such passages are the product of Divine Wisdom.' -- Bernard J. Bamberger, _The Story of Judaism_ =========================================================== || BEGINNING OF ARTICLE || =========================================================== This is a medieval text from India. There was a materialist school of philosophy. The religious people brought forward their usual (and only) counter-arguments: murder and book burning. This fragment survives in a quote by an opponent. The Sarva darsana samgraha of Madhava The doctrine of the Carvakas, or Materialists There is no heaven, no final liberation, nor any soul in another world, Nor do the actions of the four castes, orders, etc., produce any real effect. The Agnihotra, the three Vedas, the ascetics's three staves, and smearing one's self with ashes, Were made by Nature as the livelihood of those destitute of knowledge and manliness. If a beast slain in the Jyotistoma rite will itself go to heaven, Why then does not the sacrificer forthwith offer his own father? If the Sraddha produces gratification to beings who are dead, Then here, too, in the case of travellers when they start, it is needless to give provisions for the journey. If beings in heaven are gratified by our offering the Sraddha here, Then why not give the food down below to those who are standing on the housetop? While life remains let a man live happily, let him feed on ghee even though he runs in debt; When once the body becomes ashes, how can it ever return again? If he who departs from the body goes to another world, How is it that he comes not back again, restless for love of his kindred? Hence it is only as a means of livelihood that Brahmins have established here All these ceremonies for the dead,ÄÄthere is no other fruit anywhere. The three authors of the Vedas were buffoons, knaves, and demons. All the well-known formulae of the pandits, jarphari, turphari, etc. And all the obscene rites for the queen commanded in the Asvamedha, These were invented by buffoons, and so all the various kinds of presents to the priests, While the eating of flesh was similarly commanded by night- prowling demons. The doctrine of the Carvakas, or Materialists Free Translation If you are not familiar with all of the specifically Hindu religious mumbo jumbo, this is a cultural as well as linguistic translation. There is no heaven, no nirvana, no immortal soul. Nor do prayers, sacrifices, or pilgrimages produce any real effect. Masses, Bibles, priests' robes, and images Were put in the world to be the livelihood of the stupid and cowardly. If baptism removes all sins and the sinless go straight to heaven, Why not kill your babies as soon as they are baptised? If prayers on earth could help the souls of the dead, Then there would be no need to give travellers provisions for their journey. If sacrifices on earth could feed the heavenly host, Then a table set on the street could feed the workers on the roof. While life remains, live happily, eat caviar even though you are in debt; When the body has rotted, how can it return? If the soul of the dead one goes to another world, How come love of family doesn't draw it back? All of this is a swindle that the priests have established here. All of the ceremonies for the dead, they don't really do anything. The authors of all Holy Books were buffoons, knaves and crooks. All the priestly prayers, "Pater Noster," "Hail Mary," and so on And all the mumbo jumbo for crowning thieves, kings, And all sorts of nonsense whether with water, ashes, oil, fire, bread or wine, These were invented by fools. And thieves invented presents to beggars and priests. And cranks invented the prohibitions of different foods. =========================================================== || BEGINNING OF ARTICLE || =========================================================== >From the American Humanist Association The complete texts of HUMANIST MANIFESTOS I AND II ============================= Humanist Manifesto I -------------------- The Manifesto is a product of many minds. It was designed to represent a developing point of view, not a new creed. The individuals whose signatures appear would, had they been writing individual statements, have stated the propositions in differing terms. The importance of the document is that more than thirty men have come to general agreement on matters of final concern and that these men are undoubtedly representative of a large number who are forging a new philosophy out of the materials of the modern world. -- Raymond B. Bragg (1933) The time has come for widespread recognition of the radical changes in religious beliefs throughout the modern world. The time is past for mere revision of traditional attitudes. Science and economic change have disrupted the old beliefs. Religions the world over are under the necessity of coming to terms with new conditions created by a vastly increased knowledge and experience. In every field of human activity, the vital movement is now in the direction of a candid and explicit humanism. In order that religious humanism may be better understood we, the undersigned, desire to make certain affirmations which we believe the facts of our contemporary life demonstrate. There is great danger of a final, and we believe fatal, identification of the word religion with doctrines and methods which have lost their significance and which are powerless to solve the problem of human living in the Twentieth Century. Religions have always been means for realizing the highest values of life. Their end has been accomplished through the interpretation of the total environing situation (theology or world view), the sense of values resulting therefrom (goal or ideal), and the technique (cult), established for realizing the satisfactory life. A change in any of these factors results in alteration of the outward forms of religion. This fact explains the changefulness of religions through the centuries. But through all changes religion itself remains constant in its quest for abiding values, an inseparable feature of human life. Today man's larger understanding of the universe, his scientific achievements, and deeper appreciation of brotherhood, have created a situation which requires a new statement of the means and purposes of religion. Such a vital, fearless, and frank religion capable of furnishing adequate social goals and personal satisfactions may appear to many people as a complete break with the past. While this age does owe a vast debt to the traditional religions, it is none the less obvious that any religion that can hope to be a synthesizing and dynamic force for today must be shaped for the needs of this age. To establish such a religion is a major necessity of the present. It is a responsibility which rests upon this generation. We therefore affirm the following: FIRST: Religious humanists regard the universe as self-existing and not created. SECOND: Humanism believes that man is a part of nature and that he has emerged as a result of a continuous process. THIRD: Holding an organic view of life, humanists find that the traditional dualism of mind and body must be rejected. FOURTH: Humanism recognizes that man's religious culture and civilization, as clearly depicted by anthropology and history, are the product of a gradual development due to his interaction with his natural environment and with his social heritage. The individual born into a particular culture is largely molded by that culture. FIFTH: Humanism asserts that the nature of the universe depicted by modern science makes unacceptable any supernatural or cosmic guarantees of human values. Obviously humanism does not deny the possibility of realities as yet undiscovered, but it does insist that the way to determine the existence and value of any and all realities is by means of intelligent inquiry and by the assessment of their relations to human needs. Religion must formulate its hopes and plans in the light of the scientific spirit and method. SIXTH: We are convinced that the time has passed for theism, deism, modernism, and the several varieties of "new thought". SEVENTH: Religion consists of those actions, purposes, and experiences which are humanly significant. Nothing human is alien to the religious. It includes labor, art, science, philosophy, love, friendship, recreation -- all that is in its degree expressive of intelligently satisfying human living. The distinction between the sacred and the secular can no longer be maintained. EIGHTH: Religious Humanism considers the complete realization of human personality to be the end of man's life and seeks its development and fulfillment in the here and now. This is the explanation of the humanist's social passion. NINTH: In the place of the old attitudes involved in worship and prayer the humanist finds his religious emotions expressed in a heightened sense of personal life and in a cooperative effort to promote social well-being. TENTH: It follows that there will be no uniquely religious emotions and attitudes of the kind hitherto associated with belief in the supernatural. ELEVENTH: Man will learn to face the crises of life in terms of his knowledge of their naturalness and probability. Reasonable and manly attitudes will be fostered by education and supported by custom. We assume that humanism will take the path of social and mental hygiene and discourage sentimental and unreal hopes and wishful thinking. TWELFTH: Believing that religion must work increasingly for joy in living, religious humanists aim to foster the creative in man and to encourage achievements that add to the satisfactions of life. THIRTEENTH: Religious humanism maintains that all associations and institutions exist for the fulfillment of human life. The intelligent evaluation, transformation, control, and direction of such associations and institutions with a view to the enhancement of human life is the purpose and program of humanism. Certainly religious institutions, their ritualistic forms, ecclesiastical methods, and communal activities must be reconstituted as rapidly as experience allows, in order to function effectively in the modern world. FOURTEENTH: The humanists are firmly convinced that existing acquisitive and profit-motivated society has shown itself to be inadequate and that a radical change in methods, controls, and motives must be instituted. A socialized and cooperative economic order must be established to the end that the equitable distribution of the means of life be possible. The goal of humanism is a free and universal society in which people voluntarily and intelligently cooperate for the common good. Humanists demand a shared life in a shared world. FIFTEENTH AND LAST: We assert that humanism will: (a) affirm life rather than deny it; (b) seek to elicit the possibilities of life, not flee from them; and (c) endeavor to establish the conditions of a satisfactory life for all, not merely for the few. By this positive morale and intention humanism will be guided, and from this perspective and alignment the techniques and efforts of humanism will flow. So stand the theses of religious humanism. Though we consider the religious forms and ideas of our fathers no longer adequate, the quest for the good life is still the central task for mankind. Man is at last becoming aware that he alone is responsible for the realization of the world of his dreams, that he has within him- self the power for its achievement. He must set intelligence and will to the task. [EDITOR'S NOTE: There were 34 signers of this document, including Anton J. Carlson, John Dewey, John H. Dietrich, R. Lester Mondale, Charles Francis Potter, Curtis W. Reese, and Edwin H. Wilson.] =========================================================== Humanist Manifesto II --------------------- -- Preface -- It is forty years since Humanist Manifesto I (1933) appeared. Events since then make that earlier statement seem far too optimistic. Nazism has shown the depths of brutality of which humanity is capable. Other totalitarian regimes have suppressed human rights without ending poverty. Science has sometimes brought evil as well as good. Recent decades have shown that inhuman wars can be made in the name of peace. The beginnings of police states, even in democratic societies, widespread government espionage, and other abuses of power by military, political, and industrial elites, and the continuance of unyielding racism, all present a different and difficult social outlook. In various societies, the demands of women and minority groups for equal rights effectively challenge our generation. As we approach the twenty-first century, however, an affirmative and hopeful vision is needed. Faith, commensurate with advancing knowledge, is also necessary. In the choice between despair and hope, humanists respond in this Humanist Manifesto II with a positive declaration for times of uncertainty. As in 1933, humanists still believe that traditional theism, especially faith in the prayer-hearing God, assumed to live and care for persons, to hear and understand their prayers, and to be able to do something about them, is an unproved and outmoded faith. Salvationism, based on mere affirmation, still appears as harmful, diverting people with false hopes of heaven hereafter. Reasonable minds look to other means for survival. Those who sign Humanist Manifesto II disclaim that they are setting forth a binding credo; their individual views would be stated in widely varying ways. This statement is, however, reaching for vision in a time that needs direction. It is social analysis in an effort at consensus. New statements should be developed to supersede this, but for today it is our conviction that humanism offers an alternative that can serve present-day needs and guide humankind toward the future. -- Paul Kurtz and Edwin H. Wilson (1973) The next century can be and should be the humanistic century. Dramatic scientific, technological, and ever-accelerating social and political changes crowd our awareness. We have virtually conquered the planet, explored the moon, overcome the natural limits of travel and communication; we stand at the dawn of a new age, ready to move farther into space and perhaps inhabit other planets. Using technology wisely, we can control our environment, conquer poverty, markedly reduce disease, extend our life-span, significantly modify our behavior, alter the course of human evolution and cultural development, unlock vast new powers, and provide humankind with unparalleled opportunity for achieving an abundant and meaningful life. The future is, however, filled with dangers. In learning to apply the scientific method to nature and human life, we have opened the door to ecological damage, over-population, dehumanizing institutions, totalitarian repression, and nuclear and bio- chemical disaster. Faced with apocalyptic prophesies and doomsday scenarios, many flee in despair from reason and embrace irrational cults and theologies of withdrawal and retreat. Traditional moral codes and newer irrational cults both fail to meet the pressing needs of today and tomorrow. False "theologies of hope" and messianic ideologies, substituting new dogmas for old, cannot cope with existing world realities. They separate rather than unite peoples. Humanity, to survive, requires bold and daring measures. We need to extend the uses of scientific method, not renounce them, to fuse reason with compassion in order to build constructive social and moral values. Confronted by many possible futures, we must decide which to pursue. The ultimate goal should be the fulfillment of the potential for growth in each human personality -- not for the favored few, but for all of humankind. Only a shared world and global measures will suffice. A humanist outlook will tap the creativity of each human being and provide the vision and courage for us to work together. This outlook emphasizes the role human beings can play in their own spheres of action. The decades ahead call for dedicated, clear- minded men and women able to marshal the will, intelligence, and cooperative skills for shaping a desirable future. Humanism can provide the purpose and inspiration that so many seek; it can give personal meaning and significance to human life. Many kinds of humanism exist in the contemporary world. The varieties and emphases of naturalistic humanism include "scientific," "ethical," "democratic," "religious," and "Marxist" humanism. Free thought, atheism, agnosticism, skepticism, deism, rationalism, ethical culture, and liberal religion all claim to be heir to the humanist tradition. Humanism traces its roots from ancient China, classical Greece and Rome, through the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, to the scientific revolution of the modern world. But views that merely reject theism are not equivalent to humanism. They lack commitment to the positive belief in the possibilities of human progress and to the values central to it. Many within religious groups, believing in the future of humanism, now claim humanist credentials. Humanism is an ethical process through which we all can move, above and beyond the divisive particulars, heroic personalities, dogmatic creeds, and ritual customs of past religions or their mere negation. We affirm a set of common principles that can serve as a basis for united action -- positive principles relevant to the present human condition. They are a design for a secular society on a planetary scale. For these reasons, we submit this new Humanist Manifesto for the future of humankind; for us, it is a vision of hope, a direction for satisfying survival. -- Religion -- FIRST: In the best sense, religion may inspire dedication to the highest ethical ideals. The cultivation of moral devotion and creative imagination is an expression of genuine "spiritual" experience and aspiration. We believe, however, that traditional dogmatic or authoritarian religions that place revelation, God, ritual, or creed above human needs and experience do a disservice to the human species. Any account of nature should pass the tests of scientific evidence; in our judgment, the dogmas and myths of traditional religions do not do so. Even at this late date in human history, certain elementary facts based upon the critical use of scientific reason have to be restated. We find insufficient evidence for belief in the existence of a supernatural; it is either meaningless or irrelevant to the question of survival and fulfillment of the human race. As nontheists, we begin with humans not God, nature not deity. Nature may indeed be broader and deeper than we now know; any new discoveries, however, will but enlarge our knowledge of the natural. Some humanists believe we should reinterpret traditional religions and reinvest them with meanings appropriate to the current situation. Such redefinitions, however, often perpetuate old dependencies and escapisms; they easily become obscurantist, impeding the free use of the intellect. We need, instead, radically new human purposes and goals. We appreciate the need to preserve the best ethical teachings in the religious traditions of humankind, many of which we share in common. But we reject those features of traditional religious morality that deny humans a full appreciation of their own potentialities and responsibilities. Traditional religions often offer solace to humans, but, as often, they inhibit humans from helping themselves or experiencing their full potentialities. Such institutions, creeds, and rituals often impede the will to serve others. Too often traditional faiths encourage dependence rather than independence, obedience rather than affirmation, fear rather than courage. More recently they have generated concerned social action, with many signs of relevance appearing in the wake of the "God Is Dead" theologies. But we can discover no divine purpose or providence for the human species. While there is much that we do not know, humans are responsible for what we are or will become. No deity will save us; we must save ourselves. SECOND: Promises of immortal salvation or fear of eternal damnation are both illusory and harmful. They distract humans from present concerns, from self-actualization, and from rectifying social injustices. Modern science discredits such historic concepts as the "ghost in the machine" and the "separable soul." Rather, science affirms that the human species is an emergence from natural evolutionary forces. As far as we know, the total personality is a function of the biological organism transacting in a social and cultural context. There is no credible evidence that life survives the death of the body. We continue to exist in our progeny and in the way that our lives have influenced others in our culture. Traditional religions are surely not the only obstacles to human progress. Other ideologies also impede human advance. Some forms of political doctrine, for instance, function religiously, reflecting the worst features of orthodoxy and authoritarianism, especially when they sacrifice individuals on the altar of Utopian promises. Purely economic and political viewpoints, whether capitalist or communist, often function as religious and ideological dogma. Although humans undoubtedly need economic and political goals, they also need creative values by which to live. -- Ethics -- THIRD: We affirm that moral values derive their source from human experience. Ethics is autonomous and situational needing no theological or ideological sanction. Ethics stems from human need and interest. To deny this distorts the whole basis of life. Human life has meaning because we create and develop our futures. Happiness and the creative realization of human needs and desires, individually and in shared enjoyment, are continuous themes of humanism. We strive for the good life, here and now. The goal is to pursue life's enrichment despite debasing forces of vulgarization, commercialization, and dehumanization. FOURTH: Reason and intelligence are the most effective instruments that humankind possesses. There is no substitute: neither faith nor passion suffices in itself. The controlled use of scientific methods, which have transformed the natural and social sciences since the Renaissance, must be extended further in the solution of human problems. But reason must be tempered by humility, since no group has a monopoly of wisdom or virtue. Nor is there any guarantee that all problems can be solved or all questions answered. Yet critical intelligence, infused by a sense of human caring, is the best method that humanity has for resolving problems. Reason should be balanced with compassion and empathy and the whole person fulfilled. Thus, we are not advocating the use of scientific intelligence independent of or in opposition to emotion, for we believe in the cultivation of feeling and love. As science pushes back the boundary of the known, humankind's sense of wonder is continually renewed, and art, poetry, and music find their places, along with religion and ethics. -- The Individual -- FIFTH: The preciousness and dignity of the individual person is a central humanist value. Individuals should be encouraged to realize their own creative talents and desires. We reject all religious, ideological, or moral codes that denigrate the individual, suppress freedom, dull intellect, dehumanize personality. We believe in maximum individual autonomy consonant with social responsibility. Although science can account for the causes of behavior, the possibilities of individual freedom of choice exist in human life and should be increased. SIXTH: In the area of sexuality, we believe that intolerant attitudes, often cultivated by orthodox religions and puritanical cultures, unduly repress sexual conduct. The right to birth control, abortion, and divorce should be recognized. While we do not approve of exploitive, denigrating forms of sexual expression, neither do we wish to prohibit, by law or social sanction, sexual behavior between consenting adults. The many varieties of sexual exploration should not in themselves be considered "evil." Without countenancing mindless permissiveness or unbridled promiscuity, a civilized society should be a tolerant one. Short of harming others or compelling them to do likewise, individuals should be permitted to express their sexual proclivities and pursue their life-styles as they desire. We wish to cultivate the development of a responsible attitude toward sexuality, in which humans are not exploited as sexual objects, and in which intimacy, sensitivity, respect, and honesty in interpersonal relations are encouraged. Moral education for children and adults is an important way of developing awareness and sexual maturity. -- Democratic Society -- SEVENTH: To enhance freedom and dignity the individual must experience a full range of civil liberties in all societies. This includes freedom of speech and the press, political democracy, the legal right of opposition to governmental policies, fair judicial process, religious liberty, freedom of association, and artistic, scientific, and cultural freedom. It also includes a recognition of an individual's right to die with dignity, euthanasia, and the right to suicide. We oppose the increasing invasion of privacy, by whatever means, in both totalitarian and democratic societies. We would safeguard, extend, and implement the principles of human freedom evolved from the Magna Carta to the Bill of Rights, the Rights of Man, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. EIGHTH: We are committed to an open and democratic society. We must extend participatory democracy in its true sense to the economy, the school, the family, the workplace, and voluntary associations. Decision-making must be decentralized to include widespread involvement of people at all levels -- social, political, and economic. All persons should have a voice in developing the values and goals that determine their lives. Institutions should be responsive to expressed desires and needs. The conditions of work, education, devotion, and play should be humanized. Alienating forces should be modified or eradicated and bureaucratic structures should be held to a minimum. People are more important than decalogues, rules, proscriptions, or regulations. NINTH: The separation of church and state and the separation of ideology and state are imperatives. The state should encourage maximum freedom for different moral, political, religious, and social values in society. It should not favor any particular religious bodies through the use of public monies, nor espouse a single ideology and function thereby as an instrument of propaganda or oppression, particularly against dissenters. TENTH: Humane societies should evaluate economic systems not by rhetoric or ideology, but by whether or not they increase economic well-being for all individuals and groups, minimize poverty and hardship, increase the sum of human satisfaction, and enhance the quality of life. Hence the door is open to alternative economic systems. We need to democratize the economy and judge it by its responsiveness to human needs, testing results in terms of the common good. ELEVENTH: The principle of moral equality must be furthered through elimination of all discrimination based upon race, religion, sex, age, or national origin. This means equality of opportunity and recognition of talent and merit. Individuals should be encouraged to contribute to their own betterment. If unable, then society should provide means to satisfy their basic economic, health, and cultural needs, including, wherever resources make possible, a minimum guaranteed annual income. We are concerned for the welfare of the aged, the infirm, the disadvantaged, and also for the outcasts -- the mentally retarded, abandoned, or abused children, the handicapped, prisoners, and addicts -- for all who are neglected or ignored by society. Practicing humanists should make it their vocation to humanize personal relations. We believe in the right to universal education. Everyone has a right to the cultural opportunity to fulfill his or her unique capacities and talents. The schools should foster satisfying and productive living. They should be open at all levels to any and all; the achievement of excellence should be encouraged. Innovative and experimental forms of education are to be welcomed. The energy and idealism of the young deserve to be appreciated and channeled to constructive purposes. We deplore racial, religious, ethnic, or class antagonisms. Although we believe in cultural diversity and encourage racial and ethnic pride, we reject separations which promote alienation and set people and groups against each other; we envision an integrated community where people have a maximum opportunity for free and voluntary association. We are critical of sexism or sexual chauvinism -- male or female. We believe in equal rights for both women and men to fulfill their unique careers and potentialities as they see fit, free of invidious discrimination. -- World Community -- TWELFTH: We deplore the division of humankind on nationalistic grounds. We have reached a turning point in human history where the best option is to transcend the limits of national sovereignty and to move toward the building of a world community in which all sectors of the human family can participate. Thus we look to the development of a system of world law and a world order based upon transnational federal government. This would appreciate cultural pluralism and diversity. It would not exclude pride in national origins and accomplishments nor the handling of regional problems on a regional basis. Human progress, however, can no longer be achieved by focusing on one section of the world, Western or Eastern, developed or underdeveloped. For the first time in human history, no part of humankind can be isolated from any other. Each person's future is in some way linked to all. We thus reaffirm a commitment to the building of world community, at the same time recognizing that this commits us to some hard choices. THIRTEENTH: This world community must renounce the resort to violence and force as a method of solving international disputes. We believe in the peaceful adjudication of differences by international courts and by the development of the arts of negotiation and compromise. War is obsolete. So is the use of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. It is a planetary imperative to reduce the level of military expenditures and turn these savings to peaceful and people-oriented uses. FOURTEENTH: The world community must engage in cooperative planning concerning the use of rapidly depleting resources. The planet earth must be considered a single ecosystem. Ecological damage, resource depletion, and excessive population growth must be checked by international concord. The cultivation and conservation of nature is a moral value; we should perceive ourselves as integral to the sources of our being in nature. We must free our world from needless pollution and waste, responsibly guarding and creating wealth, both natural and human. Exploitation of natural resources, uncurbed by social conscience, must end. FIFTEENTH: The problems of economic growth and development can no longer be resolved by one nation alone; they are worldwide in scope. It is the moral obligation of the developed nations to provide -- through an international authority that safeguards human rights -- massive technical, agricultural, medical, and economic assistance, including birth control techniques, to the developing portions of the globe. World poverty must cease. Hence extreme disproportions in wealth, income, and economic growth should be reduced on a worldwide basis. SIXTEENTH: Technology is a vital key to human progress and development. We deplore any neo-romantic efforts to condemn indiscriminately all technology and science or to counsel retreat from its further extension and use for the good of humankind. We would resist any moves to censor basic scientific research on moral, political, or social grounds. Technology must, however, be carefully judged by the consequences of its use; harmful and destructive changes should be avoided. We are particularly disturbed when technology and bureaucracy control, manipulate, or modify human beings without their consent. Technological feasibility does not imply social or cultural desirability. SEVENTEENTH: We must expand communication and transportation across frontiers. Travel restrictions must cease. The world must be open to diverse political, ideological, and moral viewpoints and evolve a worldwide system of television and radio for information and education. We thus call for full international cooperation in culture, science, the arts, and technology across ideological borders. We must learn to live openly together or we shall perish together. -- Humanity As a Whole -- IN CLOSING: The world cannot wait for a reconciliation of competing political or economic systems to solve its problems. These are the times for men and women of goodwill to further the building of a peaceful and prosperous world. We urge that parochial loyalties and inflexible moral and religious ideologies be transcended. We urge recognition of the common humanity of all people. We further urge the use of reason and compassion to produce the kind of world we want -- a world in which peace, prosperity, freedom, and happiness are widely shared. Let us not abandon that vision in despair or cowardice. We are responsible for what we are or will be. Let us work together for a humane world by means commensurate with humane ends. Destructive ideological differences among communism, capitalism, socialism, conservatism, liberalism, and radicalism should be overcome. Let us call for an end to terror and hatred. We will survive and prosper only in a world of shared humane values. We can initiate new directions for humankind; ancient rivalries can be superseded by broad-based cooperative efforts. The commitment to tolerance, understanding, and peaceful negotiation does not necessitate acquiescence to the status quo nor the damming up of dynamic and revolutionary forces. The true revolution is occurring and can continue in countless nonviolent adjustments. But this entails the willingness to step forward onto new and expanding plateaus. At the present juncture of history, commitment to all humankind is the highest commitment of which we are capable; it transcends the narrow allegiances of church, state, party, class, or race in moving toward a wider vision of human potentiality. What more daring a goal for humankind than for each person to become, in ideal as well as practice, a citizen of a world community. It is a classical vision; we can now give it new vitality. Humanism thus interpreted is a moral force that has time on its side. We believe that humankind has the potential, intelligence, goodwill, and cooperative skill to implement this commitment in the decades ahead. We, the undersigned, while not necessarily endorsing every detail of the above, pledge our general support to Humanist Manifesto II for the future of humankind. These affirmations are not a final credo or dogma but an expression of a living and growing faith. We invite others in all lands to join us in further developing and working for these goals. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Thousands of names have been added to the list of signatories which followed the original Humanist Manifesto II, published in the September/October 1973 issue of The Humanist magazine by the American Humanist Association. You may become a signer yourself by contacting the AHA at the address below.] ------------------------------------------------------------ (C) Copyright 1973 by the American Humanist Association So long as profit or gain is not your motive and you always include this copyright notice, please feel free to make limited copies of this material in electronic form. Local nonprofit Humanist organizations have additional permission to reprint this in print form. All other permission must be sought from the American Humanist Association. AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION PO BOX 1188 AMHERST NY 14226-7188 Phone: (800) 743-6646 ========================================================== || END OF ISSUE || ========================================================== Once again: ISSN: 1201-0111 The Nullifidian Volume Two, Number 4: APR 1995. (*) There is no footnote, and certainly not an endnote. -- Autumn wind: Where there are humans Greg Erwin, pres., Humanist gods, Buddha-- you'll find flies, Association of Ottawa lies, lies, lies and Buddhas. ai815@freenet.carleton.ca --Shiki --Issa godfree@magi.com