From ai815@freenet.carleton.caTue Nov 21 09:45:12 1995 Date: Tue, 21 Nov 1995 05:51:28 -0500 From: Greg Erwin To: apabel@prairienet.org, ap818@freenet.buffalo.edu Subject: Nov Nullifidian ############################################################ ############################################################ ______ / / / / / /__ __ / / ) (__ / / (__(__ __ |\ ( ) ) / / | \ | / / . _/_ . __ / . __ __ | \ | / / / / ) / ) / / ) __ ) / ) ) \| (__(__(___(__(__(___(__(__(__(__(__(__/ (__ =========================================================== *The*E-Zine*of*Atheistic*Secular*Humanism*and*Freethought** =========================================================== ############################################################ ###### Volume II, Number 11 ***A Collector's Item!***##### ################### ISSN 1201-0111 ####################### ####################### NOV 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. Re: navigation. Search for BEG to find the beginning of the next article. Search for the first few words of the title as given in the table of contents to find a specific article. I try to remember to copy the title from the text and then paste it into the ToC, so it should be exact. Search for "crass commercialism:" to see what's for sale. Subscription information, etc is at the end of the magazine, search for END OF TEXTS. ############################################################ ############################################################ ============================================================ /=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\ TABLE OF CONTENTS The Nullifidian goes intercontinental! 1. Atheist Activism Needed, by Joao Sebastiao de Oliveira from the Sindicato dos Messias of Brazil 2. The Abimelech Society, from "The Canadian Atheist" 3. Why should a rational person be a strong atheist? Question from Jeff Lowder 4. Brief note on next month. 5. Spare the Rod? Does the Bible Facilitate Child Abuse? by Jim Dew 6. Top 10 reasons why atheism is better than fundamentalism: =========================================================== || BEGINNING OF ARTICLE || =========================================================== Atheist Activism Needed _______________ Joao Sebastiao de Oliveira Bueno is a Brazilian, an undergraduate in Physics at a state university there. He is a founding member of the "Sindicato dos Messias" (Messiahs' Syndicate), a group of students devoted to satirizing and countering theistic groups and ideas in the University. You can see some of this group's work at: _______________ [Editor's note: I have edited the article as submitted, correcting minor errors in the language, and hopefully, making things clearer. It is certainly true that Joao expressed himself better in English than most of us could have done in Portuguese. The resulting edited version was sent back to him to verify that it is still saying what he wanted it to say.] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Over the past two and a half years, I've been involved in atheist activities in my university. Our group, called "Sindicato dos Messias" (Messiahs' Syndicate) works by creating satirical texts emphasizing one or more of the (many) funny aspects of religion, as well as parodies of evangelical group's manifestations. I used to think we were but one more atheist group in our country...that was until 2 months ago when somebody sent me message saying, "Yours is the first atheist group I've found in South America...", to which, I immediately wished to reply, "Yes, but there are some others such as for example...", and that was the time I realised we were alone. There were no examples. Since then I have been planning to start a more serious organization with humanist guidelines and with the purpose of promoting atheism. And since then, the need for such an organization has seemed me to be greater and greater. At the same time, in a desperate quest for justice, I have been questioning myself: Well, there all these Xian believers out there, but in preaching the non-existence of a personal God, won't I be as intransigent as they are? Is their religion, as wrong as it is, harmful to society as a whole? So I moved toward objectivity and impartiality in my writings, always considering the unlikely alternative of me being wrong and them right, and as well, trying not to offend anybody by saying "It IS such and such...", replacing it by "I think it is such and such...". I wrote one piece remarking on what I saw as positive and negative points to Christianity today, noting as positive the fact that the weekly meetings among people with the same beliefs seemed to be a great opportunity to have social meetings and conversations in environments other than school or work, thus lessening the stress, and that some moral principles of the bible, as artificial and arbitrary that they may be, are rational and would help our society anyway. (I mean teachings such as "Love other people as you do yourself" and not those like "Love and fear the Lord your God because He is your Creator" ). And I thought like that until yesterday, when I actually went to one of such weekly Xian encounters, hoping to see some of their so cherished community spirit, and even maybe to hear some discussion about those less fortunate. For those of you who have already been in such encounters, it is needless to say I was wrong in my expectations. All I saw and heard were endless hymns to the greater honor and glory of "our" God Jehovah, as if an omnipotent God would need that at all. Those hymns would not have sounded strange if we had a great plurality of Gods ruling over us, who were disputing for more believers, each of them. If there is no God at all to be loved, or even if there is just one, (in which case those hymns would already be useless), what you see there is the most efficient form of propaganda there has ever been. The more incredible a commercial seems on TV, and the more you watch it they already achieve remarkable propaganda efficiency, but none of those commercials expect you to sing along, praising the glory of whatever they sell and to do it with all your will and strength. And such Hymns! Some talking about "...and don't you forget that faith transcends reason, and that faith in our Lord is the most important thing in our lives...", I saw nothing else. The poor men relegated to live a pre-life, before the eternal encounter with God in the heavens, got no attention during all the meeting. So, what I thought would be a positive point of Xianity turned to be a negative one. In every speech there, one could tell that the speaker was afraid that the others there could loose their faith if God and everything he did weren't glorified. All their talk centered on having more faith, trusting more in God, trying to explain through the wishes of God everything that happened in their lives. The hell of it is; if I believed in such a God (omnibenevolent, omniscient), I wouldn't be at all concerned in glorifying him even more, what would be the need, since he already loved me? What is the use of learning the teachings of a God when all He teaches is that you must love Him and learn his teachings? It's perfectly explainable that such an absurd God would be preached in early feudal societies, because it would prevent people from revolting, by telling them that if they behaved well, they would have an eternity in Heaven. To see that it's still the same today is depressing. Except that nowadays our rulers do not even have to worry about it anymore...believers can deceive themselves all alone. And I live in a country where, though many people are indifferent towards religion, few have the courage to admit even to themselves that they don't believe in God or the supernatural, and that's mostly because, though they are surrounded by Xian propaganda on all sides (and it's laughable as most of this propaganda is Christian sect against Christian sect, in a continuous claim of "our church is better than your church...") and there's no one to say anything about the possibility of that there are no God/gods/supernatural_whatevers, and there is nobody but some few religions who talk about a God that doesn't require you to pray to Him and sacrifice your life to His pleasure. Over the last couple of years, the growth of a well-known tele-evangelist here has caused some headaches and resulted in some propaganda against him. This propaganda came from other churches, other christians, and from a competitor TV station that was losing its audience to his tele- preaching...It is important to emphasize that to deserve such a "special" treatment as counter-propaganda from "fellow" Xians, the "Universal Church of the Kingdom of God", as they are known in the USA , twist gospel teachings to such a point that anyone baptized in that church will have to pay them 30% of his income for protection from the Devils and for the glory of God. And their propaganda is so aggressive and active they already have 6 million followers, just here in Brazil. And now things get even worse, as the state is going to introduce religious teaching in our public schools (although just in this state, by next year). Nobody to say a word against them, and as if the current state of things weren't bad enough, they add state-supported preaching to young children, who are unable to stand on their opinion and would be afraid or incapable of defying a "grown-up" teacher when he starts saying "There IS a God who created us, and Loves us all. To stay in His grace we must love him...". Theoretically such classes will be optional, but the parents will have to choose whether their child will or will not attend. Very good to avoid a literal war between the Christians and the few Jews and Muslims that do live here, but useless when you come to the majority of parents, that, even if they admit to being atheists to themselves, will have enough to fear from the Xians out there and will hide this choice by registering their children in the religious classes. Neighboring Argentina is effectively back to the dark ages, having now adopted Catholicism as the official state religion. The theory of evolution is nearly banished from schools by the force of law. It looks like we are heading the same way here. ______________________________ Get in touch with the author of this at : and look in on: ========================================================= || END OF ARTICLE || ========================================================= The Santa myth is one of the most effective means ever devised for intimidating children, eroding their self- esteem, twisting their behavior, warping their values, and slowing their development of critical thinking skills. --Tom Flynn, _The Trouble with Christmas_ =========================================================== || BEGINNING OF ARTICLE || =========================================================== The Abimelech Society The Abimelechs are an association of Atheist commercial, business, and professional men and women who have as one of their objects: The removal from circulation of the so-called Word of God or Holy Bible, from hotels, motels, hospitals, school classrooms, university dormitories, penal institutions, and many other places, and by the confiscation of New Testaments from school children, service personnel and nurses. The Association was founded in Canada 29 years ago by a couple of freethinkers who, in a hotel room, found the only reading material to be a Gideon Bible, and were angered by this overt propaganda by the Christians and decided to do something about it. There are now adherents in many countries around the world, and thousands of Bibles and New Testaments have been withdrawn from circulation, confiscated, destroyed, or put to some useful purpose. The Abimelechs named themselves after the bastard son of Gideon and his followers who, in the story related in IXth Chapter of the Book of Judges, were inspired to usurp the work of the Judge Gideon and his associates, who had wrought havoc upon the many peoples whose religious beliefs differed from their own conviction that Yahweh was the Only True God. The above 'mission statement' of the Abimelech Society describes the purpose and the work. It is not a formal organization: there are no dues or elected officers, no annual meetings, and anyone who supports the aims of the society as described in the mission statement is welcome to consider themselves a member. We do encourage discussions among members of topics relevant to the Society such as: what to do with specimens once confiscated. The Society maintains a Book Depository in Winnipeg, Manitoba for temporary storage of specimens. Among the known final uses of specimens are: insulation material in home construction and rolling papers for smoking tobacco and other herbs. Because of their dense nature, specimens burn poorly in fireplaces, although they have been employed as fuel in restored steam locomotives by Atheist rail buffs. Bible paper usually is poorly absorbent and therefor is not recommended for hygienic purposes except in case of extreme need. It is hoped that the direct actions of Atheists in endeavours such as those represented by the mission statement of the Abimelech Society will contribute to the diminishing influence of organized religion worldwide. From the psychological point of view, involvement in this type of direct action gives freethinkers a sense of participation in the ongoing struggle against ignorance and superstition, and reduces their sense of helplessness in a society of religious dupes. The question has been asked at times, is this confiscation of Bibles and New Testaments possibly an illegal activity? Would we be liable to prosecution for theft? Although I have not secured a legal opinion, I rather think not, for many of the specimens indicate that the reader should take it along if they become engrossed in the text. So I don't think the removals are in themselves actionable, given that the original distributor, the Gideon Society, permits their removal. Prudence is nevertheless advised to avoid hassles, so far the Abimelech Society is not listed in the Yellow Pages. [If it should turn out to be illegal, we in no way counsel anyone to do anything illegal.] The Founder and Dominion Director of the Society. Mr. E. Van Beetfield, may be contacted at: evb@yknet.yk.ca and you will be one of the few who have written to someone in the Yukon. Originally printed (on actual paper) in "The Canadian Atheist" a quarterly newsletter, Autumn 1995 issue. To receive TCA send your address to: paracom@cyberstore.ca or if you insist on archaic technologies, to: PO Box 41613 - 923 12th Street New Westminster, BC V3M 6L1 Canada or fax to: (604) 525-4911 You may send donations to the snail address. It is a non profit organization 'dedicated to the complete separation of religion from the state.' It says right in the current issue: "If you think we can use help with the cost of postage and production -- You're right! Please do!" It is also online at: http://magi.com/~galent/hao-ca.html [that's what is printed in the magazine, but if I remember right Galen's account name is galent, so if the first doesn't work try "galent"] ========================================================= || END OF ARTICLE || ========================================================= "We cannot hope for a society in which formal organized religion dies out. But we can stop behaving as if it was worthy of our collective respect." [A. N. Wilson, "Against Religion"] =========================================================== || BEGINNING OF ARTICLE || =========================================================== Why should a rational person be a strong atheist? Question from Jeff Lowder A rational person should be a strong atheist, that is, should reach the conclusion that no gods exist, and that no gods can exist, because: 1) one understands the materialist explanation of the origin of the universe, this eliminates the requirement for a god to create it. 2) one understands that postulating a god as an explanation for the universe just postpones the problem, there is still a requirement to explain the origin of the god. If god does not require an explanation, why does the universe? 3) the idea of a god is incoherent. If you claim that your definition of "god" is coherent, please give it, I think I can show that it is not, but admit I am an amateur at this. 4) one understands the history of the creation of gods, and the facts of cultural transmission, which explain the popularity of the explanation without contributing anything to its believability. 5) one understands something of human psychology; at a minimum Asimov's "Six Security Beliefs" which explain the psychic comfort that the god explanation provides, again explaining its popularity, despite its lack of truth. 6) one understands the psychology that allows the misinterpretation of various normal internal psychological events, such as dreams and feelings, memories of childhood dependency and the overwhelming feeling of love from a parent, the desire to submit to authority (such as a parent) which is always right and loving. 7) abnormal psychological events such as seizures, hallucinations, depersonalization, auditory hallucinations, whether experienced by the person or by an acquaintance, are often used to substantiate the god explanation. If one understands their actual source, the god explanation is unnecessary. 8) the competing varieties of god explanations indicate that they are cultural artifacts, responses to the kind of internal events such as those mentioned above, rather than descriptions of something real, which would tend to be all the same if there were and actual referent. 9) knowing how poorly humanity interprets probability, and how susceptible it is to wishful thinking, one dismisses the evidence of prayer and meditation. 10) the histories of the god explanations show that they have never delivered on what they promise. While promising peace, they have delivered conflict, while promising love they have encouraged hatred, while promising protection and supernatural help, they have delivered what looks suspiciously like random events. Well, I am running out of time. Those are the first ten reasons why a rational person should conclude that there is no god, and why there cannot be a god. The one that need the most expansion is the one about incoherence, which has mainly to do with the explanation of how a god transcending the universe can act within it, or how a compassionate god can cause such misery, or a loving god such hate. ========================================================= || END OF ARTICLE || ========================================================= They were allowed to stay there on one condition, and that is that they didn't eat of the tree of knowledge. That has been the condition of the Christian church from then until now. They haven't eaten as yet, as a rule they do not. -- Clarence Darrow =========================================================== || BEGINNING OF ARTICLE || =========================================================== Spare the Rod? Does the Bible Facilitate Child Abuse? by Jim Dew The "rod" is used both symbolically and literally in the Bible. The first biblical reference to a rod is the rod of Moses, or the "rod of God" (Ex 4:20). This rod was used to perform numerous miracles including turning an Egyptian river into blood; turning dust into lice; controlling the weather, wind, and locusts; and dividing the red sea. One of the most profound miracles using the rod occurred in Exodus (4:2-3) when God commanded Moses to throw the rod to the ground and it turned into a snake, then God commanded Moses to grab it by the tail and it turned back into a rod. These events demonstrated the supernatural abilities of the rod. Later the rod was presented as a symbol of spiritual and political power and was passed to successive religious rulers (e.g., Numbers Ch. 17). However, rods retained their supernatural powers as shown by the rod of Aaron which budded, blossomed, and yielded almonds (Numbers, 17:8). Using the "rod of correction" for slaves, women, and children, stems from references in Psalms and Proverbs: "If his children [of the house of David] forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they break my statutes and keep not my commandments; Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail." (Psalms 89:30-33) Note that the Psalmist condones using the rod to produce "stripes". If one makes the argument that the "rod" is symbolic of "loving correction", an argument made by some liberal theologians, then one must also interpret the symbolic nature of "stripes". Further, the references to "love" that follow the use of the rod should be viewed carefully. Notice that the Psalmist does not command love of the law-breaker, but makes a command not to totally remove loving kindness, as well as not loose faith in God. More will be said about the biblical use of "love" later. Proverbs (Ch. 10) contrasts the "wise man", one who is obedient to the law and fears God, and the "fool". "In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding" (Pr 10:13). Notice the existential aspect of understanding being developed here: it either exists or doesn't. Understanding is viewed as coming from God, it is not developed on one's own. In the Bible, children are viewed as being born foolish, sinful, and lacking understanding, so it is the parents' duty to lead them to righteousness. A number of other verses in Proverbs discuss the rod and are the source of the classic statement "Spare the rod, spoil the child". "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes [at times, regularly]" (Pr 13:24); "Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying" (Pr 19:18); "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him" (Pr 22:15); "Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge. Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell" (Pr 23:12); "A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back" (Pr 26:3); "The rod and reproof give wisdom but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame" (Pr 29:15). From these verses (and others regarding what one should teach) it is made clear that the principle aim of such chastisement is to gain obedience and to punish independent thinking. "Wisdom", "knowledge", and "understanding" are redefined to mean obedience to the law and fear of God. Physical punishment is not just an Old Testament attitude. Hebrews (12:6-8) states "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons." Further, based on historical evidence from the 19th and early 20th centuries, Philip Greven (1990), in Spare the Child: The Religious Roots of Punishment and the Psychological Impact of Physical Abuse, has proposed that corporal punishment facilitates the development of apocalyptic ideation and the belief that the world will end in one's own lifetime. Mythical support for this belief is, of course, prevalent in the New Testament. The response of most Christians confronted with such a seemingly negative view of child discipline would likely be that the Bible teaches one to "love" and love is most important in the education of our children. While this is indisputable, one should consider exactly what the Bible says about "love". First, erotic "love" (eros), while positively characterized in the Old Testament, is viewed negatively in the New Testament as "lust". Storge, the standard, classic Greek word for intrafamilial love occurs only once in the New Testament (Rom. 12:10). The word more often used in the New Testament is agape (translated both as "love" and "charity" in the King James Bible). This "love" is portrayed as placid, stolid, and not associated with strong emotions. For example, "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails..." (1 Cor 13:4-8) An explicit biblical definition of "love" is given in Romans (13:10), "love is the fulfilling of the law" and 2 John 6, "And this is love, that we walk after his commandments." The Bible rarely mentions human affection and views it inconsistently. There are two indirect references in the New Testament to something good about human affection by decrying the supposed lack of "natural affection" in persons preaching false gospels (Rom. 1:31 and 2 Tim. 3:3), however the devotional program in Colossians (3:2) tells us to set our affection "on things above, not on things on the earth" and affections are explicitly stated to be part of what dies in salvation (Gal. 5:24). To make "love" more confusing, Christians are commanded to "love your neighbor", "love strangers", and "love your enemy" (e.g., Mt 19:19, De 10:19, Mt 5:44). The outcome of this is both to make "love" devoid of affection and to create a generalized depersonalization of others by equalizing relationships. When a lawyer asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?", Jesus told the story of a person who had been robbed and beaten, who had not been helped by a passing priest or a passing Levite, but was helped by a good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-36). Jesus then asked, "Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?" By asking who was the neighbor to the victim, Jesus deflected attention from the relevant aspect of the parable addressing the lawyer's question, namely, who was the neighbor to the Samaritan. This creates a view of love as obligatory, dependent, and need-based rather than independent and freely given. Edmund Cohen in The Mind of the Bible-Believer (1988) talks about logocide (the killing of words) in relationship to the biblical use of the word "love". One way this is accomplished is by the use of inconsistent statements. Consider the following three verses cited by Cohen: "...[E]very creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving..." (1 Tim. 4:4) "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." (Rom. 12:9) "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15) Cohen suggests that by engendering such inconsistent beliefs the Bible creates dissonance in the true believer and the belief that any human action is potentially sinful. Here is a similar triad based on the sayings of Jesus: "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love...This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you." (John 15:9-10,12) "He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Matt 10:37) "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26) These negative passages make sense in the biblical context suggesting the end of the world will soon occur. Nevertheless, confusion and dissonance follow from the biblical use of the word "love". Believers easily conclude that God is jealous of their affection toward others; why else would He utter such irrational things? The ultimate result is that believers are kept mentally off balance, are never completely sure if they are among the elect, and gladly replace trying to make intellectual sense of this for obedience to "God's law". The combinination of discipline using the rod, with a love that is void of affection, as well as the exhortation to "honor thy father and mother" (Ex 20:12; Det 5.16; Eph 6:2) may lead to child abuse in the name of righteousness. In the Bible, honor is never something earned, but something bestowed or commanded. Indeed, the same is true of "understanding", "truth", "wisdom", and "love". True believers view themselves as conduits for "God's word" -- which ultimately boils down to selfless obedience to the law and an insistence that others do likewise. Any thoughts and actions of one's own are likely a reflection of "man's sinful nature", as are any seemingly "good works" by non- believers. The above is important to consider for the context of child- rearing. Returning now to disciplining children, consider Jesus's statement "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not" (Mark 10:13). By "suffer" does he mean for his disciples, who initially refused those bringing children to Jesus, to now "tolerate" these children? Or could it be interpreted differently since Jesus also preached that we should all be as children to enter the Kingdom of God and that we should well expect to suffer persecution due to our belief in God. What better way is there to help the children know just a little of the pain that Jesus went through to forgive us our sins and save our souls than by inducing a little pain with a rod? If you think such a rationalization for spanking is far fetched, consider this passage from James Dobson, the author of Dare to Discipline (1970) and probably the best known psychologist among Christians: "Once when I was going to spank Kari [his daughter], she tried to talk her way out of it. She promised never to do the offense again. She begged me not to spank her. I decided to take that opportunity to illustrate an example of real love and sacrifice. I told her how when Christ died on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sin. Then I told her that I wanted to show her a small example of what Jesus did. I was going to let her spank me." After much encouragement, his daughter did give him a swat. Dobson tells us that this demonstrates how we should "associate love with spanking". The example is fairly clear: if we hurt others by presenting them with profound emotional predicaments and occasional beatings we can manipulate them to obey our rules without question. Research has shown that the more religious one is, the more authoritarian parenting style one will have and the more likely one is to spank one's children; but these are also related to the education and intelligence of the parents. Generally, the more religious are less intelligent and less educated, and when these are taken into account, parenting differences often disappear. However, this doesn't excuse religion. While the rule-bound regularization of affectionate relationships through Christian "love" would be devastating for the psychologically healthy person, it serves a repressive function and allows those coming from unhealthy relationships to escape their past. This same "love" perpetuates unhealthy relating either by facilitating repetition of previously experienced unhealthy behaviors, or, often, by facilitating a shift toward the opposite pole of unhealthy relating (e.g., an adult who was neglected in childhood may spend an inordinate amount of time "disciplining" their own children, or vice versa). In terms of a personal ideal, the Bible portrays meekness, dependency, obedience, and psychological dissociation as characteristics of believers. The final argument against the notion that the Bible leads to child abuse is that "most Christians love their children and don't abuse them." This may be due to the great propensity of religions in the U.S. and elsewhere to mold their beliefs to fit the secular society, humanistic values, and scientific understanding (typically with a denial that this is being done). However, the degree to which one actually reads and follows the precepts of the Bible, the more likely it seems that one will adopt such psychological manipulation and corporal punishment techniques. And surveys suggest that with the increase in poverty and social unrest, more and more people are reading and attempting to follow this book. An earlier version of this article was published in the May, 1994 issue of Reasonings, the newsletter of the Atheists and Agnostics of Wisconsin (P.O. Box 290 Madison, Wisconsin 53701-0290). ========================================================= || END OF ARTICLE || ========================================================= Brief note on next month Next month we will review our forecasts for the year 1995! If I remember right, we were fairly miserable failures at prediction. ========================================================= Top 10 reasons why atheism is better than fundamentalism: 10 You never have to worry about god asking you to sacrifice one of the kids. 9 Much wider opportunities for a guilt-free sex life. 8 Provides a perfect excuse for avoiding Boy Scout leader duties. 7 Atheist women can wear broided hair. 6 Atheism means never having to be polite to a door-to-door missionary or clergyman. 5 With no hell below us, and above us only sky, you can live in the real world. 4 Lobotomies (or whatever it is they do to stun their intellectual faculties) are not required for atheists. 3 Never have to listen to christian popular music. 2 Never have to think up excuses for televangelists' spending and sex proclivities. 1 No worrying that you could live your whole life in fundamentalist misery, denying yourself all the sinful pleasures, only to find out that some obscure sect with 40 members was the One True Church, and you're going to hell, anyway. ========================================================= "Everywhere in the world there are ignorance and prejudice, but the greatest complex of these, with the most extensive prestige and the most intimate entanglement with traditional institutions, is the Roman Catholic Church.." [H.G. Wells] ========================================================= '...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_ ========================================================== Atheism is the world of reality, it is reason, it is freedom, Atheism is human concern, and intellectual honesty to a degree that the religious mind cannot begin to understand. And yet it is more than this. Atheism is not an old religion, it is not a new and coming religion, in fact it is not, and never has been, a religion at all. The definition of Atheism is magnificent in its simplicity: Atheism is merely the bed-rock of sanity in a world of madness. ATHEISM: An Affirmative View, by Emmett F. Fields =><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><== || 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: 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 quotes in between the articles are usually part of the label quote file. Occasionally I throw in one that is too long for a label, but which should be shared. 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 Horrors, An Illustrated History of Religious Murder and Madness, by James A. Haught..........................$21.95 Christian Science, by Mark Twain.....................$15.95 (reprint of original attack) Deadly Doctrine, by Wendell W. Watters, MD...........$27.50 (Psychological damage caused by Christianity) Leaving the Fold, Testimonies of Former Fundamentalists, by Edward Babinski..................$32.50 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!" Once again: ISSN: 1201-0111 The Nullifidian Volume Two, Number 11: NOVEMBER 1995. ------------------------------------------------------------ * 1996 Freethought Calendar * The Atlanta Freethought Society has published a Freethought Calendar for 1996. The calendar features classic editorial cartoons from the 1800s supporting (defending?) the separation of church and state. In addition, important freethought dates and people are noted throughout the year, giving the user a better picture of freethought dates to celebrate instead of the religious holidays featured on most calendars. Tha pages are in antique parchment-style paper, 8.5 x 11 inches and comb-bound. This is a fund-raising item for AFS, as we seek to earn money to acquire our own permanent facility in Atlanta. As such, part of your purchase is tax-deductible as a charitable contribution. Details available on request. The calendar is available for $10 each or 3 for $25 to the general public, and $9 each or 3 for $23 to members of other freethought, atheist, and humanist organizations (such as FFRF, AHA, etc.), postpaid. To order, write directly to "Freethought Calendar," AFS, PO Box 813392, Smyrna GA 30081-3392. Editors and members of other organizations are free to reproduce this information if you choose. ------------------------------------------------------------ =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The problem with religions that have all the answers is that they don't let you ask the questions. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- (*) There is no footnote, and certainly not an endnote. -- | | ) ) /--- / __ Greg Erwin: VP |\ | / / / / o /__ o __ / o ) )_ godfree@magi.com Humanist | \ | / / / / / / / / / / .--/ / )ai815@freenet. Assoc. of | \| (___/ ( ( ( ( ( (__/ ( (__/( / ( carleton.ca Canada