American Atheist Magazine Dec 1985

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December, 1985 A Journal of Atheist News and Thought 2.95

Th e E d ito ria l:

S p e a k i n g O f T h e B o y S c o u t s

one hundred years of commentary -

J\theists On The Solstice



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Atheism may be defined as the mental attitude which unreservedly accepts the supremacy of reason and aims at

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Materialism declares that the cosmos is devoid of immanent conscious purpose; that it is governed by its own

inherent, immutable and impersonal laws; that there is no supernatural interference in human life; that man

-finding his resources within himself - can and must create his own destiny. Materialism restores to man his

dignity and his intellectual integrity. It teaches that we must prize our lifeon earth and strive always to improve it. It

holds that man is capable of creating a social system based on reason and justice. Materialism's faith is inman and

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asserting. It considers the struggle for progress as a moral obligation and impossible without noble ideas that

inspire man to bold creative works. Materialism holds that humankind's potential for good and for an outreach to

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• •



December, 1985

Vol. 27, No. 1

A m e r i c a n

A t h e i s t

Journal of Atheist News and Thought

Editorial: Speaking of The Boy Scouts - Jon Murray

2

News and Comments: Take That You Atheist

-

6

Atheists on The Solstice - One Hundred Years of Commentary: 7

Christmas - Jean Story; The Christ-Child - Annie Besant; Yuletide Greetings - B.M. Saner; Christmas - J.M.

Wheeler; Editorial- December, 1954,Liberal; It's Awfulto be a Heathen - January, 1913,M e lt in g P ot ; Jesus Christ

or Santa Claus - Joseph Lewis; The Origin of Christmas - Sherman Wakefield; Why is Christmas? - Lee L.

Dodds; Those Christmas Cards - November/December, 1965, Rationalist; Ding-Dong Merrily Below - Chris-

topher Morey; Philatelic Fun - George Rulf;The Dickensian Christmas - Peter Crommelin; Following Yonder Star

- R.J. Condon

Turtles AllThe Way Down - Frank R. Zindler 23

It's a Small World - Gerald Tholen

27

Dial-An-Atheist 29

Poetry 30

IfWishes Were Horses - Margaret Bhatty

31

Historical Notes 33

The Solstice Season - Madalyn O'Hair 34

Book Reviews

36

Me Too - Reggie Ball

37

Letters to The Editor 38

Crosswords 39

Classified Advertisement

40

Reader Service

40

OnThe Cover: As the world once more accelerates toward its annual year-end frenzy of virtuous religious rituals (Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.), it

would seem appropriate to point out some other things one might celebrate. At the recent (non)summit (non)meeting of the rulers of our world, Reagan

and Gorbachev greeted each other in what one might describe as a social Alice in Wonderland tea-party. Even the mightiest of the media came away from

Geneva with wide-eyed speculation as to what had or had not happened. I suppose we will have to be satisfied, once again, with only loquacious

explanations by our hired governmental mouth-piece, Larry Speaks (appropriately named, I might add). No one seems to be offended by the

contemptuous insult to humanity thus generated by the closed-door secretiveness surrounding the meeting. So, ina continuing manner, the pawns of the

world must wait while the whims of royalty casually deliberate our respective destinies. Moving right along now in our celebrations - Egyptian

commandos have liberated more hijack hostages recently. Give those religious terrorists hell, fellas An ounce of six-gun justice is more effective than a

pound of preventative cure - as all holy men know. Next item worthy of festive mention: our fellow (white) countrymen in Philadelphia - City of

Brotherly Love - are succeeding in ousting a Black family from their neighborhood. Merry Christmas, Philadelphia Iw ish I h ad twenty more pages so I

could relate more ofthe joyous worldly activi ties resulting from religio-cultural bigotries. But, perhaps you will be able to better understand, through this

month's American Atheist articles, the futility of historical religious Christmast ime fantasies that occasion the end of each year. Joy

- G. Tholen

Editor/R Murray-O'Hair, Editor Emeritus/Madalyn O'Hair, Managing Edi-

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Frank R. Zindler.

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Page

1



E D IT O RIA L /

Jon G.

M u r r a y

SPEAKING OF THE BOY SCOUTS

O

n the 5th ofJune, 1985,fifteen-year-old

Paul Trout of Shepherdstown, West

Virginia, received a letter from the national

office of the Boy Scouts of America inform-

ing his parents that he could no longer be a

Boy Scout because he had said that he did

not have any personal belief in God or

recognition ofany Supreme Being or force.

He stated also that he had complete belief

in self and self-reliance. The letter from

national Scout headquarters delivered the

soon-to-be-controversial line: If a person

does not have belief in a Supreme Being,

then they [sic] cannot be a member of the

Boy Scouts of America.

A

Pseudo-Controversy

That sentence touched off a veritable

storm of controversy when Paul's mother

went to the news media. Newspapers, mag-

azines, and editorial writers around the

country debated back and forth the ques-

tion of whether or not Paul Trout could

belong to the Boy Scouts and be at the very

same time that most dreaded of dreadful

things - an Atheist.

As soon as the news of Paul's expulsion

from the Scouts hit the wire services the

ever-vigilant public relations director of the

IllinoisChapter ofAmerican Atheists was on

the phone and spoke to Mrs. Trout to ask if

there was any way inwhich American Athe-

ists could be helpful. Information on Ameri-

can Atheists and on the history of religion

within the founding documents of Scouting

was rushed to the Trout home.

Only American Atheists really under-

stood what was happening when Paul Trout

was denied his Life Scout rank, scouting's

second-highest rank below Eagle Scout, and

was expelled from The Stonewall Jackson

Area Council of which he was a member

scout. The Boy Scouts, from its inception,

has been an organization dedicated to instill-

ing into the minds of young men the virtues

ofpatriotism and piety. Ithad the same type

oforigins as the YMCA, which was set up to

keep tender young men from the farm from

going astray in the big city during the great

period ofmigration to urban lifeof our indus-

trial revolution. Having been incorporated

by an act of Congress on December 6, 1915,

the Boy Scouts was subject to the same kind

of thought indicative of that era of our

Page 2

nation's history. The kind ofthinking ofearly

twentieth-century America with regard to

religion and patriotism can be laid down in

one sentence from the preamble ofthe Con-

stitution of the State of New Hampshire:

... morality and piety, rightly ground-

ed on evangelical principles, willgive

the best and greatest security to

government,

and willlay,

in

the hearts

of men, the

strongest obligations

to

due

subjection.

As Viewed from Here

The YMCA was founded in1881,and just

thirty-four years later Comstockery was still

very much in vogue when the Boy Scouts of

America was founded. Article IX, Policies

and Definitions, Section 1, Religion, Clause

1of the Boy Scout Charter states, The Boy

Scouts of America maintains that no mem-

ber can grow into the best kind of citizen

without recognizing an obligation to God.

Nothing could be more simply or succinctly

said. The Boy Scouts of America is

not

an

organization in which an Atheist should be

seeking membership.

It is incumbent upon any rational person

to investigate the aims and purposes of any

group to which that person desires to

belong. Ifthose aims and purposes are con-

trary to the principles of the individual seek-

ingmembership, it is

not

incumbent in turn

for the organization being reviewed to

change its policy to fit the desires of the

would-be member. Itis rather for the would-

be member to decide if he or she can be

comfortable inassociation with persons who

subscribe to the aims and purposes of the

organization in question. If the answer to

that question, upon self inspection, is no

then the would-he member should simply

not seek membership. For some bizarre

reason, many persons. these days feel that

any given organization that they choose to

target for membership must modify its aims

and purposes to suit their particular tastes

- even if those tastes run in direct opposi-

tion to even long-standing principles of the

group. One of the most recent examples

outside of Scouting was the insistence of a

female member of t~e Mormon Church

demanding that religious body change its

policy in favor of women's liberation. Such

December, 1985

a request would have meant abandonment

of the Church's founding principles by its

leadership. It was more proper that the sin-

gle women simply leave the church. In like

manner persons come tothe American Athe-

ist organization and demand that it change

its fundamental positions on scores ofissues

and even in many cases change its very

name to suit the applicant. This is patently

absurd.

In the case of Paul Trout, the question

arises: Ifhe is really an Atheist, why does he

want to be a Scout inthe first place? That is a

very good question indeed. The Boy Scouts

is not alone an organization dedicated to

fostering an America fiber Alles mentality,

but its literature and structure reek with reli-

gion. In the Southern states, most of the

troops meet inchurch facilities. Irealize that

there is a peer pressure aspect that draws

young men with a siren-like determination to

the Scouts. The same is true of the church

which draws naive young people into its

clutches through its social agenda, claim-

ing only to be providing a wholesome

atmosphere for young people to meet.

IfPaul Trout, or any other of his peers of

like mind, could think his way out ofreligion,

then he should be able to have evaluated the

Scouts as an organization basically hostile to

the Atheist position and not have joined in

the first place. Some years ago a similar

question came up in Canada in which a

Scout was denied his Eagle rank because he

said that he was an Atheist. How did he get

as far as qualifying for Scouting's highest

rank and not notice its aversion to Atheism?

These unanswered questions are not the

end of the controversy in this matter. Many

members ofAmerican Atheists wrote to Ben

H. Love, Chief Scout Executive, at Scout

National Headquarters inIrving, Texas, pro-

testing Paul Trout's dismissal, many saying

that they had been Scouts and some even

returning their Scout memorabilia Vietnam-

veteran-protest style. In addition, the Illinois

Chapter of American Atheists staged a his-

toric protest in suburban Chicago.

A Media Challenge

On Saturday, October 12, some 3,500

scouts, principally from the Northwest Chi-

cago suburbs, gathered for a camporee at

the Shoe Factory Woods Cook County

American Atheist



Forest Preserve west of Hoffman Estates,

Illinois. The gathering was the Northwest

suburban scouts' largest camporee in ten

years, according to its local organizers.

About fifteen Atheists from Chicago, Min-

neapolis-Saint Paul, and Ohio chapters of

American Atheists picketed at the entrance

to the preserve during the early morning

arrival ofthe scouts. Plans for the picket had

made headline news in Chicago since the

Wednesday prior to the protest. Robert

Sherman, spokesman for the Chicago Chap-

ter, told the press that the Boy Scouts was

a group of bigots who discriminate on the

basis of religion. He went on to say that

There isnothing patriotic about bigotry and

nothing patriotic about religious intoler-

ance. Sherman's point was that A kid nine

or ten years old doesn't know if there's a

god. He doesn't care ifthere's a god. He just

wants to make friends, to go camping.

This may be true, but it does still not

excuse Atheist parents from knowing better

and taking the time to find out the true

nature of the organization to which their

children want to belong. In many-cases Iam

convinced that it is sheer cowardice on the

part of the parents because they don't wish

to rock the boat. Iwould rather be unpop-

ular in my community and have my child be

temporarily unhappy or unpopular than to

sacrifice my principles as an Atheist. Chris-

tian parents are never called upon to sacri-

ficeeven an inch oftheir principles without it

driving them to scream their heads off at

school and other authorities. Atheist par-

ents have a fine track record of sitting back

and taking almost anything.

Bigotry Reaffirmed

Iam not prepared to say that it was as the

direct result of the Chicago picket and the

publicity attendant thereto, but at an execu-

tive board meeting of October 10, the Na-

tional Board of the Boy Scouts drafted a

resolution which it released to the press on

Friday, the day before the picket. The press

billed this resolution across the country as

Boy Scouts change religion rules ... or

something equivalent. This was, in fact, not

the case. What the resolution actually said

was the following:

Boy Scouts of American Resolu-

tion:

Reaffirmation of the Position of

the Boy Scouts of America on

Duty to God

Resolved, that the followingreaffirma-

tion ofthe position of the Boy Scouts

ofAmerica relating to Duty to God

be, and hereby is, enacted and that

the Bylaws, Rules and Regulations,

and literature of the Corporation

reflect this reaffirmation accord-

ingly.

Austin, Texas

This year, America is celebrating the

seventy-fifth anniversary of the Boy

Scouts of America. Since 1910, sev-

enty-two millionAmericans have sub-

scribed to the Scout Oath and the

Scout Law which have stood the test

of time.

The national Executive Board of the

Boy Scouts of America proudly

states, through its Mission Statement,

that the values which the organization

strives to instill in young people are

those based upon the Scout Oath and

the Scout Law. A Scout pledges: On

my honor I willdo my best, to do my

duty to God and my country, and to

obey the Scout Law....

The first Boy Scouts of America

Handbook for Boys which was pub-

lished inAugust 1911declares that ...

no boy can grow into the best kind of

citizenship without recognizing his

obligation to God. (p. 215.)

The latest edition of The Official Boy

Scout Handbook, published in Feb-

ruary 1979, reads: 'A Scout is rever-

ent.' All Scouts show this by being

faithful in their duty to God. (p. 484.)

While not intending to define what

constitutes belief in God, the Boy

Scouts ofAmerica isproud to reaffirm

the Scout Oath and its declaration of

Duty to God.

In the October 11press release from Boy

Scout headquarters, Raul Chavez, its na-

tional communications director, said that

Paul Trout iseligibleto receive his Life

Scout Award because he subscribes

to the Scout Oath with its Duty fo

God as wellas to the Scout Law that

asks a Scout to be reverent. Earlier

this year, the fifteen-year-old Scout

was not approted for his Life Scout

Award because it was understood he

could not support the Scout Oath and

Scout Law.

The press release went on to say that

The Boy Scouts ofAmerica has made

a thorough analysis of the matter.

This involved contacts with members

of the Boy Scouts of America's na-

tional Religious Relationships Com-

mittee, the young man and his family,

and local Scouters. It has been deter-

mined that Paul Trout, indeed, does

subscribe to the Scout Oath and

Scout Law.

December, 1985

Hypocrisy as Usual

What allof this rhetoric means inlayman's

terms is that absolutely nothing has been

changed by the Boy Scouts of America. It

still requires participants in its organization

to have a Duty to God and to be rever-

ent. An Atheist can have neither a Duty to

God or be reverent and be an Atheist.

This means that when the Scout national

office called Paul Trout on October 10 and

explained its new resolution to him and

asked him ifhe could subscribe to the Boy

Scout Oath and Law and he said he could,

that he was lying during his Life Scout local

board of review back in June or that he was

lyingon October 10.He could not have been

honest on both occasions. The only conclu-

sion to which I can reasonably come is that

Paul Trout valued being a member of the

Boy Scouts more than he valued his intellec-

tual integrity.

The Boy Scouts changed nothing with its

resolution of October 10; it merely reaf-

firmed what had been its policy since 1910.

Infact, on Friday, October 11, Raul Chavez,

Communications Director for the national

office of the Boy Scouts, appeared by tele-

phone on a talk show on WIND radio in

Chicago immediately followingRobert Sher-

man ofthe IllinoisChapter ofAmerican Athe-

ists. Chavez said, on the air, that the Boy

Scouts of America had not changed any of

its policies. He also refused to appear with

Mr. Sherman and at a mid-point in the con-

versation with the host refused to take ques-

tions via telephone from the audience. Why

would he refuse to answer audience ques-

tions on a major Chicago 'area all-talk radio

station? Could it have been that he would

not want the callers to really figure out that

in fact the Boy Scouts was only putting up a

media smoke screen of changing its policy

when in fact it had made no substantive

change? You bet it could

What the Boy Scouts did in its statement

on this issue was the same thing that the

religious community, of every denomina-

tion, has been doing now for some time in

state-church matters. Ithas been equivocat-

ing itsposition where and when necessary to

save an established though unconstitutional

practice. Let me give you some examples.

Any Excuse

1) In nativity scene cases, religious

leaders have allowed both their attor-

neys and the court to say that the

creche has no religious significance.

In a Texas case, the religious com-

munity even went so far as to argue

that the creche was a symbol of the

nuclear family and was a mere bau-

ble under the tree.

2) In a case involving the slogan In

God We Trust on coins and cur-

Page 3



rency, the religious community ar-

gued that the word God in that slo-

gan had nothing to do with religion

and that the slogan was purely

patriotic

3) Inone case after the other involv-

ing the opening of city councils with

invocations, religious leaders and pub-

lic officials have said that an invoca-

tion or prayer has no religious signifi-

cance, The only value of the invoca-

tionwas as a gavel to quiet the room

and set the tone for the legislative

meeting.

Allof these arguments are highlyabsurd,

but they show that religion will take any

degradation in order to survive in the cul-

ture. This isthe same principle on which the

Boy Scouts of America has operated in the

case of Paul Trout. It has redefined a belief

in God as whatever an individual Scout

says it is. I am sorry, but god has been

amply defined over the course ofhistory and

that definition cannot be changed now by

the Boy Scouts of America to exclude the

concept of a Supreme Being - which is

exactly what it is trying to do.

An Area of Agreement

In response to the Boy Scout resolution,

Cal Thomas of the Moral Majority (Jerry

Falwell's right-hand man) wrote an editorial

that was carried nationwide in major news-

papers in which he said:

This isnot about Paul Trout's right to

hold whatever beliefs he wishes. It is

also not an argument for the existence

of God. It is a criticism of the adults

who run Boy Scouts of America, and

who are supposed to set an example

for their young charges, for waffling

on the principles by which the organi-

zation has always lived and taught

boys to live. What message will

Scouts get when they learn that prin-

ciples can be watered down on the

challenge of only one of millions of

Scouts?

As much as I hate to agree with a right-

wing religionist, I must agree completely

with Cal Thomas on this point. The Boy

Scouts ofAmerica should not have changed

its rules or compromised its principles either

infact or inpretense. Paul Trout's expulsion

should have been permanent. To have

changed its rules in pretense rather than in

fact was even more wrong than had it made

a substantive change.

Paul Trout should have known better

than to join the Boy Scouts inthe first place.

His parents should have stood up for their

lifestyle. That they did not makes them

either theists or Atheist hypocrites. I agree

Page 4

with Cal Thomas in that young people

should not be led to aspire to waffling on

principles. It would have been far better for

both Paul Trout and the Scouts to have

proudly stood their ground and parted com-

pany. In the final analysis, they both lost

their dignity.

References

1. Charter: To Incorporate the Boy Scouts

of America And for Other Purposes, 64th

Congress, First Session, December 6,

1915.

2.Letter from National Office, Boy Scouts of

America, to Mr. & Mrs. Robert N. Trout,

dated June 5, 1985.

3. Letter with attached News release from

the Communications Division, Boy

Scouts of America (Contact: Raul

Chavez), dated October 18, 1985, to the

Milwaukee County Council Boy Scouts of

America.

4. Letter to American Atheists member in

Arlington, Virginia, dated October 16,

1985, from National Office, Boy Scouts of

America, signed Ben H. Love, Chief

Scout Executive, withattachment of Boy

Scouts of America Resolution: Reaffir-

mation of the Position ofThe Boy Scouts

of America on Duty to God.

5. Los Angeles Times, October 24, 1985,

editorial page.

6. Houston Post, October 14, 1985.

7. The Daily Herald, Arlington Heights, Illi-

nois, October 9, 1985, Sec. 1-11; ibid.,

October 13, 1985, front page;

ibid.,

October 15, 1985, Sec. 1-11.

8.San Antonio Light,

October 13, 1985,Sec.

A21.

9. The Washington Post, October 12, 1985,

Sec. Dl.

10.The New York Times, October 13, 1985.

11. Austin American Statesman, October

14, 1985, Sec. M. ~

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A second generation Atheist,

Mr. Murray has been the Director of

The American Atheist Center for nine

years and is also the Managing Editor

of the American Atheist.

He advocates Aggressive Atheism.

Make your plans now for

American Atheists

Convention 1986

April 18,19,and 20(Friday,

Saturday, and Sunday), 1986

are red letter days for Athe-

ists Make yo ur plans no w to e nte r

into th e e xcitement o f th e 1986

C onve ntio n. A th eists fro m th e fo ur

co rne rs o f th e U nite d Sta te s w ill be

g ath er ing to ge th e r in S om er se t, N ew

Je rse y, fo r a n info rm atio n-pa cke d

th re e d ays. Jo in th em ; mee t o th e rs

o f l ike m ind . L iste n to unique le c-

ture s; pa rt icipa te in spo nta ne ous

a nd invigo ra ting d eba te w ith o th er

Athe is ts . Se e th e la rge st sa le o f

A th eist bo oks and li te r a ture o n th is

con t inen t.

T h i s o n e-o f-a -kind mee t w il l be

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December, 1985 American Atheist



SK

InLetters to the Editor readers give

their opinions ideas and information.

But in Ask A.A . American Atheists

answers questions regarding its poli-

cies, positions and customs as well as

queries of factual and historical sit-

uations.

The picture of Paul Tirmenstein [Amen-

can Atheist,

June, 1985] shows some ob-

jects on his ears and nose. Are they orna-

mental or do they serve some other

purpose?

Ihink a little explanatory note regarding

this would have served to satisfy the curios-

ity of many readers.

Max Levine

New York

It is hardly worth writing about, but curi-

osity does eat at people. The items showing

inthe photo which are being inquired about

are simply silver jewelry. They have abso-

lutely

no

significance whatever except that I

like to wear them. That's it. Simple, isn't it?

Paul Tirmensiein

Ihave been trying to locate a copy of

Joseph McCabe's The Story of Religious

Controversy without success.

My wife insists that the reason for that is

the Roman Catholic Church destroyed all

the copies printed.

I

can't believe that

explanation.

Do you know where I might get a copy?

Harold T. Porter

Missouri

The Story of Religious Controversy, all

six hundred and twenty-three hardbound

pages of it, was published by the Stratford

Company of Boston, Massachusetts in

1929. Edited by

E.

Haldeman-Julius (of the

Little Blue Book fame), it

is a classic

of

Atheist literature. The table of contents lists

topics of special interest to the Atheist

community for centuries: The Revolt

Against Religion ; The Origin of Religion ;

A Few of the World's Greatest Religions ;

The Myth of Immortality ; The Futility of

Belief in God ; The Human Origin of Mor-

als ; The Forgery of the Old Testament ;

Religion and Morals in Ancient Babylon ;

Religion and Morals in Ancient Egypt ;

The Conflict Between Science and Reli-

gion - just to name a few.

Copies are still extant, but they are not

common. The Charles E. Stevens American

Atheist Library and Archives, Inc., has five

Austin, Texas

in its holdings at this time.

It is true, though, that Atheist literature is

often destroyed by the religious. Widows

and widowers willburn the libraries of their

spouses. Seventh Day Adventists search for

old and rare Atheist works for the pleasure

of sending them to the furnace. But just as

often the literature

is

inadvertently de-

stroyed or ruined because of improper care.

Atheist and freethought material is not the

only printed matter which is lost through the

years.

There are basically only three ways for

you to find a copy of The Story of Religious

Controversy: 1) you can personally search

used and rare book stores for the title; 2)

you can employ aprofessional book search-

er to do so; and 3) you can advertise in

periodicals (such as the American Atheist)

that you are interested in purchasing it -

another individual might own a copy and

might be willing to sell.

The American Atheist Press isslowly try-

ing

to reprint many of the Atheist and free-

thought classics, but this particular title is

not scheduled to be published at this time.

Other of McCabe's works will definitely be

reprinted, however.

We would like to take this opportunity to

encourage Atheists to help preserve our

heritage. The Charles E. Stevens Library is

attempting to

bring

together allAtheist and

freethought literature; too much of the his-

tory of Atheism has already been lost. And

as

the feature of this issue, Atheists

on

the

Solstice attests, that literature is more than

t·

worth saving. Atheists can help in the strug-

gle to save our history from the ravages of

time and theists

by

sending donations of

either money or literature to c.E.S.A.A.L.A.,

Inc., 2210 Hancock Drive, Austin, Texas,

78756.

In most of your literature, you list your

address as P.O. Box 2117, Austin, Texas,

78768-2117. Yet every once in a while, I

receive a pre-addressed envelope in one of

your mailings which has the same address

on it only with the zip code of 78768-9989. I

have been carefully correcting the zip code

whenever Ise them, but you keep sending

them out with the wrong zip code. Hasn't

anyone there noticed the mistake?

Liza Snyder

South Carolina

That isn't a mistake

The envelopes on which that zip code

appear are business reply envelopes,

which means that American Atheists pays

the postage

on

them. You simply drop them

in the mail without a stamp, and American

Atheists is billedfor the cost.

The Post Office wants these envelopes to

go

directly to

its

processing office, before

reaching American Atheists' post office

box,

so

that it will be easier to

bill

American

Atheists. The zip code differentiation facili-

tates this.

Than~oufor your concern - but please

don't keep correcting the zip code.

~1)~A\ - A \ \ o

If I m a Bride of Christ, does

that moke God m4 father-in-law?

December, 1985

PageS



N E W S A N D C O M M E N T S

TAKE THAT YOU ATHEIST

There are continuing sagas inthe activity

of individual Atheists. And the difficulties

that are encountered often seem to be

interminable. And so it is with Arnold Via,

the Director of the Virginia Chapter of

American Atheists.

As reported inthe May, 1985,issue of the

American Atheist [Vol.

27,

No.5, p.

10, in

Via Atheism ]' Arnold, as far back as

March of 1982, was interested in obtaining

an automobile license plate which would

openly identify him on the roads as he took

pride in his Atheism. Permitted six letters

only, he asked the Department of Motor

Vehicles in the State ofVirginia for individu-

alized license plates which would have car-

ried messages such as NO-GOD, GOD-

LES, ATH-IST, ATHE*ST, A-THEST, or

ATHEST. All these choices were refused.

When he could obtain none of his first

choices, he finally settled for ATH-EST.

Receiving the plate in January of 1983, he

put it on his maroon-colored Cadillac and

happily drove down the rural highways ofhis

home state.

Vl r g l nJ a0~

A T H - E S T

o

But often an Atheist cannot stay on the

yellowbrick road of happiness and so it was

with Arnold.

Quite inexplicably, a letter of notifica-

tion was sent to him from:

Division of Motor Vehicles

2300 W. Broad St.

Richmond, VA 23220

April 16, 1985

Dear Mr. Via:

Ithas been brought to our attention

that you have been issued license

plate ATH-EST. The complainant be-

lieves that this refers to atheist and

is offended that we allow such a

license to be displayed.

It is our policy not to issue licenses

that may be offensive to any person or

group of persons. Therefore, you are

requested to select another Communi-

Page 6

plate by completion of the attached

application and return it to this office

witha copy ofthis letter. Ifyour choice

is available we will issue the license

without any cost to you.

If you do not wish another Com-

muniplate, please advise so we may

issue a regular series license and we

willrefund a portion of the reserved

license fee previously paid by you.

Sincerely

B. F. Moore,

Ass't. Manager

Title and Regulations Department.

Arnold was at first stunned, and then he

came out fighting. He had richly enjoyed

those plates for well over two years, and

there was no way he was going to give them

up because they offended what was prob-

ably a religious person.

He immediately contacted the American

CivilLiberties Union inVirginia - as did Dr.

O'Hair, President of American Atheists,

since she knew many of the officers of the

organization in that state. Nothing was

accomplished, and Arnold took several

months seeking out an attorney who would

challenge the state. One was finally located,

and quickly (on June 27) this attorney was

able to obtain a temporary order restraining

the state from snatching away Arnold's

plates. A hearing for a permanent injunction

was set for July 2. Arnold turned to the

members of American Atheists and an

appeal for funding for the suit was made in

the Insider's

Newsletter, Vol.

24,

No.7,

of

July 1985.

There were delays, and the hearing was

rescheduled for September 3 by an Augusta

County (Virginia) judge. Arnold was per-

mitted to keep his tags until at least then.

But, as of July 25, he had received $867 in

146 letters from American Atheists mem-

bers in every state in the Union - and two

from Canada - all toward his battle fund for

legal expenses.

When the case was heard, the silence in

the media was deafening. However, some-

where along the way, theA.C.L.U. did begin

to take notice - although neither Arnold

nor The American Atheist Center was made

aware of it in a timely fashion. Philip Hirsch-

kop, an attorney inAlexandria, Virginia, and

a member of the Board of Directors of the

ACLU of that state, in a personal letter to

December, 1985

The Center cleared the matter up in this

manner:

August 9, 1985

Dear Madalyn:

Mr. Via wrote Chan Kendrick, the

Executive Director of the ACLU, on

April 25 and Kendrick promptly con-

tacted the State within the next sev-

eral days. He received a reply in mid-

May and referred the matter to me

since Mr. Via had already sent a copy

ofhis April 25letter to me. [Dr. O'Hair

had requested Arnold to send such a

copy.] I had my office research the

matter and as soon as the research

was completed I referred the matter

to the National Legal Director for fur-

ther assistance in New York as we

had found a case inCalifornia that was

foresquare [sic] against us. Mr. Via

was sent a copy of that communi-

cation. After reviewing the informa-

tion supplied by the National Legal

Office, I recommended to Chan Ken-

drick that the case should be under-

taken by the ACLU and Mr.

Viawas

sent a copy ofthat correspondence. In

the interim, without consulting with

myself or Chan, Mr. Via hired Wat-

kins Ellerson to represent him, who

then very successfully got him a tem-

porary injunction. There are several

more pieces ofcorrespondence withme

on behalf ofthe ACLU trying to assist

Mr. Ellerson in any way we could.

The bottom line is that the ACLU

undertook to help Mr. Via and would

have proceeded to filesuit for him had

Mr. Via stayed in touch with us. The

ACLU is still helping his privately

retained attorney ....

Evaluate that as you may; Arnold stillin

the view of the media - stood alone in the

battle with none but American Atheists

ostensively backing him up.

The blow fell on November 14. On that

date, rather than handing down an opinion,

the judge involved sent a lengthy letter to the

attorneys. It read as follows:

Gentlemen:

First, I would like to apologize to

you for my inexcusable delay in advis-

(cont'd. on page 22)

American Atheist



: j9 escribed simply, the Winter Sol-

e - -

stice seems a boring enough thing.

The Winter Solstice is merely one ofthe two

points at which our sun reaches its greatest

declination north or south. On the projec-

tion of the plane of our planet's orbit on the

celestial sphere, a solstice is 90° from the

equinoxes. The Winter Solstice, usually oc-

curring around December 21st, is the short-

est day of the year in the Northern

hemisphere.

Doesn't sound like anything to break out

the champagne about, does it?

Perhaps not to the average urban man or

woman, to whom the only meaning of the

turn of the seasons is whether to light the

pilot on the furnace, but the change of the

seasons was a life and death matter for our

agrarian forefathers. For them, the solstices

and the equinoxes signaled the all-important

change of seasons. The movements of the

moon, of the sun, and of the numerous con-

stellations (now hard to notice against city

lights) marked significant events such as the

planting time, the harvest time, the approach

of cold months, or the return of warm

months. Unless they paid careful attention

to the changes in the night skies, primitive

men and women might lose track ofagrarian

schedules.

Bereft of ever-bountiful grocery stores,

the people of ancient times were dependent

on the sun and the soil for nourishment.

Caught without convenient central heating

systems, they needed the sun or fuel for

warmth. As the days shortened during the

latter part of the year, they understandably

worried about their future survival. What if

the sunlight days disappeared altogether?

in many cases they were going into the

realms of history where no man has gone

before - or very few men, at any rate.

Sometimes their opinions have been bitter.

After all, Atheists have been excluded by

religion from one of the basic celebrations

that humankind has for thousands of years.

Sometimes they have gleefull>-ioined in the

almost worldwide Winter Solstice celebra-

tions, only pausing on the way to remind

everyone that it really is not a religious

festival.

We have reprinted here the commentary

of Atheists on the Solstice during the past

one hundred years. I n the following

pages you will read everything from

the old-time Atheists' commen-

tary on the origin of Christmas

to modern writings on the

significance of church

bells. We hope you

enjoy it.

one hundred years of

commentary -

Jheists On The Solstic e

If one looks at it from this point of view,

the importance of solstices to primitive (and

not-so-primitive) humankind is obvious.

When the Winter Solstice passed, the days

grew longer. There was hope that it would

once again be warm and comfortable, that

food would start to grow again, that the

young animals would begin to be born. Life,

happiness, and joy were keyed to the grow-

ing seasons, and the growing seasons were,

and are, keyed to the sun.

Back then, the Winter Solstice was, with-

out a doubt, exciting enough to break out

the champagne, or whatever else one could

lay one's hands on.

Evidences of ancient solstice celebrations

can be seen in almost all cultures today. I n

the vast majority of these cases, the old and

joyous occasions have become mildewed

with religious significance.

And Atheists of all types and in all centu-

ries have been fascinated with religious sig-

nificance. They have wondered why people

engage in what can be ritualized and some-

times bizarre acts. They have wished to

know the origins of Christmas and of winter

celebrations of all types. They have wanted

the behind-the-scenes stories on all the

Solstice (and Christmas) customs.

More often than not, the information they

wish to have is unavailable. It is lost in the

mists of time or the fires ofthe Inquisitions.

But over the years, Atheist writers and

researchers have managed to un-

cover a few things of interest.

Sometimes their research has

been faulty; sometimes it

has been guesswork.

On the other hand,

Austin, Texas

December, 1985

Happy

Solstice.

Page 7



a c o n t r ib u t io n b y J ean S to ry to th e Free e l i g i o u s n d e x o f

Dec em ber 30, 1880

< Ihr is tmas

VOL. XII. OLD SERIES. XO. 5i5.

VOL. I.. NEW SERUtS ~O 21'.

BOSTON, ~fASS., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1880.

THREE DOLLARS A YEAR.

SI:: U LF.

COPlES

SEY EN C~TS.

ltltl e would not, and could not if we

~ would, lessen the world-wide inter-

est manifested from prehistoric ages in this

day of common rejoicing, the day when the

Sun of Heaven begins its annual return

northward after the winter solstice. It mat-

ters not what national tradition, secular or

religious, the day may be assumed to com-

memorate, whether it be the anniversary of

the miraculous birth of Osiris, or that of

Hercules or Bacchus or Adonis, or Mithra or

Khrishna, or the Christ child, it is nature's

ever-welcome guarantee of another seed-

time and harvest. The wherefore that all

these demi-gods had the same natal day,

corresponding to our Christmas, is because

they all had the same virgin mother, the

constellation Virgo. Owing to the precession

of the equinoxes, the constellation Virgo is

now in the autumnal equinoctial sign. And,

as it extends over more than forty-five

degrees of the zodiac belt, ithas been within

the limits of this sign for about twenty-five

hundred years. During all these years, the

earth has always been on a direct line

between the sun and some portion of this

constellation at every vernal equinox. This

overshadowing of the Celestial Virgin by the

sun's vernal rays was the annual procreation

ofthe sun's son, their common offspring on

the earth.

After the sun has passed through

the six signs of the lower or southern heav-

ens, and through three signs of the upper or

northern heavens to its greatest declination

north, it becomes apparently motionless for

three days. This, to our pagan ancestors,

Page 8

was a time of fearful suspense. They not only

feared the sun was leaving the earth during

its prolonged declination; but, when it stood

still,

they mourned its death. The morning of

the day when its first movement northward

changed their mourning into feasting was

celebrated by all nations as the anniversary

of the accouchment of the Celestial Virgin.

Hence, the resurrection of their god Sol

from his annual death at the end of the win-

ter solstice was simultaneous with the birth

of his earthly son, the man-child. But this

infant representative of the sun's procre-

ative power within the earth's northern hem-

isphere is always hidden until the vernal

equinox, when the earth is again at the

autumnal equinox. Here, on the celestial

atlas, we find the son of the winged virgin,

the immortal Hercules, who withone hand is

dealing a death-blow upon the head of the

great red dragon, the symbol of cold; while

with the other he is dragging away the dog

Cerberus, the symbol of darkness, thereby

forcing the cold and darkness ofwinter from

the northern heavens into the southern

heavens, in order to maintain astronomic

justice within the earth's northern and

southern hemispheres.

However necessary the seasonal labors of

this mediator during the earth's infancy,

when mankind assumed that it was cradled

in the great deep as incapable of self-

provision as a human infant, and believed

that the sun was obliged to make the entire

circuit of the heavens, a journey of about

two hundred and eighty millions of miles,

December, 1985

daily, as well as annually, during which it

must needs pass through the underworld

or infernal regions in the lower heavens,

over which the great serpent Hydra, whose

deadly wound from the club of Hercules had

become healed, presided with fiery opposi-

tion, these labors evidently ended when

humanity attained a more mature plane of

thought. The fact that the earth

now

attains

its needed quota of light and darkness, of

heat and cold, by its own axial rotations and

revolutions around the sun, is a significant

hint that its human inhabitants should

depend on their own self-provisional powers

rather than on heavenly or miraculous aids.

Although the sun is the most glorious and

most beneficient object known or knowable,

and its annual return northward promises

the greatest boon vouchsafed to man, yet it

is in no way profited by either adoration or

sacrifice. The radiation ofits heat and light is

as much a necessity of its nature as their

reception is to the nature of its terrestrial

offspring. This is equally true of each more

remote ancestral sun, and ofeach ideal of its

creative power. But our fellow-beings can-

not only be benefited, but ourselves en-

riched, by opening the mines of love within

our pent -up hearts, the truly enjoyable fruits

ofwhich multiply in the ratio oftheir recipro-

cal impartation and reception. And no more

appropriate day can be selected on which to

bestow gifts or exchange mementoes than

on our long-cherished and time-honored

anniversary, Merry Christmas.

American Atheist



by Annie Besant and from the December, 1883, O u r C orner

~ IIover Christendom the bellswillsoon

C \ be ringing in celebration of the anni-

versary of the birth of Christ. In Germany

the Christ-Child will visit every home and

bring presents to all his little brothers and

sisters. In Italy the Bambino willlie in every

church, and sweet young mothers willfeelas

ifthey had a share in the maternity of Mary.

In England the Holy Child will be joyously

greeted, and holly wreath and mistletoe

berry willhang in every hall. In France less

notice willbe taken ofhis coming, yet many a

Bethlehem in sacred fane will find a wor-

shipping crowd of women and children. In

far offRussia the sacred icon willbe greeted,

and the halo-encircled infant willstretch out

hands of blessing from his mother's arms.

Europe willrejoice from East to West. Tur-

key alone willhave no Christmas Day.

If from Christmas, 1883, we throw our

glances backwards across the centuries,

many another Christmas Day rises before

our eyes. Back over the years when wassail

bowland huge boar's head carried highinair

might be seen inevery baron's hall;when the

Yule log was cut with ceremony and carried

joyously home for burning on Christmas

night; when white-robed Christian priests,

eastward turning, sang how

Very early, very early,

Christ was born.

Back over the years, growing rougher and

and rougher, tillwhite-robed Druid priests

cut greet the Christ-Child, turning eastward

as the first pale rays of the sun dawned on

the the sacred mistletoe of the oak with

golden horizon on December 25th. Back yet

further, tillwe stand under the cloudless sky

in the rainless Egyptian land, and see the

white-robed knife, priests of Osiris hymning

their new born God, turning eastward to

greet the dawn in the early morning of

Christmas Day, 2,000 years before the Jew-

ish Christ was born. Back still, and ever

back till under the burning sun of India we

find priests, still white-robed and eastward

gazing, pouring out the sacred soma to hail

the birth of Christna, on Christmas Day,

5,000 years ago. And then our eyes grow

dizzy at the distance, and the mist of the

ages hides from us the earlier Christmas

Days.

Who is this Christ-Child, born ever in the

dawn of the 25th of December, who has

Austin, Texas

< ITheC hr is t-Chi l d

been born on that date each year as far

backward as historical search can press?

Let us take his story, which is one in its

outline allthe world over, though local color-

ingmay touch its details. And let us take itin

the oldest form yet known to us, in the

Hindu legend, most venerable of all religious

myths.

Three thousand fivehundred years before

the Christian era, there was a maiden named

Devanaguy (or Devaki), sweet and pure, liv-

ing in the province of Madura, and it was

revealed in a dream to Kansa, king of the

land, that this maiden should bear a child

who should be royal, and kingof the Hindus.

So when Devanaguy had attained woman-

hood, Kansa threw her into a tower hermet-

ically closed, that she might never bring a

child into the world. One evening as the

virginprayed, a light shone round about her,

and Vishnu appeared to her in allthe glory of

his divine majesty. The power ofthe Highest

overshadowed her, so that the Holy Child

who should be born of her might be called

the Son of God. And when the time came for

the birth of the infant long prophesied of by

Poulastya, and by other holy men, a sound

was heard as of a rushing mighty wind, and it

filled the tower where Devanaguy lay with

the new-born child, and the wall was rent,

and the Virgin and the Child were guided by

an angel to a stable, and the shepherds run-

ning to the place worshipped the newly-

born. And the child was named Christna, in

Sanscrit the sacred one.

Then Kansa, learning what had occurred,

was wrath, and he sent out and ordered the

massacre of all the male infants within his

states, who had been born during the night

previous to Christna's birth. But Christna

was miraculously saved, and was carried

away with his mother by Nanda, Devana-

guy's uncle, into a sure place of refuge.

At the age of sixteen Christna left his

home and began travelling over the country,

preaching as he went. A band of disciples

followed him, being attracted by the mira-

cles he wrought. He raised the dead, healed

the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, and

the ears of the deaf. Once, to encourage his

disciples, he was transfigured before them,

and he appeared in the glory of his divine

majesty, his face shining with such brilliancy

that Ardjourna and his companions, unable

to support the sight, fellon their faces. And

after that they named him Jezeus, or the

December, 1985

issue of the pure divine essence.

The day came when death was drawing

nigh, and it came to pass that two women of

base extraction approached him, and pour-

ing over his head precious perfumes, they

worshipped him. And the people murmured

at their presumption in touching the Holy

One, but Christna gently accepted their

homage. Then, knowing that his hour was

come, he withdrew from his disciples, and

kneeling down he awaited death. And a band

ofconspirators who were seeking to killhim,

surrounded him and pierced him with their

arrows, and taking his body they hung iton a

tree. And in the morning his disciples came

to seek him, that they might bury his sacred

body, but ithad disappeared, itwas revealed

to them that he had returned to the heavenly

home whence he had come to earth.

Such is the outline of the most ancient

legend of the Christ-Child, as given in the

Holy Scriptures of the Hindus. In Egypt, in

the story of Osiris, born, persecuted, mur-

dered, rising, ascending we have the Christ-

Child under another name. In Judea, in the

story of Jesus of Bethlehem, we have the

repetition of the Hindu legend, slightly

altered in many details, but broadly identi-

cal. To Christendom Jesus of Bethlehem is

the Christ-Child, and to him are given the

same love and homage offered to his prede-

cessors in every Eastern land.

Who then isthis Christ-Child born inwin-

ter, encircled by peril in his infancy, fighting

against difficulties through is short life,

conquered by a violent death, risingfrom the

dead triumphant, ascending into heaven and

reigning from his seat in the sky?

This Christ-Child is the Sun, the bright-

ness of the supreme glory, and the express

image of the Deity, himself Light of Light,

Very God of Very God. The story repeated

every year is a solar myth, and in this sym-

bolic story is traced the yearly circle of the

sun.

Therefore is the Christ-Child always born

at the winter solstice, and as the sun is then

in the sign ofthe Zodiac called Virgo, he is a

child in a virgin's arms; comparatively weak

and feeble he is then, but still it is his birth,

because from that time onwards he gains in

power, as he begins his yearly climb. But

danger surrounds his cradle, and Kansa,

who tries vainly to slay him, symbolises the

short days and long nights of winter and its

accompanying storms. And so pass the

Page 9



early months of the year, the sun's time of

struggle with the powers ofdarkness, tillthe

last struggle ofthe equinox draws near. Day

and night grow equal and seem to struggle

for the mastery, tillthe fullmoon is reached,

the Paschal moon, the first after the 21st of

March. If the death and resurrection of the

Jewish Christ be historical events, why

should their dates vary year by year? The

anniversary ofthe death ofVoltaire isalways

the 30th ofMay; the anniversary ofthe death

of Christ is the Friday before the Sunday

which falls after the full moon first after

March 21st. The reason for the variation of

this date isa very simple one. The resurrec-

tion is a solar festival, and it varies with the

moon. I n this triumph of the Christ it is the

Lamb of God who triumphs; he is the

Paschal lamb, without blemish and with-

out spot. The sun is then in the sign of the

lamb, and in this sign is his triumph; hence

the lamb becomes the sacred animal, the

symbol of the Savior. Long ages since the

zodiacal sign at the time of the spring equi-

nox was the bull, and then the bull was the

sacred animal, and the Bull of God was the

sun triumphant, as is the Lamb of God now.

After the Easter resurrection the sun rises

higher and higher in the heavens, ascend-

eth up on high, pouring down his beams of

Light and Love on man. He ripens the grape,

and the juice thereof becomes his very

blood; he ripens the corn, and the grain ishis

body, his very flesh, given to eat to his wor-

shippers. All the world knows how this

graceful myth isvulgarised and coarsened in

the Christian Holy Communion, and how

the poetical fancy that the beams ofthe Sun-

god are in very deed transformed into the

corn and grape, becomes the revolting the-

ory of eating the flesh and drinking the

blood of an actual human being.

Each Christ has his band oftwelve faithful

followers, for twelve are the signs of the

Zodiac, twelve the months ofthe solar year.

The artificial division of the solar cycle into

twelve, and the fanciful signs given to the

constellations which were the twelve

Houses of the Sun, have become in course

ofages twelve actual followers inattendance

on the central deity. As sign of their solar

significance the deity and his chief saints

wear the halo, the solar circle, drawn often

as the round sun itself at the back of their

heads, while the Virginmother stands on the

crescent moon, and round her head the

crown of seven stars, the sacred planets.

Twelve, as one of the two sacred solar

numbers, is constantly repeated in the his-

tory of every Christ-Child. Regarding only

the Jewish myths, its continual reiteration

with its multiples and submultiples would be

curious, were not the solar significance

clear. Jacob has twelve sons; there are

twelve tribes of Israel; twelve stones in the

breastplate of the High Priest of the Sun-

god; twelve apostles of Christ; the woman

Page 10

clothed in the sun has a crown of twelve

stars; the city of God has twelve founda-

tions, twelve gates, twelve angel porters,

twelve names written on it; the tree of life

bears twelve sorts offruit. Seventy-two (six

times twelve) are the second rank of disci-

ples; four and twenty (twice twelve) are the

elders round the throne; one hundred and

forty four thousand (twelve times twelve

thousand) are sealed out ofthe twelve tribes

of Israel; one hundred and forty thousand

virgins are redeemed from the earth, and

follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.

The walls of the holy city measure twelve

thousand furlongs alike in breadth, length

and height. Four, a submultiple oftwelve, is

also of constant occurrence, signifying the

four seasons of the year, and the four points

of the compass. The sacred river of Eden

divides into four heads; four livingcreatures

support God's throne in Ezekiel's vision;

each of these has four faces and four wings,

and each ofthe faces (lion, ox, man, eagle) is

that of a Zodiacal sign; inthe Apocalypse, a

mere book of astrology, there are four living

beasts in the throne of God; four mystical

horses appear; four angels stand on the four

corners ofthe earth and hold the four winds;

four angels are bound inthe river Euphrates.

The number seven obtained its sacred-

ness from the ancient theory of the seven

planets, the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus,

Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn; our week of

seven days has its basis insolar worship. Not

to trouble ourselves with the sevens of the

Old Testament, as inthe animals saved from

the flood, or the seven-branched candlestick

ever burning in the sacred temple of the

Jewish deity, it will suffice to take those

occurring in the Apocalypse. There are

seven golden candlesticks, surrounding the

Son of man, who holds seven stars in his

right hand; there are seven churches, with

. seven angels; a book is sealed with seven

seals; and only the Lamb (the Sun victo-

rious) with seven horns and seven eyes may

open that book. There are seven spirits of

God, and seven thunders roll; seven chief

angels stand before God, and they have

seven trumpets; the dragon has seven heads

and seven crowns; the beast has seven

heads; seven angels have seven vials filled

with the seven last plagues; the scarlet

woman sits on a scarlet beast with seven

heads; there are to be seven kings before the

end comes. Ifallthese sevens are accidental

they are very inexplicable; but accept the

Apocalypse as an astrological romance, and

it becomes interesting and curious.

The custom of turning eastwards during

the recital of the creeds; of building

churches pointing eastwards and of placing

the altar at the east end; of burying the faith-

ful dead with their feet pointing eastwards,

so that on rising their faces may be eastward

turned; what have allthese things to do with

a God everywhere present, no more a

December, 1985

dweller in the East than in the West? But

they admit ofthe simplest explanation ifthey

are merely relics of solar worship, and are

traditions of the time at which our forefa-

thers turned eastwards to greet the rising

Sun, and bowed towards the sun-rising as

they proclaimed their faith in the Light of

Light.

The language of solar worship is inter-

woven with our every thought and speech.

Light is to us the symbol of joy, of knowl-

edge, of hope; darkness of misery, of ignor-

ance and of despair. Reformers are ever

speaking of the dawn of a better day. Stu-

dents [speak] of light thrown on obscure

questions. Lovers [speak] of the sunshine

from the faces of the beloved. We worship

the sun today in realest fashion, identifying

with him all that is fairest and dearest on

earth.

Well might we enter the churches of

Christendom on Christmas morning with

the olden words on our lips: Ye know not

what ye worship .... Whom therefore ye

ignorantly worship, him declare we unto

you.

f rom the December , 1949,

L ib e r a l

iuletide

Greetings

The sun has completed its journey

And now willreturn once again;

To gladden the crops and the vineyards,

And comfort the spirits of men.

Ere Jesus and all of his cohorts

Had made their appearance in time;

Or even ere glorious Homer

Had written one immortal line -

When Athens was still in the future

And Memphis was stillin the mold;

By bards of the barbarous peoples

The story was told and retold.

Yes, even before the God Krishna,

Whose legend the Christian Church thieved

And tagged on their mystical Jesus

A story by millions believed -

The Sun God was worshipped at Yuletide

By peoples all over the earth.

Who knelt and gave thanks and oblations

To honor their patron's rebirth.

Far saner to worship this day star,

Which brings us the heat and the rain.

Then kneel to the God of the Christians

With horrors and wars in its train.

So, in line with this old pagan custom,

From which our holiday grew;

But freed from the latter's delusions,

I send my best greetings to you

- B. M. Saner

American Atheist



f r om

J

M . W h eel er s

F o o t s t e p s o f Th e P a s t

(1895) -

< 7 7 T he Christian institution of our

\ . J ; principal festival is best stated in the

words of St. Chrysostom (Horn., xxxi): On

this day the birthday of Christ was lately

fixed at Rome, in order that while the hea-

thens were occupied in their profane cer-

emonies the Christians might perform their

holy rites undisturbed. But they callthis day

'the Birthday of the Invincible One [Mith-

ras].' Who is so invincible as the Lord that

overthrew and vanquished Death? Or be-

cause they style it the 'Birthday of the Sun.'

He is the Sun of Righteousness, of whom

Malachi saith, 'Upon you, fearful ones, the

Sun ofRighteousness shall arise with healing

in his wings.'

The only connexion between jolly old

Father Christmas and the young man ofsor-

rows, said to have come to an untimely end

inJerusalem, isa church-made one. On the

face of it Christmas is a Pagan festival. The

head ofthe house, who invites his scattered

family to make merry with him at this time,

does exactly what his Pagan ancesters [sic]

did centuries before the Christian era. Nor

has the strong arm ofreligion quite banished

the Pagan name, for inmany parts Yule-tide

and Yule-log and a gladYule are stillfavorite

terms. And Yule signifies the revolution of

the year.

The hauling home of the Yule-log and

lighting it from a remnant of last year's log,

the custom down to modern times, was the

survival of the ever-burning house fire,

rekindled once a year from the ever-burning

village fire; and takes us back to the early

times when, inthe words ofMax Maller, the

hearth was the first altar, the father the first

elder, his wife and children and slaves the

first congregation, gathered together round

the sacred fire. The Yule festival was cele-

brated by the Druids with great fires lighted

on the tops of the hills.

The Venerable Bede says (de

Rat. Temp.

xiii)that inEngland the heathen inhabitants

celebrated this very time. They began, he

says, their year on the 8th of the Calends of

January [25th December], which is now our

Christmas Day; and the very night before,

which is now holy to us, was by them called

Maedrenack, or the Night of Mothers;

because as we imagine of those ceremonies

which were performed that night. The days

at this time just beginning to lengthen, the

Mother night was held to give them birth.

The women took part in a nocturnal watch,

now generally transferred to New Year's

Austin, Texas

Olhristmas

eve.

To get back to the origin ofChristmas, we

must put ourselves in the place of men who

had no clear conception ofthe uniformity of

natural law, and to whom, when winter with

its long gloomy nights came, killingoff vege-

tation, the question of questions was, When

would brighter seasons return? Evergreens

which told ofthe vitality ofnature would be

honored, and the first assurance of the

longer day hailed with acclamation.

The Northern nations looked with special

interest on the conflict oflight and darkness.

The passing of the period of the shortest day

is the renewal of hope, the birthday of the

Savior. Before Christians brought their

superstitions to these islands the inhabitants

celebrated the return of lighter days with a

festival of rejoicing. The mistletoe is a Dru-

idicalemblem. The YuleJoggoes back to our

Pagan forefathers. These show a solar char-

acter, as did likewise the bonfires lighted at

Midsummer or St. John's Day. How ap-

propriately does the genius of Midsummer,

St. John, say ofthe genius ofChristmas: He

must increase, but I must decrease, as the

days begin to lengthen from December 25,

and to shorten from June 24, till they reach

the shortest, ofwhich the genius saint isthe

unbelieving Thomas, standing inallthe dark-

ness of unbelief as to whether the Lord will

rise again. I n the Christmas service chant,

Sol novus oritur, we see the adaptation of

ancient solar thought to Christian allegory.

When Christianity spread through the

Roman Empire it found everywhere among

the heathen a festival to the sun-god, or the

general spirit of life and vegetation cele-

brated at the winter solstice. From De-

cember 21 till the end of the year the

Romans held the Saturnalia, a season

marked by the universal prevalence of li-

cence and merry-making. Temporary free-

dom was given to slaves. Everyone feasted

and rejoiced, work and business were for a

season entirely suspended, the houses were

decked with laurel and evergreen, visits and

presents were exchanged between friends,

and clients gave gifts to their patrons. The

whole season was one of rejoicing and

goodwill, and all kinds ofamusements were

indulged in by the people (see Chambers'

Book of Days ). I n the now extinct Lord of

Misrule, and schoolboys barring out, may

be traced a remnant of the Saturnalia.

Some also think, says Bingham, that the

very design of appointing the feast of

December, 1985

Christ's Nativity and Epiphany at this sea-

son of the year, was chiefly to oppose the

vanities and excesses which the heathen

indulged themselves in, upon their Saturna-

liaand calends ofJanuary at this very time of

the year. Precisely so.

The Puritans saw that Christmas was a

remnant of Paganism, and when in power

during the Long Parliament did their best to

suppress the festival. Ear-cropped Prynne,

inhis Histrio-Mastix, lets out infine style: If

we compare our Bacchanalian Christmases

and New Year's Tides with these Saturnalia

and Feast of Janus, we shall find such near

affinitybetween them both in regard of time

(they being both inthe end ofDecember and

the first of January) and in their manner of

solemnising (both of them being spent in

revelling, epicurism, wantonness, idleness,

dancing, drinking, stage plays, masques,

and carnal pomp and jollity), that we must

needs conclude the one to be but the very

ape or issue of the other. But Christmas

was too strong for the Puritans, and at the

Restoration the old festival was celebrated

with new vigor.

The custom of decorating houses with

evergreens, evident symbols of life contin-

ued through the dead of winter, prevailed

long anterior to Christianity. The Christian

Father Tertullian, early in the third century

affirmed it be rank idolatry to deck their

doors with garlands or flowers on festival

days according to the custom of the hea-

then. Polydore-Vergil says, the decorating

of temples with hangings of flowers, boughs,

and garlands, was adopted from the Pagan

nations, who decked their houses and tem-

ples in a similar manner. The Christmas

tree, derived from our Teutonic forefathers,

and carried through the world wherever

Teutons go, with its fruit of good things for

the little ones, is another sign of faith in

returning spring and harvest. The mistletoe

was regarded by the Druids as the seed

which carried over vegetative life from the

old year to the new. Hence, to kiss, and

pluck a seed, was a sign of lifeand fertility.

The infant Christ is as much a symbol of

the returning year as the holly or the

Christmas tree. The birthday of Christ is the

birthday of the new year. Just as they now

sing carols to the new-born king, so, in

ancient times, they sang carols to the vege-

tation itself, ofwhich Shakespeare's Heigh-

ho the holly is a remnant. I n the North they

carry round the Christmas tree, so the

Page 11



Southern Catholics carry round the infant

Christ with his mother. In English villages

this used to be the custom. Girls carried a

wax dollin a box surrounded with evergreen

and fruits. Whoever gave them money took

a leaf which, carefully preserved, brought

luck. This was good tidings of great joy, so

that there was a proverb, As unhappy as

the man who has seen no advent images.

So bakers would bake Yule doughs or little

images, with currants for eyes, which were

presented to their customers. These were

intended as images of the Newborn King,

and it was believed that he who preserved

his Yule dough unbroken all through the

year would not be injured by fire or water or

be slain by the sword.

Barnaby Googe thus refers to the old

midnight mass:

Then comes the day wherein the Lord

did bring his birth to passe;

Whereas at midnight up they rise and

every man to masse.

This time so holy counted is, that div-

ers, earnestly,

Do think the waters all to wine are

changed suddenly

In that same hour that Christ Himself

was born and came to light,

And unto water strait again trans-

formed and altered quite.

There are beside that mindfully the

money still do watch;

That first to the altar comes which

they privately do snatch.

The priests, least others should have

it, take oft the same away,

Whereby they think, throughout the

year, to have good luck in play,

And not to lose. Then strait at game

tilldaylight do they strive

To make some present proof how well

their hallowed pence willthrive.

That is to say, they first stole the money

from the altar, and then began to gamble

with it in church to prove its virtue as pro-

tecting them from loss. InSouth America, to

this day, they hold a cock-crowing mass on

Christmas. The young people at midnight

interrupt the priest with cock-crowings and

shouting, and after they leave the church

spend the time inrevelry. Googe thus refers

to the masses on Christmas Day:

Three masses every priest doth sing

upon that solemn day

With offerings unto everyone that so

the more may play.

This done, a woodden childe in

clowtes is on the altar set,

About the which both boys and girls

do dance and trimly jet

And carals sing in prayse of Christ,

and for to help them heare

The organs answere every verse, with

Page 12

sweet and solemn cheare.

The priests do rore aloud; and round

about the parentes stande,

To see the sport, and with their voice

do help them and their bande.

On Christmas morning, before break of

day, the greatest uproar prevailed through a

great number of boys going round from

house to house, rapping at

every

door, and

roaring out, I wish you a merry Christmas

and a happy New Year which words were

vociferated again and again, till the family

was aroused, and the clamorous visitors

were admitted. Cole

(Hist. and Antiq. of

Filey,

p. 137), says: The first who came

were treated with money, gingerbread and

cheese, which are distributed to all on the

Christmas morning, but less liberally than to

the first comers. No person, boys excepted,

dared presume to go out of doors till the

threshold had been consecrated by the

entrance of a male. Females had no part in

this matter, for although a lady were as fair

as an angel, her form would be viewed as

prognostic of death, were she the first to

cross the threshold on Chrismas morning.

These customs of first footing and lucky-

birding are now transferred to the New

Year.

In Yorkshire children still go vessel-

cupping - as they call going round with the

box containing Christmas dolls, or images

taken from the mantelpiece. Please may we

sing you the 'Vessel-cup' they say; but

instead of singing the Wassail-cup, they sing

a Christmas carol. The box in old times

would sometimes contain a cup instead of

dolls. Drinking from the wassail bowl was a

pledge ofhealth and fortune. In some places

stillthe wassailling oforchards, pouring beer

or cider on the roots of trees at Christmas is

still maintained, a venerable fragment of

tree-worship. It was the custom in Devon-

shire, and probably inother counties also, to

perform the following ceremonial on Christ-

mas Eve. In the evening the farmer's family

and friends being assembled, hot wheat-

flour cakes were introduced, with cider. This

was served round, the cake being dipped in

the cider and then eaten. As the evening

wore on, the company adjourned to the

orchard, some bearing hot cake and cider as

an offering to the principal tree; the cake was

deposited on a fork up the tree, and the cider

thrown over it, the men firing off muskets,

fowling pieces, pistols, etc. In Norfolk they

sprinkled spiced ale

over

the orchards and

meadows, and inthe New Forest they mixed

apples with the drink, singing:

Apples and pears with right good corn

Come in plenty to everyone,

Eat and drink, good cake and ale

Give Earth to drink; and she'll not fail.

Eating the boar's head was a symbol ofthe

December, 1985

triumph over winter. The allegation that it

was done in abhorrence of the Jews is a

comparatively modern explanation. The old

Oxford carol, The boar is dead, explains

the symbol:

The boar is dead,

So here's his head,

What man could have done more

Than his head off to strike.

Meleager like,

And bring it as I do before?

He livingspoiled

Where good men toiled

Which made kind Ceres sorry;

But now dead and drawn

Is very good brawn,

And we have brought it for ye.

Then set down the swine yard,

The foe to the vineyard,

Let Bacchus crown his fall.

Let this boar's head and mustard

Stand for pig, goose, and custard,

And so ye are welcome all,

In the Odin Religion as Carlyle tells us in

his article in the Westminster Review,

October, 1854, Freir rode on a golden-

bristled boar,

Gullinburste;

his festival was

held at the turn of the year, at Yule-tide; and

is still commemorated in that season at

Oxford and other places, where 'the proces-

sion of the boar's head,' Freir's symbol, is

solemnised at Christmas time; a custom

really venerable, considering how far down it

has travelled on the road of ages

Plum puddings and mince pies are not, as

Brady says, In token of the offerings of the

wise men from the East, but representative

sacraments. They are compounds of the

good things of the past season, partaking

which would ensure prosperity for that ensu-

ing. Hence the saying, as many pieces of

pudding or mince-pie are partaken, so many

happy months. As the communion was orig-

inally taken by all the clan, to this may be

traced the family re-unions at the present

day.

Pantomimes are associated with Christ-

mas; and because the harlequinade is of

Latin origin some think they are quite mod-

ern. I hold that this and the common view

that the drama has grown from the miracle

plays of the Middle Ages is wrong. It has

been so usual to ascribe everything to the

Church, and this theory has been supposed

to reflect such credit upon the stage, that it

has been allowed to pass unchallenged. Yet I

am convinced this is a mistake. The Christ-

mas pantomimes have developed from the

court masques performed at Christmas, and

these again from the Yule-tide mummers,

who were long anterior to the miracle plays.

In Ben Johnson's

Christmas, His Masque,

two of the characters are taken by Minced

American Atheist



Pie and Bride Cake, as in Shakespeare's

Midsummer Night's Dream we have the

personal representation not only of a lion

and a wall, but of moonshine. This takes us

back to the old idea ofmummery, which was

that of imitative magic. Both the Christmas

mummers and the miracle plays, developed

from a common source; the idea expressed

infestival ceremonies ofsavages, the buffalo

and other dances of North American Indi-

ans, and the carrying of the Bambino to

child-bearing women; the notion that the

representation of actions was a charm to

realise them. The Christmas mummers

wore the heads of animals. The principal

characters of the harlequinade represent

the four seasons. The harlequin with his

magically changing wand is the spirit of

spring. The gay dancing columbine is sum-

mer, the sausage-stuffing clown, autumn,

and tottering pantaloon, winter. The clown

also preserves features ofthe lord ofmisrule

and abbot ofunreason, a character probably

derived from the temporary kings, and ear-

lier than Christianity.

The following act of a pageant which

took place at Christmas 1410 is extracted

from the Records ofNorwich, and throws

light on the character of the festival. John

Hadman, a wealthy citizen, made disport

with his neighbours and friends, and was

crowned KingofChristmas. He rode instate

through the city, dressed forth in silks and

tinsel, and preceded by twelve persons as

the twelve months ofthe year. The Records

continue: After King Christmas, followed

Lent, clothed in white garments trimmed

with herring skins, on horseback, the horse

being decorated with trappings of oyster

shells, being indicative that sadness and a

holy time should followChristmas revelling.

I n this way they rode through the city,

accompanied by numbers in various gro-

tesque dresses, making disport and merri-

ment, some clad inarmor; others dressed as

devils chased the people, and sorely affright-

ed the women and children; others wearing

skin dresses and counterfeiting bears,

wolves, lions,and other animals, and endeav-

oring to imitate the animals they repre-

sented, in roaring and raving, alarming the

cowardly and appalling the stoutest hearts.

Stow in his Survey (37) says: At the

feast of Christmas there was in the king's

house, wheresoever he was lodged, a Lord

ofMisrule, or Master ofmerry disports, and

the like had ye in the house of honor or good

worship, were he spiritual or temporal.

Amongst the which the mayor of London,

and either of the sheriffs, had their several

Lords of Misrule, ever contending, without

quarrel or offence, who should make the

rarest pastimes to delight the beholders.

These lords beginning their rule on Allhallow

Eve, continued the same till the morrow

after the Feast ofthe Purification, commonly

called Candlemas Day. I n all which space

Austin, Texas

there were fine and subtle disguisings,

masks, and mummeries, with playing at

cards for counters, nails, and points, in

every house, more for pastime than for

gain. The lawyers also elected a Christmas

lord, and they had the usual shows per-

formed in their several Inns of Court. Their

lord was up early inthe morning hunting out

his officers, and pulling all the loiterers out

of bed to make their early sport, but after

breakfast the fun was suspended until the

evening, when itwas opened again day after

day with great spirit until the holidays ended.

The Judges attended every evening, and the

'under barristers' were bound to dance

before their lordships. On one occasion,

when this was omitted, the whole bar was

offended, and at Lincoln's Inn, the offenders

were by decimation put out of commons for

example's sake; and should the same omis-

sion be repeated, they were to be fined or

disbarred; for these dancings were thought

necessary 'as much conducing to the mak-

ing of gentlemen more fit for their books at

other times.'

When the old mysteries came to be

adopted bythe monks, they preserved some

curious features. There is one called The

Miraculous Birth and the Midwives, the

object ofwhich isto exhibit the Nativity, and

to hold up those to dishonor who ventured

upon questioning the purity of Mary. It

opens with a scene inwhich Joseph informs

Mary that they must go up to Bethlehem to

be taxed; but he fears to take her.

Myspowse ye be with childe; Iferyow

to kary;

For, me semyth, it wer' werkys

wylde:

But yow to plese, ryght fayn wold I:

Yitt women ben ethe to greve,

whan thei be with childe,

Now latt us forth wend, as fast as we

may,

& al myghty God spede us, in our

jurnay.

While they are on their journey, Mary espies

a tree, and inanswer to her question, Joseph

informs her that it is a cherry-tree. Alluding'

to her then condition, she asks him to pluck

freely for her eating, and urges that she longs

for some of its fruit. But Joseph says, Let

him pluck you cherries that gat you with

child. Mary now prays to God to make the

tree bow down so that she may pick for

herself, and immediately her wish isgranted.

When Joseph saw the tree bow, he humbled

himself. Then follows the staying in the sta-

ble, the bringing in of midwives, who make

speeches, and one of them - incredulous as

Thomas - declares that the story of the

other nurse, that Mary is a virgin pure

cannot be true, for which she immediately

loses the use of her arm, which falls dead

and dry. This alarms and convinces her,

she prays for pardon, her arm is restored,

and then she declares her resolve to publish

the wondrous birth unto all men. With this

the mystery terminates.

As kept us by the laity Christmas mum-

ming usually preserved features of old

nature worship. Father Christmas himself

was a popular character, or St. George, the

sun-god, many of whose features are like

those of Horus, was at the head of the seven

champions of Christendom, originally the

seven days of the week. But the merest

glance at Christmas customs should suffice

to show that Christmas was not instituted to

celebrate the birth of Jesus in Palestine at a

time when shepherds could not watch their

flocks by night, but Christ was said to have

been born at the time of the winter solstice,

since this was the Pagan season for celebrat-

ing the re-birth of the Sun.

from the December 1954 L i b e r a l

a Solstice

Ziditorial

® nce again we are about to be treated to the nauseating nonsense that has grown

up around the so-called Christmas. It has been commercialized to the Nth degree.

Stores are keeping open longer hours, with all kinds ofjunk offered the unwary as suitable

gifts to give to their relatives and friends. Central city streets are festooned with strings of

vari-colored incandescent lights, which bring revenue to the men who put them up and to the

lightingcompany. Street peddlers dangle toys under the noses ofpedestrians and tobacco-

chewing, rum-nosed Kris Kringles on every street corner ring bells, blow horns, and curse

the inclement weather. Radios and television sets monotonously blare about White Christ-

mases' Holy Nights, Noels, until both indoors and outdoors becomes a veritable bedlam.

Night clubs and hot spots of all kinds sell reservations to their shows which are eagerly

bought by the mobs who welcome a chance to celebrate. Office parties interrupt allbusiness

with plenty of booze and smootching [sic]. All of which fillsa lot of cash registers whose

owners would sadly miss the unholy Saturnalia. Christmas has, in fact, become one huge

swindle, and today's children hardly know whether it ' s the birthday of the Christchild [sic],

Santa Claus or Mr. R. H. Macy. Well, who cares anyhow?

December, 1985

Page 13



f r om T h e M e l t i n g P o t Vo lu m e I, Nu m ber I (J an u ary , 1913) -

~t's Awful to be a Hea th en

m e who have just celebrated once

~ more the birth of the founder of the

brotherhood ofman must realize how awful

it isto be a heathen and have no Christmas.

What does an ornery heathen know about

the Christmas song of Peace on earth,

good will towards men? Not a thing - the

cusses never hear of it till we pound it into

them with our missionaries and muskets.

Of course, this Peace on earth, good will

towards men comes high as a eat's back,

but we've got to have it in our business. It

takes three hundred milliondollars a year to

run our army and navy and buy guns and

ammunition, but our Christianity is dirt

cheap at that. The poor, wicked, God-

forsaken heathen couldn't do this to save

their gizzards - they couldn't raise the price

even if they wanted to do it - and how can

the Lord be expected to bless them with

brotherhood and peace and good will

when they haven't got plenty ofguns to back

it up?

And what do the unregenerated heathen

know about Suffer little children to come

unto Me when they haven't any big cotton

millsto gather the littlechildren inand make

them suffer?

The heathen have no Christmas - they

don't know a thing about Jesus, who was

born in a manger, and who gave us our

religion of the brotherhood of man. Even if

Jesus had been raised among them the

chances are they wouldn't have known

enough to crucify him as a sacrifice for their

own sins.

The heathen have no ideawhat Christmas

means; they have no brotherhood and good

will;no Standard Oil, Steel Trust, Supreme

Court, standing army, white slave traffic,

child labor, slums, landlords and mortgages,

or any of the other trimmings that go with

our Christianity. They don't even know

what suicide and crime and insanity are -

there are whole sections of heathen lands

without even a bughouse or penitentiary.

You can read Stanley's

Darkest Africa

and

you won't find a word mentioned about

these things.

As remarked, it's awful to be a heathen

and have no Christmas - no merry reo

minder of the birthday ofthe founder of our

brotherhood of man that we Christians

enjoy. We ought to be ashamed of our-

selves, especially along Christmas time, for

not saving the heathen a blamed sight faster

Page 14

than we do. We've prayed for over 1900

years for the kingdom of heaven to come on

earth, and outside of the United States and

Europe the world is still floundering along

without the blessed peace and brother-

hood ofman and good will. Hellis proba-

bly crowded already 'way out to the suburbs

with the lost heathen. It isn' t fair to ask God

to build hell any bigger in order to accom-

modate the rush, when we, if we only will,

can furnish the heathen with our salvation,

and at the same time more than get our

money back selling them embalmed meat,

shoddy clothing, boots, shoes and a tolera-

bly fair article of liquor.

Let us, who have just celebrated the

Christmas season, and who enjoy all the

blessings ofbrotherhood, etc., etc., that our

Christianity bestows on us, implore our

good brothers in the faith whom the Lord

has blessed with lots of stolen boodle, to

cough up more dough so more missionaries

can go forth to the heathen with our Christ-

mas carol of Peace on earth, good will

towards men. Let these miserable heathen

know that our gospel is free - all they have

to pay for are the shoddy goods and booze

that go with it. Show them how precious it is

to be saved and happy like we are. We may

have to shoot hell into them to do it, but

what else are you going to do with a lost

heathen that won't let us save him? We can

easily baptize what are left - water ischeap

- and that beats letting them allbe eternally

damned.

In the meantime we who are redeemed

and sanctified, and who are practicing the

brotherhood of man, and peace on

earth, and good will, and allthe rest ofthe

Christian virtues, can offer heartfelt prayer

and praise that we are God's chosen people.

We're saved all right any way - anybody

can see that from the way we are running

things.

f r o m th e March-Apr i l 1965

A g e o f R ea s o n

an es s ay b y J o s ep h L ew is -

JJesus C hr ist

or San ta C laus

It ? egularly, about this time of the year, a small group of over-zealous religionists

~\. get undue publicity by using the slogan Let's put Christ back into Christmas. Some

go so far as to have stickers on their cars. To this suggestion, I say, ifyou put Christ into

Xmas you will take the Joy out of the Yuletide season.

Xmas, as we know it today, was originally a Norwegian Festival of gift-givingand had

absolutely nothing whatever to do with the so-called birth of Christ. It was a day of

Celebration, after harvesting, when the days began to lengthen, giving vent to Joy that

darkness would not befall the earth. Scientifically it was the Winter Solstice.

In fact, there is not a particle of evidence whatever that December 25th is the birthday of

Jesus Christ. Ifsuch a person ever existed, the date of his birth is historically unknown.

When Christianity came into existence, the Festival of the Winter Solstice was widely

observed as it had been for centuries before and efforts were made to suppress this Pagan

Celebration. Some religionists, even today, deplore this celebration as sacriligious. The

early church fathers, unable to stop this joyous holiday, finallyappropriated itas the birth of

Christ No greater fiction was ever perpetrated

Santa Claus, that Jolly Good Fellow, is a non-sectarian character and knows no distinc-

tion of race, color or creed. He is a Harbinger of Good Cheer and Happiness and to replace

this symbolical Giver ofJoy with the crucified Jesus would, indeed, be a stark tragedy for the

world.

Put Christ in Xmas and take out Santa Claus ... NEVER

December, 1985

American Atheist



a c las s ic b y Sh erm an W ak ef ie l d f ro m th e D ec em b er , 1948,

Pro qre ssio e -

« th e O r ig in o f C h r is tm as

V?r

he study oforigins isalways a fascinat-

\ j..

ing and interesting one, but when our

popular institutions and customs are under

consideration the interest is easily doubled.

Just now the Christian world ispreparing to

celebrate Christmas, one ofthe favorite fes-

tivalsof the Christian Church. Ifone were to

ask the average Christian the reason for the

celebration, he would undoubtedly reply

that it is the birthday of his Lord and Savior

Jesus Christ that isbeing observed. But, one

may ask, what have hearth-fires, green dec-

orations, mistletoe, and Santa Claus to do

with the birth of Christ? Itwas with the pur-

pose of answering such questions that this

article was written. However, their roots are

so varied and far-reaching, and their ramifi-

cations so many, that it will be possible to

sketch only in broad outline the motives

back of the chief present-day customs at

Christmas, and of some that are now

extinct.

From time immemorial the winter solstice

has been celebrated universally as the

Birthday of the Sun. Then it is that the days

begin to lengthen, and the power of the sun

to increase. As the sun inprimitive times was

usually personified and made into gods who

lived on earth in human form, we find that

such deities as Mithra, Osiris, Horus, and

Adonis were said to have been born on or

near December 25th, the day that was

believed to be the winter solstice. On this

day the Egyptians represented the newborn

sun by the image of an infant, which was

exhibited to his worshipers. Both in Syria

and Egypt the celebrants retired into certain

inner shrines the evening before, from which

they rushed at midnight crying: The Virgin

has brought forth The light is waxing

Since allthese deities were said to have been

born of a virgin it is hard to say what she

represented. Perhaps she was the Zodiacal

sign Virgo which began to appear at that

time, as Carpenter and others suggest. Be

that as itmay, there entered into the Roman

Empire during the latter part ofthe first cen-

tury of our era the cult of Mithra, a Persian

sun-god. From this time it grew so rapidly

that up to the end of the fourth century it

remained the foremost cult of paganism.

Mithra was regularly termed

Sol Inuictus

(the Unconquered Sun), and the 25th of

December was called Natalis Solis Inuicti

(Birthday ofthe Unconquered Sun). On this

Austin, Texas

day festal lights and fires were kindled to

celebrate the joyous occasion. It 'is signifi-

cant, as willbe indicated later, that Mithra-

ism became the most powerful rivalof Chris-

tianity, and very nearly the officialreligion of

the Roman Empire. If that had occurred,

undoubtedly the western world would now

be Mithraic rather than Christian.

A celebration of a different nature from

that of the Birthday of the Sun, was the

Saturnalia which was observed in Rome

from the 17th to the 23rd of December. It

was held in honor of Saturn, the god of sow-

ing and of husbandry, who was reputed to

have once lived on earth as a righteous and

beneficent king of Italy. His reign was called

the Golden Age, and during the celebra-

tion the conditions of that time were sup-

posed to be duplicated. All public business

was suspended, declarations of war and

criminal executions were postponed, and

friends gave presents to. one another. In

general, the occasion was one of feasting

and revelry. But the most remarkable fea-

ture of the celebration was the license

granted to the slaves. They were allowed to

rail at their masters, become intoxicated,

and were even waited upon at table by their

masters. Another phase of the Saturnalia

was the casting of lots bythe freemen for the

election ofa mock King, who may originally

have represented Saturn himself. He was

merely in charge of the festivities, however,

and issued playful commands to his tempo-

rary subjects to furnish entertainment.

Frazer is of the opinion that originally the

Kingin his part as Saturn was sacrificed, but

without settling the point it should be stated

that Fowler insists there isno evidence what-

ever that a human victim was sacrificed on

this occasion.

The sun was also worshiped by the Celtic

and Teutonic peoples, but it is impossible to

identify it with the names of any of their

deities. The winter solstice was celebrated

with fires, feasting, and rejoicing. In Scandi-

navia the festival was called Yule, and in

every house was performed the rite of burn-

ing the Yule log. This rite of the Yule log,

clog, or block, as it was variously called,

soon spread, so that wefindearly traces ofit

in Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland,

England, and throughout Europe generally.

Among Christians it was sometimes given

the name of

Christbund

or

Christklotz.

December, 1985

There were various superstitions associated

with the Yule log, which were generally that

the fire had the power of inducing fertility.

For example, if a piece of the wood was

steeped in the water given the cows to drink,

it was believed it would help them to calve.

Some people thought they would have as

many chickens as there are sparks which fly

from the burning logwhen itisshaken. Itwas

also believed that if pieces of the Yule log

were kept throughout the year, they would

protect the house against fire, and especially

lightning. The purpose of the fires seem

primarily to have been to help the sun re-

kindle his apparently expiring light by magi-

cal influence. As a secondary object the fires

had the power to induce fertility, because

the sun had that power. The power to ward

off fire and especially lightning requires

further elaboration to explain.

The worship of the oak-tree or of the oak-

god appears to have been a common prac-

tice of the Indo-Europeans in Europe. In

Greece one ofthe most famous sanctuaries

was the oak of Zeus at Dodona, where the

deity delivered his messages to mankind. All

places which had been struck by lightning

were fenced in and dedicated to Zeus the

Descender. Altars were set up within these

enclosures and sacrifices were offered on

them. In Italy every oak was sacred to Ju-

piter, and in Rome he was worshiped as the

god of the oak, the rain, and the thunder.

Going northward, we find that the Druids

among the Celts of Gaul deemed nothing

more sacred than the oak, and they chose

oak groves for the scene of their services

and performed no rites without oak leaves.

In fact, the very name of Druids is believed

by good authority to mean nothing more

than oak men. Among the Teutons the

oak was especially sacred, and it was dedi-

cated to the god ofthunder, Donar, Thunar,

or Thor. Now the identification of this Teu-

tonic god with the Italian thunder-god, Ju-

piter, was made when the Latin dies Jouis

was rendered into Thunar's day or Thurs-

day. In view of the sacredness of the oak

among the Indo-Europeans, it is interesting

and significant that when a kind of wood is

specified for the Yule log itisusually oak that

is designated. Now the reason that the oak

tree was deemed sacred is the same for

which mistletoe was held in veneration as

the two are inseparably connected. Mistle-

Page 15



toe was considered sacred by the Druids

provided it grew on an oak tree, for they

believed that whatever grew on those trees

was sent from heaven, and was a sign that

the tree had been chosen by the god himself.

The mistletoe was ritually cut by a priest ina

white robe with a golden sickle, and was

caught in a white cloth so that it would not

touch the ground. It was believed that a

potion prepared from the mistletoe would

make barren animals fertile, and that itwas a

remedy for all poisons. In general, these

views regarding the mistletoe were also held

by the Italians. Evidence was lent to the view

that mistletoe had fallen from heaven by the

fact it is not a plant of the soil, and is found

onlyamong the branches oftrees. Mistletoe,

likethe Yule log, had the property ofprotec-

tion against fire, on the theory that it fellon

the tree during a flash of lightning. Another

great virtue of mistletoe was its ability to

afford protection against sorcery and witch-

craft. The mistletoe was viewed as the seat

oflifeof the oak, and it was thought that an

oak could not be injured or destroyed until

the mistletoe had first been cut from it. This

view was probably reached by the observe-

tion that in winter the oak was leafless while

the mistletoe remained green. On the other

hand, the connection of the oak with the

thunder god and with fire was probably an

inference based on the observation that the

oak is struck by lightning more frequently

than is any other tree. The mistletoe has the

added association with fireby the fact that it

turns a golden color allover when itwithers,

and for this reason itwas called 'The Golden

Bough.

Christmas, on December 25th, as the

celebration of the birth of Jesus, was a late

festival in the Christian Church. We first

hear of it through John Chrysostom about

the year 385, who calls it The birth ofChrist

after the flesh. He says It is not yet ten

years since this day became manifest and

known to us. He indicated further that it

was far from being generally accepted at that

time, and one may gather that eastern

Christendom was even opposed to it. This

reference to the new feast as of the birth

after the flesh

implies the existence of an

older feast to celebrate the birth of Jesus

after the spirit.

There was such a feast,

which was celebrated on January 6th, and

we call it today the feast of the Epiphany.

The original significance of the feast was to

celebrate the new birth of Jesus at his

baptism, when he was spiritually anointed

the messiah. For the early Christians, the

baptism was the great event in the life of

Jesus, and it didn't matter whether his

fleshly birth was natural or not. Because the

Christ was held to have been born in the

waters of the Jordan, he was symbolized as

a big fish, and Christians who had also been

reborn by baptism were called little fish.

What little notice was given to Jesus' birth

Page 16

after the flesh was celebrated with the fes-

tival of his spiritual birth on January 6th.

But as time went on the original significance

of the baptism was lost sight of, and Jesus

came to be regarded as having been the

Christ from his mother's womb. Hence the

miraculous birth became all-important, and

the celebration of another day than January

6th as the birthday after the flesh became

necessary. At the same time that old Epiph-

an explanation by Lee L. Dodds from

the December, 1947, issue of

T h e F reeth ink er

~hy

is C h r istm a s?

fiT

hristmas has been celebrated by the Christian Churches for nearly 1600years

\ J . - as the birthday of the Christ Jesus. Many willbe surprised by the mention of

1600years, as this isthe twentieth century. But, as a matter of fact, the church did

not adopt the 25th of December as the birth date until the year 354 A.D.

The exact date has never been definitely determined and even Mary, his mother,

did not remember, or did not reveal the date. Why then, was this particular date

selected? In the early days of the Christian era, allof the inhabitants of the Roman,

Greek and Egyptian world were familiar with the custom of a great celebration on

or about the 25th of December, in honor of the birth date of their particular God.

The early fathers ofthe Christian Church were having a difficulttime in their efforts

to supplant the old, or pagan religions and in pure self-defense, were compelled to

adopt many of the pagan holidays and ceremonies of those older religions. The

myth of a virgin birth for their heroes and Gods was a common belief of practically

all religions, for thousands ofyears before the time of Christ. Julius Caesar, Plato,

Alexander the Great, King Cyrus ofPersia, Apollonius and myriads ofothers were

supposed to be divinely conceived. As for the Gods, one did not amount to much if

he was not conceived ofa virgin. It would be impossible to list allof them, ifknown,

in an article of this scope. The most popular at the beginning of this era were

Mithra, Dionysos, Heracles (Hercules), Jupiter, and many other older Gods, too

numerous to mention.

Of the virgin mothers of Gods, who, after all, should be given some considera-

tion, we find such names as Venus, Danae (Diana), Isis, Apis, Cybele, Demeter,

Juno, Kore (Persephone), Ceres, Ino, Here (the Greek Juno), just to mention a

few. The fact ofthe intercourse of a God with mortal woman was conceded by all to

be a perfectly normal proceeding. In fact; a normal conception of a God would have

been considered abnormal. Such is the logic o f superstitious ignorance.

There is not a single precept or dogma of the Christian religion that cannot be

found inmost of the older, so-called pagan religions; especially so are the rites and

devotions ofthe birth inthe manger. This was just as much a part of the ritual as the

virginbirth itself. Itwas common to all the Gods, for thousands of years before the

time ofJesus. The Christian church adopted the whole myth, even to adopting the

cave in Palestine as their own, which had been, for centuries, used for the same

purpose by the Mithrians.

The basis of most ofthe older religions was Sun worship. Jupiter, Mithra, Horus,

etc. were descended from the sun, or sky father (Heavenly father). In making a

study of these various religions, we swim in a sea of myths that almost leaves us

dizzy. We find Christs and Christmases, virgin mothers and divine sons, stable

births and persecuting monarchs, annunciations and foster fathers throughout the

whole religious world, so that the whole story of Jesus dissolves away into a

mythical mosaic of ancient beliefs. Seriously, the idea of Sun worship would seem

to be the most logical of all forms of religious worship. It does not take any very

extended line of argument to convince us of what would happen ifour Sun should

suddenly happen to be blocked out. This short synopsis of the beginnings of the

Christmas celebration isabhorrent to the intelligence of this Atomic age. How long

willwe continue to poison the minds ofour children with these superstitious myths?

December, 1985

American Atheist



any feast took on the new significance of

commemorating the visit ofthe Wise Men to

Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus. In time,

however, the Wise Men were identified with

three mythical kings variously called Maga-

lat, Galgalat, and Saraim, or Athos, Sates,

and Paratoras. The Christians called them

Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. These

kings were probably the three bright stars

forming the belt in the constellation of

Orion, for the name Trois Rois is com-

monly given to these stars by French and

Swiss peasants to this day. Thus originated

the familiar Three Kings of Orient in

Christian tradition, as there is no Biblical

authority for regarding the Wise Men as

kings or for fixingtheir number at three. The

Star of the East was merely the inclusion

of pagan astrological beliefs in the Christian

story. Itwas the star under which the Christ

was born.

Why the 25th day of December was

selected for the celebration ofChrist's birth,

when it was changed from January 6th, is

clearly set forth by an early Syrian Christian

as follows (quoted inFrazer,

Adonis,

1:304):

The reason why the fathers trans-

ferred the celebration of the 6th of

January to the 25th of December was

this. Itwas a custom of the heathen to

celebrate on the same 25th of De-

cember the birthday of the Sun, at

which they kindled lights in token of

festivity. In these solemnities and fes-

tivities the Christians also took part.

Accordingly when the doctors of the

Church perceived that the Christians

had a leaning to this festival, they took

counsel and resolved that the true

Nativity should be solemnized on that

day and the festivalof the Epiphany on

the 6th of Janury [sic]. Accordingly,

along with this custom, the practice

has prevailed of kindling fires tillthe

sixth.

Hence with the Christian acceptance of the

pagan winter solstice celebrations, there

entered into Christianity the customs of

lighting candles and giving presents, which

have persisted to the present time. How-

ever, the celebration ofChrist's birth on the

25th of December is not universal among

Christians even today, for the Armenians

still celebrate his birth and baptism together

on Epiphany, the 6th ofJanuary.

We now enter upon another branch ofthe

modern Christmas celebration. St. Nicholas

was born at Patara in Lycia, Asia Minor,

about the beginning of the fourth century

A.D. He became the Christian Bishop of

Myra. His historicity is doubted, however,

and his name is thought to be the Christian

title ofthe Greek god Apollo, whose worship

was very popular in Patara during the third

century. Be that as it may, various legends

grew up about him showing him to be the

Austin, Texas

patron saint of children. St. Nicholas has

always had two festival days; one on May

9th, the day of the Thargelia of Apollo, and

December 6th. So when the split came

between the Eastern and Western Christian

churches, the Eastern Church retained May

9th as St. Nicholas Day while the Western

Church accepted December 6th. As far

back as 600 or 700 years ago it became the

custom for children to hang up their stock-

ings or shoes on the eve of December 6th,

and to findthem filledwithcandy and toys in

the morning, which had been placed there

by the good St. Nicholas. Up to about 200

years ago St. Nicholas was the most popular

saint in Christendom. He was especially

beloved in Holland, and there he received

the popular nickname ofSanta Claus; Nico-

laus, the Low Dutch for Nicholas, being

abbreviated to Claus, and Santa being cor-

rupt Latin for Saint. But the Santa Claus that

weknow today, coming on Christmas eve, is

a late American creation, for he was origi-

nated in 1823 by the Rev. Clement Clarke

Moore, in his famous poem The Night

Before Christmas. The American Santa

Claus is now accepted universally.

There remain a few more Christmas cus-

toms to be considered. Decking houses and

churches with evergreens seems to have

been a pagan custom which the early Chris-

tians were sometimes forbidden to imitate.

We first hear of a Christmas tree in 1605 at

Strasbourg, and as late as 1840 it was intro-

duced into England and France. We have

already considered the sacredness of the

mistletoe to the pagans, so we are not sur-

prised to find it in Christianity. The tradi-

tional privilege allowed to men ofkissing any

woman found under mistletoe is probably a

relic ofa period oflicense likethe Saturnalia,

or perhaps of a custom similar to the rite of

Mylitta at Babylon. The first man to hymn

the nativity was Prudentius, in the fourth

century. The degeneration of the Miracle

Plays in the Middle Ages occasioned the

general diffusion ofnoels, pastorali, and car-

ols. The earliest German Weihnachtslieder

date from the eleventh and twelfth centu-

ries, the earliest noels from the eleventh cen-

tury, and the earliest carols from the thir-

teenth century. The general giving of pres-

from the November-December,

1965 Rationalis t of South Africa -

he wishes well, however much they may be

lost in obscurantism. How can he maintain

his rational principles and at the same time

respond graciously to the kindness of his

friends? This is perhaps the smallest of the

problems of daily lifewhich beset the intran-

sigeant freethinker.

To decide not to send any cards is a nega-

tive attitude and one which has no great

propaganda value; moreover, it may be

attributed to meanness. But freethinkers

above all else are not joy-killers and have no

wish to be so reputed. They are not mean in

matters ofcakes and ale and mistletoe. Also

the home-made greeting card, even not par-

ticularly wellexecuted, may give more plea-

sure than ninety-and-nine handsome printed

cards. So let us either send cards issued in

aid of some cause or devise our own cards,

saying, with no religious leit-motif, some-

thing of our good wishes for the new year.

Suggestions: Wishing you a wonderful

year, or Here's to 1966 or Wishing you

happy inevery new year Hackneyed? Yes,

indeed. It's up to you to invent your own

messages and trim them with your own

cheerful designs.

W h ose C hr is tm a s

Ca rd s

~

wry joke in Punch: None of these

cards seems to strike the right note of

ogus cordiality towards a person whose

birthday you basically don't care about

(drawing by Handelsman), reminds us ofthe

Christmas greeting problem.

This affairof Christmas cards has become

an elaborate, costly and largely meaningless

racket. Creators of designs, paintings,

sketches and of those touching little verses,

are already hard at work for Christmas,

1966, even while you and I are coping with

December, 1965. The thing is a snowball

which gathers moss as it rolls through the

years.

Many people are revolted by the gross

commercialism of this flood of conventional

greetings. And, revolted, we may revolt. I

am not sending cards this year. But, as the

cards arrive and pile up on the mantelpiece,

resolution wavers. Who willbe a mean cur-

mudgeon in the midst of so much goodwill?

We end by slipping out, when the best

designs have been sold, to buy ofthe poorer

remnant cards and post them hastily.

For rationalists the problem isdifficultina

special way. Even the rationalist has friends

whose good wishes he values and to whom

December, 1985

Page 17



ents at Christmas is a

survival

of the Satur-

nalia; the Yule log is derived from our Teu-

tonic ancestors, as has been indicated. Alto-

gether the celebration of Christmas is so

thoroughly pagan that throughout its history

it has been condemned by conservative

Christians. Its observance being forbidden

inEngland by a special Act of Parliament in

1644, isperhaps the outstanding instance of

that. But the custom willprobably continue

as long as the human race lasts, for it seems

to be a general human tendency to rest and

enjoy oneself at the time of the winter

solstice.

a s l ig ht l y d i f feren t So ls t ic e s ub jec t b y C hr is to p her M orey , c o ur tes y

o f th e Dec em ber 26, 1970, Freethinker o f G reat B r i ta in -

~ing-Dong Merrily Below

f

fyou live near a church it isquite likely

c D your peace was disturbed the other

evening as the faithful eagerly assembled to

devour their Saviour the moment his mother

had been delivered of him.

The ringing of bells for this midnight ritual

reminds us they have been associated with

the Church almost from its inception. One

writer even claims that there is no trust-

worthy evidence of the use of really large

bells before the dawn of Christianity and

they owe their existence to Christian influ-

ences. Like most claims that Christianity is

uniquely superior, this one is misleading.

The bells referred to own their existence not

to Christian influences but to a techno-

logical advance.

Bellsor similar objects have been used for

religious purposes ever since man fell into

such beliefs, because they made a loud noise

which was thought to frighten offevilspirits.

Bishop Latimer was pleased to note in 1552

that there was hardly a spot in England

where bells could not be heard, and con-

sequently where one would be likely to

encounter the devil. If you are wondering

why large bells, being religious ornaments of

such superstitious potentiality, are so littlein

evidence inRoman Catholic churches inBrit-

ain' it must be remembered that until 1926

they were forbidden by Law from having

bells. Elsewhere they have not been so

hampered; as late as 1852inMalta the bells

were rung in the hope of abating a violent

storm.

Effective Witness

One imagines that religious people no

longer believe the ringing of bells to be so

efficacious.

However,

it is still claimed that

they have a public religious function apart

from the now largely redundant means of

summoning potential worshippers to an

impending service. The Dean of St. Paul's

thinks that sinners would be impressed if

bellringers were let loose to ring the bells

whenever they wanted, and the Bishop of

Derby considers bells the most effective

external witness the Church has

ever

had.

Page 18

The rector of Stoke-on-Trent in a sermon

preached in 1967 described ringers as

knights in shining armour sounding trum-

pets in a sinful world.

Although the views expressed by these

reverend gentlemen are occasionally reiter-

ated by ringers themselves, it is doubtful to

what extent they take their role as church-

wardens seriously. Itwas certainly not their

role in the past, or likely to be in the future.

From the middle ofthe sixteenth century

ringing became very popular as a means of

exercise. Such was the enthusiasm for

ringing that in 1602 the Duke of Stettin

Pomerania noted inhis diary: On arriving in

London we heard a great ringing of bells in

almost all the churches, going on very late in

the evening. We were informed that the

young people do that for the sake ofexercise

and amusement, and sometimes they pay

considerable sums as a wager, who willpulla

bell the longest, and ring it in the most

approved fashion.

Later, while the puritan

revolution

was

fixing men's minds on religious matters, a

development in the ringing of bells was hav-

ing the opposite effect among ringers.

Technical Development

For the first time the bellrope was at-

tached to a wheel fixed at right-angles to the

axis about which the bellrotates.

Previously

a halfor three-quarter wheel had been used.

The use ofa complete wheel enabled the bell

to swing full circle, by which ismeant, not

over

and

over,

but swinging from being

mouth upwards round to being in that

position again and then swinging back.

Because with each swing the bell is ap-

proaching the point ofbalance its

movement

can be controlled more precisely, and this

made possible the development of change

ringing.

This development demanded greater

mental and physical agility by ringers, and

led to an increase inpopularity of ringing for

its own sake. Ringers and the Church ig-

nored one another. Puritan clergy were

reluctant to have bells rung for services,

December, 1985

except to indicate when a sermon was to be

preached, and John Bunyan gave up ringing

as vain. It was at this time that the first

significant ringing societies were formed.

Their rules were modelled on those of the

guilds and were completely secular. It is

remarkable that in an age of such concern

about religion the rules of these societies

should contain no more than the odd refer-

ence to the Divine Being, and certainly no

religious

objectives.

I n 1668the first treatise

on change ringing [was] written by a lover

of that art (probably Richard Duckworth,

rector of Hartest, Suffolk). From his work

you would not guess that any god existed, or

even that bells were hung in churches. In

1684 ringing was recommended by the

author of The School of Recreation along

with hunting, racing, hawking, riding, cock-

fighting, fowling, fishing, shooting, bowling,

. tennis and billiards as a suitable recreation

for the gentry ofEngland. (Areference to the

Church was expunged from later editions.)

In the countryside, ringers acquired a

reputation for drunkenness and the exis-

tence ofringers' jugs ofup to sixteen quarts

capacity tends to support the view that the

ringing chamber was an extension of the

alehouse. However one writer+ reminds us

that: People at large of that time would be

no more shocked by such things than by the

burning of old women reputed to be

witches. (Indeed, drunkenness is under-

standable in view of that particular religious

observance.) The country ringer would

celebrate such secular feasts as Pancake

Day, Easter, May Day, Harvest Home and

Christmas, and the ringingof bellsmarked a

local win at a cockfight or horse race.

Politically Motivated Ringers

By the early nineteenth century, ringers

had acquired a certain political awareness.

I n 1820 a peal was rung for the acquittal of

Queen Caroline. The passing ofthe Reform

Act in 1832was celebrated by the ringers at

High Wycombe, who some days later de-

dined to ringfor the annual

visitation

of their

bishop, who had voted againsf the billin the

American Atheist



House of Lords. But at this time ringingwas

in decline, and before any revival could take

place on a secular basis the Oxford Move-

ment decided that bells had an ecclesiologi-

cal function. Several devices were adopted

to bring ringers into the orbit ofthe Church.

One was to extend the ropes so that ringing

took place on the ground floor inside the

church. Another was to force ringers to

leave the belfry through the church by

blocking up the tower doorway. Some

ringers resisted, as at Thurnby, Leicester-

shire, where in 1862 they were imprisoned

for breaking into the tower after the vicar

had locked them out. Most ringers recog-

nised that this sudden interest in them on

the part of the clergy meant that money was

available for badly needed restoration

work.

Organisations

Itwas at the end ofthe nineteenth century

that the ringing associations which exist

today were founded, usually based on a dio-

cese with an ecclesiastic as patron or presi-

dent, and often a cleric as elected chairman.

In 1891 the Central Council of Church Bell

Ringers was formed with its first object, to

promote ... the exercise both inits scientific

aspect and as a branch of Church work.

That it has succeeded in the first aim of this

is beyond doubt, but itis very difficult to tell

to what extent the second part is not just a

way of salving the collective conscience for

accepting the Church's unwitting generosity

in providing a fascinating hobby free of

charge. Although the number ofAtheist ring-

ers is small (Iknow of onlyone), the number

who could accurately be described as

church workers is not large. Those who

climb the tower steps in search of church

work often turn out to be persistent but

incompetent ringers. It is interesting that

when a tower captain wrote to the Ringing

World

this year saying he refused to teach

someone who would not be confirmed, the

ensuing correspondence comprised one let-

ter of three lines supporting his action, and

(although some made religious noises) six

condemning it. It is likely, too, that the

increasing number of university students

who take up bellringing willbe disinclined to

accept Christianity.

At present there are onlyten secular rings

of bells in this country. It is to be hoped,

therefore, that when religionjoins witchcraft

inintellectuallimboland, as many as possible

of the churches which are preserved for

their architectural merits willbe available for

the performance of this minor art-form. It is

possible to control the sound ofbells so that

it annoys no one, but in the meantime the

Church prefers to imagine that when a ring-

er sets his bell he is likely to remark: I bet

that impressed those sinners.

Austin, Texas

Bibliography

1. G. S. Tyack, A

Book About Bells,

p. 6.

2. Ringing

World,

1970, p. 911.

3. Ringing

World,

1970, p. 792.

4. E. Morris, History

and Art of Change

Ringing, p. 61.

for the stamp fans, a little something by

George Rulf from the

Freethinker

of

December 5, 1970

J lh i l ate l ic Fu n

£

ike our policemen, our Yuletide postage sta,?ps are wo.nderful. According to the Po~t

Office's official blurb, this year's three Winter Solstice stamps ---:beg pardon, It

should, of course, be Xmas stamps - are allin a religious vein. However, Itwas not stated

whether this vein was, perhaps, somewhat diseased and whether it should not really come

under notifiable diseases. Anyhow, the information was that the motifs had been taken from

the de Lisle Psalter of the Arundel Collection in the British Museum.

Cunningly suppressed was the rather astonishing fact that the depicted three scenes were

already, at least, 2,000 years old

before

the New Testament was concocted, for they

appeared already on the Temple walls at Luxor, Egypt, round about 1705 B.C. There, one

can see the so-called Nativity scenes, uiz., the angel's announcement to the shepherds

tending their flocks inthe fields; the annunciation of the angel to the virgin;the adoration of

the infant by the three Magi; and the nativity scene itself. .

Inother words millennia Be the Egyptian mythology used already the symbohsm of the

birth of a baby, much in the

same

way as we use the figure of a youngster at the side of Old

Father Time.

Unfortunately, the priestly falsifiers of the New Testament ~urned alle~orical ~gures into

historical ones, and thereby saddled the Western World WIth the white man s burden,

namely: the impossible figure of a saviour who cannot save and a redeemer who does not

redeem, despite ecclesiastical assurances to the contrary. .

On the fourpenny stamp (whichwillbe the last special stamp issued at such a cheap price),

can be seen a robust angel, trailinga banner with the words

Gloria

in

Excelsis Deo

- Glory

to God inthe Highest - which must have frightened the poor sheep no end, for they can be

seen jumping higher than any goalkeeper. .

The fivepenny stamp shows the nativity scene with the recumbent godd~ss ISIS(Mary).o.n

a delivery-couch, with the newly-born baby Horus (Jesus) ina manger, whilst the god Osiris

(Joseph) sits nearby with a troubled mien. In the background can be seen the heads of an ox

and an ass. These two animals belong to the Egyptian mythos as Yorkshire pudding belongs

to roast beef. The ass's head was the symbol of the Messiah - not an irreverent joke in bad

taste but sober fact for Anup was the ass-headed god of the Egyptians. That is why the

Gospel Jesus was

portrayed

as riding on an ass - and, according to one version, even

astride an ass and her foal, a very clever circus act which must have impressed the populace

immensely .

On the tomb ofRameses VIcan be seen the Sungod riding into fullgloryon the back ofthe

dark moon. This was turned into a phantom Messiah's triumphal entry into Jerusalem

(Aarrw-Salem

or Fields of Peace), which scenario should have come

after

?is de~t?

The masculine bull (or ox) symbolised creation and was part of the Egyptian religion and

greatly venerated. The Israelites must have liked it too and the so-called golden calf'

aroused the great anger of Moses. Actually, it was a brass figure of Taurus, the Bull, the

well-known sign ofthe zodiac, which dominated that particular era. This was followed by the

age ofAries, the lamb which played such a great part in early Christian symbolism, so much

so, that the lamb was equated to an imaginary saviour and often invoked in hymns and

prayers.

Byfar the best stamp isthe one shilling-sixpence one, portrayi~g a sit~ing.Mary,showinga

rather too prominent spot of rouge on her cheek. But the funniest thing ISthe way she IS

holding the holy infant who, for all the world, looks likea ventriloquist's dummy The three

Kings, who are seen offering presents to the newly born baby, ~ere already a feature of

Egyptian mythology thousands of years before the alleged ev~nt In the gos~ls. However,

pietistic philatelists willbe pleased to have another set of yuletide stamps, SUItablyadorned

with the Queen's head in gilt which seems to say: We are not amused

December, 1985 Page 19



Peter Crommel in s commentary from the December 23, 1972,

issue of Great Bri tain s

F re e t h i n k e r

<TIh eD ick en sian Christm as

7 1

or more than a hundred years the

C genial humour and humanism of

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) has contri-

buted much to the festivity of an English

Christmas. It is for this reason that I have

selected 25 December as the best day in the

year for celebrating the coming of Dickens

into the world. Having recently read

The

Misery

of Christianity

(a plea for a humanity

without God) byJoachim Kahl, Ihave come

to the conclusion that the coming ofDickens

is worthy of joyful celebration.

The joy of Christmas may come to be

associated more with the death of the Chris-

tian faith rather than with its apparent surviv-

al in an unbelieving world. The Dickensian

point of view is essentially that of a good-

tempered humanist livingin what purports

to be a Christian community and making the

best of it, without much inner conviction

that Christianity is really contributing any-

thing worth having to the better distribution

of health and happiness here on earth. The

strategic genius of Dickens enabled him to

avoid any direct confrontation either with

science or theology, but he demonstrates

fairlyconvincingly that the human individual

can and must be able to live his or her own

life without too much dependence on any

external. As science and theology must inev-

itably be external to the individual, they only

appear as shadows from the Dickensian

point of view.

Dickens makes no attempt to see any-

thing from a purely scientific or from a purely

theological point of view. He always tries to

see things from the human point ofview, and

that means infact from the point of viewofa

specific individual in one particular and well

defined set of circumstances. Ifthere is a god

in Dickens it is not the God of Christian

theology; and ifthere is Atheism inDickens

itis not the kind ofAtheism that might result

from overabsorption in physics or chem-

istry.

Natural Genius

Dickens was no philanthropist; he was a

professional writer who achieved wealth and

fame in the full exploitation of his natural

genius. More than a hundred years after his

death, a multitude of readers have cause to

be glad that he did not fail in his self-

appointed task of making a geniune contri-

Page 20

but ion to the literature of humanity. Ido not

say that this ismore important than the liter-

ature of science or the literature of philos-

ophy, but it is

equally

important.

Dickens was the greatest comic writer of

all times, but like all masters ofcomedy was

well aware that lifeis not all fun and games.

Even now, Dickensian poverty has not been

totally extinguished by Social Security. The

nastier characters created by Dickens can

still be found from time to time in public

positions and institutions; they may be a bit

of a joke, but rather a poor joke as far as

their victims are concerned. The Guilty

Governments who contributed to the con-

version of Scrooge were not perhaps en-

tirely figments of the Dickensian imag-

ination.

As a secular humanist, however, Dickens

was not infallible. He makes Scrooge cele-

brate his conversion to humanity by going to

church on Christmas morning: that was a

mistake. In vulgar parlance, He didn't

ought to 've done that. Going to church as a

duty creates an unpleasant smell of cant,

hypocrisy, and humbug. Dickens and

Scrooge shared the same hatred of hum-

bug. So going to church is certainly not

necessary to the celebration of a Dickens

Christmas.

Nor is the eating of meat. When one

thinks of the millions of livingorganisms that

are maltreated from the moment of birth to

the moment ofdeath simplyto provide nour-

ishment for the human species, one begins

to feel that far more encouragement should

be given to the vegetarian habit. By eating

meat I deprive myself to some extent of the

right to protest against the vicious cruelty of

those who spend their working lifein tortur-

ing living organisms for the cause of scien-

tific research. The end desired is excellent;

the means employed are a disgrace to

human nature, and are for this reason a

crime against humanity. A similar crime

against humanity iscommitted bythose who

torture the human organism in order to

induce total submission to some form ofmil-

itary or political dictatorship. If by eating

meat we place ourselves on the same moral

level as cannibals, torturers or murderers,

then it is high time that we all became

vegetarians.

I am very glad that the ethical objections

to the eating of meat do not apply to the

December, 1985

drinking of alcohol. Beers, wines and spirits

are all much more conducive to human

happiness than the eating of meat, and are

much less costly interms ofanimal suffering.

It would be difficult to imagine the celebra-

tion of a Dickens festival with nothing

stronger to drink than milk and water.

Dickens, the Bible and Shakespeare

The greatness of Charles Dickens can

only be measured by comparison and con-

trast with such literary entities as the Bible

and Shakespeare. The Bible is sometimes

called The Good Book : it presents the

human race as something which, apart from

a Chosen Few, is fit only for eternal damna-

tion. God, we are assured again and again,

willhave no mercy on his enemies.

The morality of Shakespeare is better

than that of the Bible but not so good as

Dickens. For Shakespeare, all the world isa

stage, and men and women are merely act-

ing out a play that is not oftheir own making.

This really is a most unsatisfactory concept

of the real world. A good man is something

much more important than a good actor,

and a bad man issomething infinitely worse

than a bad actor. A novel, no doubt, isa sort

ofstage but isone inwhich the author can be

much more true to life and down to earth

than one who works within the narrow con-

ventions ofthe theatre. Certainly the novels

of Dickens have done much more to stimu-

late the social conscience than the plays of

Shakespeare.

The works of Dickens (not excluding his

history of England for children) are the writ-

ten record of his own personal genius. They

also provide a unique course of study in the

art and science of being human. That I take

to be the essence of all that we call secular

humanism.

American Atheist



f ro m R. J C on d on an d th e Dec em ber 23, 1972, F r e e t h in k e r

J t fo l low ing

Yond e r Star

< 7 7 r

he stable of Bethlehem, with its Holy

\ . J .

Family, its ox and ass, the adoring

Magiand their shining star, has always been

the most appealing feature of the gospel

story, appreciated as poetry even when its

historical truth is no longer acceptable. So

far as the Star in the East is concerned,

theologians have proved more ready than

astronomers to concede its unreality. In

1605the great Kepler announced that a con-

junction ofJupiter and Saturn had occurred

in7B.C.~and this was widelyaccepted as the

wonderful star. In 1892 an astronomer

named Stockwell argued in favour of the

conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in 6 B.C.

More recently Biela's Comet has been pro-

posed; with an unusually short periodicity of

seven years itcould wellhave been visible at

the time ofthe Nativity, assuming there was

such an event. Believing astronomers have

never thought it odd that the Star, after trav-

ellingwestwards to Jerusalem, turned south

to Bethlehem and then stood still

Borrowings from Earlier Mythology?

Stars heralding the births of gods and

great men were a mythological common-

place. The birth ofBuddha was said to have

been announced in the heavens bythe rising

of an unusual star, by which wise men

known as holy rishis were informed of the

event. Stars signalled the births of Krishna

and Lao-Tsze, and of Moses and Abraham

inJewish legend. The Persian Zend-Avesta,

compiled long before the Christian era,

attributes a remarkable prophecy to Zo-

roaster. It reads:

You, my children, shall be the first

honoured by the manifestation ofthat

divine person who is to appear in the

world. A star shall go before you to

conduct you to the place of his nativ-

ity, and when you shall find him, pre-

sent to him your oblations and sacri-

fices, for he isindeed your lord and an

everlasting king.

That the gospel writer knew ofthis proph-

ecy and applied it to Jesus is likely enough,

but there isa parallel to the story ofthe Magi

inRoman history which may have suggested

some ofthe details inthe Matthew version of

the legend. Pliny, in his Natural History,

mentions that the Parthian king Tiridates,

Austin, Texas

attended by Magi, paid a visit to Nero. Dio

Cassius, writing about 220 A.D. adds the

following:

Tiridates ... was driven inthe chariot

which Nero had sent to him ... And

bending his knee to the earth and lift-

inghis hands, he called him [Nero] his

lord and worshipped him For he

spoke thus: I, my lord, am thy

slave. And Iam come to thee as to my

God, worshipping thee, even as Mith-

ras ... But Tiridates did not travel

back by the way he had come . . .

[compare Matthew 2:1·12].

Since the first two chapters of Matthew are

generally acknowledged to be late additions

to the gospel, direct borrowing from Dio

Cassius cannot be ruled out; more probably

both the historians and deutero-Matthew

drew from an earlier account no longer

extant.

The Massacre of the Innocents

When the Magiarrived, neither Herod nor

all Jerusalem knew anything of the birth of

Jesus, although according to Luke 2:15-17

shepherds from Bethlehem, fivemiles away,

had been busy spreading the news. Herod's

reaction to the inquiry: Where is he that is

born King of the Jews? was to order the

killing of all the infants - of both sexes

apparently - in and around Bethlehem, an

atrocity which would have been avoided had

the Star conducted the Magi directly to the

birthplace. Josephus, whorecords the many

misdeeds of Herod, omits this, by far the

worst ofthem. The Massacre ofinnocents is

of course unhistorical; its Old Testament

prototype isExodus 1:15·22.The gospel writ-

er may also have known the tradition pre-

served in Josephus

(Antiquities

2:9:2) that

Pharaoh gave the command to killthe Israel-

ites' male children after a scribe had pre-

dicted the birth of a boy who would one day

become dangerous to him. Both massa-

cres are variations ofwhat has been termed

the myth of the dangerous child. Krishna

and Jason survived similar holocausts, and

tradition has it that the life of the infant

Abraham was sought by KingNimrod, who

had all the children ofBabylonia slaughtered

as the result ofa prophecy that a rivalwould

be born there.

December, 1985

Roman history records a threatened

massacre of innocents shortly before the

Christian era. Suetonius, inhis

Life

o Augus-

tus, says: Julius Marathus tells us that a few

months before the birth ofAugustus a prod-

igy occurred in a public place at Rome,

whereby the announcement was made that

Nature was to present the Roman people

with a king, whereupon the Senate, being

alarmed, decided that no child born in this

year might be brought up. But those whose

wives were with child, since each one of

them applied the hope to his own case, took

care that the Senate's decision should not

acquire the force of law. Suetonius also

relates that Augustus's mother Atia, before

conceiving him, dreamed she was visited by

Apollo in the shape of a serpent, as a result

of which Augustus was reputed to be a son

of the god.

The 'Saviour' Augustus

There is a strong presumption that who-

ever inserted the birth story inLuke's gospel

- like Matthew it originally began with the

third chapter - made use of phrases from

inscriptions announcing the salvation

brought to the world by the birth of Augus-

tus, during whose reign Jesus is said to have

been born. One, from Prienne inAsiaMinor,

reads:

Now, when that Providence which

guides allthings inour lifereawakened

emulation and zeal, and conferred on

our lifethe most perfect ornament by

granting to us Augustus, and for the

well-being ofmankind (to men a good

pleasure) filled him with virtue and

sent him to us and to our offspring to

be a saviour, destined to make every

war to cease ... the birthday of this

god is become the beginning of glad

tidings regarding him for the world ...

Many such inscriptions have been found,

and the wording ismuch the same inall. One

from Halicarnassus calls Augustus the sav-

iour of the whole human race ... for peace

prevails on earth ...

Fortunately for biblical research, the

Church Fathers, relying on human credu-

lity, never thought it necessary to destroy

this damning historical material.

Page 21



NEWS ND OMMENTS

(cont'd. from page 6)

ing you of my decision. Both of you

filed your briefs in accordance with

the time schedule established, but as a

result of a breakdown in communica-

tions between the Clerk's Office and

myoffice,Iwas not aware until recent-

ly that the briefs had been filed.

In order to explain my decision, a

brief recitation of what I view as the

relevant facts would appear to be

appropriate.

Mr. Via acquired a Communi-

plate reading ATH-EST from the

Division of Motor Vehicles in 1982.

Mr. Via is an atheist, and he acquired

this particular license plate for the

purpose of publicly expressing his

views. An unnamed citizen, claiming

to be offended by this license plate,

registered a formal complaint with the

Division ofMotor Vehicles in 1985.As

a result of this complaint, the Division

is attempting to repossess this plate.

The DMV has offered to give Mr. Via

another Communiplate or, in the

alternative, issue a regular license

plate and refund the extra fee to him.

The sale of Communiplates gener-

ates substantial revenue for the Com-

monwealth. The popularity of these

plates is increasing annually, and the

plates are aggressively marketed by

the Division.

The Commissioner has appointed

an informal committee to regulate the

permissible content of these plates.

So far as is relevant to this case, the

Commissioner maintains that he will

permit no Communiplate express-

ing any type of religious belief. The

weight of the evidence would tend to

support the Commissioner's position

on this point, although he apparently

has tried to draw some distinction

between gods he categorizes as myth-

ologicaland those which do not fitinto

this category. The Commissioner

openly admits that license plates

which violate his policy have been

issued by accident. In those cases,

nothing is done until a complaint is

received.

By statute, every motor vehicle to

be operated on the highways of this

State must be registered. Section

46.1-41 of the Code of Virginia. The

Division ofMotor Vehicles is required

to furnish license plates to every

owner whose motor vehicle is regis-

tered, and that motor vehicle cannot

be operated without those license

plates being displayed. Section 46.1-

99. The only statutory requirement

Page 22

for these license plates and decals is

that they display the name of the

state, the registration number as-

signed to that motor vehicle and the

year or month and year issued, and

that these plates be clearly visible.

The license plates and decals issued

by the Division remain the property of

the Division. Section 46.1-102.With a

few exceptions (see e.g. Sections

46.1-104.1 through 46.1-105.13), the

decision as to whether to issue any

Communiplates at all is left to the

discretion of the Commissioner. Sec-

tion 46.1-105.2(a). Considering these

Sections together, it is apparent that

any license plate issued remains the

property ofthe Division, and that the

make-up of the plates issued is left

almost entirely to the discretion ofthe

Commissioner. Accordingly, it is my

opinion that no person has any statu-

tory right to any particular license

plate.

AsMr. Ellerson so very ably demon-

strated, the Virginia Constitution and

Statute ofReligious Freedom afford to

the citizens of this Commonwealth

absolute freedom from governmental

influence upon their beliefs and opin-

ions concerning religiousmatters. Vir-

ginia Constitution, Article I, Section

16, Virginia Code, Section 57-1. Ac-

cordingly, neither the Commissioner

nor any other agency or officialof the

government can prevent Mr. Viafrom

holding and espousing any belief he

may have concerning religion. Sim-

ilarly, the Commonwealth could not

require him to express a belief with

which he disagreed. Virginia Code

Section 57-1, Wooley v.Maynard, 430

U.S. 705,51 L.Ed.2d 752 (1977). How-

ever, inthis case, Mr. Viaseeks to use

State property to express his beliefs,

and he is asking this Court to enjoin

the Commissioner of the Division of

Motor Vehicles from exercising the

discretion reposed in himby the Gen-

eral Assembly.

Based on the evidence, the Court is

satisfied that the Commissioner has

adopted a policy, the proper execu-

tion of which would prevent the dis-

play of any type of religious belief

upon a license plate issued by the Divi-

sion. There isno basis inthe evidence

for a finding that the Commissioner

has singled out Mr. Via for special

treatment because of his beliefs con-

cerning religion. Accordingly, it is my

view that there simply is no constitu-

tional issue involved in this case.

December, 1985

Furthermore, it is my opinion that

there is no significance to the dis-

tinction between refusing to issue a

particular license plate and repossess-

ing one previously issued. As pre-

viously pointed out, the license plates

are State property and were furnished

to Mr. Via pursuant to statutory re-

quirement. Since the Division has no

basis to revoke the registration issued

to this motor vehicle, it is obligated to

issue new license plates to Mr. Via

when the ones previously issued are

repossessed.

Accordingly, it is my opinion that

the prayer of the Petition for an

Injunction filed by Mr. Via should be

denied, and that the Petition should

be dismissed. I would appreciate it if

Mr. Spencer [the Department of

Motor Vehicles' attorney] would pre-

pare an appropriate Order, submit it

to Mr. Ellerson for his endorsement,

and, inturn, submit it to me for entry.

This Order should authorize the Divi-

sion to retrieve the license plates in

question and should direct the Divi-

sion to replace these plates with ones

that are suitable. This Order should

contain a provision noting Mr. Via's

objection to the action of the Court.

Sincerely yours,

/sig/

Arnold's response is what could have

been expected: I can't imagine how my

license plate would infringe on someone

else's rights. Messages including SAVE,

RISEN, and PRAY have been issued to

other Virginiamotorists, and Arnold has not

tried to strike down their freedom ofexpres-

sion by filing a complaint that such plates

offend him - which surely they do.

And, ofcourse, the DivisionofMotor Vehi-

cles staunchly refuses to identify the person

who made the complaint against Arnold, so

he does not even have a chance to face his

comdemnatory accuser.

Any Atheist reading the letter decision

can point out the flaws in it - so that exer-

cise willbe left to you, dear reader.

Meanwhile, Arnold Via and his attorney

are talking in terms ofa possible appeal. The

Commissioner, in his discretion, has stated

that there willbe no Communiplate issued

which expresses any type of religious belief,

but alternately excuses all those which have

by accident fallen through this basic net.

So, Arnold points out that not alone We are

going to appeal it, but I object to Atheism

being compared to religion; that is the ulti-

mate insult.

American Atheist



TH E PRO BING M IND / Frank R Zindler

TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN

The

Hindu,

when asked what the

earth rested

upon,

replied

An

ele-

phant. When asked what the elephant

rested upon, he replied, A turtle.

When asked what the turtle rested

upon, he replied, A bigger turtle.

When asked the obvious next question,

he

replied,

It s turtles all the way

down.

- Story told bycreationist Wayne Frair

I

ve never owned a time machine that

worked worth a damn. This has made it

very difficultto take vacations to the past. In

fact, until I happened upon a momentous

discovery about a year ago, such temporal

tripping was downright impossible. But then

I learned of the existence of Bible-Science

(BS) Conventions - conferences to which

creationists, geocentrists, catastrophists,

and a variety of other madcaps flock from

the four corners ofthe (possibly flat)earth. I

found that, for the price of a few nights'

lodging and a modest registration fee, itwas

possible to travel as far back in time as 3000

B.C., and from thence back to as recently as

185 9 - the year inwhich Darwin published

On the Origin of Species.

Lest readers begin to think my elevator

doesn't reach the top any more, Imust clar-

ifymy claim. I didn't really learn how to take

myown body into the past: Idiscovered that

the past could stillbe found in the present if

one looked in the right places. The greatest

minds of the eighth century, I discovered,

are still alive and thriving in America.

Although I had occasionally encountered

miscellaneous escapees from the present in

such places as school board meetings, city

parks, and Bible-college parking lots, I had

never seen a whole tribe of them at once

- until I attended the North-coast Bible-

Science Conference, a convention held near

Cleveland in June of 1984 . Readers of the

American Atheist may remember my report

of the affair, Report from the Center of the

Universe, published in the November 1984

issue. In August of this year, I travelled to

Cleveland for a National Creation Confer-

ence. The theme this year was Reformation

for Distorted Science.

Last year was said to have been an off-

year, in that the national conferences are

held every two years, with merely regional

conferences in-between. This year was sup-

Austin, Texas

posed to be a biggie. Imagine my surprise,

therefore, when Idiscovered that there were

no more participants this year than last At

no time during the three-day meeting did I

count more than sixty-seven (forgive the

term) souls - including other creationist-

watchers such as I. Only four in number

last year, my kind had increased to ten or

twelve this year. By next year, the bird-

watchers may outnumber the birds

In addition to the usual science writers,

college professors, and wingless gadflies, the

creationist-watchers this year included one

or two social anthropologists doing doctoral

research on the several tribes of creation-

ists. Although they wouldn't admit it, I sus-

pect they chose to study creationists only

because the Reagan administration down-

thumbed grant requests for study in New

Guinea or Upper Amazonia. However that

may be, it was a bit disconcerting to think

that my obtrusive presence inthat primitive

society might be adding unnatural perturba-

tions to the normal flow ofevents, thus con-

taminating a delicate system being studied

by fellow scientists. My only rationalization

was that creationists are by no means an

endangered species; anthropologists and

paleopsychologists will have many other

specimens to examine.

One reason for the sparse attendance, I

was quick to learn from some amazingly

candid creationists, was the fact that the

Gishites (including Duane Gish, the premier

performing artist in all of creationdom, and

his disciples at the San Diego-based Institute

for Creation Research) were boycotting the

powwow. Itseems that some ofus criticized

Gish in print last year for sitting unprotest-

ingly through various geocentricity talks. At

no time did he object to the idea that the sun,

weighing

333,000

times as much as the

earth, revolves around the earth, a body so

small that if it were placed at the center of

the sun, the moon's orbit would lie only a

littlemore than halfway out toward the sun's

surface Knowing that there would be criti-

cal creationist -watchers present again this

year, Gish (rumored to be a heliocentrist)

probably didn't relish the thought of having

to argue with geocentrists in front of com-

pany. Perhaps more to the point, one of the

geocentrists holds a Ph.D. in astronomy,

and Gish probably didn't relish the possibil-

ity of losing such an argument So without

December, 1985

the Gishites, that left mostly Bedlamites.

And us Evolutionites. Like the Gishites, the

Hittites and the Hivites also stayed away in

crowds.

An Atheist At The Prayer Breakfast

Almost every

university is writing a

book

against us in one

way

or an-

other ...

I

think this

demonstrates

that

God

has blessed

us.

- Rev. Walter Lang, founder,

Bible-Science Association

The conference was to begin on a Wed-

nesday, August 14, at 7 :30 P.M ., with a scrip-

ture reading and invocation by Rev. Paul

Bartz, the editor of the Bible-Science News-

letter. Suffering as I do from a clock neuro-

sis, Iarrived several hours early at the Har-

ley Hotel in Independence, Ohio. Not only

was that place the convention center, it

would later be alleged to be pretty close to

the center ofthe universe itself After check-

ing in and unloading my baggage in my

room, I wandered down to the still-empty

conference rooms to see if any other early

birds had arrived. The only person Iencoun-

tered was Rev. Walter Lang, a Missouri

Synod Lutheran minister and founder some

twenty-five years ago of the BS Association,

now headquartered in Minneapolis. Rev.

Lang was inspecting the tables on which

creationist literature would be laid out for

sale. As he smilingly approached me to

shake myhand and introduce himself, it was

obvious he did not remember me from the

previous conference.

My name's Walter Lang, and your name

. ?

IS ..••

Frank Zindler, from Columbus.

I see . . . do you have a large group in

Columbus?

Well ... Iguess it's growing. Idon't know

if Gerry Wegner or Hugh Miller [two of the

more vocal Columbus creationists] are com-

ing or not. 1haven't been in contact with

them for some while.

Sensing that my answer was not quite

straightforward, Lang's next question

struck right to the root: What church do

you go to?

I was brought up as a Lutheran, but 1

don't go to church any more.

Lang wrinkled his brow as he added up

Page 23



the data. You must know that guy from

Iowa, Patterson ... [referring to Prof. John

Patterson, a professor of engineering at

IowaState University and the bane offlying

Maharishis and creationists alike].

Yes, indeed, Jack and I both attended

the Bible-Science Conference here last

year.

Lang sort of harrumphed, and added, I

suppose you know Bob Schadewald from

Minnesota too ... ? [Schadewald is a free-

lance science writer and is not only an

expert on creationism but also is perhaps

one of the world's foremost authorities on

the flat-earth and geocentrist movements.]

Yes, Bob and I have been friends for

some time. Changing the subject, I opined,

I guess there'll be a lot more participants

this year than last ...

Not necessarily, Lang countered, I

think about the same.

But this year is a

national

convention

year. Last year was an off-year. Shouldn't

this be much bigger?

Not necessarily, Lang replied and went

about his business. This was my first hint

that not everything is hunky-dory in crea-

tiondom. Not only was there the embarrass-

ing absence of the Gishites, many of the

creation scientists in attendance were pri-

vately very critical of each other. This even

came out occasionally after lectures, when

criticism ofspeakers - almost unknown the

year before - was frequent and often

pointed.

As I spoke privately with many different

attendees, itbecame clear that Lang, in par-

ticular, had become an embarrassment to

creationists who had less modest creden-

tials in science than he. More than one par-

ticipant said that Lang was incompetent

and should step aside. Now seventy-one and

in his anecdotage, Lang had not slowed

down physically at all and was still able to

introject his own off-the-wall ideas into just

about every event of the conference. Not

onlywas he a formal speaker ( Christ for the

World: A Creation Challenge ), he con-

ducted two prayer-and-Bible study break-

fasts dealing with Job and Science.

Since heathen science meetings never

have prayer breakfasts, I decided to attend

both the Thursday and Friday morning

affairs to see what scientists do after for-

saking science. Arrivingearly, Ioccupied the

chair closest to the speaker's position at the

breakfast table. Gradually, people began to

arrive. My presence was doubtless the

cause of much consternation, but no one

revealed his feelings openly. Finally Lang

arrived, took his place at the speaker's spot

at the end of the long table, and started to

speak. Somewhere in the midst of his first

sentence, he became aware that it was I

sitting at his right hand How much this may

have discomfited him, Ido not know. He did,

however, almost forget to say the prayer,

Page 24

and at the second prayer breakfast, it

seemed to be a foregone conclusion that

there would be no prayer - and there

wasn't.

As Lang launched into his exposition of

the book of Job and its bearing upon the

survival of dinosaurs into the present age, I

could sense the modern world fade from his

consciousness. Not only did I disappear

from his awareness, I believe the entire cor-

pus ofmodern scientific knowledge did too.

He was free to let his arm-chair musings

bubble up and out, without any worry ofhow

they might jibe with the scientific evidence

available in the twentieth century.

As he began his exposition of Job, Lang

passed out a pamphlet entitled Job and

Science: A Bible Class Study. Iopened it up,

and my eyes immediately fell on a section

titled Bigfoot. Read Job 24:4-8and 30:1-7: I

started to read.

Even today in remote areas of the earth

there seem to be creatures which may be

either animal forms or degenerate humans.

They livein remote areas of the world, lead-

ing a lifemuch like that of an animal. In His

providence the Lord provides even for these

creatures. They wear no clothing and their

body hair grows long. Itseems their pituitary

gland is responsible for their huge size,

somewhat over eight feet. Weight is about

six hundred pounds ...

Wanting to continue to read on about

Sasquatch, Yetis, and Abominable Snow-

men, and wanting to find out who had done

the pituitary studies on the creatures, I had

to force myattention back to what Lang was

talking about. Over the course of the two

breakfasts, however, Inever again had trou-

ble attending to his spiel. For what he had to

say was so utterly outre that I found myself

hanging on his every word, trying to antici-

pate what he would say next - and never

once succeeding.

One of the major theories that the

Reverend Mr. Lang was advancing at both

prayer breakfasts and inhis formal lecture

was that dinosaurs had floated out Noah's

flood and several types were stillalive today.

Moreover, his scholarly examination of the

book of Job showed quite clearly that

Job's Leviathan was a flesh-eating dinosaur

(probably a plesiosaur) and the biblical

Behemoth was a. plant-eating dinosaur

(probably a brontosaur of some sort). The

Leviathan, it should be noted, is able to

breathe fire - just likeSt. George's dragon

Merely to describe Lang's theses would

be to deprive my readers ofthe opportunity

of seeing exactly how the creationist mind

reasons its way from its preconceived

conclusions to its misperceived evidence.

Therefore, I have decided to transcribe part

of a tape-recording of the last breakfast,

and let readers scrutinize the transcript the

way a psychoanalyst examines a patient's

dream - an appropriate analogy, I think.

December, 1985

What follows is exactly what Lang said,

along with a little editorial kibitzing in square

brackets.

Of course there are many creatures that

can make electricity invarious ways, like the

firefly [ ],the electric eel ... and it appears

that there is a distinct possibility that [the

ability to make electricity and, perhaps, fire]

could be in this Leviathan, and then Iread a

book on the Loch Ness Monster by Thomp-

son, who spent thirty years studying de-

scriptions ofabout two hundred sightings ...

He saw it himself once ...

One of the things that he notes most

people report who see the Loch Ness Mon-

ster is a terrible smell. It's got a purposeful

repellant on its skin [how he knows it's pur-

poseful, and why the most ferocious beast

on earth would need a repellant, Lang did

not divulge], and itappears that this issulfur,

and, uh, this could be with this Leviathan,

that he had this sulfur, and probably phos-

phorus too. So with all these elements in

him, it wouldn't be any problem for him to

breathe out fire and smoke, uh, and of

course, if the bombardier beetle can make

an explosion, why couldn't this happen too?

You all know about the Japanese fisher-

men in 1977, I think it was, captured one of

these plesiosauruses - it was about 167

pounds [how many ounces, give or take,

was not revealed; if anyone thought 167

pounds a bit small for a dinosaur, no one said

so] - off the coast of New Zealand and, uh,

it was dead, it was stinking up the fish catch

so much they took a picture and threw it

back in the ocean. I guess they lost a million

dollars right there, because they're that rare

[nonexistent creatures are as rare as you

can get ] ... pictures appeared in all the

newspapers, if you remember, about

1977 ... [According to Robert Schadewald,

the carcass was that of a basking shark.]

My contention is that the plesiosauruses

are still with us today, and I think some of

them would fit probably the descrip ... we

don't know of any of them having those

scales that are described here inthe, uh, Job

41, but I wouldn't be surprised if some do

[pink scales with purple polka dots might

surprise him, but don't bet on it ]. They're

extremely rare, you see. Inevery generation

there's two or three sightings of them ...

The Loch Nesses [sic. Lang repeatedly

uses the plural], you know, cut right across

Scotland. Ihave a theory this is the breeding

ground of these rare plesiosauruses, that

some of them could be like the Leviathan

here in Job. [Lang uses one myth to explain

another ]

To understand the Behemoth as a plant-

eating dinosaur, and the Leviathan as a

meat-eating dinosaur ... [a lengthy digres-

sion here on the various animals mentioned

in Job, and on Job's righteousness] ... three

months ago, Iwas trying to get into Africa in

American Atheist



March and I couldn't remember what

Rhodesia had become, heh , the name ofthe

new country [Zimbabwe is now five years

old] ... so Icalled Bob Elfenstein, one ofour

workers in Minneapolis, if he could reo

member the name of that country . . . I

wanted to make sure I had the name of the

country right ... and then Iasked him ifhe

knew some doctor, some missionary . . .

somebody who knew about the dinosaur

that was in the Congo ... I thought it was

alive,and the natives said no, it died.

So he said, 'Oh, this fellow is here now,

he's on furlough, he's a dentist missionary,

he's right here inAnoka,' a northern suburb

of Minneapolis. So I called him up.

He's a dentist and he went to seminary in

France and you know, the Marxist Congo

used to be French Congo so he got in there

in spite of the fact that it's Communist.

Because ofhisdentistry work, he was able to

preach the gospe . They didn't stop him,

and, uh, this is where there's at least six

hundred square miles [Lang appears to

think this is big. Perhaps he meant six

hundred miles square.] ofrain forest. It rains

constantly there. Mostly you have to go on a

canoe in about eight feet of water. The

natives, pigmies, and the Latonowas [??]live

on islands.

He said for a while he doubted that there

was a dinosaur, he'd heard the same stories.

Then he discovered that there were some

there, but the natives were worshipping it as

a god, and they were purposely misdirecting

everyone looking for it - they took their

money. He said, 'What's in that lake?' - it

was about one hundred miles to the west -

and so one day he had a chance to see it. The

guide says, 'I'llshow itto you.' And when the

Chief heard this, he got so upset, they

thought it the better part of wisdom not to

look for it. But he thinks not only isit there,

but there are two or three of them in there.

They're about forty feet long, they're not

hippopotamuses ... [Ileave it to the reader

to decide if more solid evidence could be

asked for.]

Of course this would be a plant-eating

dinosaur, but you see there how ideal the

weather conditions would be for the large

dinosaurs ... Iwas on the Galapagos in '79

and I had quite a bit of fun with our guides.

Our guides were young people just out of

college and they were rather open to our

testimony. But when I called these guanas

[sic] baby dinosaurs, they, heh, heh, didn't

appreciate it too much. Some of these gua-

nas - you know ifyou look at an iguana, it's

a perfect picture of a two-legged dinosaur [I

replayed this part of the tape six times to be

sure I heard correctly. Were the Galapagos

iguanas dancing a quadrille when Lange

observed them? Bipedal locomotion by

iguanas could be downright hernia-produc-

ing ], just that it's smaller, that's all ... much

better than a chameleon or a lizard [does

Austin, Texas

Lang know that chameleons are lizards?]. I

think that the iguanas fit even better than a

kokono [sic] dragon ...

I talked to a missionary in El Paso. He

remembered seeing some ten-foot guanas in

the Philippines ... so you see, you just need

the right weather conditions. We really have

dinosaurs today, without any question. You

just need the right weather conditions, as I

see it, to get huge creatures. And in the

ocean, ofcourse, we

have

huge creatures ...

this is where the plesiosauruses seem to be

today, and perhaps also this fire-breathing

dragon is still down there - very rare, but

occasionally there. [The physics of under-

water fire-breathing was not discussed.]

From a scientific viewpoint, there's no rea-

son that we shouldn't take the Behemoth as

a plant-eating dinosaur and Leviathan as a

meat-eating dinosaur. There's no reason

why we shouldn't at all.

The above monologue is so utterly mad

that no further commentary is needed. But

before proceeding to discuss the rest of the

creationism conference, I have to mention

one last amusing item in the case of Walter

Lang and the dinosaurs in the book of Job.

Inhis booklet, Job and Science, Lang argues

that Job's Behemoth had to be a

Brontosau-

rus (Lang calls it Bronto inhis comparison

tables), not a hippopotamus (as many Bible

commentators opine). Among the criteria

by which Lang evaluates the Bronto are:

Eats grass, Strength in his loins, Tail

like a cedar, Bones like brass and iron,

and Sinews of stones wrapped together.

While I'm not sure that hippopotami

satisfy these criteria any better than a

Bronto would, there's one other criterion

which Lang lists which definitelywould seem

to rule out a reptile. Lang cites Job 40:16, to

the effect that Behemoth has Force in the

Nave ''' Our expert on dinosaurs does not

seem to know that reptiles don't have na-

vels. Only mammals do. To be sure, some

modern translations of the Bible translate

the Hebrew word

sharir

as muscle, or sinew,

instead ofnavel, and itistrue the meaning of

the Hebrew term is a bit obscure. But it is

likelythat navel is the originalmeaning ofthe

term, since the Greek version of the Old

Testament, the Septuagint (translated dur-

ing the third and second centuries B.C.),

uses the Greek word omphalos, a word

which clearly means 'nave .' But whatever

the ancient primitives intended, it was all

wasted on Lang. Despite the limitations of

reptilian anatomy, Behemoth was a dino-

saur, and Behemoth had strength in his

navel

Of Noah's Ark And Nobel Laureates

To report on all the pseudoscientific

doings that transpired during the three-day

conference would require an entire issue of

this magazine, and so some telescoping isin

December, 1985

order. Once again, Richard Elmendorf ofthe

Pittsburgh Creation Society was offering a

$1,000 Reward for Scientific Proof-Positive

that the Earth Moves. Dr. John R. Meyer

reported on The Research Emphasis ofthe

Creation Research Society - but only

after making itpointedly clear that his organ-

ization was not the same thing as the Insti-

tute for Creation Research (the kingdom of

the Gishites). Meyer's research emphasis

was underwhelming at best. At worst, itwas

embarrassing and a bit reminiscent of

someone trying to get ready for a high

school science fair.

Also present, but somewhat chastened

since last year, was my fellow Columbusite

Hugh Miller. Miller is a devotee of Cretace-

ous man-tracks, which he fancies he has

found beside dinosaur tracks along the

Paluxy Creek in Texas. When John Cole, an

anthropologist who has visited Paluxy and

examined the alleged man-tracks, pointed

out the deficiencies of the plaster casts

which Miller had trotted out for examina-

tion, Miller- to everyone's astonishment-

admitted that his evidence was inadequate

to prove the coexistence of Alley Oop and

Dinnie. Even more surprising, we learned

that he was no longer associated with the

Rev. Carl Baugh, a snake-oil salesman who

has been giving away aluminum casts of a

Bigfoot track to anyone givingone hundred

dollars or more for the Christian Evidence

Museum which Baugh plans to build. Miller

discovered that Baugh was not interested in

doing things in a scientifically responsible

manner. This may be the end of what has

been called the creationists' Piltdown

hoax.

Another Ohioan, Robert Garbe, tanta-

lized us with an account of his expedition to

Mt. Ararat and a story of the ark that got

away. Maybe next year. But most tantalizing

ofallwas a comment by Dr. Jerry Bergman,

a former professor at Bowling Green State

University who was fired, he claims, because

of his creationist religion. Bergman claimed

he personally knows a Nobel laureate who is

a cryptocreationist. Since Bergman shortly

later mentioned a friend who isa very prom-

inent neurophysiologist, Iam guessing that if

indeed there exists such a contradiction in

terms as a creationist Nobel laureate, it is

the neurophysiologist Sir John Eccles. Sir

John has been decorated by at least one

pope, and he is a member of the Pontifical

Academy of Science. Some years ago, Ihad

an opportunity to quiz him about some ofhis

odd beliefs, especially his beliefin the sou '''

Mysoul isin the left hemisphere ofmy brain,

he told me, because that iswhere my speech

center is. Out of deference to his age, and

respect for the genuine achievements ofhis

earlier career, I bit my tongue and refrained

from asking, Does that mean that people

who are mute, due to a defect in their speech

centers, are soulless zombies?

Page 25



The Great Debate

A second possible thing that crea-

tionists might look for issome kind of an

instrument that will detect darkness. It

is

my

conclusion, based

on

[scripture],

that darkness is a positive thing.

- Prof. Richard Niessen,

Christian Heritage College

I have

no

problem with the firma-

ment being firm. I have no problem if

out at the end of the universe, billions of

light years

[out] ...

if there s

a

solid shell

out

there.

I

have

no

problem with that

at

all,from either a physical

or

a theologi-

cal standpoint.

- Prof. Gerardus Bouw,

Baldwin-Wallace College

Throughout the three-day conference,

one had a sense that everything was being

drawn toward a point of final consumma-

tion: the great debate which was to be the

grand finale of the whole BS-shebang. The

purpose of the debate was to decide an issue

which had never been debated by a major

scientific society: Does the universe actually

revolve around the earth, or does it only

appear to do so? The actual thesis being

debated was the following:

The geocentric model of the uni-

verse isa better model because (1) itis

more faithful to the scriptures and (2)

it better explains the observations.

The debate was actually a double-bar-

reled affair:on each side was a theologian to

debate the biblical aspects of the question

and a scientist to deal withthe less important

aspect - reality. Serving as theologian for

the geocentrists was Dr. Gerardus Bouw,

who holds a Ph.D. in astronomy (really )

from Case-Western Reserve University.

The would-be heliocentrist theologian was a

dour fellow, Prof. Richard Niessen from

Christian Heritage College, who described

himself as loosely associated with the

Institute for Creation Research. As far as I

could establish, Niessen was the only Gish-

ite at the meeting, and he had come to chal-

lenge the BS Association in the relatively

safe area of biblical one-upmanship.

Niessen tried valiantly to prove that the

Bibleallows the earth to move, but it was an

impossible task. Bouw had little difficulty in

proving that the Bible isgeocentrist. Joshua,

after all, had made the sun - not the earth

- stand still. Since the Bible is also predi-

cated upon the earth being flat, science writ-

er Robert Schadewald tried to get a three-

way debate going (both he and Iwere willing

to defend the biblical position on the flat-

earth question), but the creationists

wouldn't bite. To say that the sun revolves

around the earth is one thing, but to say the

earth is flat is embarrassing even to many

Page 26

creationists

The assembly was shocked by Niessen's

call for creationists to devote more time to

darkness research. Itwas his viewthat dark-

ness isa thing in itself - not just the absence

oflight. In Genesis, after all, god is depicted

separating the light from the dark - a pro-

cess resembling the straining of black-eyed

peas out oftapioca pudding.

Ergo,

darkness

is itself a thing. When Iasked the two theolo-

gians about the firmament, Niessen went

against the Hebrew etymology ofthe term (a

smithing term meaning something ham-

mered out into thin sheets, as ofcopper) and

claimed itmeans an expanse. Bouw, how-

ever, believing the King James Version as

well as the autographs to be totally iner-

rant, agreed that the firmament was firm.

When asked about the supposed windows in

the firmament, he thought they might be

hyperspace tubes.

Geocentricity vs. Acentricity: that s

the argument. Acentricity meaning

there is

no

center whatsoever ....

To

me, this is a hellish nightmare. This is

worse than evolution, as far as I'm

concerned.

- Prof. James Hanson,

Cleveland State University

There were three systems [of the

universe] about the year

1600 -

which

is probably where this debate belongs.

- Francis Graham,

University of Pittsburgh

Although the geocentrists won the theol-

ogy debate, this was not true ofthe scientific

debate. It seems that in all of creationdom

there was not a single creation scientist

capable of defending the double motion of

the earth. Thus it fell to my fellow heretic,

Prof. Emmanuel Sillman of Duquesne Uni-

versity, to recruit a theistic evolutionist (an

ex-Roman Catholic turned Greek Ortho-

dox, a University of Pittsburgh Astronomy

Department doctoral candidate named Fran-

cis Graham) to exorcise the ghost of

Ptolemy. Graham had never debated before

in his life, but he was highly motivated to

defend the honor of his science. What he

may have lacked in experience, he made up

for in intelligence. Graham was bright.

The ghost of Ptolemy that Friday was

residing in the body of James Hanson, a

professor of computer science at Cleveland

State University. His presentations were full

of impressive claims ( I can easily derive an

equation to show that _ .. ), but precious

littleproof. Graham was ready. After rapidly

restating the classical proofs of the motions

of the earth, he tossed off - almost as an

afterthought - the brilliant argument which

was to receive no rebuttal from Hanson.

Graham crumbled Hanson's cracker with

the observation that earthquakes some-

times cause a variation in the length of the

December, 1985

day. In heliocentric terms, this means that

the earthquake has altered the rate of the

earth's rotation. In the geocentric model,

however, itwould be the heavens - sup-

posedly revolving around the earth - which

are speeded up or slowed down by the

quake. How does the information get from

the earthquake allthe way out to the distant

galaxies . . . then back to the earth, much

faster than the speed oflight? he asked. He

never got an answer.

Graham proceeded to analyze the tech-

niques of geocentrists (and creationists) in

trying to prop up their theories with end-

less numbers of ad

hoc

hypotheses. In a

clever variation on Wayne Frair's joke about

turtles allthe way down, Graham quipped,

What holds up the theories ofgeocentrists?

It's ad hoc hypotheses all the way down

00

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Formerly a professor of biology and

geology, Frank R. Zindler is now a

science writer. A member of the

American Association for the

Advancement of Science, the

American Chemical Society, and the

American Schools of Oriental

Research, he is also co-chairperson of

the Committee of Correspondence on

Evolution Education and Director of

the Central Ohio Chapter of American

Atheists.

A T H E IS T W IN T E R

S O L S T IC E C A R D S

Order

NOW

$3.50 per dz.

(including envelopes)

Style 1. The December, 1985 calendar

page highlighting the Winter Solstice.

Styles 2 & 3. Cartoon characterizations

of typical urban activities during the

Solstice (Xmas) Season - humorous-

lydone by the talented European line-

art specialist - CORK.

Order now for immediate delivery from:

American Atheists - PO Box 2117

Austin, TX 78768-2117

Include payment of $3.50 per dz.

(plus l OO /dz postage)

American Atheist



NA

TURE'S

W A Y /

Gerald Tholen

r ~ -

I~•..••V .-

l;

IT S A SMALL WORLD

\ ;

I

m sure that most people have used the

verbal automatism It's a small world on

more than one occasion. A chance meeting

with someone in some distant or unusual

location generally prompts just such mech-

anically orchestrated conversation.

Actually, the size of the world is grossly

underevaluated in this time-honored ex-

pression. Inreality, the earth isenormous -

in a physical sense. For instance, let's sup-

pose there were only two people living on

the African continent - one near the north-

ern shores along the Mediterranean and the

other somewhere in Mozambique. With or

without transportation conveyances -

whether walking, flying,or riding - it is not

likelythat the two would ever meet. Multiply

the chance factors byfifteen or so times and

try to figure the odds ofsuch a meeting over

the entire global surface. Pretty slim, right?

Like I said - the earth is an enormous

place - nothing small about it. So vast isthe

earth that itis capable ofsustaining, at pres-

ent, the existence of over four billionpeople

- plus hundreds of billions of other plants,

animals, and insects. Yet, when two pre-

viously acquainted American tourists from

Chicago happen to bump into each other in

Madrid, Spain - it's a small world

Look at it this way - Madrid is a large

city, but when compared to the total land

mass of Spain, its actual geographical area

seems rather small. Add to this the fact that

travelers visiting Madrid usually frequent

certain specific areas of tourist interest and

itbecomes easier to see that such a meeting

would be quite likely - even as likely as the

same two Chicagoans bumping into each

other inplaces frequented intheir own home

town. If circumstances had been different

- if there were no cities or towns or travel

routes in Spain, only a large impenetrable

fence around its borders - it is probable

that two such travelers might never confront

each other - even in a country no larger

than Spain.

So, the idea of the earth being small is

rather ludicrous - geographically speaking.

Inan allegorical sense, however, there isstill

a measure of validity in using the words

small world. Ifthe term isused to describe

the probity ofhuman behavior, the extent of

civilized intelligence, the concern of one

human for all others or for all other living

things - Iam inclined to agree withits merit.

Austin, Texas

You're probably thinking, Jeez, what a

negative outlook. But - is it really a nega-

tive outlook or simply a statement of fact

that people somehow refuse to accept?

Surely, every individual with only minimal

reading and communicating capabilities or

who has experienced awareness can look

back through the past of human existence

and find a bit ofagreement with my point. Is

everyone then negative ?

The real truth is that humankind is not

truly civilized as is usually implied with the

use ofthe word

civilization.

To the contrary,

we - the world's population collectively-

are still more primitively uncivilized than we

dare to admit. We speak of survival and of

the law of the jungle as if they were some-

thing separate and apart from our own pri-

vate (individual) feelings. We can't seem to

accept that survival is as much a part of the

lives of people today as it ever was, and as it

has always been, for all livingthings. Admit-

tedly, we may have sporadic fits of human

compassion, but - not to worry; they are

usually with us only momentarily. Perhaps

you might even question the use of the term

fits of compassion, feeling it is inappropriate.

Look up the word fit, t hen tell me you

disagree as you recall that starvation inEthi-

opia or the continuing plight of the inde-

pendent U.S. farmer is no longer our media

headlines.

The haves still look down their noses at

the have nots and the have nots still scratch

and claw in order to have. In the embryonic

American society, amid ample resources,

we have become more or less intellectually

impotent insofar as world conditions are

concerned. Have we become immune to the

illnesses of dire necessity? Instead of tech-

nology generating a broader educational

expansion ofknowledge inbasic skillsand in

the arts and sciences, it has in many cases

insidiously created only a growing depen-

dency on technology itself. Yet, our com-

petitively-ordered economic expertise inthe

various fields has catapulted us into a com-

manding position inworldwide entrepreneur-

ism and we are too blinded by national self-

interests to see that our entrepreneurism is

simply the modern-day replacement for old-

world imperialism. Then, we pompously

boast of being the people-magnet nation of

the world. Everybody wants to come to

America we say - the land of opportu-

December, 1985

nity. Have we ever wondered why? The

answer, as I see it, is quite obvious -

nobody wants to be a loser Iguess the only

solution isto have everybody move toAmer-

ica - all four billion of them. Can you

imagine the consequences?

I've given a great deal of thought to these

things for a long time. I'm sure that mostof

you have had similar thoughts on occasion.

We keep reiterating the excuse that there is

really nothing that can be done about world

conditions on a meaningful scale. Yet, when

we make such absurd statements we know

that we're really lying through our teeth.

World poverty and hunger could be elimi-

nated tomorrow ifthat's what people really

wanted. We excuse our lack of concern by

claiming to be civilized. Civilization has no

direct connection with being compassion-

ate. It is defined as a condition of human

society characterized by a comparatively

high degree of cultural and technical devel-

opment - period - that's all. It doesn't

mention anything about being humane or

compassionate or even possessing the quali-

ties of human dignity, probity, or social con-

cern. It simply means that, relative to the

other animals which roam the outdoors, we

have become technological social groupies

with indoor plumbing. We do as we please -

we take what we want - so long as we can

outdo the other fellow or the other nations.

The sophists of technology become more

and more efficient in their exploitations

of those who, unfortunately, are a little

less clever either individually or collectively.

The key to the whole sordid mess is an

innocent-sounding little word - compet-

itiveness.

Now, undoubtedly, that statement is

likely to get me into a bit of trouble with the

gung-ho advocates of machoism (male or

female) - the beefcakes of the sporting

world, the wizards of economy, the aficio-

nados of every ilk. I can almost hear the

anguished indignations, What do you

mean, competitiveness is the problem

Don't you know that competitiveness is

what made America great? Actually, I'd

also like to think that competitiveness made

America great. But, with better understand-

ing ofthe complex functioning ofthe human

brain, Iknow that itsimply isn't true. Let me

explain.

Some while back, in another article I

Page 27



wrote for the American Atheist magazine, I

made the seemingly brash statement that

many (perhaps even most) human beings

possess certain schizoid characteristics. As

I recall, my accusation was primarily aimed

at those particular asses who present them-

selves as scholarly physicists on weekdays

and godists on Sundays. It is also apparent

to me, and has been for about forty years,

that this condition is as socially widespread

in humans as is the common cold. More

recently, psychological research reports

seem to add credibility to my opinion. Ifyou

disagree, or ifyou are interested in the mat-

ter, you may want to read The Social Brain

by Michael Gazzaniga in the November,

1985,Psychology Today. In general the arti-

cle explains how the two brain hemispheres,

under conditions considered normal, oper-

ate both independently and, at the same

time, cooperatively. The explanations show

how the brain modules manufacture be-

liefs, sometimes rational, sometimes emo-

tionally and credulously irrational. It there-

fore clinically describes how certain minds,

through imaginary needs, can invent gods,

ghosts, or whatever, based on automatic

reponses actuated by the most primitive

implementor ofhuman behavior - emotion,

i.e., fear, hate, love, etc.

At this point you may be wondering what

this all has to do with people being compas-

sionate or non-compassionate, or being able

or unable to believe (in gods), and how all

this could possibly relate to

competitive-

ness. As I said earlier, competitiveness isthe

key to human inequities, so let's start there.

Based on the analyses of recognized psycho-

logical researchers, human beings ingeneral

possess the qualities when emotionally

stimulated that we only superficially detest

in characters like Dallas 's

J.

R. Ewing.

Consciously we reject such qualities when

we see them as the characteristic embodi-

ments of other people. Yet, under similar

conditions, most people would become as

ruthless in their business tactics as anyone

else. No multi-millionaireoilexecutive would

share resources, knowledge, or capabilities

with another company. Neither would he

cry over the bankruptcy ofa competing firm.

The primary concern of any business is

profit. Any variation from this basic rule

would soon destroy the company in ques-

tion. Even the so-called charitable endow-

ments offered by some companies or

wealthy individuals are, at best, relief-valves

aimed at minimizing the taxation of corpo-

rate gains and profit. Everyone even re-

motely connected with business knows

these things. In isolated cases charitable

gestures may be the futile(or even belatedly

gallant) attempts of rich people to ingratiate

themselves to humanity. Only rarely, I fear,

are any such actions the common practices

of affluent people. Generosity is more

abundant in persons who are not so com pet -

Page 28

itively inclined. My convictions parallel the

fact that human beings have evolved, totally,

in the continuing atmosphere of competitive

existence since the very beginnings of his-

tory. In essence, we are as jealous of our

positions and resources as any other terri-

torial animal. The only difference is that we

refuse to accept our inequities because we

see ourselves as superior creatures -

incapable of such things as selfishness or

lack of concern. And, when I say superior

creatures, I'm not only talking about reli-

gious nuts and their special creation non-

sense - I mean to include non-believers as

well. Knowing the evolutionary and histori-

cal paths that humans have followed, it

could not be otherwise.

So what, some may ask, Suppose I have

gotten to the top by being a little more

aggressive - a little more dedicated in my

attempts to succeed. Isn't that how great-

ness is established? I suppose the answer

lies in how one defines greatness. Competi-

tive greatness once again clouds the issue.

Why does anyone feel the need to be great?

If a food company executive happens to

control the major portion of world rice pro-

duction, that doesn't increase his or her per-

sonal consumption needs. It only means that

the person has a measure of control over the

rice consumption of others. As I have said

before, this demonstrates the true essence

of capitalism or any other authoritatively-

controlled economic system.

To all the high-rollers of the world, I

would ask one question: Ifyou stand alone in

your greatness - at the apex of accom-

plishment - on what do you stand? Look

down the conical pile below you - are they

all losers? If they have not measured up to

your achievements, the best they can be is

second-place. For every winner there are

scores, hundreds, or perhaps even millions

of losers. Yet, in many cases, perhaps

even most cases, the losers may be, in

essence, happier, more satisfied or secure,

and more concerned with the status ofthose

losers who have fallen below the poverty

level than are those champions who jeal-

ously .guard their positions at the top. But,

there also exists the tragic condition where

many of the individuals at the lower end of

the economic scale fallto a point where they

are psychologically. resolved that social or

economic betterment can never be theirs.

Their situations can be further aggravated

when they are told by reasonably successful

people they should strive harder - never

give up. The so-called reasonably success-

ful people do not understand that there are

persons who, for one reason or another,

lack the tools and talents with which to suc-

ceed according to the standards of others.

A logical question to be asked is that ifall

the losers - from second place on down -

should suddenly cease to exist, what would

the very fewwinners do in order to preserve

December, 1985

their control over the competitive economic

systems? Would they operate their own

mills - buy their own goods - and/or pro-

vide their own resources? Logical observa-

tions should tell us that the only things really

needed in order for society to function suc-

cessfully are ideas, newer ideas, and reason-

able effort. I stress the word reasonable. If

we were not all so busy competing in order

to outdo the next guy, reasonable effort

would be enough for the satisfaction of real

human needs. As for the claims of the

trickle-down theorists who feel that the

crumbs of wealth that are allowed to sift

down to the losers should be gratefully

received, Imight ask - wanna trade places,

J.R.?

Who is to blame for this confounded way

of life that has persisted since our half-ape

beginnings? We all are - every human that

has ever lived It's the only way we know

because it's the only way that we have ever

experienced. We even start out in lifeunder

the influence of competitiveness. First, we

are indoctrinated into belief systems which

are based on our (particular) socio-parental,

irrational misconceptions provided by the

aforementioned schizoid tendencies of the

human brain. Then, being of like species, we

inherently indulge in similar misdirected

conduct and opinions. Following this, we

willinglyintensify the process in every aspect

of social life - in nationalistic militarism, in

our endeavors to provide economic self-sus-

tainance, in sports, in racial prejudices, even

to the .extent of personality conflicts with

family, friends, and associates. Nowhere is

the contest more clearly demonstrated than

inwhat should be the least ofallour personal

worries - religion.

How can we change all of this? We can't

Could anyone psychologically realign the

modules ofhis or her brain in order to assure

rational thinking in all situations? It has

apparently been tried by a few; and, in

extremely rare cases, with rather remark-

able success. Those who have managed are

the very few recognized social and scientific

benefactors in history who have significantly

aided inthe real accomplishments of human-

kind. Some are considered history's great

minds, but some are not even remembered.

Perhaps such people simply forgot about

competing with others in their field and ded-

icated their time and talent to impartial

effort. In the final analysis - after they died

- what difference could greatness make

to them anyway? I presume that most of

them were reasonably happy with their lives,

their work and interests, and their own per-

sonal situations while they were alive. That's

all that really counts

Inour struggles to be outstanding - to be

important to others - quite often we

create more anxieties for ourselves than we

do for the rest of humanity. Unless, that is,

you happen to be the keeper-of-the-keys to

American Atheist



the various international nuclear weapons

systems. Even these terrifying circum-

stances could be neutralized if people

wanted them to be. Keep in mind that we

the people are the creators ofallthe Hitlers

of history.

I n

a similar manner we all tend to

cheer on the million-dollar bonus-baby ath-

letes every sporting season. We even create

for ourselves the secret little Walter Mitty

fantasies concerning our idolized heroes.

Every human is included in this process of

competitive effort - men, women, and

children of all races So, who are we to

blame? Added to the difficulties are the

fanatical right-to-lifers who want to re-

move all sensible forms of population con-

trol from the reach ofthe present mountains

of losers, thereby generating entire new

mountain ranges of losers - within our

lifetimes.

Iflifeon this planet had evolved in a spirit

of

cooperatiueness -

ifthere were real con-

tinued concern by parent for child - by

child for parent - by person for person -

and by everyone for life in general, things

might be different now. Instead of insane

auto races where drivers kill themselves,

spectators and opponent drivers, we may

have devised systematically-controlled ve-

hicle testing programs aimed only at devel-

oping efficient road vehicles that offered

only passenger safety and comfort. Sounds

rather dull by comparison, doesn't it?That's

because people, by their very nature, thrive

on the evolutionary stigma of competitive-

ness. Face it, there wouldn't be much

excitement generated if the Rams and the

Redskins were only concerned with taking

the football across the same goal line in

cooperative togetherness. On the other

hand, would starvation exist on a world-wide

(or even local) scale if the common interest

was simply raising and processing an ade-

quate food supply for four billion - or even

ten billion people? Suppose we had never

invented religion and its after-effect - com-

petition between religions. That alone would

have prevented the cultural and racial barri-

ers that now exist. Sexism - as we know it

- would probably never have occurred.

If the human brain had not been inher-

ently afflicted with its schizoid hemispherical

maladjustments, as revealed in recent psy-

chological studies, things might have been

different. Instead of occasional displays of

kindness and warmth on special occasions

or during certain festive seasons, we may

have attained a real and lasting quality of

human integrity - year-round.

Then, when those two Chicagoans

chanced to meet infar-away Madrid - amid

thousands of healthy, happy, smiling Span-

ish faces - they could have said, Gee, it's a

big world ~

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The common sense man of Atheism,

Mr. Tholen is the product of

the Gulf Coast marshes of Texas.

While he's not slaving over

the American

Atheist

as its Assistant Editor,

he's writing poetry of which

an Atheist movement can be proud.

D IA L · AN ATH IEST

The telephone listings below are the various services where you may listen to short comments on state/church separation

issues and viewpoints originated by the Atheist community.

Tucson,

Arizona (602)

623-3861

San Francisco, California (415) 668-8085

South Bay (San Jose), California (408) 377-8485

God Speaks (408) 732-4646

Denver, Colorado (303) 692-9395

Greater DC (703) 280-4321

South Florida (305) 925-7167

Atlanta, Georgia (404) 662-6606

Mid-Hudson (914) 338-0162

Northern Illinois (312) 506-9200

Des Moines, Iowa (515) 266-6133

Lexington, Kentucky (606) 278-8333

Boston, Massachusetts (617) %9-2682

Detroit, Michigan (313) 721-6630

Austin, Texas

Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota (612) 566-3653

Northern New Jersey (201) 777-0766

Albuquerque, New Mexico (505) 884-7360

Schenectady, New York (518) 346-1479

Reno, Nevada (702) 972-8203

Columbus, Ohio (614) 294-0300

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (405) 677-4141

Portland, Oregon (503)' 771-6208

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (215) 533-1620

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (412) 734-0509

Austin, Texas DIAL-THE-ATHEIST __ (512) 458-5731

Houston, Texas (713) 664-7678

Dial-A-Gay-Atheist (713) 527-9255

Salt Lake City, Utah (801) 364-4939

December, 1985

Page 29



POETRY

THE PILL

Mywifehas had eight babies and the priest has blessed them all

The bedrooms are allcrowded and we're sleeping in the hall

I went to Father Murphy to ask about the pill

He crossed himself, blessed my wife and looked a little ill.

The pill's a tool of Satan, the dear old father screamed

And if you use an I.U.D. you cannot be redeemed

Condoms, foams and diaphragms should never leave the shelf

But here's a method recommended by the pope himself.

SO LS TIC E M A RSH ES

First you put your two knees close up tight

Firmly lock your ankles, stay that way all night

Lock your husband in the closet 'till the morning light

You'll hear him toss around and toss around withallofhis might

Thoughts of sexual pleasure from your mind erase

You know you shouldn't do it or you'll fallfrom grace

Say a rosary and an

aue

too

'Cause if the pope can't do it, well neither can you.

Ah, what memories winter carries

Of the days when I was young

How I scamped across the marshes

Chasing tunes the geese had sung

Our Father,

Who art in Heaven,

Hallowed be Thy Name,

Bless us for we have sinned;

We have no enemies except old Charlie;

Dear Lord, striketh Charlie with a lightning bolt.

Amen.

Gerald Tholen

I saw gentle icy rainfall

That would beckon day's first light

And I saw the crisp cool starlight

Of a clear and frigid night

Bill Dignan

And to add to all this beauty

As I watched the scenes unfold

Was my faithful dog beside me

One more splendor to behold

(First verse to the tune of Mananna. Second verse to the tune

of Mississippi Mud. )

Little wonder that this hour

Holds a special treat for me

Other seasons just can't equal

Solstice marshes by the sea

And when people tell their stories

Of their mountains and their streams

I can sense a tearful glimmer

As they reminisce their dreams

For I've felt the same sweet sadness

That such memories retain

And I know those cherished visions

Throughout ages willremain

BENEDICTION

But no matter what the season

Or wherever I may be

In my thoughts I shall remember

Solstice marshes by the sea

Tom James

Page 30

December, 1985

American Atheist



R E P O R T F RO M IN D IA / M arga re t B h a tty

IF WISHES WERE HORSES

I

May of this year we saw the

revival

of a

spectacular sacrifice - the Great Horse

Sacrifice - the most popular ofmajor sacri-

fices among the early Aryans, thousands of

years ago. This sacrifice was last performed

around 1734 by Maharajah Jaya Singh,

founder of Jaipur.

Horse Thief

The Ashvamedha or horse-sacrifice was a

demonstration of muscle-flexing indulged in

by ancient kings. A special horse was

allowed to wander at will outside a king's

territory, followedby a band ofsoldiery. The

kingthen laidclaim to new lands and forced

their rulers to pay tribute. War was declared

on any chief who tried to turn back the

sacred animal.

This was theoretically permitted only to

kings who were very powerful and could

support such a claim, according to one his-

torian. The sacrifices were conducted on a

vast scale, involving many hundreds of

priests and large herds of animals, not to

mention the various objects used in the

ceremony. For the population they were

vast

spectacles to be talked of for genera-

tions. No doubt they kept the more critical

minds diverted and depicted the king as an

exceptional person in communicating with

the gods, even if only through the priests.

The priests too were not ordinary mortals,

since they were in effect the transmitters of

divinity. Thus the throne and the priesthood

worked hand in hand.

That Was Then

While the horse and soldiers ranged the

countryside, at home the king, his queen,

and court performed daily sacrifices for a

year. Legends of the greatness and glory of

the royal linewere told. On the return ofthe

horse, the queen anointed it. Dr. Surendra

Ajnat in his Critique of the Vedas, quoting

from the Yajur Veda, describes how the wife

of the householder addressed the sacred

animal: Oh horse, come to me. I willdraw

your semen inside. I want to be pregnant

with your semen. She then lay with the

creature. Afterwards, it was killed and the

flesh roasted. A special treatise on the Rig

Veda gives meticulous details on exactly

how the flesh was to be shared out among

Austin, Texas

the priests. Sacred texts detailed the bless-

ings assured when the distribution was cor-

rectly done. Anyone adopting a different

system of carving it up was doomed to go to

hell.

To those who divide the sacrificial animal

in the way mentioned above, it becomes a

guide to heaven. But those who make the

division otherwise are like scoundrels and

miscreants.

This

Is Now

Undoubtedly, a lot of color has gone out

of our

lives

since those ancient days. Our

rajas and ranis have been reduced to tourist

attractions. Today our rulers mark out their

territories differently. And we have lost the

taste for horse meat - even of the sanctified

sort. The Horse Sacrifice is mentioned in all

school texts, but sanitized of its sexual

details. We still, however, have our priests.

The Horse Sacrifice held in Hoderabad

was of necessity a pale reflection of those

grander times. Shorn of all its more bizarre

details, itcould hardly be termed a true sac-

rifice according to the book. But its cost left

no room for criticism. Lasting for a week

from May 27, it cost more than 2,500,000

rupees. Food, accommodation, and travel

expenses were provided for devotees com-

ing infrom other places, and into the sacrifi-

cial fire went 10,000 kilograms of clarified

butter, 7,000 kilograms of gingelly oil, 250

kilograms of rice, 100 bags of sugar, and

much else. Members ofthe Indian Rational-

ist Association tried, without success, to

stop this criminal waste and prevent the sac-

rifice. But the Chief Minister of the State, a

former actor who still casts himself in the

role ofa demi-god, supported the organizer,

the Jagathguru Swami Ramanujachary of

Kashi Pith. The Jagathguru is the Hindu

equal to a pope and one of the staunchest

advocates of fundamental Hinduism, which

he would like to see restored to its pristine

form.

More than 15,000 people attended the

rites every day, some coming in from foreign

countries. In an interview published by a

weekly newspaper from Bombay, the Jag-

athguru stoutly defended the ¥agna (sacri-

fice). For one thing, his purpose was purely

spiritual. Said he: Nothing is right in the

world today. Everything is deteriorating. So

December, 1985

you see a few conscientious individuals try-

ing to stem this rot in their own different

way. Through science and all that. Asvam-

edha ¥agna is my way.

He rejected the historical view that the

Horse Sacrifice was performed only to

further imperialistic ambition. Brahmins per-

formed ittoo for absolving themselves ofsin.

Its scope is unlimited. It's a very powerful

yagna,

rather the most powerful one, he

declared. One can achieve almost any

objective through it. We have done it to

clean our political scene, and promote peace

and prosperity in the world. Besides, people

who perform or even just attend the yagna

get cleansed of all their sins and attain

salvation.

And, It Is Still Insanity

He, however, conceded that one

shouldn't expect improvements overnight.

But you can rest assured no force on earth

can deny Asvamedha ¥agna its due.

The Jagathguru draws his wisdom from

the oldest books in the world - the Vedas.

I tell you there is nothing in the universe

which is not mentioned inthe Vedas. Vedas

were not written by man. When man was

created, Vedas were put into his hands to

guide him through life. They embody the

truth, the eternal truth. Allman has to do is

follow them implicitly. I won't arrogate to

myself the capability of analyzing them.

God's ways are inscrutable.

The disappearance ofthis powerful rite he

attributed to the Atheism which dominated

Hindu society after the advent of Buddha.

Thanks to state patronage it received from

Ashoka and other upstarts like him, Bud-

dhism spread far and wide and threatened to

swallow up our age-old religion.

The Rationalists denounced the whole

circus as blind superstition. But what they

called blind faith, the Jagathguru saw as faith

in the Vedas (Ved-Viswas). When a journal-

ist remarked Intellect, a god-given faculty,

apparently has little role to play in your

scheme of things, the pontiff replied with

some asperity: I think you must stop asking

me questions inthis vein, he said. I've had

enough of it. If putting one's faith in the

Vedas is a sign of being dumb, call me so by

all means. This is a typical Indian attitude

which is keeping us poor and backward,

Page 31



while foreigners derive their concepts from

the Vedas and forge ahead.

Iwould like to believe that our backward-

ness comes from not sending enough food-

stuff up insmoke accompanied by the chant-

ing ofmagical cantrips. Ironically, one of the

commonest criticisms of enlightened Indi-

ans among us is that they have forgotten

their ancient cultural heritage, whereas for-

eigners are reaping rich rewards from believ-

ing in Hinduism.

Flexing Muscle

There were two interesting worldly con-

siderations which intruded on the whole sub-

lime scene. Hyderabad has a large Muslim

population and a long Islamic tradition in its

culture. Its choice as a venue for a show of

strength by more rabid Hindu devotees was

obviously intended. And, of course, the

caste factor intruded once again. Harijans

(Untouchables) were not allowed into the

holy of holies, close to the sacred fire, with

the Brahmin priests. Only Brahmins well-

versed in reciting the Vedas were chosen.

Everything demands certain qualifica-

tions, said the Jagathguru. You wouldn't

let any quack perform surgery on you. You

WHAT S

MYTHOLOGY,

DAD?

Page 32

willinsist on a qualified surgeon.

But then what about Untouchables who

attain a mastery ofreciting the Vedas? They

still remain outside the pale, he declared.

Beingable to recite the Vedas doesn't trans-

form an Untouchable into a Brahmin. But if

he continues to do good karma inthis birth,

yes, he can get promoted in the next birth

and perform any

yagna

he wishes to then.

The horse paraded through the streets

didn't end up as steak. Since the Yagna was

forthe promotion ofpeace, the creature was

a messenger of peace. You simply don't eat

messengers of peace. Instead, a dummy

made of dough was sacrificed - according

to the proper carving technique, no doubt,

recommended as absolutely unchangeable

and immutable in ancient texts.

Alas, For Our Side

And what of the benighted Rationalists

who were foolish enough to set themselves

up against the infallibilityof the Vedas? The

pious Chief Minister, who supported the

show staged by the Jagathguru and his

magicians, provided them with proper po-

lice protection throughout the Yagna.

That proved useful from the very first

day when those so-called Rationalists tried

to disturb the Yagna, said the Hindu pon-

tiff. The police rounded them up and kept

them in custody till the last day of the

Yagna.

The most disturbing aspect ofthe revival-

ism now evident in Indian religions is its

implacable nature. Rites and rituals are now

becoming elaborate power games for which

venues are selected for confrontation and

challenge. Maybe the day isnot far offwhen

reason and sanity - ifallowed to speak at all

- willdo so only from behind cage bars.

~

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

In the year 1978, your editors, assisted

by Joseph Edamaruku, editor of an

Indian Atheist publication, combed

India seeking writers who would

consistently offer an interpretation of

Indian religious events. Margaret

Bhatty, in Nagpur, a well-known

feminist journalist, agreed that she

would do so in the future. She joined

the staff of the American Atheist in

January 1983.

IT S

A

REL\610N THAT

HAS BEEN

FOUNDOUT

December, 1985

American Atheist



HISTORI L NOTES

100 Years Ago ...

The Truth Seeker

was one ofthe fewfree-

thought publications which ever undertook

to answer the special needs ofthe children of

Atheists and freethinkers. It not only pub-

lishedseveral books for youngsters, but also

featured the Children's Corner monthly

- a special page devoted to the younger set.

The Children's Corner was composed of

various puzzles, letters from children seek-

ing freethinking friends, poems, real-life

stories about children, and essays on

science. For instance, in 1885 stories about

PollyPeppercorn and her friends inwhich

Polly explained physiology to her peers fre-

quently appeared. The followingstory about

religion was published in the December 5,

1885, Children's Corner. Titled A Fable,

it was contributed by William Scott of

Osceola Mills, Pennsylvania.

Once, through some transaction not

necessary to mention, a man came in pos-

session of a hyena that was extremely sav-

age and ravenous. It had killed many per-

sons, and, in fact, had lived for some time

principally on human flesh and blood. The

people were afraid of it, and it had been

permitted to roam at large, devouring what-

ever came inits way, and doing pretty much

as it pleased.

But this man had it caged and deprived of

the prerogatives it had previously enjoyed,

and denied it the pleasure of subsisting on

human flesh. Although .the hyena opposed

every reform proposed by the man until it

was compelled to adopt it, after many years

it became domesticated, and, forgetting its

past life, claimed to have always been as

harmless as a dove. The man was good and

kind, and the foolish people, strange as it

may seem, said: 'See how the hyena has

civilized the man Note how affectionate he

is What a civilizinginfluence the hyena has

on the man how tender, how sympathetic, it

makes him '

That man represents the people, and the

hyena, popular religion.

30 Years Ago ...

The following editorial, which was pub-

lished in the December, 1955, Liberal,

summed up the year's activities of the

Friendship Liberal League. The F.L.L.

sponsored the publication of the Liberal.

F.L.L. has appeared before several

committees inWashington on behalf of sec-

ular freedoms. Our attorney has been

instructed to filea brief as friend ofthe court

in the Manners case. The Hillcase was sup-

ported both financially and otherwise, We

Austin, Texas

were successful in purchasing time on the

radio for two broadcasts, and willcontinue if

permitted. If not, we will appeal to the

F.C.C. for redress. Several members of the

F.L.L. formed the Rationalist Press, which

now insures printing of freethought litera-

ture not only for us but foralldesiring same.

We have printed and distributed free over

100,000leaflets and tracts. We have reached

the $7,000 mark inour Thomas Paine Fund.

This should become a reality next year. We

have increased the range and subscriptions

to the Liberal. And lastly we have partici-

pated actively inthe formation of a National

Federation ofSecular Societies whereby we

can more effectively make the Liberal view-

point known and felt. This willmean much

before committee hearings in Washington

where it willprove most effective.

15 Years Ago ...

The Atheist, an English publication edited

by GORA before his death, often featured a

question and answer section. The Decem-

ber, 1970, issue, published during GORA's

1970 visit to the United States, contained

this question and answer:

Q :In the west religious belief isgoing out

offashion. Churches are half-empty. Where

isthe need ofpropaganda for atheism inthe

west?

A: The west is the rich man of the world.

Like rich men everywhere, the west is more

atheistic than their fellowmen. On account

of their atheism, they are realistic in outlook

and they make their lifecomfortable.

But atheism does not stop with personal

comfort. Atheism imposes a moral obliga-

tion on every individual. Social relations

require that everyone should be atheistic

and happy for anyone to be always happy. A

rich man cannot be happy as long as there is

poverty anywhere. Through secret theft or

by open rebellion the poor will disturb the

unequal comfort of the rich. The revolts in

Asia, Africa and South America disturb the

rich comforts of the west. ...

The rich man is satisfied with his own

comfort. He preaches religious faith to the

rest inorder to exploit the superstitious gull-

ibles. This isthe immorality ofthe rich. Athe-

ism frees the poor of superstition and the

rich of immorality.

-GORA

5

Years Ago ...

The December, 1980,American Atheist,

in its Front Page Review section, had the

followinggood news:

Another victory for Atheism came

December, 1985

through this month. Since the person

involved laid his Atheism openly on the line

and cited it in the law suit as a reason for

filing the suit, the reporting on it was so

muted as to be almost unnoticeable.

Ernest Chambers is a duly elected state

senator of the Nebraska Unicameral Legis-

lature, District 11,a citizen, a taxpayer ofthe

State of Nebraska, a Black, and an Atheist.

Senator Chambers, offended by the prac-

tice of the Legislature opening each session

with prayers and by the content of those

prayers, absented himself from the opening

of each session, where he was - by law -

required to be. He attempted to find out

when, where and why the prayers. First he

found that the prayers were delivered by a

chaplain who was paid $319.75 month by

the state for every month the legislature was

in session and that the prayers were later

printed, at government expense, and issued

in 'prayer book' form, the cost of which was

$70.01 for 200 copies in 1975,$260.40 for 200

copies in 1978and $128.15 for 100 copies in

1979. Second, he found that the State of

Nebraska had use of a chaplain for opening

of its daily legislative session beginning as

early as 1855, twelve years before state-

hood. In 1867 a law was passed providing

that the chaplain be a salaried employee of

the legislature. In 1973a final lawwas passed

under which a rule was made requiring the

legislature's Executive Board to recommend

a chaplain to attend and open each day's

sitting with prayer.

Therefore, Senator Chambers fileda suit

asking that the State Treasurer be enjoined

from the payment of a salary to the chaplain

or from making any payment for the printing

ofprayers in a 'prayer book.' He pointed out

that he was an Atheist and that the prayers

offended him.

The decision inthe case came down from

the United States District Court for the Dis-

trict of Nebraska on December 24th, 1980

- Christmas eve It was a delightful present

forthe zanies. Judge Warren K. Urbom held

that (1) the printing of prayers at state

expense contravened the First Amendment

to the Constitution of the United States and

that (2) the paying from public funds of a

chaplain to open a legislative body was viola-

tive of the same.

He quoted from a Supreme Court deci-

sion Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S.

4 21 ( 19 63 )

that:

'It is neither sacriligious nor antireligious to

say that each separate government in this

country should stay out of the business of

writing or sanctioning official prayers and

leave that purely religious function to the

people themselves and to those the people

choose to look to for religious guidance.'

Page 33



AM ERIC AN ATHEIST RADIO SERIES / M adalyn

O'Hair

THE SOLSTICE SEASON

When the first installment of

a

regularly scheduled, fifteen-minute, weekly American Atheist

radio

series onKTBC radio (a station inAustin, Texas, owned by then-president Lyndon Baines Johnson) hit

the airwaves on June 3,1968, the nation was shocked. The programs had to be submitted weeks in

advance and were heavily censored. The regular production of the series ended in September, 1977,

when no further funding was available.

The following is the text of American Atheist Radio Series program No. 30, first broadcast on

December 23, 1968.

In 1968, the first year of broadcasting

for the American Atheist Radio Series,

we sent out, all over the United States,

copies

of what

we

called The Solstice

Season

program.

We printed

it in our

literature and distributed it in a small

broadside.

When the

American Atheist maga-

zine was issued later (we could not

afford to publish it in 1968), we re-

printed the article as the featured radio

program

script in December. Since

then, for a number of years it has been

repeated yearly in the magazine.

We are happy to do soagain this year.

We hope that

our

new subscribers will

come to love it as much as have our old

subscribers who have requested a re-

peat of

it

in

our

American Atheist

Radio Series.

S

omeone stole something from me. I

don't like it. What was stolen from me

- and from you - was one of the most

beautiful holidays in the world. Robert G.

Ingersoll (an American Atheist hero of ear-

lierdays) was also angry about this theft. Let

me read to you what he had to say about it.

He wrote a very famous Christmas ser-

mon. It was printed in the Euening Tele-

gram newspaper, New York City, New

York, on December 19, 1891.The ministers

of the day attacked the newspaper and

demanded a boycott of it. The Telegram

accepted the challenge and set off an issue

across the country. The paper printed the

Rev. Dr. J. M. Buckley's attack, and Robert

Ingersoll's answer. It developed into a real

donnybrook.

Let's hear what Ingersoll had to say:

The good part of Christmas is not

always Christian, it isgenerally Pagan;

that is to say, human and natural.

Christianity did not come with tid-

ingsof great joy, but witha message of

eternal grief. Itcame withthe threat of

Page 34

everlasting torture on its lips. Itmeant

war on earth and perdition thereafter.

It taught some good things, the

beauty of love and kindness in man.

But as a torch-bearer, as a bringer of

joy, it has been a failure. It has given

infinite consequences to the acts of

finite beings, crushing the soul with a

responsibility too great for mortals to

bear. It has filled the future with fear

and flame, and made god the keeper

of an eternal penitentiary, destined to

be the home of nearly all the sons of

men. Not satisfied with that, it has

deprived god ofthe pardoning power.

And yet it may have done some

good by borrowing from the Pagan

world the old festival we know as

Christmas.

Long before Christ was born, the

sun god triumphed over the Powers of

Darkness. About the time that we call

Christmas the days began perceptibly

to lengthen. Our barbarian ancestors

were worshipers of the sun, and they

celebrated his victory over the hosts

of night. Such a festival was natural

and beautiful. The most natural of all

religions is the worship of the sun.

Christianity adopted this festival. It

borrowed from the Pagans the best it

has.

I believe in Christmas and in every

day that has been set apart forjoy. We

in America have too much work and

not enough play. We are too much

like the English.

I think it was Heinrich Heine who

said that he thought a blaspheming

Frenchman was a more pleasing

object to god than a praying English-

man. We take our joys too sadly. I am

in favor of all the good free days, the

more the better.

Christmas is a good day to forgive

and forget, a good day to throwaway

prejudices and hatreds, a good day to

December, 1985

fillyour heart and your house, and the

hearts and houses of others with

sunshine.

Would you believe that such a warm

Christmas sermon could cause religious

people to launch a vicious attack on a news-

paper for publishing it? Ingersoll used the

word borrow. He said that Christians bor-

rowed the Pagan holiday. I use a stronger

word. They stole it. They stole the most

beautiful holiday of man - and for what?

They claim that this is the birthday of

Jesus Christ. Let's look at their scholars and

their history and see if this is a fact. You

most probably all know of A. T. Robertson,

the late professor ofNew Testament Greek

at the Southern Baptist Theological Semi-

nary in Louisville, Kentucky. He had written

a standard textbook on the so-called Broa-

dus Harmony of the Gospels,

and it is used

in every school ofreligion across the land. In

this book is summarized all the findings of

religious scholarship in relationship to Jesus

Christ and, among other things, the date of

his birth.

After a lengthy explanation ofwhen Jesus

Christ may have been born, Dr. Robertson

sets the date at - hold on now - the

summer or early fall of the year 6 B.C. or 5

B.C.Did you hear that? He set the date inthe

summer or the fall. Recently the idea of the

first week in January has gained some fol-

lowing. But no one who is a religious scholar

any more accepts or believes December 25.

One must calculate from the possible

death of Herod, or the appearance of the

so-called star in the East, which could have

been a comet recorded by the Chinese or a

conjunction of the planets Jupiter and

Saturn. But the Greenwich Observatory

says that the conjunction appearing as a

single star was very unlikely. Or one can

judge the time of the universal peace, that

is the time of no war a bout which the

heavenly host sang. But there was never any

stoppage of war in that time.

American Atheist



One can guess from the so-called ministry

ofJohn the Baptist, or the age ofJesus upon

his entry into the ministry, or the building of

the Temple of Herod, or the closing of the

temple of Janus, or the so-called census of

Augustus Caesar. Allof these lead the poor

theologians in ever-increasing directions

away from the idea of Christmas and the

year zero or one of our present

calendar.

Actually, the idea ofDecember 25is unten-

able. Allthe ancients inChristian history had

various days for Christ's birth. Clement of

Alexander, who was closer to that alleged

event in time, said it was May 20. April 20

and January 6 have always appeared as pos-

sibledates. Why did the Christians want the

twenty-fifthofDecember? Why that particu-

lar date? Why did they deliberately steal this

very important date from the Pagans?

There are four points in our calendar

which we use and which we call Solstice or

Equinox points, two of each. The latter is

easy: we say that the equinox is when the

sun crosses the equator ofthe earth and day

and night are everywhere of equal length.

The sun does not actually cross the equator;

we allknow that. But with the earth's natural

tip on its natural axis as it whirls around the

sun, this seems to be so. Then, either one or

the other part ofour oldballofearth gets the

most sun. But on these two occasions, the

days are equal inlength everywhere and this

occurs about March 21 and September 23

by our current calendar.

The Solstice is something different. We

don't go around the sun in a circle; we tour

around it - on our earth - in an ellipse,

which is a flattened circle, or oval. When we

are inthe points furthest away from the sun,

we have another phenomenon. That, along

with the 23° inclination of the earth, causes

the solstices. Twice a year, when the sun is

at its greatest distance from the celestial

equator, about June 21 when the sun

reaches its northernmost point on the celes-

tial sphere, or about December 22 when it

reaches its southernmost point, we call

these moments the solstice. The solstice in

December is the time when the days of the

year, in our hemisphere, are the shortest.

Primitive man and Pagan man were not

idiots, you know. They saw this. Apparently

at the first, they feared the days would get

shorter and shorter and shorter and finally

. - what if there were only night What a

frightening thing, when the sun was so

necessary for life, from common observa-

tion. So when the day came for the sun to

overcome the darkness, and for the sun to

cause the days to be longer - even ifjust a

minute longer - itmeant that there was not

going to be eternal night. The sun had won a

fight again. Darkness had had to recede and

slowly the days would get longer and longer

until spring and summer, with food growing

again and the lifecycle being renewed again,

Austin, Texas

would be everywhere on the earth.

And so every primitive culture had a festi-

valor a feast on this day. Itwas celebrated in

China, in India, in South America, in Mex-

ico, in Africa, in every single place where

man could watch days and nights and sea-

sons. There were presents given on this

great day, exchanged as a symbol, for the

sun had brought the most precious giftof all

to man: the warmth needed for life and a

recycle of the seasons again. The ancient

men noticed other things too. Certain trees

stayed green allyear round, a promise ofthe

abundance of spring and summer to come

again after winter, a reassurance that allthe

greens would return in their seasons. The

light ofthe sun and the twinkling light ofstars

became important insymbolism as wellas in

fact. The mysterious parasite, mistletoe,

ever green, intrigued primitive man. It all

needed to be celebrated, to be noted with

awe. Ifone could not give lifeas the sun did

- one could give else, such as a sharing of

food or the precious few personal items one

had. But, above all it was a time of revelry.

Life had been renewed. It was the most

joyous of all human occasions. There was

universal singing and dancing and laughing

and well-being. It was wild and wonderful

and human and warm. It was the best of all

festivals. Itwas the gayest ofallfeasts. Itwas

the warmest and best ofallcollective human

activities.

The Christians were no fools. Ifthey per-

mitted the Pagan holiday to continue to

exist, it could challenge the basis of the

mournful Christian religion, with its great

emphasis on death. First came edicts out-

lawing the Pagan holiday. But nothing so

wildly wonderful and natural as this could

ever be outlawed. And then the solution

came: incorporate it into the Christian reli-

gion. Oh, it took some time. It took many

years to effect the change. It took much

propaganda. It took many reprisals and

sanctions against those who continued with

the old festival. But, eventually the Christian

religion won the day. There were changes in

calendars too. When the Julian calendar

was changed to the present-day calendar,

Solstice - or Christmas - shifted a few

days also, so that December 25, by our

calendar, came officiallyto be designated as

a Christian

day,

It took a thousand years, and more, to rob

the people of the earth of this grand holiday

and to replace it with a personalized myth

story of a new god born, a god of a horri-

ble, punitive, new religion called Chris-

tianity.

But, it is even easier now, with mass

media. There are many ofyou inthe listening

audience old enough to remember Armi-

stice Day. That was the day that World War

Iended and itwas celebrated for thirty years

or more until a second world war broke out.

After we veterans came home from that

December, 1985

second war we found that there was no

more Armistice Day. Instead, there was a

Veterans' Day. Allthe people inthe listening

audience tonight who are twenty-five years

old or younger, never even heard of Armi-

stice Day. They only know Veterans' Day,

for that is all that they were ever taught.

That's how it is with Christmas. That is

how itwas with the Solstice. Finally, no one

ever heard of the Solstice and its festivities

- and everyone came to believe that the

Christians were celebrating the birthday of

Christ and that was all that this holiday had

ever been.

But Biblescholars know better and Athe-

ists know better and we celebrate that old

and wonderful and joyous season. We even

sellSolstice cards for this season ofSolstice

and the New Year (which, really, are both

one day). Let me read to you what we print

traditionally on our Solstice cards.

Joyful and cheerful, with mistletoe and

signs ofthe season, the greetings are to wish

one and all the glad tidings of a wonderful

Winter Solstice season. The legend inside

the card says:

December 25, by the Julian calen-

dar, was the Winter Solstice. This

day, originally regarded by the Pagans

as the day of the nativity of the sun,

the shortest day of the year - when

the light began its conquering battle

against darkness - was celebrated

universally in all ages of man. Taken

over by the Christians as the birthday

of their mythological Christ, this

ancient holiday, set by motions of the

celestial bodies, survives as a day of

rejoicing that good will and love will

have a perpetual rebirth in the minds

of men - even as the sun has a sym-

bolic rebirth yearly. ~

CROSSWORDS

(From page 39)

SOLUTION

ACROSS: I-ENGLISHMAN 6-

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12-CACTUS GARDENS 14-

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HOOPOE 19-CANOESUP21-

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STEP 27-TENSOR LAMP

DOWN: I-EACH 2-GLANCES

3-INSECTIVOROUS 4-HALF-

USED S-APING 7-BITIERS 8-

SAVE STAMPS ll-MARGIN

OF ERROR 13.AMPHIBIANS

16-MAYFESTS 18-0UTLIVE

20-SILESIA22-TRIPE 23-RSVP

Page 35



B OOK RE VIE WS

Jerry Falwell

an unauthorized profile

by Dr. William R. Goodman, Jr. and

Dr. James J. H. Price

Lynchburg, Virginia

Paris

&

Associates, Inc.

1981,170 pages, $6.95 paperback

T

his is a 6 x 9 paperback book written

by two ordained ministers inthe Presby-

terian Church, who serve as interim pastors

to local congregations in Falwell's home-

town and who both teach religion at Lynch-

burg College.

Since both men are religious there is no

way that they are going to expose the evilsof

Christianity - even of the fundamentalist

variety - for any such expose would

redound against what they teach. Instead

they exhibit traditional Christian love by

first taking a broad swipe at Jerry the man,

and then nit-picking away at his ministry.

The book purports to answer two ques-

tions: (l) Who isJerry Falwell?and (2)What

is he really like? Actually the two questions

are vehicles used to slap Jerry with every-

thing just south of libel. This is a Christian

dirty tricks book.

Itis not possible to derive from the writing

why they chose the first topic to be con-

sidered other than the opening having been

deliberately designed to (1) split Jerry off

from his love-affairwith Israel, and (2) divert

some Jewish venture capital to the publica-

tion and distribution of this book.

The opening Chapter istitled The Jewish

Indiscretions and explores, primarily, one

Falwellian statement (not even a gaffe) of

1980which is taken out of context in order

to make a point. Intheir analysis the authors

are simply naive. Falwell is supporting Rea-

gan's international doctrines and if Ronnie

turned on the Jews tomorrow so would Fal-

well. His Zionistic support of Israel has little

to do with religion and everything to do with

the politics ofthe radical right. Israel is pro-

tected to be a thorn in the Mediterranean

side of the U.S.S.R. and a military niche for

the U. S. to watch the flow of oil from the

area. It is embarrassing all the way around

that Israel, the citizens of which are largely

Atheists, couches its existence in terms of

Old Testament-based Judaism and permits

Zionist extremists to head up the state.

The second chapter is concerned with

fund-raising, and in a capitalist nation where

money is king anyone who has the ability to

accumulate money becomes charged with a

Page 36

mystique. Such a person is held up as an

example of what the system can do, while

the subject person isreally envied and hated

by those who cannot manipulate that sys-

tem so well. The chapter material is superfi-

cial. There ismuch available on the finances

of Jerry Falwell but the authors have done

no research at all.

The meat, if one can call it that, of the

book and in which you, dear reader, may be

most interested, is a thirty-one page section

on the Moral Majority. Here isan interesting

account of its inception, with at least an

identification of those who are involved on

the religious and political right. Unfortunate-

ly the people are simply named and unless

you are thoroughly politicized already you

may need to go on a search for information

on all of them. But, all the bed-fellows are

exposed with the sheets off.

Then, in order to separate the wolf from

the sheep, the good fundamentalists are

given a chance to take a crack at Jerry.

These, ofcourse, include Dr. Bob Jones, Jr.,

Chancellor of Bob Jones (gasp ) University,

and Herbert W. Armstrong of the World-

wide Church of God. And, the representa-

tives from the mainline denominations are

quickly reviewed to illustrate that their

Christianity is not corrupted by the Falwel-

lian taint.

Another twenty-five page section is de-

voted to The Quotable Falwell, who is

shown through selective excerpts (filledwith

ellipses indicating omitted text) to be the

dunderhead that Atheists can see in each

and everyone of his broader sermons and

discourses.

And, taking off on those quotes, was he a

racist in his beginning church? Would he let

his daughter marry a Black? Anyone upon

whom the image of Falwell has been thrust

knows the answer to those questions - and

the media has inflicted him on all of us.

Believe itor not, old Jerry iseven indicted

as being easy on pornography since a search

of the texts at his Lynchburg College has

come up with a few four-letter words. But,

then, Jerry doesn't read much and probably

doesn't even know that the four-letter words

are there. But one of the authors knew

something was there, for he had searched

them all out before he got to the school. In

fact, when he went to the Thomas Road

Baptist Church Hallowe'en Scareniare

where the evils of sex were shown, he got so

carried away that just thinking about what

he saw caused him to write a delightful, lyric

passage concerned with sexual arousal into

this book on pages 87 and 88.

Falwell's attitude concerned with women

December, 1985

usually brings the religious of that sex to

their knees to thank god they are - at least

- not married to him. A short section deals.

with the Falwellian female ideal which turns

out to be a satellite around her husband.

The last chapter in the book is filled with

questions that the authors would like to

have asked Falwell, but never had the op-

portunity to do so. Using the device ofquot-

ing heavily from him, the questions are - of

course - calculated to belittle or plague

him. For example, he owns a complex of

property in Lynchburg in which an old

watering hole is located. Cruikshanks, as it

is called, is a favored meeting place for

(aghast ) meetings and drinkin' (booze ) in

the late afternoons and the not-so-early

evenings. Why would he own such a place

The authors would hardly believe him ifhe

could have been asked and if he had an-

swered honestly that it brings in money.

A typical example ofthe Proposed Ques-

tions gimmick is illustrative.

Q. At a National Press Club luncheon

you were asked about comments at-

tributed to you in a newspaper report

of a 1977rally with Anita Bryant. You

were quoted as saying: It's time we

returned to the McCarthy era and

stamped communists on the head and

sent them back to Russia. Your

answer (at the luncheon) went as fol-

lows:

I - the only time that statement

was ever made was not in a rally, but

in an informal setting a number of

local pressmen there and in a joking

way ... I said [it.]

But Dr. Falwell, you know that the

meeting you speak of was not an

informal setting. It was the Sunday

evening church service at Thomas

Road Baptist Church on October 23,

1977 when Anita Bryant was the

guest. ...

Why, once more, Dr. Falwell have

you lied?

Well, the good ministers missed the point.

Where it was said doesn't really matter.

Indeed the whole book isa classic demon-

stration of the old Pennsylvania Dutch epi-

gram: The pot is calling the kettle black.

And that's the way itiswiththis book. Itis,

nonetheless, interesting, informative - and

cheap. You probably want to buy it for a

delightful couple of hours of chuckles at

least and also to see who all the enemy

embraces. For that exercise, the book is

recommended.

American Atheist



ME TOO

Me Too is a feature designed to

showcase short

essays

written

by

read-

ers in response to topics recently cov-

ered

by

the

American Atheist or

of

general interest to the Atheist com-

munity.

Essays submitted to Me Too (P.O.

Box

2117,

Austin, TX 78768-2117)

should be 600 to 800 words long.

A

response to Mr. Philip M. Buckley's

letter in the August, 1985, issue:

Ifthere seems to be a sense of aloofness in

Atheism, then Atheists may have earned

that right. After all, they are free thinkers.

My view is, that all Christians are, at the

least, ignorant. I know of none capable of

defending their beliefs or their Bible. If any

seem to know the contents of the Bible (the

overwhelming majority do not), they know

nothing or little of the available history and

origin of the Bible. Those that are knowl-

edgeable are generally called Atheists.

Ifthere are many hypocrites professing to

be Christians, then I look on that to be a

condemnation of both Christianity and its

morals.

Our writer seems to think that Christian-

ity rests its faith on Jesus Christ and him

alone. Without the Bible, there is no Jesus

Christ, and the Biblecollapses at the least bit

of criticism. Even using the contradictions

within the Bible,the foundation ofJesus falls

apart.

Which Jesus are you talking about? Ifyou

were to read the Gospels, you would find

four contradictory Jesuses. The Old Testa-

ment, on which Matthew relies so heavily,

falls apart starting with page one ofGenesis.

Which creation story does one believe? The

first (Genesis, Chapter One) is immediately

contradicted bythe second (Genesis, Chap-

ter Two). They are both copied from the

much older Sumerian

Enuma Elish.

When it comes to the study of Jesus, it

certainly is different. One must obliterate all

common sense and reason from his mind.

There is an abundance of information point-

ing to Jesus never having lived and no con-

temporary information available at all that

he did live. Even the Bible has him living

during the reign ofHerod, who died in4 B.C.

If we rest all of our proof on words like

followme, the charlatans, better known as

evangelists, become saviors. Ridiculous

Who could follow anyone based on a few

words that are meaningless and are spoken

by leeches on the poor and ignorant?

The same Jesus that said, follow me

also said, trade your cloak for a sword and

many other things we-would not advise our

Austin, Texas

children to do.

It seems to me that Buckley came to the

conclusion that there was a Jesus and then

went around proving it. This type of reason-

ing is typical of Christians. To give an exam-

ple, a piece of wood is found on the lower

slopes of Mount Ararat and is immediately

identified as a piece of the Ark, although the

wood is only 1,400 years old. Or an impres-

sion is found in a rock formation and

instantly it becomes man amongst the

dinosaurs. Little does it matter that the

prints are twenty-three inches long and have

no toes. When this kind of primitive logic is

used, it soon collapses.

We findJesus Christ inJosephus' writings

(A.D. 70) and use this as historical proof.

Don't look any further or you willdiscover

that the only version you willfind it in is the

Russian version and the comments them-

selves are very late additions by some primi-

tive hand.

Take the Book of Mark. Every expert,

Christian or non-Christian, agrees that the

last twelve verses of the sixteenth chapter of

Mark are later additions; not by the hand of

the author of Mark at all. The last twelve

verses? The resurrection, of course. Since

Mark is the oldest gospel and Matthew and

Luke were copied from Mark, we have the

resurrection carried over to these two

books. Where the author of the book of

John (earliest possible date, A.D.100)got his

information is anybody's guess. It certainly

does not resemble any of the other three

gospels.

AlD

TO

T\-\E -

STARVING-

December, 1985

These few fragments, used as examples,

certainly do not reflect the enormous wealth

of information and documentation that is

available to any person who wants to

research this question.

In final analysis, Buckley, ifyou truly want

to find the truth about Jesus Christ and the

Bible, then you must pursue truth with

objectivity. If not, you will remain in the

society that wears the brand of the greatest

killer of human beings ( religion has

125,000,000 deaths logged in history), the

inventors of the most heinous devices to

bring about the most torturous methods of

death (Christianity). The rewards heaped on

the Protestant and Roman Catholic church

by Hitler bought silence from the clergy. But

let us not credit Hitler with originality; he

merely carried out the master plan for the

ultimate solution of the Jewish problem

laid down by Martin Luther.

The bloodshed around the world today is

mostly due to religion. Iran is ruled by god;

the Middle East strife is all religious; North-

ern Ireland is fullof Christian-based atroci-

ties; and, the Sikhs and Hindus in India are

killing one another in the name of religion.

We need not go back into history; the evi-

dence is with us. Pancho Villa stated that,

The greatest disease to hit Mexico was the

Roman Catholic Church. Go one step

further - the greatest disease that ever hit

the world is religion.

- Reggie

Ball

Texas

Page 37



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Three cheers forFrank R. Zindler's article

on gerontology. I have wondered why it is

that you don't hear gerontology talked about

in Atheist circles very much when really it

should be. It helps settle one of the oldest

arguments between Atheists and theists: the

mind/body argument. Gerontology shows

that death is an end result of aging; just a

natural process. A soul isnot needed for life;

a body is. I think all Atheists should expose

themselves to some gerontology.

BillReeder

Kentucky

e , . . . - : )

As a supporter of Madalyn [O'Hair] since

those Baltimore days and a student ofrevo-

lutionary Cuba (two trips there, one in

1984

in spite of Reagan's ban), I would like to

comment on the article Marti and the

Mass in the October issue.

Although I certainly agree with the criti-

cisms of Radio Marti and its c.1.A. mes-

sage, I feel that it is somewhat naive to

ascribe Reagan's enthusiasm for Radio

Marti to his nostalgic fondness for radio or

even to his religiosity. The truth is that Ron-

nie the Ripper simply represents the U.S.

ruling class. Thus, his job is to try to crush

the Cuban revolution so that the profits will

once again flow into the multinational

corporations.

I might add that, from my personal expe-

rience, religion is far from flourishing in

Cuba. You don't see religion on Cuban TV

and you don't hear it on Cuban radio. Nor

do you see preachers on Cuban street

corners any more than you see prostitutes

or beggars. Moreover, Fidel never calls on

almighty gawd. Religion is simply irrelevant

to the lives of the Cuban people, who are

busy constructing socialism without the

blessing of Ronald Reagan.

Allen Strasburger

New Jersey

c . , . . - : )

Score one for the Christers. After a ten-

year wait, I finallygot cable TV inmy neigh-

borhood; and upon checking the Lifestyle

channel listings, I found: 1) Christian Chil-

dren's Relief Fund, 2) Family Guide Pre-

Page 38

sents, 3) Herbert W. Armstrong, and 4)

numerous rerun, old but clean programs.

Gone is Dr. Ruth Westheimer's Great

Sex and the many other informative, perti-

nent, and secular formats for which this

channel was known. The USA channel,

which had some fine productions, has gone

the same way.

First, the Christers whined about the filth

being broadcast by air into private homes.

So, we complied, by FCC fiat, by construct-

ing closed-circuit cable TV systems to pre-

vent offending the Christers. Now even the

cable system is polluted with their junk.

Next you'll be seeing the Playboy channel

and the X-rated channels all slipping in an

hour from some electronic minister. What

next?

Leslie G. Cook

Ohio

e , . . . j

Congratulations on the publicity and sales

aroused with publication of

The X-Rated

Bible. I have not yet read it, but I am pretty

familiar with the good book, having read

the King James, Old and New Testaments,

at nine years old - the first time.

The purpose of this letter is to make sug-

gestions for follow-ups. The pornographic

sections of the Bible are - or should be

-less offensive than its god-ordained advo-

cacy of racial prejudice; opposition to

democracy; lineal despotism; cruelty; tor-

ture; unrestrained warfare; oppression of

women, children, the disabled, the senile,

and infants. The Bible and the god it extols

are utterly disgusting by every measure of

human dignity

Harry R. Le Grand

Florida

e , . . . j

I saw you [Madalyn O'Hair] speak at the

University of Arkansas in the fall of 1976.

Since then, Ihave been successfully married

for eight years; I have received an engineer-

ing degree; and I.have been gainfully em-

ployed for five years. You probably think

that these things are a mere coincidence,

but I know better. After hearing you speak,

my whole attitude toward life changed

dramatically. Since I was Jewish, Ifelt that I

had to marry a Jewish girl.After Ibecame an

Atheist, that notion vanished. The woman I

married ismore ofa closet Atheist, but Iam

satisfied with that.

Inschool my motto had always been gawd

would take care of me whether I studied or

not. Upon becoming an Atheist, that notion

changed also. I know the apologist saying,

December, 1985

gawd helps those who help themselves,

but it feels so much better to say I did it

myself.

Iwillalways be proud that Iam an Ameri-

can Atheist, and I am looking forward to

contributing more in the future. Thank you

very much, Madalyn.

Robert L. Cranford

Florida

e , . . . j

Your lament in the October issue of

American Atheist

[ On Seizing Power, Jon

G. Murray] relative to the inability of liberals

ofallstripes to cooperate incommandeering

the media in behalf of spreading the mes-

sage is evidence of your complete misread-

ing of your predicament. In terms oforgani-

zation and finance, for instance, the ultra-

liberal and well-financed Mondale-Ferraro

machine was all one could ever desire in the

way ofmedia-manipulation, as wellas media-

domination. Just consider some of the most

prestigious special-interest groups allied

with the Fritz-and-Gerry show - every

group from the Gays to NEA to NOW to the

woefully out-of-touch AFL-CIO hierarchy.

Yet, forty-nine states went conservative.

Why?

The answer is so obvious as to be almost

instinctively, rather than intellectually, rec-

ognizable. The perception on the part of the

public was that Mondale had

no

message;

therefore, no quantity or quality of endeav-

ors relative to organizational or philosophi-

cal considerations could have saved the day.

Reagan, on the other hand, was perceived

to have had the message. This perception

was formed through the observation of

empirical evidence, as wellas the gut feel-

ing that the man could be trusted as the

guardian of traditional values and personal

possessions - this, in spite of the fact that

all three major TV networks, the largest

newsmagazines, and probably most of the

largest newspapers were arrayed against

him.

Perhaps you should face this issue square-

ly on the basis of the message you seek to

convey. Could it be that your message is,

simply, no message?

J. L. Clark

Kentucky

c . , . . , , : )

Iwas intrigued and intensely interested by

Frank Zindler's The Prospect of Physical

Immortality in the September number of

American Atheist, with its memorable in-

troductory poem by Edna St. Vincent

Millay.

American Atheist



L ET T ERS TO TH E E D ITOR

say nothing of the noise pollution and the

destruction ofour privacy and our liberties.

So, until zero population growth can be

achieved, let us not be too concerned with

physical immortality, or we willbecome as

overcrowded as that mythical heaven from

which no one has ever returned to demand a

refund. •

As things stand at present, I willhave to

opt for death

I would really love to live forever on this

Earth, but at this time, I am forced to con-

clude that Nature knows best, as all of us,

including Mr. Zindler, should know that

overpopulation (even including religious

dogma) is the underlying cause of most of

our world problems: famine, which iscaused

not as much by drought as by the overgraz-

ing, overcultivating, and erosion of allarable

land; the pollution of our streams, ocean,

and atmosphere; the destruction of our

forests and wilderness areas; and the using

up of our energy and mineral resources, to

NOTICE

Donnafred

Arizona

Letters to the Editor must be

either questions or comments of

general concern to Atheists or

Atheism. Submissions should be brief

and to the point. Space limitations

allow that each letter should be two

hundred words, or preferably,

less.

Please confine your letters to a single

issue only. Mail them to:

American Atheist

P.O.

Box 2117

Austin, TX 78768-2117

Cryptic crossword puzzles are not like the puzzles

seen inmost American publications; they are much more

devious. The clues are almost never what they seem to

be. Some of the clues are anagrams of the word sought;

these are indicated by clues such as sort of or crazy.

Some clues are puns giving an association of sound or

meaning. Charade clues are built up by definitions of

parts of the answer word. In some cases the answer is

actually hidden among the letters of the clue. Punctua-

tion can be used to obscure clues and change the appar-

ent meaning.

In general, the cryptic clue consists of two parts. One

part isa definition of the word sought, and the other isthe

cryptically constructed part. The fun and challenge of

this sort of puzzle is to figure out which part is which.

Often the relationship between clue and answer is a

humorous one or one that presents a peculiar viewofthe

world of words.

Austin, Texas December, 1985

The numbers in parentheses are the numbers ofletters

in each word of the answer.

If you would like a sample puzzle with answers and

explanations of clues, send a self-addressed, stamped

envelope to Steve Bratteng, Division of Biological Sci-

ences, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712.

ACROSS

1. Jacks' nemesis reportedly found one to have distinc-

tively odorous humor. (10)

6. A nib is just part of a bird, but a whole may also be

found. (4)

9. Young lady follows a hundred showing elegance. (5)

10. Wagnerian theme sounds like it might not be too

heavy. (9)

12. Places one might find Opuntia and its ilk. (6, 7)

14. Fail to catch Burl? Send him letters instead (8)

15. Feat is sort of like a party. (6)

17. Bird who I hear before one who wrote of a bird (while

he pondered weak and weary). (6)

19. One goes against the current when paddling so. (6,2)

21. They must fly like the devil (4,3,2,4)

24. Among boats or just at the center of one? (9)

25. Truss shows signs of deterioration. (5)

26. Pets return but get under foot. (4)

27. Common desk fixture sounds less relaxed. (6, 4)

DOWN

1. Everyone in turn affected by terrible ache (4)

2. Peeks, seeing lance stuck in it. (7)

3. Attribute of shrews and certain sticky-leafed plants.

(13)

4. Part-time employment? (4-4)

5. A sound associated with table tennis shows one act-

ing like a monkey. (5)

7. Hops to make such sensations. (7)

8. What evangelical postal workers attempt, or just the

mess mixed up in pa's vat? (4, 6)

11.Border mix-up or just room enough for safety? (6,2,5)

13. Apparently these animals possess two of what cats

have nine of. (10)

16. Parties, but not tillafter April (8)

18.Survive or perhaps rough it the other way around. (7)

20. Crazy Elisa is known in central Europe. (7)

22. Journey to the east to find trash. (5)

23. Politely invited response. (4)

(Solution on page 35)

Page 39



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ChEista hand me down?

Is our very own Judeo-Christian tradition a

hand-me-down from past cultures? Hasour soci-

ety really inherited out-dated

religious tales from now-

dead older siblings?

It is now possible to read

of the old flood myths which

predate Noah and his ark.

But few people have ever

been given a glimpse of the

numerous stories of messi-

ahs, of virgin-born saviors

and their miracles.

Most of the information

concerning the ancient

christs has been available

only to academic research-

ers - the average reference

book will rarely tell the read-

er the strange tales of mes-

siahs who date back to hu-

mankind's darkest past.

flood myths, from the Old Testament's Noah to

the Babylonian Xisuthrus to the Hindu Satyav-

rata.

But did the individual

called Jesus ever exist? And,

if so, when? It is with the

answers to these challeng-

ing questions that Jackson

concl udes th is stu nn ing

work. The American Atheist

Press expects

Christianity Before Christ

to be as

classic as the author's best-selling Pagan Ori

gins of the Ghrist Myth.

No one interested in the history of religion

should miss

Christianity Before Christ.

Give it to

yourself as a Solstice present - or to someone

you care enough about to educate.

CHRISl lL \N Y

Befo re

CHRIST

by John G. Jackson

Nowa noted educator, lecturer, and scholar

has written an eye-opening account of the old

myths - Christianity Before Christ. InChristian

ity Before Christ Professor John G.Jackson first

examines the many tales of the origin of man-

kind, outlining the parallels between Tahitian

myths and Hebrewfables. Then he goes on to the

With this background,

he investigates the many

savior stories. Carefully, he

examines the lives of the

great messiahs. Tales of de-

ities with which few West-

erners are familiar are told

- Adonis, Attis, Mithra,

Prometheus, Krishna, Bud-

dha, and others. He makes

an unmistakable case for the

hand-me-down nature of the

Judeo-Christian Jesus.

Cut and Mail to: American Atheists, P.O. Box 2117, Austin, TX, 78768-2117

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The fact that the earth now attains its

needed quota of light and darkness, of heat

and cold, by its own axial rotations and

revolutions- around the sun, is a significant

hint that its human inhabitants should de-

pend on their own self-provisonal powers

rather than on heavenly or miraculous aids.

- Jean Story

Free Religious Index

December 30, 1880

AMENDMENTI

CONGRESS SHALL MAKE NO LA W RESPECTING

Documents

American Atheist Magazine Dec 1985