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The Nullifidian Volume 2 Number 11
From ai815@freenet.carleton.caTue Nov 21 09:45:12 1995
Date: Tue, 21 Nov 1995 05:51:28 -0500
From: Greg Erwin <ai815@freenet.carleton.ca>
To: apabel@prairienet.org, ap818@freenet.buffalo.edu
Subject: Nov Nullifidian
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*The*E-Zine*of*Atheistic*Secular*Humanism*and*Freethought**
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###### Volume II, Number 11 ***A Collector's Item!***#####
################### ISSN 1201-0111 #######################
####################### NOV 1995 ###########################
nullifidian, n. & a. (Person) having no religious faith or
belief. [f. med. L _nullifidius_ f. L _nullus_ none +
_fides_ faith; see -IAN] Concise Oxford Dictionary
The purpose of this magazine is to provide a source of
articles dealing with many aspects of humanism.
We are ATHEISTIC as we do not believe in the actual
existence of any supernatural beings or any transcendental
reality.
We are SECULAR because the evidence of history and the daily
horrors in the news show the pernicious and destructive
consequences of allowing religions to be involved with
politics or government.
We are HUMANISTS and we focus on what is good for humanity,
in the real world. We will not be put off with offers of
pie in the sky, bye and bye.
Re: navigation.
Search for BEG to find the beginning of the next article.
Search for the first few words of the title as given in the
table of contents to find a specific article. I try to
remember to copy the title from the text and then paste it
into the ToC, so it should be exact. Search for "crass
commercialism:" to see what's for sale. Subscription
information, etc is at the end of the magazine, search for
END OF TEXTS.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Nullifidian goes intercontinental!
1. Atheist Activism Needed, by Joao Sebastiao de Oliveira
from the Sindicato dos Messias of Brazil
2. The Abimelech Society, from "The Canadian Atheist"
3. Why should a rational person be a strong atheist?
Question from Jeff Lowder <jlowder@southwind.com>
4. Brief note on next month.
5. Spare the Rod? Does the Bible Facilitate Child Abuse?
by Jim Dew
6. Top 10 reasons why atheism is better than fundamentalism:
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Atheist Activism Needed
_______________
Joao Sebastiao de Oliveira Bueno is a Brazilian, an
undergraduate in Physics at a state university there. He is
a founding member of the "Sindicato dos Messias" (Messiahs'
Syndicate), a group of students devoted to satirizing and
countering theistic groups and ideas in the University. You
can see some of this group's work at:
<http://www.ifi.unicamp.br/~gwidion/sindicato/hp.html>
_______________
[Editor's note: I have edited the article as submitted,
correcting minor errors in the language, and hopefully,
making things clearer. It is certainly true that Joao
expressed himself better in English than most of us could
have done in Portuguese. The resulting edited version was
sent back to him to verify that it is still saying what he
wanted it to say.]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Over the past two and a half years, I've been involved in
atheist activities in my university. Our group, called
"Sindicato dos Messias" (Messiahs' Syndicate) works by
creating satirical texts emphasizing one or more of the
(many) funny aspects of religion, as well as parodies of
evangelical group's manifestations.
I used to think we were but one more atheist group in our
country...that was until 2 months ago when somebody sent me
message saying, "Yours is the first atheist group I've
found in South America...", to which, I immediately wished
to reply, "Yes, but there are some others such as for
example...", and that was the time I realised we were alone.
There were no examples.
Since then I have been planning to start a more serious
organization with humanist guidelines and with the purpose
of promoting atheism. And since then, the need for such an
organization has seemed me to be greater and greater.
At the same time, in a desperate quest for justice, I have
been questioning myself: Well, there all these Xian
believers out there, but in preaching the non-existence of a
personal God, won't I be as intransigent as they are? Is
their religion, as wrong as it is, harmful to society as a
whole?
So I moved toward objectivity and impartiality in my
writings, always considering the unlikely alternative of me
being wrong and them right, and as well, trying not to
offend anybody by saying "It IS such and such...",
replacing it by "I think it is such and such...".
I wrote one piece remarking on what I saw as positive and
negative points to Christianity today, noting as positive
the fact that the weekly meetings among people with the
same beliefs seemed to be a great opportunity to have social
meetings and conversations in environments other than school
or work, thus lessening the stress, and that some moral
principles of the bible, as artificial and arbitrary that
they may be, are rational and would help our society anyway.
(I mean teachings such as "Love other people as you do
yourself" and not those like "Love and fear the Lord your
God because He is your Creator" ).
And I thought like that until yesterday, when I actually
went to one of such weekly Xian encounters, hoping to see
some of their so cherished community spirit, and even maybe
to hear some discussion about those less fortunate. For
those of you who have already been in such encounters, it is
needless to say I was wrong in my expectations. All I saw
and heard were endless hymns to the greater honor and glory
of "our" God Jehovah, as if an omnipotent God would need
that at all. Those hymns would not have sounded strange if
we had a great plurality of Gods ruling over us, who were
disputing for more believers, each of them. If there is no
God at all to be loved, or even if there is just one, (in
which case those hymns would already be useless), what you
see there is the most efficient form of propaganda there has
ever been. The more incredible a commercial seems on TV,
and the more you watch it they already achieve remarkable
propaganda efficiency, but none of those commercials expect
you to sing along, praising the glory of whatever they sell
and to do it with all your will and strength. And such
Hymns! Some talking about "...and don't you forget that
faith transcends reason, and that faith in our Lord is the
most important thing in our lives...", I saw nothing else.
The poor men relegated to live a pre-life, before the
eternal encounter with God in the heavens, got no attention
during all the meeting.
So, what I thought would be a positive point of Xianity
turned to be a negative one. In every speech there, one
could tell that the speaker was afraid that the others there
could loose their faith if God and everything he did weren't
glorified. All their talk centered on having more faith,
trusting more in God, trying to explain through the wishes
of God everything that happened in their lives. The hell of
it is; if I believed in such a God (omnibenevolent,
omniscient), I wouldn't be at all concerned in glorifying
him even more, what would be the need, since he already
loved me?
What is the use of learning the teachings of a God when all
He teaches is that you must love Him and learn his
teachings?
It's perfectly explainable that such an absurd God would be
preached in early feudal societies, because it would prevent
people from revolting, by telling them that if they behaved
well, they would have an eternity in Heaven. To see that
it's still the same today is depressing. Except that
nowadays our rulers do not even have to worry about it
anymore...believers can deceive themselves all alone.
And I live in a country where, though many people are
indifferent towards religion, few have the courage to admit
even to themselves that they don't believe in God or the
supernatural, and that's mostly because, though they are
surrounded by Xian propaganda on all sides (and it's
laughable as most of this propaganda is Christian sect
against Christian sect, in a continuous claim of "our church
is better than your church...") and there's no one to say
anything about the possibility of that there are no
God/gods/supernatural_whatevers, and there is nobody but
some few religions who talk about a God that doesn't require
you to pray to Him and sacrifice your life to His pleasure.
Over the last couple of years, the growth of a well-known
tele-evangelist here has caused some headaches and resulted
in some propaganda against him. This propaganda came from
other churches, other christians, and from a competitor TV
station that was losing its audience to his tele-
preaching...It is important to emphasize that to deserve
such a "special" treatment as counter-propaganda from
"fellow" Xians, the "Universal Church of the Kingdom of
God", as they are known in the USA , twist gospel teachings
to such a point that anyone baptized in that church will
have to pay them 30% of his income for protection from the
Devils and for the glory of God. And their propaganda is so
aggressive and active they already have 6 million followers,
just here in Brazil.
And now things get even worse, as the state is going to
introduce religious teaching in our public schools (although
just in this state, by next year). Nobody to say a word
against them, and as if the current state of things weren't
bad enough, they add state-supported preaching to young
children, who are unable to stand on their opinion and would
be afraid or incapable of defying a "grown-up" teacher when
he starts saying "There IS a God who created us, and Loves
us all. To stay in His grace we must love him...".
Theoretically such classes will be optional, but the parents
will have to choose whether their child will or will not
attend. Very good to avoid a literal war between the
Christians and the few Jews and Muslims that do live here,
but useless when you come to the majority of parents, that,
even if they admit to being atheists to themselves, will
have enough to fear from the Xians out there and will hide
this choice by registering their children in the religious
classes.
Neighboring Argentina is effectively back to the dark ages,
having now adopted Catholicism as the official state
religion. The theory of evolution is nearly banished from
schools by the force of law. It looks like we are heading
the same way here.
______________________________
Get in touch with the author of this at :
<gwidion@ifi.unicamp.br>
and look in on:
<http://www.ifi.unicamp.br/~gwidion/sindicato/hp.html>
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The Santa myth is one of the most effective means ever
devised for intimidating children, eroding their self-
esteem, twisting their behavior, warping their values, and
slowing their development of critical thinking skills. --Tom
Flynn, _The Trouble with Christmas_
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The Abimelech Society
The Abimelechs are an association of Atheist commercial,
business, and professional men and women who have as one of
their objects: The removal from circulation of the so-called
Word of God or Holy Bible, from hotels, motels, hospitals,
school classrooms, university dormitories, penal
institutions, and many other places, and by the confiscation
of New Testaments from school children, service personnel
and nurses.
The Association was founded in Canada 29 years ago by a
couple of freethinkers who, in a hotel room, found the only
reading material to be a Gideon Bible, and were angered by
this overt propaganda by the Christians and decided to do
something about it. There are now adherents in many
countries around the world, and thousands of Bibles and New
Testaments have been withdrawn from circulation,
confiscated, destroyed, or put to some useful purpose.
The Abimelechs named themselves after the bastard son of
Gideon and his followers who, in the story related in IXth
Chapter of the Book of Judges, were inspired to usurp the
work of the Judge Gideon and his associates, who had wrought
havoc upon the many peoples whose religious beliefs differed
from their own conviction that Yahweh was the Only True God.
The above 'mission statement' of the Abimelech Society
describes the purpose and the work. It is not a formal
organization: there are no dues or elected officers, no
annual meetings, and anyone who supports the aims of the
society as described in the mission statement is welcome to
consider themselves a member. We do encourage discussions
among members of topics relevant to the Society such as:
what to do with specimens once confiscated. The Society
maintains a Book Depository in Winnipeg, Manitoba for
temporary storage of specimens.
Among the known final uses of specimens are: insulation
material in home construction and rolling papers for smoking
tobacco and other herbs. Because of their dense nature,
specimens burn poorly in fireplaces, although they have been
employed as fuel in restored steam locomotives by Atheist
rail buffs. Bible paper usually is poorly absorbent and
therefor is not recommended for hygienic purposes except in
case of extreme need.
It is hoped that the direct actions of Atheists in
endeavours such as those represented by the mission
statement of the Abimelech Society will contribute to the
diminishing influence of organized religion worldwide. From
the psychological point of view, involvement in this type of
direct action gives freethinkers a sense of participation in
the ongoing struggle against ignorance and superstition, and
reduces their sense of helplessness in a society of
religious dupes.
The question has been asked at times, is this confiscation
of Bibles and New Testaments possibly an illegal activity?
Would we be liable to prosecution for theft? Although I
have not secured a legal opinion, I rather think not, for
many of the specimens indicate that the reader should take
it along if they become engrossed in the text. So I don't
think the removals are in themselves actionable, given that
the original distributor, the Gideon Society, permits their
removal. Prudence is nevertheless advised to avoid hassles,
so far the Abimelech Society is not listed in the Yellow
Pages.
[If it should turn out to be illegal, we in no way counsel
anyone to do anything illegal.]
The Founder and Dominion Director of the Society. Mr. E. Van
Beetfield, may be contacted at:
evb@yknet.yk.ca
and you will be one of the few who have written to someone
in the Yukon.
Originally printed (on actual paper) in "The Canadian
Atheist" a quarterly newsletter, Autumn 1995 issue. To
receive TCA send your address to:
paracom@cyberstore.ca
or if you insist on archaic technologies, to:
PO Box 41613 - 923 12th Street
New Westminster, BC
V3M 6L1
Canada
or fax to: (604) 525-4911
You may send donations to the snail address. It is a non
profit organization 'dedicated to the complete separation of
religion from the state.' It says right in the current
issue: "If you think we can use help with the cost of
postage and production -- You're right! Please do!"
It is also online at:
http://magi.com/~galent/hao-ca.html
[that's what is printed in the magazine, but if I remember
right Galen's account name is galent, so if the first
doesn't work try "galent"]
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"We cannot hope for a society in which formal organized
religion dies out. But we can stop behaving as if it was
worthy of our collective respect." [A. N. Wilson, "Against
Religion"]
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Why should a rational person be a strong atheist?
Question from Jeff Lowder <jlowder@southwind.com>
A rational person should be a strong atheist, that is,
should reach the conclusion that no gods exist, and that no
gods can exist, because:
1) one understands the materialist explanation of the
origin of the universe, this eliminates the requirement for
a god to create it.
2) one understands that postulating a god as an explanation
for the universe just postpones the problem, there is still
a requirement to explain the origin of the god. If god does
not require an explanation, why does the universe?
3) the idea of a god is incoherent. If you claim that your
definition of "god" is coherent, please give it, I think I
can show that it is not, but admit I am an amateur at this.
4) one understands the history of the creation of gods, and
the facts of cultural transmission, which explain the
popularity of the explanation without contributing anything
to its believability.
5) one understands something of human psychology; at a
minimum Asimov's "Six Security Beliefs" which explain the
psychic comfort that the god explanation provides, again
explaining its popularity, despite its lack of truth.
6) one understands the psychology that allows the
misinterpretation of various normal internal psychological
events, such as dreams and feelings, memories of childhood
dependency and the overwhelming feeling of love from a
parent, the desire to submit to authority (such as a parent)
which is always right and loving.
7) abnormal psychological events such as seizures,
hallucinations, depersonalization, auditory hallucinations,
whether experienced by the person or by an acquaintance, are
often used to substantiate the god explanation. If one
understands their actual source, the god explanation is
unnecessary.
8) the competing varieties of god explanations indicate that
they are cultural artifacts, responses to the kind of
internal events such as those mentioned above, rather than
descriptions of something real, which would tend to be all
the same if there were and actual referent.
9) knowing how poorly humanity interprets probability, and
how susceptible it is to wishful thinking, one dismisses the
evidence of prayer and meditation.
10) the histories of the god explanations show that they
have never delivered on what they promise. While promising
peace, they have delivered conflict, while promising love
they have encouraged hatred, while promising protection and
supernatural help, they have delivered what looks
suspiciously like random events.
Well, I am running out of time. Those are the first ten
reasons why a rational person should conclude that there is
no god, and why there cannot be a god. The one that need
the most expansion is the one about incoherence, which has
mainly to do with the explanation of how a god transcending
the universe can act within it, or how a compassionate god
can cause such misery, or a loving god such hate.
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They were allowed to stay there on one condition, and that
is that they didn't eat of the tree of knowledge. That has
been the condition of the Christian church from then until
now. They haven't eaten as yet, as a rule they do not. --
Clarence Darrow
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Spare the Rod?
Does the Bible Facilitate Child Abuse?
by Jim Dew
The "rod" is used both symbolically and literally in
the Bible. The first biblical reference to a rod is the rod
of Moses, or the "rod of God" (Ex 4:20). This rod was used
to perform numerous miracles including turning an Egyptian
river into blood; turning dust into lice; controlling the
weather, wind, and locusts; and dividing the red sea. One
of the most profound miracles using the rod occurred in
Exodus (4:2-3) when God commanded Moses to throw the rod to
the ground and it turned into a snake, then God commanded
Moses to grab it by the tail and it turned back into a rod.
These events demonstrated the supernatural abilities of the
rod.
Later the rod was presented as a symbol of spiritual
and political power and was passed to successive religious
rulers (e.g., Numbers Ch. 17). However, rods retained their
supernatural powers as shown by the rod of Aaron which
budded, blossomed, and yielded almonds (Numbers, 17:8).
Using the "rod of correction" for slaves, women, and
children, stems from references in Psalms and Proverbs:
"If his children [of the house of David] forsake my
law, and walk not in my judgments; if they break my
statutes and keep not my commandments; Then will I
visit their transgression with the rod, and their
iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my loving
kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer
my faithfulness to fail." (Psalms 89:30-33)
Note that the Psalmist condones using the rod to produce
"stripes". If one makes the argument that the "rod" is
symbolic of "loving correction", an argument made by some
liberal theologians, then one must also interpret the
symbolic nature of "stripes". Further, the references to
"love" that follow the use of the rod should be viewed
carefully. Notice that the Psalmist does not command love
of the law-breaker, but makes a command not to totally
remove loving kindness, as well as not loose faith in God.
More will be said about the biblical use of "love" later.
Proverbs (Ch. 10) contrasts the "wise man", one who is
obedient to the law and fears God, and the "fool". "In the
lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a
rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding"
(Pr 10:13). Notice the existential aspect of understanding
being developed here: it either exists or doesn't.
Understanding is viewed as coming from God, it is not
developed on one's own. In the Bible, children are viewed
as being born foolish, sinful, and lacking understanding, so
it is the parents' duty to lead them to righteousness.
A number of other verses in Proverbs discuss the rod
and are the source of the classic statement "Spare the rod,
spoil the child". "He that spareth his rod hateth his son:
but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes [at times,
regularly]" (Pr 13:24); "Chasten thy son while there is
hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying" (Pr 19:18);
"Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod
of correction shall drive it far from him" (Pr 22:15);
"Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the
words of knowledge. Withhold not correction from the child:
for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul
from hell" (Pr 23:12); "A whip for the horse, a bridle for
the ass, and a rod for the fool's back" (Pr 26:3); "The rod
and reproof give wisdom but a child left to himself bringeth
his mother to shame" (Pr 29:15). From these verses (and
others regarding what one should teach) it is made clear
that the principle aim of such chastisement is to gain
obedience and to punish independent thinking. "Wisdom",
"knowledge", and "understanding" are redefined to mean
obedience to the law and fear of God.
Physical punishment is not just an Old Testament
attitude. Hebrews (12:6-8) states "For whom the Lord loveth
he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons;
for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if
ye be without chastisement, whereof partakers, then are ye
bastards and not sons." Further, based on historical
evidence from the 19th and early 20th centuries, Philip
Greven (1990), in Spare the Child: The Religious Roots of
Punishment and the Psychological Impact of Physical Abuse,
has proposed that corporal punishment facilitates the
development of apocalyptic ideation and the belief that the
world will end in one's own lifetime. Mythical support for
this belief is, of course, prevalent in the New Testament.
The response of most Christians confronted with such a
seemingly negative view of child discipline would likely be
that the Bible teaches one to "love" and love is most
important in the education of our children. While this is
indisputable, one should consider exactly what the Bible
says about "love". First, erotic "love" (eros), while
positively characterized in the Old Testament, is viewed
negatively in the New Testament as "lust". Storge, the
standard, classic Greek word for intrafamilial love occurs
only once in the New Testament (Rom. 12:10). The word more
often used in the New Testament is agape (translated both as
"love" and "charity" in the King James Bible). This "love"
is portrayed as placid, stolid, and not associated with
strong emotions. For example,
"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy;
love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does
not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not
provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in
iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things,
believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
things. Love never fails..." (1 Cor 13:4-8)
An explicit biblical definition of "love" is given in Romans
(13:10), "love is the fulfilling of the law" and 2 John 6,
"And this is love, that we walk after his commandments."
The Bible rarely mentions human affection and views it
inconsistently. There are two indirect references in the
New Testament to something good about human affection by
decrying the supposed lack of "natural affection" in persons
preaching false gospels (Rom. 1:31 and 2 Tim. 3:3), however
the devotional program in Colossians (3:2) tells us to set
our affection "on things above, not on things on the earth"
and affections are explicitly stated to be part of what dies
in salvation (Gal. 5:24).
To make "love" more confusing, Christians are
commanded to "love your neighbor", "love strangers", and
"love your enemy" (e.g., Mt 19:19, De 10:19, Mt 5:44). The
outcome of this is both to make "love" devoid of affection
and to create a generalized depersonalization of others by
equalizing relationships. When a lawyer asked Jesus, "And
who is my neighbor?", Jesus told the story of a person who
had been robbed and beaten, who had not been helped by a
passing priest or a passing Levite, but was helped by a good
Samaritan (Luke 10:29-36). Jesus then asked, "Which now of
these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell
among the thieves?" By asking who was the neighbor to the
victim, Jesus deflected attention from the relevant aspect
of the parable addressing the lawyer's question, namely, who
was the neighbor to the Samaritan. This creates a view of
love as obligatory, dependent, and need-based rather than
independent and freely given.
Edmund Cohen in The Mind of the Bible-Believer (1988)
talks about logocide (the killing of words) in relationship
to the biblical use of the word "love". One way this is
accomplished is by the use of inconsistent statements.
Consider the following three verses cited by Cohen:
"...[E]very creature of God is good, and nothing to be
refused, if it be received with thanksgiving..." (1
Tim. 4:4)
"Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which
is evil; cleave to that which is good." (Rom. 12:9)
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in
the world. If any man love the world, the love of the
Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15)
Cohen suggests that by engendering such inconsistent beliefs
the Bible creates dissonance in the true believer and the
belief that any human action is potentially sinful. Here is
a similar triad based on the sayings of Jesus:
"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you:
continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments,
ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my
Father's commandments, and abide in his love...This is
my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have
loved you." (John 15:9-10,12)
"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not
worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more
than me is not worthy of me." (Matt 10:37)
"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and
mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and
sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my
disciple." (Luke 14:26)
These negative passages make sense in the biblical context
suggesting the end of the world will soon occur.
Nevertheless, confusion and dissonance follow from the
biblical use of the word "love". Believers easily conclude
that God is jealous of their affection toward others; why
else would He utter such irrational things? The ultimate
result is that believers are kept mentally off balance, are
never completely sure if they are among the elect, and
gladly replace trying to make intellectual sense of this for
obedience to "God's law".
The combinination of discipline using the rod, with a
love that is void of affection, as well as the exhortation
to "honor thy father and mother" (Ex 20:12; Det 5.16; Eph
6:2) may lead to child abuse in the name of righteousness.
In the Bible, honor is never something earned, but something
bestowed or commanded. Indeed, the same is true of
"understanding", "truth", "wisdom", and "love". True
believers view themselves as conduits for "God's word" --
which ultimately boils down to selfless obedience to the law
and an insistence that others do likewise. Any thoughts and
actions of one's own are likely a reflection of "man's
sinful nature", as are any seemingly "good works" by non-
believers.
The above is important to consider for the context of
child- rearing. Returning now to disciplining children,
consider Jesus's statement "Suffer the little children to
come unto me, and forbid them not" (Mark 10:13). By
"suffer" does he mean for his disciples, who initially
refused those bringing children to Jesus, to now "tolerate"
these children? Or could it be interpreted differently
since Jesus also preached that we should all be as children
to enter the Kingdom of God and that we should well expect
to suffer persecution due to our belief in God. What better
way is there to help the children know just a little of the
pain that Jesus went through to forgive us our sins and save
our souls than by inducing a little pain with a rod?
If you think such a rationalization for spanking is
far fetched, consider this passage from James Dobson, the
author of Dare to Discipline (1970) and probably the best
known psychologist among Christians:
"Once when I was going to spank Kari [his daughter],
she tried to talk her way out of it. She promised
never to do the offense again. She begged me not to
spank her. I decided to take that opportunity to
illustrate an example of real love and sacrifice. I
told her how when Christ died on the cross, He paid
the penalty for our sin. Then I told her that I
wanted to show her a small example of what Jesus did.
I was going to let her spank me."
After much encouragement, his daughter did give him a swat.
Dobson tells us that this demonstrates how we should
"associate love with spanking". The example is fairly
clear: if we hurt others by presenting them with profound
emotional predicaments and occasional beatings we can
manipulate them to obey our rules without question.
Research has shown that the more religious one is, the
more authoritarian parenting style one will have and the
more likely one is to spank one's children; but these are
also related to the education and intelligence of the
parents. Generally, the more religious are less intelligent
and less educated, and when these are taken into account,
parenting differences often disappear. However, this doesn't
excuse religion. While the rule-bound regularization of
affectionate relationships through Christian "love" would be
devastating for the psychologically healthy person, it
serves a repressive function and allows those coming from
unhealthy relationships to escape their past. This same
"love" perpetuates unhealthy relating either by facilitating
repetition of previously experienced unhealthy behaviors,
or, often, by facilitating a shift toward the opposite pole
of unhealthy relating (e.g., an adult who was neglected in
childhood may spend an inordinate amount of time
"disciplining" their own children, or vice versa). In terms
of a personal ideal, the Bible portrays meekness,
dependency, obedience, and psychological dissociation as
characteristics of believers.
The final argument against the notion that the Bible
leads to child abuse is that "most Christians love their
children and don't abuse them." This may be due to the
great propensity of religions in the U.S. and elsewhere to
mold their beliefs to fit the secular society, humanistic
values, and scientific understanding (typically with a
denial that this is being done). However, the degree to
which one actually reads and follows the precepts of the
Bible, the more likely it seems that one will adopt such
psychological manipulation and corporal punishment
techniques. And surveys suggest that with the increase in
poverty and social unrest, more and more people are reading
and attempting to follow this book.
An earlier version of this article was published in the May,
1994 issue of Reasonings, the newsletter of the Atheists and
Agnostics of Wisconsin (P.O. Box 290 Madison, Wisconsin
53701-0290).
=========================================================
|| END OF ARTICLE ||
=========================================================
Brief note on next month
Next month we will review our forecasts for the year 1995!
If I remember right, we were fairly miserable failures at
prediction.
=========================================================
Top 10 reasons why atheism is better than fundamentalism:
10 You never have to worry about god asking you to sacrifice one
of the kids.
9 Much wider opportunities for a guilt-free sex life.
8 Provides a perfect excuse for avoiding Boy Scout leader
duties.
7 Atheist women can wear broided hair.
6 Atheism means never having to be polite to a door-to-door
missionary or clergyman.
5 With no hell below us, and above us only sky, you can live in
the real world.
4 Lobotomies (or whatever it is they do to stun their
intellectual faculties) are not required for atheists.
3 Never have to listen to christian popular music.
2 Never have to think up excuses for televangelists' spending
and sex proclivities.
1 No worrying that you could live your whole life in
fundamentalist misery, denying yourself all the sinful
pleasures, only to find out that some obscure sect with 40
members was the One True Church, and you're going to hell,
anyway.
=========================================================
"Everywhere in the world there are ignorance and prejudice,
but the greatest complex of these, with the most extensive
prestige and the most intimate entanglement with traditional
institutions, is the Roman Catholic Church.." [H.G. Wells]
=========================================================
'...the Bible as we have it contains elements that are
scientifically incorrect or even morally repugnant. No
amount of "explaining away" can convince us that such
passages are the product of Divine Wisdom.'
-- Bernard J. Bamberger, _The Story of Judaism_
==========================================================
Atheism is the world of reality, it is reason, it is
freedom, Atheism is human concern, and intellectual honesty
to a degree that the religious mind cannot begin to
understand. And yet it is more than this. Atheism is not an
old religion, it is not a new and coming religion, in fact
it is not, and never has been, a religion at all. The
definition of Atheism is magnificent in its simplicity:
Atheism is merely the bed-rock of sanity in a world of
madness.
ATHEISM: An Affirmative View, by Emmett F. Fields
=><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><==
|| Begging portion of the Zine ||
==><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><==
There is no charge for receiving this, and there is no
charge for distributing copies to any electronic medium.
Nor is there a restriction on printing a copy for use in
discussion. You may not charge to do so, and you may not do
so without attributing it to the proper author and source.
If you would like to support our efforts, and help us
acquire better equipment to bring you more and better
articles, you may send money to Greg Erwin at: 100,
Terrasse Eardley / Aylmer, Qc / J9H 6B5 / CANADA. Or buy
our atheist quote address labels, and other fine products,
see "Shameless advertising and crass commercialism" below.
=><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><=
|| End of Begging portion of the Zine ||
=><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><====><=
Articles will be welcomed and very likely used IF:
(
they are emailed to:
((ai815@FreeNet.Carleton.CA; or,
godfree@magi.com), or
sent on diskette to me at the above Aylmer address in
any format that an IBM copy of WordPerfect can read;
) and
they don't require huge amounts of editing; and
I like them.
I will gladly reprint articles from your magazine, local
group's newsletter, or original material. There are
currently about 140 subscribers, plus each issue is posted
in some newsgroups and is archived as noted elsewhere.
If you wish to receive a subscription, email a simple
request to either address, with a clear request
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We will automate this process as soon as we know how.
Yes, please DO make copies! (*)
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The only limitations are:
At least clearly indicate the source, and how to subscribe.
You do NOT have permission to copy this document for
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The contents of this document are copyright (c) 1995, Greg
Erwin (insofar as possible) and are on deposit at the
National Library of Canada
You may find back issues in any place that archives
alt.atheism. Currently, all back issues are posted at
the Humanist Association of Ottawa's area on the National
Capital Freenet. telnet to 134.117.1.22, and enter <go
humanism> at the "Your choice==>" prompt.
ARCHIVES
Arrangements have been made with etext at umich. ftp to
etext.umich.edu directory Nullifidian or lucifers-echo.
For America On-Line subscribers:
To access the Freethought Forum on America Online enter
keyword "Capital", scroll down until you find Freethought
Forum, double click and you're there. Double click "Files &
Truth Seeker Articles" and scroll until you find Nullifidian
files. Double click the file name and a window will open
giving you the opportunity to display a description of the
file or download the file.
And thanks to the people at the _Truth Seeker_, who edited,
formatted and uploaded the articles to the aol area.
/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\
Shameless advertising and crass commercialism:
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Atheistic self-stick Avery(tm) address labels. Consisting
of 210 different quotes, 30 per page, each label 2 5/8" x
1". This leaves three 49 character lines available for your
own address, phone number, email, fax or whatever. Each
sheet is US$2, the entire set of 7 for US$13; 2 sets for
US$20. Indicate quantity desired. Print address clearly,
exactly as desired. Order from address in examples below.
Laser printed, 8 pt Arial, with occasional flourishes.
[NOT ACTUAL SIZE]
<-------------------2 5/8"---------------------->
_________________________________________________
|"Reality is that which, when you stop believing |/\
|in it, doesn't go away." [Philip K. Dick] | |
|Greg Erwin 100 Terrasse Eardley | 1"
|Aylmer, Qc J9H 6B5 Canada | |
| email: ai815@FreeNet.Carleton.CA | |
|________________________________________________|\/
_________________________________________________
|"...and when you tell me that your deity made |
|you in his own image, I reply that he must be |
|very ugly." [Victor Hugo, writing to clergy] |
|Greg Erwin 100 Terrasse Eardley |
|Aylmer, Qc J9H 6B5 Canada Ph: (613) 954-6128 |
| email: ai815@FreeNet.Carleton.CA |
|________________________________________________|
Other quotes in between the articles are usually part of the
label quote file. Occasionally I throw in one that is too
long for a label, but which should be shared.
Other stuff for sale:
Certificate of Baptism Removal and Renunciation of Religion.
Have your baptism removed, renounce religion, and have a
neat 8" x 11" fancy certificate, on luxury paper, suitable
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Certificate of Freedom from Religion. An official atheistic
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"how to get excommunicated" included FREE with purchase.
Poster 8x11: WARNING! This is a religion free zone!
All religious vows, codes, and commitments are null & void
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Humanity sincerely thanks you!
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/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\_/=\/=\
============================================================
Neat books available from H.H. Waldo, Bookseller! Books by
Ingersoll! Heston's 19th Century Freethought Cartoons!
Holy Horrors, An Illustrated History of Religious Murder and
Madness, by James A. Haught..........................$21.95
Christian Science, by Mark Twain.....................$15.95
(reprint of original attack)
Deadly Doctrine, by Wendell W. Watters, MD...........$27.50
(Psychological damage caused by Christianity)
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and many, many more. Ever changing inventory. Friendly
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add $2 postage/handling for first book & 0.50 for each
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Send 2 first class stamps for H.H. Waldo's current catalog.
(Use international reply coupon, or get hold of US Stamps)
TO:
H.H Waldo, Bookseller
P.O. Box 350
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or phone 1-800-66WALDO !!!
tell 'im: "that nullifidian guy sent me!"
Once again: ISSN: 1201-0111 The Nullifidian Volume Two,
Number 11: NOVEMBER 1995.
------------------------------------------------------------
* 1996 Freethought Calendar *
The Atlanta Freethought Society has published a Freethought
Calendar for 1996. The calendar features classic editorial
cartoons from the 1800s supporting (defending?) the
separation of church and state. In addition, important
freethought dates and people are noted throughout the year,
giving the user a better picture of freethought dates to
celebrate instead of the religious holidays featured on most
calendars. Tha pages are in antique parchment-style paper,
8.5 x 11 inches and comb-bound.
This is a fund-raising item for AFS, as we seek to earn
money to acquire our own permanent facility in Atlanta. As
such, part of your purchase is tax-deductible as a
charitable contribution. Details available on request.
The calendar is available for $10 each or 3 for $25 to the
general public, and $9 each or 3 for $23 to members of other
freethought, atheist, and humanist organizations (such as
FFRF, AHA, etc.), postpaid.
To order, write directly to "Freethought Calendar," AFS, PO
Box 813392, Smyrna GA 30081-3392.
Editors and members of other organizations are free to
reproduce this information if you choose.
------------------------------------------------------------
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The problem with religions that have all the answers is that
they don't let you ask the questions.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
(*) There is no footnote, and certainly not an endnote.
--
| | ) ) /--- / __ Greg Erwin: VP
|\ | / / / / o /__ o __ / o ) )_ godfree@magi.com Humanist
| \ | / / / / / / / / / / .--/ / )ai815@freenet. Assoc. of
| \| (___/ ( ( ( ( ( (__/ ( (__/( / ( carleton.ca Canada
