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diff --git a/33825.txt b/33825.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5233f91 --- /dev/null +++ b/33825.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1547 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of An Atheist Manifesto, by Joseph Lewis + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: An Atheist Manifesto + +Author: Joseph Lewis + +Release Date: October 1, 2010 [EBook #33825] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN ATHEIST MANIFESTO *** + + + + +Produced by Betty Haertling, Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, +Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +AN ATHEIST MANIFESTO + +BY + +JOSEPH LEWIS + +THE FREETHOUGHT PRESS +ASSOCIATION: NEW YORK + + + + +COPYRIGHTED, 1954, +AND IN THE 178TH YEAR +OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE +BY JOSEPH LEWIS + +_All rights reserved_ + +Second Edition, 1956 +Third Edition, 1958 + +PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA + + + + +JOSEPH LEWIS + +_Author of_ + +THE TYRANNY OF GOD +THE BIBLE UNMASKED +VOLTAIRE: THE INCOMPARABLE INFIDEL +SPAIN: A LAND BLIGHTED BY RELIGION +BURBANK THE INFIDEL +ATHEISM +THE BIBLE AND THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS +FRANKLIN THE FREETHINKER +LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER +MEXICO AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH +SOVIET RUSSIA AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH +SHALL CHILDREN RECEIVE RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION? +THE TEN COMMANDMENTS +THOMAS PAINE: AUTHOR OF +THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE +IN THE NAME OF HUMANITY +THE TRAGIC PATRIOT +INSPIRATION AND WISDOM FROM THE WRITINGS OF +THOMAS PAINE +AN ATHEIST MANIFESTO +INGERSOLL THE MAGNIFICENT + + + + +AN ATHEIST MANIFESTO + + +Many ask what difference does it make whether man believes in a God or +not. + +It makes a big difference. + +It makes all the difference in the world. + +It is the difference between being right and being wrong; it is the +difference between truth and surmises--facts or delusion. + +It is the difference between the earth being flat, and the earth being +round. + +It is the difference between the earth being the center of the +universe, or a tiny speck in this vast and uncharted sea of +multitudinous suns and galaxies. + +It is the difference in the proper concept of life, or conclusions based +upon illusion. + +It is the difference between verified knowledge and the faith of +religion. + +It is a question of Progress or the Dark Ages. + +The history of man proves that religion perverts man's concept of life +and the universe, and has made him a cringing coward before the blind +forces of nature. + +If you believe that there is a God; that man was "created"; that he was +forbidden to eat of the fruit of the "tree of knowledge"; that he +disobeyed; that he is a "fallen angel"; that he is paying the penalty +for his "sins," then you devote your time praying to appease an angry +and jealous God. + +If, on the other hand, you believe that the universe is a great +mystery; that man is the product of evolution; that he is born without +knowledge; that intelligence comes from experience, then you devote your +time and energies to improving his condition with the hope of securing a +little happiness here for yourself and your fellow man. + +That is the difference. + +If man was "created," then someone made a grievous mistake. + +It is inconceivable that any form of intelligence would waste so much +time and effort to make such an inferior piece of life--with all the +"ills that flesh is heir to," and with all the misery and suffering that +is so essential a part of living. + +If man is a "fallen angel," by the commission of a "sin," then disease +and sorrow are part of God's inscrutable plan as a penalty imposed upon +him for his "disobedience," and man's entire life is devoted to the +expiation of that sin so as to soften the indictment before the "Throne +of God." + +Man's atonement consists in making himself as miserable as possible by +praying, fasting, masochism, flagellations and other forms of torture. + +This sadistic delusion causes him to insist that others--under pain of +punishment--be as miserable as himself, for fear that if others fail to +do as he does, it will provoke the wrath of his tyrant God to a more +severe chastisement. + +The inevitable result is that Man devotes his life, not to the +essentials of living and the making of a happy home, but to the building +of temples and churches where he can "lift his voice to God" in a frenzy +of fanaticism, and eventually he becomes a victim of hysteria. + +His time and energy are wasted to cleanse his "soul," which he does not +possess, and to save himself from a future punishment in hell which +exists only in his imagination. + +Religious hallucinations take on many forms. + +Some do not wash themselves; some wash only their fingers; some think +that the filthier they are, the "holier" they are; some cut off their +hair, while others let it grow long; some refuse to stand up, while +others refuse to sit down; some amputate their genitals, and some their +breasts; some pull out their teeth, and others wither their limbs; some +fast, and others gorge themselves; some cover their heads with sand, and +others with sackcloth and ashes; some talk continuously, and others +remain silent; some are celibates, and others are profligates; some +stand on their heads; some brand themselves, while others pierce their +nose, eyes and ears. + +Nuns cut off their hair to make themselves as unsightly as possible--to +make themselves repulsive to the opposite sex; there are monks who have +vowed never to look upon the face of a woman, and Franciscans still wear +ropes around their bodies as a symbol of flagellation. + +There is hardly a form of insanity or delusion that has not been induced +by some sort of religious belief. + +To laugh on the "Sabbath," at one time, was considered the sin of sins. + +How rightfully Robert G. Ingersoll said that, "Christianity has made +more lunatics than it ever provided asylums for." + +On the other hand, we do not believe that Man is a depraved human being. +We do not believe that there is a tyrant God, or that there is a hell, +and that man will suffer the pains and penalties of eternal torment. We +do not believe that you should make yourself as miserable as possible +Here in the hope of securing some happiness "Hereafter." + +We do not believe that disease is a punishment for sin. + +We believe that disease is a natural consequence of the processes of +life, and that the "ills of the flesh" inevitably follow where one form +of life lives upon another, and where "at the banquet of life each in +turn is a guest and a dish." + +It is only by understanding the nature of disease that man has been +able, even in a small degree, to protect himself from the ravages of its +destruction. + +The use of prayer to cure disease has been responsible for epidemics +that have, on many occasions, almost wiped out the human race. Prayer +has had no more effect upon disease than it has upon health. It merely +permits the disease to continue its course and increase the suffering of +the victim. + +If priests--of all clans--were free of disease and immune to death, +then there might be some basis for the claim of the religionists. But +these "men of God" are victims of the natural course of life, "even as +you and I." They enjoy no exemptions. They suffer the same ills; they +feel the same sensations; they are subject to the same passions of the +body, the same frailties of the mind, are victims of circumstances and +misfortune, and they meet inevitable death just as every other person. +They commit the same kind of crimes as other mortals, and especially, +because of their "calling," many are notoriously involved in the +embezzlement of church funds. Nor does their calling protect them from +the "passions of the flesh." The scandalous conduct of many "men of the +cloth," in the realm of moral turpitude, often ends in murder. That is +why there are so many "men of God" in our jails, and why so many have +paid the supreme penalty in the death chair. + +They are not free from a single rule of life; what others must endure, +they likewise must experience. They cannot protect themselves from the +forces of nature, and the laws of life, any more than you can. What they +can do, you can do, too. Their claims of being "anointed" and "vicars of +God" on earth are false and hypocritical. + +If they cannot fulfill their promises while you are alive, how can they +accomplish them when you are dead? + +If they are impotent Here, where they could demonstrate their powers, +how ridiculous are their promises to accomplish them in the "Hereafter," +the mythical abode which exists only in their dishonest or deluded +imagination? + +The illusions of life are many and varied. + +Things are not always what they seem to be, and it is well known that +"appearances are deceiving." + +That is why it is so difficult for some people to understand the nature +of disease, and why it has taken man so long to comprehend the true +conditions of life. + +This deception prevails in matters of great importance, as well as in +matters of little consequence. + +There is no "voice of nature" to tell man that which is true and that +which is false, nor to warn him of the dangers of life. He must find the +truth for himself, and only after very bitter experiences. + +The first piece of deception of man, after his so-called mental +awakening, was his inability to conceive of any scheme of life except +from his own primitive concept of limited intelligence. + +He could not conceive the earth and the universe except as being +"created," and from his own feeling of revenge, he could not conceive +of the suffering of life except as a punishment for some "disobedience." +Primitive though he be, he did not inflict pain and punishment upon the +innocent. This diabolical scheme could only come from a "merciful" God. + +As an illustration of this concept of primitive man in this respect is +the delusion he experiences when he believes that the sun "rises and +sets," when as a matter of fact, it is the sun which is "stationary" as +far as the earth is concerned, and it is the earth that "moves," as +Galileo so courageously maintained--at the cost of his liberty. + +There is a delusion that the sun shines and the water falls from the +clouds to make the flowers bloom. + +To the religionist this is an indication of the "beauty" in nature. + +It is nothing of the kind. + +Poisonous plants and obnoxious weeds are equally nourished by the +warmth of the sun and the moisture of the water. + +Is this, then, an indication of the "ugliness" of nature? + +Certainly not. + +Both are inevitable consequences of the environment in which they live. +It could not be otherwise. + +Is the hippopotamus one of nature's masterpieces? + +Is its face and form the perfection of beauty and grace? + +Would you consider this animal a work of living art if you were +responsible for it? + +And yet, if this beast could talk, it would probably say that its +environment was made for its benefit and that its marvelous features, +particularly its mouth, was especially "designed" for its enjoyment, and +that its whole body was made in the "image and likeness of God." + +The fact that the hippopotamus has survived these millions of years of +the evolutionary process and still thrives today is proof that it is +equally as favored by Nature as is man. + +To nature the blossoms of the flowers and the obnoxious weeds are +identical, and the fragrance of the one and the stench of the other are +equally alike; both, if they could talk, would boast of Nature's +preference for them. + +While, as a matter of fact, both would be wrong. + +The sun does not shine to bring us its necessary light and warmth +without also bringing to light some new burden for our overtroubled +hearts to bear; and everything in the universe shares the same and +inevitable consequences. + +While it is true that it is "an ill wind that blows no good," it is also +true that what is "one man's meat is another man's poison." + +To Nature matters of "great importance" and matters of "little +consequence" are on an equal basis. The one is not "favored" above the +other. It is the survival of the fittest, and not the most desirable +that survives. + +When conditions are favorable to the "wild" animals, they thrive by +killing the other forms of life upon which they live, and when +conditions are favorable to man, he kills and lives upon the forms of +life which he considers exist solely for his pleasure and benefit. + +To nature the germs of disease, as a form of life, are equally as +important as the other forms of life that "breathe and have their +being." + +When conditions are favorable to the virus of influenza and pneumonia, +we have what is known as an epidemic, and when conditions are favorable +to the growth of cancer, it has what we might term a "Roman Holiday" by +destroying a third of our population. + +Germs of disease are merely invisible wild animals. + +They are forms of life that thrive upon the soil of the human body. + +Prayer has about as much effect upon them as it would have upon the +hungry tiger ready to devour you. + +A bullet from a gun would be far more effective against the tiger, and +knowledge of the nature of the germs of disease, and the discovery of +the methods of destroying them, are comparable to the invention of the +gun and its use against the ferocious animal. + +The knowledge of the one protects you against the invisible enemies of +destruction, while the invention of the gun protects you against being +destroyed by the wild beasts. + +The germs of disease and the hungry tiger are both determined upon the +same objective--your destruction--one by eating you in "chunks" and the +other by minutely gnawing you away "piecemeal." + +The results are identical. + +It is not necessary to moralize upon the difference. + +But this we know, that in our present scheme of life, as Ingersoll so +eloquently states, "The hands that help are better far than lips that +pray." + +Our bodies are as much "meat" for the disease germs that eat us as the +animal that furnishes the meat for our appetites. + +Or as Shakespeare puts it: + + + "... in the sweetest bud + The eating canker dwells." + + +In a broader and more comprehensive concept of disease, Shakespeare +says, it is, as if a + + + "God omnipotent + Is mustering in his clouds... + Armies of pestilence; and they shall strike + Your children yet unborn and unbegot...." + + +Who are you to say which one is the more favored in this scheme of +life--the germs of disease or man--which one is preferred by nature; +which one is more important than the other, since the ends accomplished +are the same? + +The life of the disease germ came into existence by the same process as +did the life of man. + +It is just as much a part of nature as is the dimpled babe. + +If we cannot live without sunshine and water, neither can the germs of +disease. + +It might well be that we are nothing more than "disease germs" in the +environment in which we live. The same basic construction by which they +live forms the same pattern upon which our life is built. + +To nature the night is just as important as the day, and the life of the +germ we call disease is as important as the life of the body upon which +it feeds. + +It follows the same law of life; it is born, reproduces and dies. + +There are forms of life that live by night that are equally as favored +by nature as those which live by day. + +Freaks of all kinds exist in nature--from the utterly ridiculous to the +terrifying monstrosities. This is proof of the lack of design in Nature +as far as man is concerned. + +When man comes to the realization that he is not the "favorite" of God; +that he was not specially created, that the universe was not made for +his benefit, and that he is subject to the same laws of nature as all +other forms of life, then, and not until then, will he understand that +he must rely upon himself, and himself alone, for whatever benefits he +is to enjoy; and devote his time and energies to helping himself and his +fellow men to meet the exigencies of life and to set about to solve the +difficult and intricate problems of living. + +The recognition of a problem is the first step to its solution-- + +We are not "fallen" angels, nor were we "created" perfect. + +On the contrary, we are the product of millions of years of an +unpurposed evolution. + +We are the descendants and inheritors of all the defects of our +primitive ancestry--the evolution of the myriad forms of life from the +infinitesimal to the mammoth--from the worm to the dinosaur. + +The most important step in the development of man is the recognition of +the fact that we are born without knowledge, and that the acquisition of +knowledge is a slow and painful process. + +If all man needed upon earth was a "knowledge of God," then why the +necessity of establishing educational institutions? + +Unless a child is taught to talk, it will never be able to speak the +language of our tongue. Without teaching the child the rudiments of +speech, he would be unable to communicate his thoughts to others. +Without proper training his "grunts" of expression would be meaningless, +and the only way he could express himself would be by the primitive +instinct of making signs and by pointing. + +The brain needs the same kind of training as any other part of the body +that requires exercise for development. Nourishment for the mind is +just as necessary as nourishment for the body. + +Just as there are some foods which have been so adulterated and refined +that when eaten they add no nourishment to the body, so there are truths +which have been adulterated by religion and superstition so as to be +utterly valueless in nourishing the mind with intelligence. + +Education becomes the primary object of civilization. + +As Thomas Paine says: "Wisdom is not the purchase of a day." + +The church knows that an educated man is an unbeliever. + +That is why there is a continual struggle on the part of the clergy to +adulterate education with superstition. To maintain their untenable +position they must keep the people shackled to a form of mental slavery. + +Both fear and superstition are forms of a contagious disease. + +The ignorance of man produced natural fears of the elements of nature. +What he could not understand he attributed to malevolent spirits whose +primary purpose was to punish and harm him. Under this spell it seems +almost incredible that he ever advanced from his state of primitive +ignorance. + +His fears produced such fantastic monsters of the air that it was first +necessary to relieve his tormented mind of these terrifying myths of +ghosts and gods before he was able to acquire even the simplest +rudiments of knowledge. + +Man's ignorance and fears made him an easy prey of priests. + +His gullibility was such that he believed everything he was told. + +He soon became a slave to these liars and hypocrites. + +And what did the priests tell him? + +They told him that God had made a special revelation in a book called +the Bible, and that it was necessary to believe every word in that book +in order that he might save his soul. They told him that if he disobeyed +their commands, he would suffer eternal damnation in a hell where "the +fire never ceases, and where the worm never dies." + +They also told him that it was a sin for him to read that book, and that +the priest was especially ordained by God to interpret the meaning of +each and every word. + +And what was the priest's interpretation of the text of that book? + +It was that man was a corrupt and sinful being, and that in order to be +saved from punishment after death, he had to give a substantial part of +the fruits of his labor to the priest to pray for him, and intercede +with God on his behalf, so as to mitigate the punishment to which he had +already been doomed. + +What a diabolical scheme of fraud by which to live upon the sweat and +labor of others. + +It was such a profitable scheme that the priests began to maintain their +power by the force of arms. + +As a result there came into existence the twin tyrannies of church and +state. + +It seems incredible that such nonsense was ever imposed upon suffering +humanity, and nonsense it would be were it not so tragic. + +So fearful did he become that he thought that he could not live without +the "protection" of the priests, and as Ingersoll said, "as long as +people wanted Popes, plenty of hypocrites will be found to take their +place...." + +Ingersoll further declared: "The priests pretended to stand between the +wrath of the gods and the helplessness of man. He was man's attorney at +the court of heaven. He carried to the invisible world a flag of truce, +a protest and a request. He came back with a command, with authority and +power. Man fell upon his knees before his own servant, and the priest, +taking advantage of the awe inspired by his supposed influence with the +gods, made of his fellow-man a cringing hypocrite and slave." + +As long as there is one person suffering an injustice; as long as one +person is forced to bear an unnecessary sorrow; as long as one person is +subject to an undeserved pain, the worship of a God is a demoralizing +humiliation. + +As long as there is one mistake in the universe; as long as one wrong is +permitted to exist; as long as there is hatred and antagonism among +mankind, the existence of a God is a moral impossibility. + +Ingersoll said: "Injustice upon earth renders the justice of heaven +impossible." + +Man's inhumanity to man will continue as long as man loves God more than +he loves his fellow man. + +The love of God means wasted love. + +"For God and Country" means a divided allegiance--a 50 per cent patriot. + +The most abused word in the language of man is the word "God." + +The reason for this is that it is subject to so much abuse. + +There is no other word in the human language that is as meaningless and +incapable of explanation as is the word "God." + +It is the beginning and end of nothing. + +It is the Alpha and Omega of Ignorance. + +It has as many meanings as there are minds. And as each person has an +opinion of what the word God ought to mean, it is a word without +premise, without foundation, and without substance. + +It is without validity. + +It is all things to all people, and is as meaningless as it is +indefinable. + +It is the most dangerous in the hands of the unscrupulous, and is the +joker that trumps the ace. + +It is the poisoned word that has paralyzed the brain of man. + +"The fear of the Lord" is not the beginning of wisdom; on the contrary, +it has made man a groveling slave; it has made raving lunatics of those +who have attempted to interpret what God "is" and what is supposed to be +our "duty" to God. + +It has made man prostitute the most precious things of life--it has made +him sacrifice wife, and child, and home. + +"In the name of God" means in the name of nothing--it has caused man to +be a wastrel with the precious elixir of life, because there is no God. + +Ingersoll could not understand the mind of those who, once having been +told the truth, preferred to remain under the spell of superstition and +in ignorance. He could not understand why people would not accept "new +truths with gladness." + +He also knew, however, that once a person's mind had been poisoned with +religious superstition, it was almost impossible to free it from the +paralyzing fear which destroyed its ability to think. + +It is now established by verifiable evidence that religion stultifies +the brain and is the great obstacle in the path of intellectual +progress. + +The more religious a person is, the more he is steeped in ignorance and +superstition, the less is his sense of moral responsibility. The more +intelligent a person, the less religious he is. There is an old saying +that "where there are three scientists, there are two atheists." + +The countries whose governments are dominated by religion and religious +institutions are the most backward. By the same token, the countries +whose people are the most enlightened, and whose governments are based +upon the principle of secularism--the separation of church and +state--are the most progressive. + +And let me tell you: When man is intellectually free, the progress he +will make is beyond calculation. + +What better illustration than this: More progress has been made since +the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution than was +made in the previous five thousand years! + +Yes, more intellectual and material progress has been made by man since +the establishment of the American Republic than during all the +intervening years from the Pharaohs of Egypt up to and including the +time of "the grandeur that was Greece, and the glory that was Rome." + +And there is a good and valid reason for this. + +It was because "in 1776 our fathers retired the gods from politics." The +basic principle of the American Republic is the freedom of man in +society. + +The Declaration of Independence was the product of Intellectual +Emancipation, and that is why, from thenceforth, our date of existence +should be recorded, not from the mythical birth of Jesus Christ, but +from the day of our Independence! + +This should be the year one hundred and seventy-eight in our calendar! + +Despite discouraging signs here and there, the seeds of freedom planted +by the American Revolution will take root, and throughout the world, if +man will learn to zealously guard his freedom, Peace and Progress will +come to all the world. + +Could there be a more significant illustration than this: + +Practically in our own lifetime, and certainly since the Declaration of +Independence, man has wrought the most amazing achievements in the field +of science and progress ever recorded in human history. + +Not in their order, nor according to their significance, do I record the +following: + +Anesthesia was discovered. + +Do you know what it means to relieve man of his pain and suffering? +Anesthesia is the most humane of all of man's accomplishments, and what +a merciful accomplishment it was. + +For this great discovery we are indebted to Dr. W. T. G. Morton. + +Do you know that the religionists opposed the use of anesthesia on the +ground that God sent pain as a punishment for sin, and it was considered +the greatest of sacrileges to use it--just think of it, a sin to relieve +man of his misery! What a monstrous perversion! This one instance alone +should convince you of the difference in believing in God or not. + +No believer in God would have spent his energies to discover anesthesia. +He would have been in mortal fear of the wrath of his God for +interfering with his "divine plan," of making man suffer for having +eaten of the fruit of the "Tree of Knowledge." + +The very crux of the matter is in this one instance. + +Man seeks to relieve his fellow man from the suffering of disease and +the pangs of mental agony. The believers in God are content that man's +suffering is ordained, and therefore he accepts life and its trials and +tribulations as a penance for living. + +The fear of the wrath of God has been a stumbling block to progress. + +When Dr. James Young Simpson sought to apply anesthesia to a woman in +childbirth, the clergymen of his day foamed at the mouth and spat upon +him with vituperation and abuse, for attempting to violate God's direct +command that "in pain thou shalt bring forth children," as based upon +the idiotic text of the Bible. But Dr. Simpson persisted despite the +ravings of the religious lunatics of his day. + +The importance of Dr. Simpson's application of anesthesia to the relief +of pain in childbirth, and his open defiance of the religionists, are +beyond the measure of words to evaluate. + +The X-ray was discovered in our time. + +Professor Wilhelm Roentgen deserves our everlasting debt of gratitude +for this contribution. Its application alone in the field of medicine +makes it one of the greatest contributions to the service of man. + +Dr. Karl Lansteiner's discovery of the composition of the blood--made in +our time--has been responsible for the saving of countless thousands of +lives. + +Blood was also feared by the religionists, and a taboo was placed upon +all those who touched it, as being contaminated. + +Even the dissection of the human body was prohibited by religion. + +The study of human anatomy is within our own time, and the fruitful +results of this scientific exploring of man's physical structure are +incalculable. + +It is needless, I think, to tell you why the study of human body is so +recent. Until the emancipation of the mind of man from the thraldom and +shackles of religion, it was taught and believed as a "religious +truth," and maintained under penalty of eternal damnation, that if the +human body was dissected, God would not be able to recognize you on the +day of resurrection! + +Such has been the paralyzing menace of religion that has prevailed over +the mind of man. + +The discovery of the chemistry of food and its application to nutrition +has contributed more to the health of the human race than all the Gods, +clergymen and priests since the dawn of existence. + +Preventive medicine has accomplished amazing results in bringing health +to, and prolonging, the life of the people. + +Hygiene and its application have saved millions upon millions from +disease and premature death. It has stayed the "hand of God" in his +madness in spreading deaths from epidemics of disease. + +Charles Darwin published his "Origin of Species" and the great +principle of evolution was promulgated. + +Modern emancipated medicine has reduced the infant death rate by more +than 50 per cent, and has been responsible for more than doubling the +life span of man within the past century. + +Just think of it! All of this within our own lifetime! + +All of this and more since the day of American independence! + +And listen to these words of Dr. Paul D. White, founder of the American +Heart Association. He said: + +"Those of us doctors who graduated from medical school thirty to forty +years ago, look back now at the almost unbelievable ignorance about +heart disease that then existed. _More knowledge has come since then +than had been acquired in all the centuries before._" (Italics mine). + +Man was taught in the past that the heart, like the voice, was the +"gift of God," and it was too sacred for man to probe into its workings. +What were the results? Millions died who could have been saved; millions +lived as horrible cripples who could have lived a normal life if man in +the past, had had the courage, that he has today, to seek relief from +the terrors of disease. + +Such is the amazing progress that has been made when man relies upon his +own efforts to solve his problems, whether they concern his health, or +his social or political affairs. + +It was only within the past forty years that Dr. James B. Herrick +properly diagnosed the cause of coronary thrombosis from which followed +the amazing progress that has since been attained in combating this +greatest of killers. + +I, for one, wish to place upon the brow of Dr. Herrick my laurel leaf +of thanks for his great accomplishment in medicine. + +What wonders have been accomplished since the invention of the steam +engine, the automobile, radio, television, electronic devises, and the +thousand and one other discoveries and inventions too numerous to +mention. + +The educational benefit of the motion picture will far outstrip its +entertainment value, and its use in nearly every department of learning +makes it one of man's most valuable inventions. + +Think of Benjamin Franklin's discovery of the relationship of +electricity and lightning and the condemnation heaped upon him for his +defiance of "The Prince of the Power of the Air." + +And of the Wright brothers, and the dire penalty they were to suffer for +"flying into the face of God." + +Lightning, once feared as the wrathful manifestation of an angry God, +was reproduced in the laboratory by that electrical wizard and atheist, +Charles P. Steinmetz. + +The telephone, wireless telegraphy, the steam engine, refrigeration, the +washing and sewing machines, the mechanical weaving of cloth, and the +myriad uses of electric and atomic power will make man the master of his +destiny once he frees himself from the myth of a tyrant God. + +Ingersoll best expressed man's inventions and their uses when he said +that, "Science took the thunderbolt from the gods, and in the electric +spark, freedom, with thought, with intelligence and with love, sweeps +under all the waves of the sea; science, free thought, took a tear from +the cheek of unpaid labor, converted it into steam, and created the +giant that turns, with tireless arms, the countless wheels of toil." + +Deprive man of the use of his discoveries and inventions of the past +century and he will think he has been returned to barbarism. + +Look what Thomas A. Edison's invention of the electric light did for +man--it lengthened his life, it gave more hours to the day, and +increased his comforts beyond anything previously known or imagined, and +added immeasurably to his joy of living. + +Even Joshua's fictitious performance of stopping the sun and the moon +fades into nothingness when compared with this sublime achievement. + +Nor must we forget Edison's invention for reproducing the human +voice--and please grant me a moment's indulgence to say that I had the +great honor to know Thomas A. Edison, and Edison honored me by calling +me his friend. + +If printing has been hailed as one of the world's great inventions, +what must we say of the phonograph? While printing preserves man's +thoughts on paper, the phonograph preserves not only his thoughts but +also his voice! + +The song of the skylark is no longer "wasted upon the desert air." + +Thomas A. Edison--the greatest of human benefactors--wrested from nature +her most guarded secret--the mystery of the human voice. + +He disproved, as it was once believed, that the human voice, like the +heart, was the "gift of God." He demonstrated that the human voice was +merely the natural mechanism of sound produced by air of the lungs +passing over the "cords" of the throat and larynx in the same manner as +are sounds produced by the strings of a musical instrument. + +As a result of Edison's invention, man himself has already produced +artificially every manifestation of the human voice! + +If the voice was part of "God's plan," how do we account for its absence +in the giraffe? This animal has no larynx and therefore no vocal cords, +and as a consequence it cannot talk or make sounds with its throat! + +The giraffe is proof of the lack of design in nature and the blindness +of the forces of evolutionary life. + +To list all the great discoveries in the field of science and medicine +during the past century, such as aspirin, insulin, penicillin, and the +streptomycin drugs would require the undivided attention of a medical +historian and a veritable encyclopedia to record them. + +And yet, there are still many diseases that plague man of which he has +no knowledge. They eat and ravage his mind and body with excruciating +pain and torture, and he is utterly helpless against them. He not only +does not know their origin, but has not the slightest inkling of their +nature or how to fortify himself against their attacks. He must sit, +like a condemned criminal, in agonizing torture, waiting for blessed +death. + +If man, and the other forms of life upon this earth, are a mere +by-product of an "over-all plan" of a "supreme intelligence," then I +denounce such a scheme as tyrannical and barbaric. + +Why should we be made to suffer such excruciating pains and penalties of +life to satisfy that from which we derive no benefit, and where death +negates all of our efforts; and which makes the purpose of life, our +hopes and desires, our ambitions and aspirations, a cruel mockery? + +O prayer, thy name is failure! + +O God, thou art a cruel myth! + +You will not find a single mention of these great humanitarian +achievements in the so-called "Book of Books"; not a single reference +about the nature and cure of disease; not a word regarding those +inventions that have so mercifully lifted the burden of toil from the +backs of labor. + +And there is good reason for it. + +The Biblical writers not only had no knowledge of these things, but they +had a perverted concept of life and the universe. Their concept was that +man was a victim of blood pollution and his only salvation was by a +blood atonement. + +I remember once seeing a small pamphlet entitled, "What the Bible +Teaches about Morality." On opening the little booklet, it was +discovered to be nothing but blank pages! Another such pamphlet might +very appropriately be published entitled, "What the Bible Reveals about +Disease, Medicine and Health," and blank pages should be used for all +the Bible contains about these vital subjects. + +On the contrary, these benefits have been denounced by the believers in +the Bible, and by the representatives of the Bible's deity as being +contrary to "God's Plan." + +Does not the Bible plainly state that only by the sweat of his brow is +man to labor for the bread he eats? + +Here is the exact Biblical quotation: "In the sweat of thy face thou +shalt eat bread..." and why? Only because he sought knowledge. + +And does not the Bible God place a curse upon man for the knowledge that +has been such a solace and benefit to him? + +Here is another exact Biblical quotation: "... cursed be the ground for +thy sake; in pain thou shalt eat of it all the days of thy life." + +The Bible is a lie. It is a fake and a fraud. + +I denounce this book and its God. + +I hold it in utter detestation. + +Every man and woman who has contributed to the relief of the pain and +suffering of humanity has been an infidel to the Bible God! + +Every new invention, every new discovery for the benefit of man violates +these Biblical edicts! + +I say, seek knowledge--defy this tyrant God--it is your only salvation. + +It is because of the Biblical curse on man's search for knowledge, which +has so paralyzed his mind during the past ages, and its detrimental +effect upon progress, that makes the Bible the most wicked, the most +detestable, the most pernicious, and the most obnoxious book ever +published. + +It has been a curse to the human race. + +It is the duty of every brave and honest man and woman to do everything +in his and her power to destroy the influence of this utterly stupid and +vicious book, with its infantile concept of life and its nonsense +concerning the universe. + +It is their duty to do everything within their power to stop its +demoralizing and paralyzing influence upon the life of man. + +We will never achieve intellectual liberty until the wickedness of this +book has been discarded with the belief in the flatness of the earth. + +If you do not want to stop the wheels of progress; if you do not want to +go back to the Dark Ages; if you do not want to live again under +tyranny, then you must guard your liberty, and you must not let the +church get control of your government. + +If you do, you will lose the greatest legacy ever bequeathed to the +human race--intellectual freedom. + +Now let me tell you another thing. + +If all the energy and wealth wasted upon religion--in all of its varied +forms--had been spent to understand life and its problems, we would +today be living under conditions that would seem almost like Utopia. + +Most of our social and domestic problems would have been solved, and +equally as important, our understanding and relations with the other +peoples of the world would have, by now, brought about universal peace. + +Man would have a better understanding of his motives and actions, and +would have learned to curb his primitive instincts for revenge and +retaliation. He would, by now, know that wars of hate, aggression, and +aggrandizement are only productive of more hate and more human +suffering. + +The enlightened and completely emancipated man from the fears of a God +and the dogma of hate and revenge would make him a brother to his fellow +man. + +He would devote his energies to discoveries and inventions, which +theology previously condemned as a defiance of God, but which have +proved so beneficial to him. + +He would no longer be a slave to a God and live in cringing fear! + +To build a church when a school house is needed is to perpetrate a theft +upon education. + +To build a church when a hospital is needed is to take from the parched +lips of the sick the cup of relief and from the suffering the merciful +hand of help. + +When the object of man's conduct will be to improve the conditions of +his fellow man and not the appeasement of a mythical God, he will become +more understanding and more indulgent of the frailties, mistakes, and +action of others, and by the same token he will become more appreciative +of their efforts. + +He will develop a greater consciousness to avoid mistakes and to +prevent injury. Life and its living will take on a greater significance, +and our efforts and energies will be devoted to creating as much joy and +happiness as possible for all living creatures. + +Unless death is made a lesson for the living, the life lived is wasted. + +Why should life come into existence only to be destroyed? One dies and +another is born--for what? A few miserable hours of life--then oblivion! + +With this recognition of the finality of death, no one should willingly +withhold acts that would bring benefits, joy or happiness to others. In +death, the hesitant act can no longer be performed--the word of praise +is as impossible as yesterday's return. + +What perversity justified inflicting pain, suffering and death upon +others who have done no wrong? + +If death ends all, why fight while we are living? Why shorten life with +unnecessary pain and suffering? + +How futile are the petty problems of individuals, with their hates and +jealousies, when all vanish with death? + +All the prayers in the world cannot wipe out one injustice. + +Every wrong is irreparable. + +The dead cannot forgive. + +All the tears and sighs are of no avail. + +Forgiveness cannot be granted when lips cannot move. Praise cannot be +heard when ears cannot hear; joy cannot be experienced when the heart no +longer beats; and the happiness of an affectionate embrace can no longer +be felt when arms are limp and the eyes are forever closed. + +You are to make up your mind whether it is to be God or man. + +Whether you are to be free or a slave. + +Whether it is to be progress or stagnation. + +As long as man loves a phantom in the sky more than he loves his fellow +man, there will never be peace upon this earth; so long as man worships +a Tyrant as the "Fatherhood of God," there will never be a "Brotherhood +of Man." + +You must make the choice, you must come to the decision. + +Is it to be God or Man? Churches or Homes--preparation for death or +happiness for the living? + +If ever man needed an example of the benefit of the one against the +other, he need but read the pages of history for proof of how religion +retarded progress and provoked hatred among the children of men. + +When theology ruled the world, man was a slave. + +The people lived in huts and hovels. + +They were clad in rags and skins; they devoured crusts and gnawed bones; +the priests wore garments of silk and satin; carried mitres of gold and +precious stones, robbed the poor and lived upon the fat of the land! + +Here and there a brave man appeared to question their authority. + +These martyrs to intellectual emancipation slowly and painfully broke +the spell of superstition and ushered in the Age of Reason and the Dawn +of Science. + +Man became the only god that man can know. + +He no longer fell upon his knees in fear. + +He began to enjoy the fruits of his own labor. + +He discovered a way to relieve himself from the drudgery of continuous +toil; he began to enjoy a few comforts of life--and for the first time +upon this earth he found a few moments for happiness. + +It is far more important to learn how to live than to learn how to pray. + +A new day and a new era dawned for him. + +His labors produced enormous dividends. + +He looked at the sky for the first time and saw that it was blue! He +searched the heavens and found no God. He no longer feared the +manifestations of nature. + +The stars, however, are not the alphabet upon which to read the destiny +of man. + +We not only do not believe that man is punished for his "sins," but +emphatically state that there is no such thing as sin. + +There are wrongs and injustices, but no sin. + +Sin, like purgatory and hell, was invented by priests, first to +frighten, and then to rob the living. + +We do not fear these myths and curses, and that is why we devote our +time and energies to help our fellow man. + +That is why we build educational institutions and seek, by a slow and +painful process, to teach man the true nature of the universe and a +proper understanding of his place as a member in society. At the same +time we try to fortify his mind with courage to withstand the rebuffs, +the trials and tribulations of life. That it is a difficult and arduous +task no one can deny because we cannot correct all of "God's mistakes" +in one life time. + +As Ingersoll so succinctly states: "Nature cannot pardon." + +Remember this: You are not a depraved human being. + +You have no sins to atone for. + +There is no need for fear. + +There are no ghosts--holy or otherwise. + +Stop making yourself miserable for "the love of God." + +Drive this monster of tyrannic fear from your mind, and enjoy the +inestimable freedom of an emancipated human being. + +The only duty you owe is to yourself and to your family. + +The duty you owe to yourself is to do the best you can, and the duty you +owe to your family is to endeavor to make them happy. + +Emancipate yourself from these stultifying creeds, and protect your +children from the contamination of religion. + +Get off your knees, stand erect, and look the whole world in the face. + +Get all the joy and happiness you can out of life. + +Enjoy the fruits of your labor and waste it not upon the myth of heaven; +support not the parasites of God. + +Do not knowingly harm another human being; do not knowingly injure your +fellow man. + +All forms of life have feeling, do not make them suffer. + +As Shakespeare says: + + + "The poor beetle, that we tread upon, + In corporal sufferance finds a pang as great + As when a giant dies." + + +Kindness is a magic solvent. + +While we know that sometimes "ingratitude is more strong than traitor's +arms," we also know that "mercy is twice blest; it blesses him that +gives and him that takes," and, it should be remembered that while +Loyalty is the most important of the virtues, Patience is the most +valuable. + +Become a courageous human being and do the best you can under any and +all circumstances in this imperfect and troublesome world. + +Be brave enough to live and be brave enough to die, knowing that when +the Grim Reaper comes, you did the best you could and that the world is +better for your having lived. + +A God could do no more. + +I will stand between you and the hosts of heaven. + +I am not afraid. + +I will act as your attorney before the Bar of Judgment. + +I will assume all responsibility. + +My services are free. + +Put the blame on me. + +Break the chains of mental slavery to religious superstition. + +Arise and become a free and independent human being. + +Dignify yourself as a Man, and justify your living by being a Brother to +All Mankind and a Citizen of the Universe. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of An Atheist Manifesto, by Joseph Lewis + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN ATHEIST MANIFESTO *** + +***** This file should be named 33825.txt or 33825.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/8/2/33825/ + +Produced by Betty Haertling, Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, +Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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