An Atheist Manifesto
a book by Joseph Lewis
Copyrighted in 1954
and in the 178th Year
of American Independence

Many ask what difference does it make whether man believes in a Godor 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 thedifference between truth and surmises -- facts or delusion.

It is the difference between the earth being flat, and the earth beinground.

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 andgalaxies.

It is the difference in the proper concept of life, or conclusions basedupon 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 lifeand the universe, and has made him a cringing coward before the blind forcesof 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 payingthe penalty for his "sins," then you devote your time prayingto 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 andenergies to improving his condition with the hope of securing a littlehappiness 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 muchtime 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 sufferingthat 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 penaltyimposed upon him for his "disobedience," and man's entire lifeis devoted to the expiation of that sin so as to soften the indictmentbefore the "Throne of God."

Man's atonement consists in making himself as miserable as possibleby praying, fasting, masochism, flagellations and other forms of torture.

This sadistic delusion causes him to insist that others -- under painof punishment -- be as miserable as himself, for fear that if others failto do as he does, it will provoke the wrath of his tyrant God to a moresevere chastisement.

The inevitable result is that Man devotes his life, not to the essentialsof living and the making of a happy home, but to the building of templesand churches where he can "lift his voice to God" in a frenzyof fanaticism, and eventually he becomes a victim of hysteria.

His time and energy are wasted to cleanse his "soul," whichhe does not possess, and to save himself from a future punishment in hellwhich exists only in his imagination.

Religious hallucinations take on many forms.

Some do not wash themselves; some wash only their fingers; some thinkthat the filthier they are, the "holier" they are; some cut offtheir hair, while others let it grow long; some refuse to stand up, whileothers refuse to sit down; some amputate their genitals, and some theirbreasts; some pull out their teeth, and others wither their limbs; somefast, and others gorge themselves; some cover their heads with sand, andothers with sackcloth and ashes; some talk continuously, and others remainsilent; some are celibates, and others are profligates; some stand on theirheads; some brand themselves, while others pierce their nose, eyes andears.

Nuns cut off their hair to make themselves as unsightly as possible -- to make themselves repulsive to the opposite sex; there are monks whohave vowed never to look upon the face of a woman, and Franciscans stillwear ropes around their bodies as a symbol of flagellation.

There is hardly a form of insanity or delusion that has not been inducedby some sort of religious belief.

To laugh on the "Sabbath," at one time, was considered thesin of sins.

How rightfully Robert G. Ingersoll said that, "Christianity hasmade 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. Wedo not believe that you should make yourself as miserable as possible Herein 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 oflife, and that the "ills of the flesh" inevitably follow whereone form of life lives upon another, and where "at the banquet oflife each in turn is a guest and a dish."

It is only by understanding the nature of disease that man has beenable, even in a small degree, to protect himself from the ravages of itsdestruction.

The use of prayer to cure disease has been responsible for epidemicsthat have, on many occasions, almost wiped out the human race. Prayer hashad no more effect upon disease than it has upon health. It merely permitsthe 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, "evenas you and I." They enjoy no exemptions. They suffer the same ills;they feel the same sensations; they are subject to the same passions ofthe body, the same frailties of the mind, are victims of circumstancesand misfortune, and they meet inevitable death just as every other person.They commit the same kind of crimes as other mortals, and especially, becauseof their "calling," many are notoriously involved in the embezzlementof church funds. Nor does their calling protect them from the "passionsof the flesh." The scandalous conduct of many "men of the cloth,"in the realm of moral turpitude, often ends in murder. That is why thereare so many "men of God" in our jails, and why so many have paidthe 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 theforces of nature, and the laws of life, any more than you can. What theycan 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 theyaccomplish 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 natureof disease, and why it has taken man so long to comprehend the true conditionsof life.

This deception prevails in matters of great importance, as well as inmatters of little consequence.

There is no "voice of nature" to tell man that which is trueand that which is false, nor to warn him of the dangers of life. He mustfind the truth for himself, and only after very bitter experiences.

The first piece of deception of man, after his so-called mentalawakening, was his inability to conceive of any scheme of life except fromhis 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 sufferingof life except as a punishment for some "disobedience." Primitivethough 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 respectis the delusion he experiences when he believes that the sun "risesand 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 theclouds to make the flowers bloom.

To the religionist this is an indication of the "beauty" innature.

It is nothing of the kind.

Poisonous plants and obnoxious weeds are equally nourished by the warmthof 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 responsiblefor it?

And yet, if this beast could talk, it would probably say that its environmentwas made for its benefit and that its marvelous features, particularlyits mouth, was especially "designed" for its enjoyment, and thatits whole body was made in the "image and likeness of God."

The fact that the hippopotamus has survived these millions of yearsof the evolutionary process and still thrives today is proof that it isequally 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 withoutalso 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 "littleconsequence" are on an equal basis. The one is not "favored"above the other. It is the survival of the fittest, and not the most desirablethat survives.

When conditions are favorable to the "wild" animals, theythrive by killing the other forms of life upon which they live, and whenconditions are favorable to man, he kills and lives upon the forms of lifewhich he considers exist solely for his pleasure and benefit.

To nature the germs of disease, as a form of life, are equally as importantas 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 favorableto 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 thehungry tiger ready to devour you.

A bullet from a gun would be far more effective against the tiger, andknowledge of the nature of the germs of disease, and the discovery of themethods of destroying them, are comparable to the invention of the gunand its use against the ferocious animal.

The knowledge of the one protects you against the invisible enemiesof destruction, while the invention of the gun protects you against beingdestroyed by the wild beasts.

The germs of disease and the hungry tiger are both determined upon thesame 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 soeloquently states, "The hands that help are better far than lips thatpray."

Our bodies are as much "meat" for the disease germs that eatus as the animal that furnishes the meat for our appetites.

Or as Shakespeare puts it:

In a broader and more comprehensive concept of disease, Shakespearesays, it is, as if a

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; whichone is more important than the other, since the ends accomplished are thesame?

The life of the disease germ came into existence by the same processas 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 germsof 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 whichthey 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 ofthe germ we call disease is as important as the life of the body upon whichit 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 favoredby nature as those which live by day.

Freaks of all kinds exist in nature -- from the utterly ridiculous tothe terrifying monstrosities. This is proof of the lack of design in Natureas 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 madefor his benefit, and that he is subject to the same laws of nature as allother forms of life, then, and not until then, will he understand thathe must rely upon himself, and himself alone, for whatever benefits heis to enjoy; and devote his time and energies to helping himself and hisfellow men to meet the exigencies of life and to set about to solve thedifficult 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 unpurposedevolution.

We are the descendants and inheritors of all the defects of our primitiveancestry -- the evolution of the myriad forms of life from the infinitesimalto the mammoth -- from the worm to the dinosaur.

The most important step in the development of man is the recognitionof the fact that we are born without knowledge, and that the acquisitionof knowledge is a slow and painful process.

If all man needed upon earth was a "knowledge of God," thenwhy the necessity of establishing educational institutions?

Unless a child is taught to talk, it will never be able to speak thelanguage of our tongue. Without teaching the child the rudiments of speech,he would be unable to communicate his thoughts to others. Without propertraining his "grunts" of expression would be meaningless, andthe only way he could express himself would be by the primitive instinctof making signs and by pointing.

The brain needs the same kind of training as any other part of the bodythat requires exercise for development. Nourishment for the mind is justas necessary as nourishment for the body.

Just as there are some foods which have been so adulterated and refinedthat when eaten they add no nourishment to the body, so there are truthswhich have been adulterated by religion and superstition so as to be utterlyvalueless 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 clergyto adulterate education with superstition. To maintain their untenableposition 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 elements of nature. Whathe could not understand he attributed to malevolent spirits whose primarypurpose was to punish and harm him. Under this spell it seems almost incrediblethat he ever advanced from his state of primitive ignorance.

His fears produced such fantastic monsters of the air that it was firstnecessary to relieve his tormented mind of these terrifying myths of ghostsand 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 calledthe Bible, and that it was necessary to believe every word in that bookin order that he might save his soul. They told him that if he disobeyedtheir commands, he would suffer eternal damnation in a hell where "thefire never ceases, and where the worm never dies."

They also told him that it was a sin for him to read that book, andthat the priest was especially ordained by God to interpret the meaningof 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 tobe saved from punishment after death, he had to give a substantial partof the fruits of his labor to the priest to pray for him, and intercedewith God on his behalf, so as to mitigate the punishment to which he hadalready been doomed.

What a diabolical scheme of fraud by which to live upon the sweat andlabor of others.

It was such a profitable scheme that the priests began to maintain theirpower by the force of arms.

As a result there came into existence the twin tyrannies of church andstate.

It seems incredible that such nonsense was ever imposed upon sufferinghumanity, and nonsense it would be were it not so tragic.

So fearful did he become that he thought that he could not live withoutthe "protection" of the priests, and as Ingersoll said, "aslong as people wanted Popes, plenty of hypocrites will be found to taketheir place...."

Ingersoll further declared: "The priests pretended to stand betweenthe wrath of the gods and the helplessness of man. He was man's attorneyat 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 andpower. Man fell upon his knees before his own servant, and the priest,taking advantage of the awe inspired by his supposed influence with thegods, made of his fellow-man a cringing hypocrite and slave."

As long as there is one person suffering an injustice; as long as oneperson is forced to bear an unnecessary sorrow; as long as one person issubject 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 wrongis permitted to exist; as long as there is hatred and antagonism amongmankind, the existence of a God is a moral impossibility.

Ingersoll said: "Injustice upon earth renders the justice of heavenimpossible."

Man's inhumanity to man will continue as long as man loves God morethan he loves his fellow man.

The love of God means wasted love.

"For God and Country" means a divided allegiance -- a 50 percent 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 meaninglessand 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 anopinion 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 thejoker 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; onthe contrary, it has made man a groveling slave; it has made raving lunaticsof those who have attempted to interpret what God "is" and whatis supposed to be our "duty" to God.

It has made man prostitute the most precious things of life -- it hasmade him sacrifice wife, and child, and home.

"In the name of God" means in the name of nothing -- it hascaused man to be a wastrel with the precious elixir of life, because thereis no God.

Ingersoll could not understand the mind of those who, once having beentold the truth, preferred to remain under the spell of superstition andin ignorance. He could not understand why people would not accept "newtruths with gladness."

He also knew, however, that once a person's mind had been poisoned withreligious superstition, it was almost impossible to free it from the paralyzingfear which destroyed its ability to think.

It is now established by verifiable evidence that religion stultifiesthe brain and is the great obstacle in the path of intellectual progress.

The more religious a person is, the more he is steeped in ignoranceand superstition, the less is his sense of moral responsibility. The moreintelligent a person, the less religious he is. There is an old sayingthat "where there are three scientists, there are two atheists."

The countries whose governments are dominated by religion and religiousinstitutions are the most backward. By the same token, the countries whosepeople are the most enlightened, and whose governments are based upon theprinciple of secularism -- the separation of church and state -- are themost progressive.

And let me tell you: When man is intellectually free, the progress hewill make is beyond calculation.

What better illustration than this: More progress has been made sincethe Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution than was madein the previous five thousand years!

Yes, more intellectual and material progress has been made by man sincethe establishment of the American Republic than during all the interveningyears from the Pharaohs of Egypt up to and including the time of "thegrandeur 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 plantedby the American Revolution will take root, and throughout the world, ifman will learn to zealously guard his freedom, Peace and Progress willcome to all the world.

Could there be a more significant illustration than this:

Practically in our own lifetime, and certainly since the Declarationof Independence, man has wrought the most amazing achievements in the fieldof science and progress ever recorded in human history.

Not in their order, nor according to their significance, do I recordthe 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 whata 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 theground that God sent pain as a punishment for sin, and it was consideredthe greatest of sacrileges to use it -- just think of it, a sin to relieveman of his misery! What a monstrous perversion! This one instance aloneshould 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 interferingwith his "divine plan," of making man suffer for having eatenof 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 andthe pangs of mental agony. The believers in God are content that man'ssuffering is ordained, and therefore he accepts life and its trials andtribulations 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 inchildbirth, the clergymen of his day foamed at the mouth and spat uponhim with vituperation and abuse, for attempting to violate God's directcommand that "in pain thou shalt bring forth children," as basedupon the idiotic text of the Bible. But Dr. Simpson persisted despite theravings of the religious lunatics of his day.

The importance of Dr. Simpson's application of anesthesia to the reliefof pain in childbirth, and his open defiance of the religionists, are beyondthe measure of words to evaluate.

The X-ray was discovered in our time.

Professor Wilhelm Roentgen deserves our everlasting debt of gratitudefor this contribution. Its application alone in the field of medicine makesit one of the greatest contributions to the service of man.

Dr. Karl Lansteiner's discovery of the composition of the blood -- madein our time -- has been responsible for the saving of countless thousandsof lives.

Blood was also feared by the religionists, and a taboo was placed uponall 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 fruitfulresults 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 isso recent. Until the emancipation of the mind of man from the thraldomand shackles of religion, it was taught and believed as a "religioustruth," and maintained under penalty of eternal damnation, that ifthe human body was dissected, God would not be able to recognize you onthe day of resurrection!

Such has been the paralyzing menace of religion that has prevailed overthe mind of man.

The discovery of the chemistry of food and its application to nutritionhas 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 healthto, and prolonging, the life of the people.

Hygiene and its application have saved millions upon millions from diseaseand premature death. It has stayed the "hand of God" in his madnessin spreading deaths from epidemics of disease.

Charles Darwin published his "Origin of Species" and the greatprinciple of evolution was promulgated.

Modern emancipated medicine has reduced the infant death rate by morethan 50 per cent, and has been responsible for more than doubling the lifespan 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 ofthe American Heart Association. He said:

"Those of us doctors who graduated from medical school thirty toforty years ago, look back now at the almost unbelievable ignorance aboutheart disease that then existed. More knowledge has come since thenthan had been acquired in all the centuries before." (Italicsmine).

Man was taught in the past that the heart, like the voice, was the "giftof God," and it was too sacred for man to probe into its workings.What were the results? Millions died who could have been saved; millionslived as horrible cripples who could have lived a normal life if man inthe past, had had the courage, that he has today, to seek relief from theterrors of disease.

Such is the amazing progress that has been made when man relies uponhis 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 whichfollowed the amazing progress that has since been attained in combatingthis greatest of killers.

I, for one, wish to place upon the brow of Dr. Herrick my laurel leafof thanks for his great accomplishment in medicine.

What wonders have been accomplished since the invention of the steamengine, the automobile, radio, television, electronic devises, and thethousand and one other discoveries and inventions too numerous to mention.

The educational benefit of the motion picture will far outstrip itsentertainment value, and its use in nearly every department of learningmakes it one of man's most valuable inventions.

Think of Benjamin Franklin's discovery of the relationship of electricityand 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 sufferfor "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 themyriad uses of electric and atomic power will make man the master of hisdestiny once he frees himself from the myth of a tyrant God.

Ingersoll best expressed man's inventions and their uses when he saidthat, "Science took the thunderbolt from the gods, and in the electricspark, freedom, with thought, with intelligence and with love, sweeps underall the waves of the sea; science, free thought, took a tear from the cheekof 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 pastcentury and he will think he has been returned to barbarism.

Look what Thomas A. Edison's invention of the electric light did forman -- it lengthened his life, it gave more hours to the day, and increasedhis comforts beyond anything previously known or imagined, and added immeasurablyto his joy of living.

Even Joshua's fictitious performance of stopping the sun and the moonfades 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 greathonor to know Thomas A. Edison, and Edison honored me by calling me hisfriend.

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 thoughtson 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 fromnature her most guarded secret -- the mystery of the human voice.

He disproved, as it was once believed, that the human voice, like theheart, was the "gift of God." He demonstrated that the humanvoice was merely the natural mechanism of sound produced by air of thelungs passing over the "cords" of the throat and larynx in thesame manner as are sounds produced by the strings of a musical instrument.

As a result of Edison's invention, man himself has already producedartificially every manifestation of the human voice!

If the voice was part of "God's plan," how do we account forits absence in the giraffe? This animal has no larynx and therefore novocal cords, and as a consequence it cannot talk or make sounds with itsthroat!

The giraffe is proof of the lack of design in nature and the blindnessof the forces of evolutionary life.

To list all the great discoveries in the field of science and medicineduring the past century, such as aspirin, insulin, penicillin, and thestreptomycin drugs would require the undivided attention of a medical historianand a veritable encyclopedia to record them.

And yet, there are still many diseases that plague man of which he hasno knowledge. They eat and ravage his mind and body with excruciating painand torture, and he is utterly helpless against them. He not only doesnot know their origin, but has not the slightest inkling of their natureor how to fortify himself against their attacks. He must sit, like a condemnedcriminal, in agonizing torture, waiting for blessed death.

If man, and the other forms of life upon this earth, are a mere by-productof 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 penaltiesof life to satisfy that from which we derive no benefit, and where deathnegates all of our efforts; and which makes the purpose of life, our hopesand 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 achievementsin the so-called "Book of Books"; not a single referenceabout the nature and cure of disease; not a word regarding those inventionsthat 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, butthey had a perverted concept of life and the universe. Their concept wasthat man was a victim of blood pollution and his only salvation was bya blood atonement.

I remember once seeing a small pamphlet entitled, "What the BibleTeaches about Morality." On opening the little booklet, it was discoveredto be nothing but blank pages! Another such pamphlet might very appropriatelybe published entitled, "What the Bible Reveals about Disease, Medicineand Health," and blank pages should be used for all the Bible containsabout these vital subjects.

On the contrary these benefits have been denounced by the believersin the Bible, and by the representatives of the Bible's deity as beingcontrary to "God's Plan."

Does not the Bible plainly state that only by the sweat of his browis man to labor for the bread he eats?

Here is the exact Biblical quotation: "In the sweat of thy facethou shalt eat bread..." and why? Only because he sought knowledge.

And does not the Bible God place a curse upon man for the knowledgethat has been such a solace and benefit to him?

Here is another exact Biblical quotation: "...cursed be the groundfor 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 andsuffering of humanity has been an infidel to the Bible God!

Every new invention, every new discovery for the benefit of man violatesthese 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, whichhas so paralyzed his mind during the past ages, and its detrimental effectupon 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 everythingin his and her power to destroy the influence of this utterly stupid andvicious book, with its infantile concept of life and its nonsense concerningthe universe.

It is their duty to do everything within their power to stop its demoralizingand paralyzing influence upon the life of man.

We will never achieve intellectual liberty until the wickedness of thisbook 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 wantto 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 controlof your government.

If you do, you will lose the greatest legacy ever bequeathed to thehuman race -- intellectual freedom.

Now let me tell you another thing.

If all the energy and wealth wasted upon religion -- in all of its variedforms -- had been spent to understand life and its problems, we would todaybe living under conditions that would seem almost like Utopia.

Most of our social and domestic problems would have been solved, andequally as important, our understanding and relations with the other peoplesof the world would have, by now, brought about universal peace.

Man would have a better understanding of his motives and actions, andwould have learned to curb his primitive instincts for revenge and retaliation.He would, by now, know that wars of hate, aggression, and aggrandizementare only productive of more hate and more human suffering.

The enlightened and completely emancipated man from the fears of a Godand the dogma of hate and revenge would make him a brother to his fellowman.

He would devote his energies to discoveries and inventions, which theologypreviously condemned as a defiance of God, but which have proved so beneficialto 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 theftupon education.

To build a church when a hospital is needed is to take from the parchedlips of the sick the cup of relief and from the suffering the mercifulhand of help.

When the object of man's conduct will be to improve the conditions ofhis fellow man and not the appeasement of a mythical God, he will becomemore understanding and more indulgent of the frailties, mistakes, and actionof others, and by the same token he will become more appreciative of theirefforts.

He will develop a greater consciousness to avoid mistakes and to preventinjury. Life and its living will take on a greater significance, and ourefforts and energies will be devoted to creating as much joy and happinessas 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 andanother is born -- for what? A few miserable hours of life -- then oblivion!

With this recognition of the finality of death, no one should willinglywithhold acts that would bring benefits, joy or happiness to others. Indeath, the hesitant act can no longer be performed -- the word of praiseis as impossible as yesterday's return.

What perversity justified inflicting pain, suffering and death uponothers who have done no wrong?

If death ends all, why fight while we are living? Why shorten life withunnecessary pain and suffering?

How futile are the petty problems of individuals, with their hates andjealousies, 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 beheard when ears cannot hear; joy cannot be experienced when the heart nolonger beats; and the happiness of an affectionate embrace can no longerbe 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 fellowman, there will never be peace upon this earth; so long as man worshipsa Tyrant as the "Fatherhood of God," there will never be a "Brotherhoodof 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 orhappiness for the living?

If ever man needed an example of the benefit of the one against theother, he need but read the pages of history for proof of how religionretarded 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 andprecious 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 brokethe spell of superstition and ushered in the Age of Reason and the Dawnof 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 continuoustoil; he began to enjoy a few comforts of life -- and for the first timeupon 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! Hesearched the heavens and found no God. He no longer feared the manifestationsof nature.

The stars, however, are not the alphabet upon which to read the destinyof 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 ourtime and energies to help our fellow man.

That is why we build educational institutions and seek, by a slow andpainful process, to teach man the true nature of the universe and a properunderstanding of his place as a member in society. At the same time wetry to fortify his mind with courage to withstand the rebuffs, the trialsand tribulations of life. That it is a difficult and arduous task no onecan deny because we cannot correct all of "God's mistakes" inone 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 inestimablefreedom 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 dutyyou owe to your family is to endeavor to make them happy.

Emancipate yourself from these stultifying creeds, and protect yourchildren 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 yourfellow man.

All forms of life have feeling, do not make them suffer.

As Shakespeare says:

Kindness is a magic solvent.

While we know that sometimes "ingratitude is more strong than traitor'sarms," we also know that "mercy is twice blest; it blesses himthat gives and him that takes," and, it should be remembered thatwhile Loyalty is the most important of the virtues, Patience is the mostvaluable.

Become a courageous human being and do the best you can under any andall circumstances in this imperfect and troublesome world.

Be brave enough to live and be brave enough to die, knowing that whenthe Grim Reaper comes you did the best you could and that the world isbetter 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 Brotherto All Mankind and a Citizen of the Universe.