ATHEISTS
~University Of
Atheism
In Ashkabad,
the capital of Turkmenistan, near the USSR-Iranian border, is a newly
opened University of Atheism. It is offering a six-month course to
further the spread of scientific-atheistic knowledge. Graduates are
expected to continue “the struggle against religion.”
~No God In UN
Charter
The most
significant day in the history of the United Nations came in 1945 when,
to appease atheistic Communists, UN leaders decided to omit mention of
God in the charter. That action signaled the death knell of the UN in
settling the awesome problems of the world.
~ U. S. Atheists
Association
When the
American Atheists organization held its first convention in Austin,
Texas, five years ago, only a dozen persons attended—and two of them
dove under the table when the press was admitted and stayed there until
the reporters left.
In their
annual convention in 1975, however, about 960 registered in the open.
Mrs. Madalyn Murray O Hair, its organizer, said her organization has a
mailing list of 60,000.
The
convention’s “Atheist of the Year” award went to Lloyd Thoren of
Peterburg, Indiana, who operated a Dial-an-Atheist” service.
~Thank You Prayer
Is Illegal
The Supreme
Court in 1963 banned prayers in public schools. The following prayer by
kindergarten children was declared illegal:
“We thank
you for the flowers so sweet;
We thank you
for the food we eat;
We thank you
for the birds that sing;
We thank you
God for everything.”
George
Washington’s final remarks to the nation in 1796 should be widely
publicized. He said, “Of all the habits that lead to political
prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain
would men claim the tributes of patriotism who would work to destroy
these great pillars of human happiness.”
~Prayer Ban In
Outer Space
The woman who
was instrumental in getting prayer removed from public schools wanted it
banned also from outer space.
Mrs. Madalyn
Murray O’Hair, after hearing words of prayer radioed by the three
astronauts as they circled the moon, said, “I think that they were not
only ill-advised but that it was a tragic situation. … ”
The noted
atheist said she would register a protest with the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration, which, she declared, had prompted the three
test pilots in scheduling the prayer.
—Gospel Herald
~ “No Bibles
This Year”
The University
of North Carolina broke a 130-year tradition on graduation day in 1972
by not handing out Bibles to graduating seniors along with their
diplomas. The institution’s trustees’ executive committee voted to
abolish the practice, which had been questioned on constitutional
grounds. The Bibles had been handed out with the diplomas at Chapel Hill
since 1842 and had been purchased through student fees.
~See You In Prison
It is illegal
to read the Bible in the public schools of Illinois, but a law requires
the state to provide a Bible for every convict! Don’t worry, kids, if
you can’t read the Bible in school, you’ll be able to when you get
to prison!
—Baptist Beacon
~A Town Called
“Liberal”
Few years ago,
a group of people in Missouri founded a town and named it Liberal. They
were so extremely ’liberal’ that churches were not to be allowed. In
their boom literature they boasted that it was ’the only town of its
size in the United States without a priest, a preacher, church, God,
Jesus, hell or devil. ’
But Elder
Clark Braden wrote up an account for the Post Dispatch showing that
there was little else than hell and devil there, that it was a den of
iniquity, that its hotels were brothels and virtue almost unknown. The
account was so terrible that they had Braden arrested for criminal
libel, and sued him and the Post Dispatch for $25,000 damages.
After the
prosecution had presented all of its evidence, the case was submitted to
the jury without rebutting evidence by the defendant and he was
acquitted by the jury. The civil suit for damages was dismissed by
demand of the plaintiffs, who paid all the costs.
Liberal was a
failure, and even lifelong unbelievers, who had moved there for its
advantages, left in disgust. One of them struck the keynote when he
said: “An infidel surrounded by Christians may spout his infidelity
and the community may be able to stand it but it will never do to
establish a society with infidelity as its basis.”
—Ministers’ Research Service
~ Lesson From
Reign Of Terror
During the
Reign of Terror, France was declared to be a nation of atheists by the
National Assembly. But a brief experience convinced them that a nation
of atheists could not long exist.
Robespierre
then proclaimed in the Convention that belief in the existence of God
was necessary to the principles of virtue and morality on which the
Republic was founded. And on the 7th of May, the national
representatives voted by acclamation that “the French people
acknowledged the existence of the Supreme Being and the immortality of
the soul.”
—Little’s Historical Lights
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