Newsline from the NSS
Levy Oates
NEWSLINE
29 August 2003
www.secularism.org.uk
Quotes of the week
"As long as politicians ignore the religious roots of the terrible conflict
in the Middle East the violence will continue."
(George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, The Times)
"The feigned hurt and dismay of Rowan Williams is without integrity. His
pious statement on the 'shocking level of ignorance and hatred towards
homosexual people' is not exonerating. His willingness to sacrifice truth,
truth he says he believes, for the sake of church unity is confirmation that
his priorities are skewed. Leadership requires courage. A leader who backs
down when the heat rises will never lead again. Rowan Williams' weakness has
become transparent, and negative forces know that if they raise the
temperature on any issue in the future, he will collapse again."
(John Shelby Spong, retired Bishop of Newark, New Jersey)
Essays of the week
Freedom from Religion
(Bert Archer, Eye Weekly)
http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_08.07.03/op/oped.html
and the response
Avoiding secular tyranny
(Jay Nathwani, Eye Weekly)
http://www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_08.28.03/op/oped.html
George Bush and Religion
(Andrew Austin, Public Eye)
http://www.publiceye.org/Apocalyptic/Bush-2003/austin-providence.html
JOIN THE NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY
Add your voice to that of others who are alarmed at the resurgence of
religion public life.
Join on-line at http://www.secularism.org.uk/join.htm - where you can also
get a postal application.
STOP PRESS;
We're expecting to feature in a big story in the Times tomorrow (Saturday)
In this week's issue
Church pays next to nothing for schools
Worthing's atheist mayor upsets Baptists by refusing to have chaplain
"Exorcism" death was homicide
Vatican scores first hit on anti-gay crusade
Amina Lawal to hear her fate in four weeks time
Coming out as atheist
Poland and Lithuania up the pressure for Christian EU
Letters to Newsline
Review: The Ultimate Psychic Challenge
News shorts
Telly recommendation
CHURCH PAYS NEXT TO NOTHING FOR SCHOOLS
The Church of England has contributed next to nothing towards the 28 schools
it has taken over since the Dearing report was published two years ago.
This shocking revelation is made in the Church Times this week, when it
said:" The Church's contribution to the new aided comprehensives can now be
as much as 2 million, but, as both government and local authorities are keen
to develop new church schools, the contribution is often waived or found
from other resources. This happened with almost all the 28 secondary schools
that have opened [in the past two years]"
Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular Society,
said: "We are shocked but not surprised by this news. But it is typical that
the Church would keep it under wraps, leaving the impression it was paying
at least something towards these schools that it is so hungrily consuming.
The pretence that the tax payer is not providing almost all the capital
funding for these schools and all of the revenue funding."
Equally shocking are revelations about the purposes to which these vast sums
are being put - to recruit the next generation of worshippers. According to
Canon Peter Bruinvels, who is a Church Commissioner and former right-wing
Tory MP, has hatched a plan - reportedly supported by both Anglican
Archbishops - to spend the £10 million annual budget that the church
allocates specifically to "spread the faith" or for "the cure of souls" to
be spent creating more Church schools.
"We should be in our schools," Mr Bruinvels told the Observer last week,
"They are today's and tomorrow's future. It's all about frontline
evangelism. As we close churches we need to help schools. If we don't want
to see the Church die, then we must target the young."
During Mr Bruinvels' days as a Tory MP, he was a leading proponent for the
restoration of the death penalty. He even went so far on one occasion to say
that he would gladly act as hangman himself.
Keith Porteous Wood said: "We were repeatedly assured by the Church of
England during its campaign to create more Church schools, that these
schools would not be used for proselytising. Now we have Canon Bruinvels
spilling the beans and revealing that, in fact, evangelisation and
indoctrination are entirely what it is about."
Mr Wood added: "This is not what public money should be spent on. Children
have a right not to be subjected to indoctrination when they are at school.
The religious school expansion policy should be abandoned."
· The Church of England will take over two more schools in Liverpool to cope
with what they describe as "overwhelming demand for places at schools with a
religious ethos." The Guardian reported this uncritically on Thursday,
accepting the CofE's line.. See:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,2763,1030670,00.html
WORTHING'S ATHEIST MAYOR UPSETS BAPTISTS BY REFUSING TO HAVE A CHAPLAIN
The mayor of Worthing, West Sussex, James Doyle, has caused a fracas by
refusing to appoint a chaplain for his year in office.
Worthing is noted for its many evangelical churches, even described by some
as Britain's Bible-belt. But Mr Doyle ruffled feathers when he announced
that, as a convinced atheist, he wanted nothing to do with "religious
trappings" at council meetings, where it had been the customary practice to
open with prayers.
This generated protests from some of the town's leading clerics, who were
unhappy to see their superstitions challenged in the council chamber.
The Revd. Samuel Reading, minister of Christchurch Road Baptist Church said
the decision was "a regressive step in a town such as ours, with so many
active churches and a strong religious constituency. Worthing is now almost
certainly the only town on the south coast not to have a serving chaplain
attending his council meetings."
Mr Reading is the current president of Churches Together. He, along with
other members of that group, marched on the Town Hall to try to persuade Mr
Doyle to lift the ban. However, they were unsuccessful.
In a twist to the tale, Councillor Jack Saheid, Worthing's only Muslim
member of the council, came out in opposition to the mayor's decision,
claiming that, "of course a Christian chaplain should have been appointed in
an allegedly Christian country."
President of the NSS, Denis Cobell, who was famously a "humanist chaplain"
at Lewisham Council, commented that it was not unusual for local council
meetings now to have abandoned praying. "It seems perfectly reasonable to me
that council meetings should be secular events with no need for religious
involvement at all. Some council leaders and mayors have replaced chaplains
with 'advisors' who can help them with the many religious functions that
they have to attend. But really, it's time council meetings got on with the
business of the moment and leave religion for the many churches that
Worthing has at its disposal."
"EXORCISM" DEATH IN US WAS HOMICIDE
An 8-year-old boy with autism has died after he was subjected to a church
"exorcism" to "cure" him of his condition. Terrance Cottrell was wrapped in
sheets during a prayer service and suffocated, the medical examiner's office
said on Monday. The death was ruled to be a homicide.
The Milwaukee Coroner's office said the boy died because his chest was
somehow restricted and could not expand.
Police arrested a man Saturday on suspicion of physical abuse causing death,
said Lt. Steven Spingola. The prosecutor said he hasn't decided on charges
yet and planned to meet with the head of his office's homicide division to
study the case.
Authorities have not identified who was arrested, but David Hemphill Sr.,
bishop of the Faith Temple Church of the Apostolic Faith, said the man is
his brother, Ray, another minister who led the service.
Terrance's mother had been taking him to the church in a run-down strip mall
three times a week for the last three weeks in hopes of curing his autism,
David Hemphill said. After more than an hour of prayer, a parishioner
noticed the boy was no longer moving and called emergency workers.
"We were asking God to take this spirit that was tormenting this little boy
to death," Hemphill said. "We were praying that hard, but not to kill."
Hemphill said church members had wrapped the boy in sheets to keep him from
scratching himself and others, but he was allowed to sit "any way that he
feels comfortable." David Hemphill started the independent church in 1997.
It meets twice a week and has a congregation of six families.
Autism is a developmental disability, typically diagnosed during the first
three years of life. It affects the normal development of the brain in the
areas of social interaction and communication skills
For more background to this story see:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7-795679,00.html
See also:
Faith healing church linked to deaths
http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1419962&nav=0Ra7Hh56
VATICAN SCORES FIRST HIT ON ANTI-GAY CRUSADE
The Vatican's recent condemnation of gay relationships, and its demand that
Catholic politicians oppose them, has scored its first direct hit in
Colombia, South America.
The Colombian Senate in Bogota has shelved plans to legalise same-sex
relationships, a decision that was received with "satisfaction" by the
hierarchy of the country's Catholic Church.
The Bill was supported by three ex-presidents and had been expected to pass
easily until the Vatican's Inquistion (now called Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith) issued a document on July 31, which stated that all
laws that seek legal recognition of homosexual unions are "gravely immoral,"
and cannot receive the vote of Catholic politicians.
Meanwhile, in Poland, Senator Maria Szyszkowska has introduced a bill to set
up gay civil unions that grant many of the rights and privileges of
marriage. She took action after hospital authorities refused to let a dying
man's lover visit him. According to the Chicago Tribune, the bill has
received support from leaders of the ruling Democratic Left Alliance and the
head of the populist Self-Defense Party.
"Even representatives of the gay community told me to slow down, but I
decided to go for it," Szyszkowska told the Tribune. "If we are going to be
part of Europe, we have to learn to accept some things that we may not
personally agree with. Tolerance is what a democratic society is all about."
A recent survey found that 62 percent of Poles strongly oppose the idea of
gays living together as a couple and 14 percent somewhat oppose the notion.
Only four percent like the idea. The Catholic Church has yet to make its
feelings known, but Senator Szyszkowska shouldn't hold her breath for an
early victory.
AMINA LAWAL TO HEAR HER FATE IN FOUR WEEKS TIME
A Nigerian Islamic court says it will pass judgement in four weeks time in
the case of Amina Lawal, a single mother who has been sentenced to be stoned
to death for adultery.
Ms Lawal, 31, will learn next month whether her appeal has been successful
or whether she could still become the first Nigerian to be stoned since the
return of Sharia law.
"The court has heard both sides in this case and hereby adjourns until
September 25 for judgement," trial judge Grand Khadi Aminu Ibrahim said, the
highest Islamic legal authority in Lawal's home state, Katsina. Earlier the
Katsina Sharia Appeal Court had heard Lawal's defence team argue that her
first trial and her first appeal had been unfair.
As Lawal and her baby Wasila left the court to return with family members to
her home village of Kurami, her lawyer and friend Hauwa Ibrahim was
confident that her life would be saved. "We are very hopeful that we are
going to win," she said after the hearing, noting the judges had extended
the court's normal sitting hours to allow Lawal's appeal hearing to finish
in good time.
Chief prosecutor Nurulhuda Mahmud appeared to be preparing the ground for
his possible defeat at next month's hearing. "Our prayer to this court is to
accept our explanation ... and order that the sentence be upheld. However,
Sharia is not bent on passing death sentences," he said after the hearing.
"If this court finds any doubt in the proceedings, that should be enough to
save Amina from execution."
But defence counsel Aliyu Musa Yawuri has opted to challenge her conviction
under the terms of Sharia, not to fight the controversial legal system
itself. He argued that the village court which convicted her had not
properly explained the offence nor its consequences before her alleged
confession. He also said the baby had been conceived before Sharia law
formally came into force in Katsina State. Lawal gave birth on January 6 of
last year, more than two years after her divorce but only six-and-a-half
months after Katsina formally reinstituted Sharia.
The prosecutor contested this argument, saying that although Sharia was
incorporated into state law on June 20, 2002, an interim declaration of the
law had been made in August 2000. The defence also argued that, under
Islamic law, the pregnancy could have been the result of a so-called
"sleeping embryo".
"Amina gave birth within two years of divorce, so the presumption is that
the child belongs to her former husband," Mr Yawuri said, arguing that
Sharia holds that an embryo can lie dormant for up to five years. Again, Mr
Nurulhuda rejected the argument, saying that it was up to Lawal to prove the
sleeping embryo claim, which had not been part of her defence when she had
confessed TO a lower court.
Amina sat impassively through most of the proceedings cradling baby Wasila,
but she appeared close to tears when press photographers crowded in, and
family members said the young Muslim woman was under severe stress. "Amina
is deeply worried - sometimes she can't even eat. She's anxious to see the
end of this case so that she can marry and have a normal life," the
defendant's uncle, 50-year-old farmer Magaji Liman said.
Lawal's case has become an embarrassment for Nigeria's secular federal
government and for President Olusegun Obasanjo, who has tried to reassure
HUMAN rights activists without offending the Muslims who make up 50 per cent
of the citizens of Africa's most populous nation.
See also: Death for adultery? It's an outrage.
http://www.nydailynews.com/08-22-2003/news/col/story/111052p-100291c.html
COMING OUT AS ATHEIST
This week's celebrities who have "come out" as atheists are Denis Healey,
now Lord Healey, the politician, and writer and therapist Susie Orbach
In an article in the Times, Denis Healey is quoted as saying: "Some of my
friends who've been religious have lost their faith when they've been hit by
a blow like that [death of a friend in a silly accident]. They feel that God
cannot be all-powerful and all-good if he lets this happen. I have never
been tormented by that because I've never believed in an all-powerful
personal God."
Susie Orbach, whose most famous book is Fat is a Feminist Issue said she
"embraced atheism" while understanding the need for "spiritual connection".
POLAND AND LITHUANIA TURN UP THE PRESSURE FOR RELIGIOUS EU
The presidents of Lithuania and Poland issued a communiqué on Wednesday
demanding an EU constitution specifically endorsing Christian values "in
accordance with the wishes of the pope".
The two mainly Roman Catholic countries, scheduled to join the EU next year,
respond favourably to a statement by Pope Paul John II seeking such
references in the constitution now under preparation, it said.
The statement said President Rolandas Paksas of Lithuania and Polish
President Aleksander Kwasniewski shared "support for Pope John Paul II's
initiative that Christian values should be mentioned in the future
constitution of the European Union."
Petras Grazulis, a Lithuanian Christian Democratic party parliamentary
deputy, has prepared a draft resolution urging his government to support the
Vatican's position on the issue, which has caused controversy in the EU.
On Sunday the pope issued a fresh appeal to EU leaders to ensure that the
draft constitution under discussion for an enlarged European Union makes a
clear reference to Europe's Christian heritage. "The Catholic Church is
convinced that the gospel of Christ, which has been a unifying element for
the European people through centuries, still remains an unfailing source of
spirituality and brotherhood today," the pope said, renewing an appeal he
has made on several occasions this summer.
He has urged European leaders, who failed to insert a mention of
Christianity in the draft document when it was finalised in July, to ensure
that an enlarged EU "rediscovers its true identity".
Addressing 'pilgrims' in his summer place near Rome, the fragile-looking
pope, whose words were hardly intelligible, said that incorporating
Christianity in the European draft constitution would be "an advantage for
all".
The final text is due to be hammered out by an Intergovernmental Conference
starting on October 4 under the presidency of Italy, one of the EU's most
staunchly Catholic countries. The president of the EU body which agreed the
draft, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, has defended the absence of the reference
on the grounds that some member states would not have accepted it.
The NSS is working with other organisations to maximise pressure on
government representatives to resist any further religious input into the
constitution.
Keeping up the pressure.
PARIS AWAITS. How would you like to be down by the Seine with. freethinkers
from all over Europe? The NSS and Libre Pensée, the French atheist group,
are organising a joint gathering in Paris on 6th December to call for the
separation of church and state in Europe (see our joint statement at
http://www.secularism.org.uk/librepensee1.htm . Why not join us for this
key event, which will be attended by secularists from other European
countries, too? Let us know if you're interested, as we may be able to
arrange some kind of group discount. Register your interest at
enqu...@secularism.org.uk or write to NSS Paris Event, 25 Red Lion Square,
London WC1R 4RL.
LETTERS TO NEWSLINE
Send letters to t...@secularism.org.uk
From Kristian Morgan:
As an NSS member currently living in New Zealand I found Newsline's recent
mention of a North Island Councillor's attempts to ban prayers at council
meetings very interesting. New Zealand is a tremendously diverse country in
terms of its cultural influences and this is reflected in its progressive
and intelligent levels of public debate and comment. Whatever the outcome of
this particular debate (no prizes for guessing where this NSS member
stands!) it will be sorted out in true Kiwi fashion - free from the spin,
rhetoric and sound-bites that blight similar public debates in the UK. I
would therefore like to extend a formal invitation to the leaders of all
major faiths and political parties in the UK. Come to New Zealand for a
couple of weeks, catch some scenery and some surf and learn how to talk
straight. You'll save everyone a lot of time, a lot of money and a lot of
suffering (in many, many senses of the word).
From Dr Brian Robinson:
With reference to the letter from Ian Quayle (Newsline last week) I forget
where it was that I once read that physicists are perhaps more prone to need
religious beliefs than, say, biologists, because biologists start with all
their materials given, whereas physicists have to start from nothing.
This was also given as a reason for non scientist readers sometimes seeking
mystical or spiritual meaning in reading about especially quantum physics.
Leaving aside some aspects of Physical Chemistry, with general inorganic and
organic chemistry having their feet planted very firmly on the concrete and
material ground, the discipline of Chemistry doesn't lend itself to fuzzy
waffle in the same way (cf. "The Tao of Physics", "The God Particle" &c),
especially now that we've left alchemy way behind (I hope).
Stephen Hawking has, I believe, very neatly solved the problem of
beginnings, with his - what-was-it? - negative time (I'm not a
mathematician) - every no. is the square of not only a positive no. but also
of a negative one, so that it may be a mistake to think of time and the
universe having had a "beginning" (I'd better go back and read him again).
You don't get to "nothing", you get to negative square roots(?).
But apart from the problem that faces physicists ("Why should anything exist
at all?"), you can see how we often need to compartmentalise our conflicting
experiences and the cognitive dissonances of everyday life. It helps us to
live, to compromise with reality, to approximate.
Maybe it's not unlike superior minds like T S Eliot working in a bank, or
Einstein working in the Swiss Patent Office. But I agree it's uncanny when
you meet absolute, religious belief in otherwise healthily skeptical
scientists. It's a different part of the mind, of the personality. Like all
human attributes, dissociation, or compartmentalisation, can be used
negatively and very destructively - for institutional examples see
Inquisition, sexual abuse, religious wars, and so on ---
From Sheila Rimmer:
Mark Tully (see last week's Newsline) almost brings me out in a rash he is
so awful. I would put him with Clifford Longley and Anne Atkins and the
Bishop of Oxford in a sack and drop it over Beachy Head.
I think you do an awful lot of work and research but religion will always be
with us (like astrology) as long as people are so poorly educated that they
can be manipulated into believing.
From: John Radford:
I disagree with Ian Quayle that science cannot tell us much about morality,
ethics, goodness, personal fulfilment and so on. This is only so if you
define science so narrowly as to exclude these matters by definition. I
would consider science to be the attempt to establish what is the case by
empirical, ideally but not exclusively experimental, investigation, and
rational thought. Psychology (in particular), anthropology and history show
us quite clearly where and how morals and ethics develop, and that they are
not the product of any supernatural agency. They also tell us much about
many controversial issues of right and wrong. For example, is corporal
punishment of children, as advocated by many Christian groups, a good thing?
No, it is not. Scientific studies clearly show little benefit and risks of
harm. Similarly, there is a great deal of work on self-fulfilment. Religious
views of what works are partial and unreliable. Science helps us to
understand all the issues which have been usually dominated by religion.
Scientific answers are not final, but progressively improved by
investigation. Religious answers are dogmatic and purportedly final, based
on a mishmash of tradition, myth, prejudice and ignorance - among other
things.
From Jennifer Hynes:
With regards to Mr Langford's letter about symbolism for Secularists, the
Plymouth Secular Society (quite new, still got bits of flo-pack stuck on it
in fact) has co-opted an "evolve fish", with a "bright" sunburst coming out
of it's... on it's tail. The symbology, we thought, was appropriate.
Besides, it will do until Saatchi & Saatchi come up with a stunning graphic
for us... once we ask them. And pay them. http://plymouth-secularists.org.uk
Symbology is a fascinating subject on its own, and one that the Christian
churches are quick to utilise fully. Human beings need graphic pointers, we
need them to give meaning to what we desire and what we feel. Christianity,
oops, I mean christianity, discovered this a long time ago, and the Secular
movement still seems to be lagging behind somewhat in this area of... PR?
There are lots of symbols, signs, designs that could be adopted; the
American Atheists have a splendid scientific one, for instance. And there's
another thing, our American cousins, fighting an ever more insidious threat
over there, understand the power of symbols, and the need for political
advocacy in a rather more aggressive frame I might add, than we seem to be
pursuing here. Altogether, the British movement seems rather too set on
tolerance and "Queensbury rules", might I remind people of the evangelical
organisations attempts a few years ago to destroy lives with the so-called
satanic abuse claims, christian symbolism gone mad! Ladies and gentlemen,
the gloves have been off on our opponents side for quite sometime now.
But I digress. The fact remains that symbols grab the attention, they act
like beacons and if they irritate (I use the word in its literal sense) an
individual's emotive centres, like the crucifix does, then they can be
extremely powerful propaganda/recruitment tools in their own right.
Personally, I prefer these things laced with a dose of humour, rather than
fear and pain, probably why I am an atheist. We are so often seen as a
negative to christianity's positive (yeah right!), but of course, the truth
is, we are merely in opposition, so perhaps we could co-opt some of their
symbology, as Des suggested, and twist it to our own, more enlightened uses.
I rather like the whole fishy thing myself, mainly because bunnies look too
silly. They stole from pagan culture, so, perhaps we can even the score a
little for all those poor dead pagans now. By the way, if there are any
readers in Plymouth, who might be interested in either joining us or getting
together for a good natter, please contact us through the website mentioned
above (Gotta get the plugs aint ya? :-)
From Muriel Fraser:
Perhaps Des Langford might fancy the logo halfway down the page on the right
hand side at http://www.ikvu.de/
From Bob Stuckey:
Des Langford requested suggestions for symbols of non belief that could be
worn by atheists, secularists, brights, humanists etc. Would Des be willing
to hang dice (or drawing of) round his neck as a symbol of chance and
probability which the secularist would use to interpret events rather than
a) the religious model that a god is responding to negotiations (or lack of
them) or b) the astrological model that events are influenced by planetary
position.
From Fred Jones:
A while back the newsletter carried some debate on a new name for
secularists (brights etc) but came to no real conclusion. I think a better
bet would be to devise and promote a secularist logo which could compete
with the Christian "fish" car sticker and permit us to advertise our
rejection of religion.
From Rasjidah St John
In last week's Newsline Des Langford suggests we atheists/humanists might
like to wear some kind of symbol, the way Christians wear crosses. Please
no! It is part of the beauty of atheism/humanism that we do not weigh
ourselves down with such paraphernalia. We stand upright and free of excess
baggage, responding to every situation with bare hands, and a clear mind.
The British Humanists do have a symbol, an abstract human shape, which they
use as a logo on their literature, and they also sell lapel badges in this
form. It is the symbol of that particular organisation, not of
atheism/humanism in general. Though I have no objection to other British
Humanists wearing the badge, I would not want to do so myself.
The headscarf used to be a common article of clothing for women all round
the world. In cold weather, I used to wear one myself sometimes. Today, I
would rather freeze to death than put one on. It has been hijacked by
Muslims, as a banner to threaten the unbelievers. Symbols have a powerful,
irrational influence on human behaviour. They are not to be encouraged.
Except in mathematics.
From Joe Rabaiotti
I recently read about a homophobic Anglican vicar who "did a Santorum" at a
Manchester pride event. The Reverend Steve Donald spoke as follows
(quotation taken from uk.gay.com): "If you are going to say that gay is ok,
you are also going to say paedophilia is ok and bestiality is ok. We will
have a church for thieves and adulterers - where does it end?"
The Reverend's outburst raises an interesting question: where exactly does
the Bible explicitly condemn (or even mention) paedophilia? The answer seems
to be nowhere! Jehovah, whilst infinitely mindful of such heinous
transgressions as wearing mixed fibre garments (Leviticus 19:19) or cooking
young goats in their mother's milk (Exodus 23:19), seems to care very little
about children's welfare. Indeed, the occasions on which He commands extreme
cruelty to them are far too numerous to mention (for example Exodus
11:4-6;21:15-17, Leviticus 26:22;26:29).
The many lovely Old Testament stories of how the ancient Israelites treated
captured female children (for example, Numbers 31:17-18 and Judges 21:7-23)
show that the concept of paedophilia was effectively meaningless to them.
The only person in the Bible who seems to have had the smallest concern for
children is Jesus (Mark 10:16-16): which makes it all the more surprising
that groups of zealous Christians have campaigned for years against laws
that would force them to spare the divinely-sanctioned rod.
It seems, therefore, that there is no Biblical reason why paedophiles should
be barred from the Church - which will perhaps come as a welcome relief to
the Pope, seeing as he employs so many of them. Or maybe the Reverend was so
keen to equate homosexuality with paedophilia that he forgot to check his
Bible first?
From Patrick Gormley:
Hello I am just writing to inform you of my website
www.amoratheism.freeservers.com which has links to all the anti-religious,
atheistic and skeptical material I have on the Internet. It exposes how
religion twists evidence to support its claims and how full of hypocrisy it
is. The main religion criticised is Christianity.
The synopsis of my thought is in The Gospel According to Atheism, which can
be accessed through the site
www.angelfire.com/rebellion2/gospelatheism/index.html. This book has a
self-help focus and stresses that proper self-esteem and happiness are to be
gained through atheism alone.
I am also maintaining CARMEL. This stands for Crusade Against Religious
Manipulation Exploitation Libels. This site is better for beginners for it
tries to relate to our everyday lives and is simpler and easier to follow.
The amoratheism site is very heavy going and contains very long online books
though I have tried my best to cater for those who do not know much about
Church history, theology and philosophy. The CARMEL website is shorter and
arranged in main points.
CARMEL and the Gospel According to Atheism are specifically intended for
people who don't know a lot about philosophy and theology and who don't want
long reads but to get to the point. Both aim to focus on things that can be
proved. It is my conviction that the non-existence of God and that theism is
harmful and that nobody has the right to give us rules that we cannot
understand in the name of God is as sure as1+1=2.
Disclaimer: The inclusion of the above letter in Newsline is for information
only and does not imply any approval or recommendation. Is this man the
first would-be atheist 'cult' leader? We would be pleased to know your
reactions to it at t...@secularism.org.uk
Review
THE ULTIMATE PSYCHIC CHALLENGE (Channel 4)
This extraordinarily manipulative programme, screened last Saturday,
demonstrated very clearly the human capacity for wilful self-delusion. In
the face of overwhelming evidence - which the programme-makers went to some
lengths to conceal - the number of people in the studio audience who said
they believed in communication with the dead increased between the beginning
and the end of the show.
Despite arch-sceptic James Randi describing all the tricks of the trade and
demonstrating to the credulous audience how they were being duped, these
people refused to accept that those who then presented themselves as
"psychics" were simply tricking them.
A woman called Betty Ross did a "reading" with a young woman, and after a
great deal of fruitless fishing eventually latched on to something the young
woman reacted to, and then went down this line of enquiry - exactly the
technique Randi had just explained. Ms Ross later claimed that she was a
"psychic artist" and had drawn a picture of this volunteer's grandmother and
the young woman had recognised it instantly. But it turned out not to be the
case. When questioned afterwards, the young woman denied any such event, and
so did an independent witness.
Then came Keith Charles who is, apparently, one of the most celebrated
psychics in the country. We were told that he had been called in to help the
Philadelphia police to solve a particularly nasty murder. Police officers in
the States were shown saying how impressed they were with what Keith had
achieved. It was only mentioned as a small aside that he had contributed
nothing to solving the crime whatsoever, and it was still outstanding.
He then tried a "reading" with a woman in the studio who eventually
"recognised" her grandfather who had died of a heart attack (even though Mr
Charles was insisting it was her father). She did not however recognise much
of the banal information the deceased was trying to communicate about
painting the bottom of the stairs and moving the furniture in her bedroom.
Despite repeatedly saying "No" to Mr Charles's assertions, in the end the
presenter asked how much of it had been right, and she said: "All of it!"
Later, Mr Charles tried a "reading" with someone behind a screen who he
couldn't see and who didn't speak. It was a complete failure, and he
eventually transferred his attention back to the audience whom he could see,
blithely discarding the volunteer who was so inconveniently unco-operative.
The jumpy cuts in the programme indicated that it had been heavily edited.
It was clear that the makers wanted to give the impression that psychics and
sceptics had made an equally good case. This was patently not true. By any
measure, the psychics were pathetic.
All of the "clairvoyants" featured used the "cold reading" technique, which
James Randi had described. Mr Randi pointed this out repeatedly. But by the
end of the programme, the number of believers in the audience had gone up
from 44% to 54%.
HEROES OF ATHEISM GIFTS ARE READY AT LAST
Our new range of merchandise, based on the "Heroes of Atheism" poll
conducted in Newsline will be available for sale next week. We're pretty
pleased with them, and we think you will be, too. Watch this space.
LATEST FREETHINKER
The new Freethinker will be hot off the presses in the next few days. Make
sure you don't miss it. Find out about it from
http://www.freethinker.co.uk/index13.php
NEWS SHORTS
Want to succeed? Go to hell! A Voodoo practitioner in Norfolk is offering
his services to visitors to the internet site eBay. "Doktor Snake" of
Norwich claims he can help musicians to achieve success by making a pact
with the devil at a crossroads. "This is a foolproof method of achieving a
meteoric rise to fame and fortune," he said.
Affectionate friends. A Muslim organisation has launched a "Hug-a-Jew"
initiative in an attempt to improve relations between the two monotheistic
faiths. Muslim WakeUp!, founded in California in the late 1980s, is
encouraging Muslims "not to fall into the trap of ignorance and bigotry".
Its spokesman Ahmed Nassef, said: "Hug-a-Jew is our small contribution to
dialogue, an affirmation of our common humanity."
TV RECOMMENDATION
Witness (Channel 4,Saturday 30 August, 7.15pm)
Strange things can happen in the vast spaces of Russia. The latest is
"Vassarion" a man who presents himself as the son of God (the Jesus of
Siberia as he's known locally). As is the way with these self-appointed
messiahs, it didn't take him long to find a group of devoted followers. In
this interesting film we follow him on a visit to London, where Vassarion
demonstrates his ability to spin out sentences of great solemnity and
implied meaning, which when held up to the light of reason, appear to have
no actual content. He's obviously been taking lessons from Rowan Williams.
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---------
Archdeacom Levy Oates
On behalf of the Prophet Eric Peabody (pbuh)
Basingstoke, England
http://www.angelfire.com/alt/bumblism/