american atheist magazine march 1983

8/9/2019 American Atheist Magazine March 1983

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THE

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AMERICAN ATHEIST

A Journal of Atheist News and Thought

(VoI.2S, No.3) March, 1983


2/44

1963 1983

. . _

AMERICAN ATHEISTS

is a non-profit, non-political, educational organization, dedicated to the complete and absolute separation of

state and church. We accept the explanation of Thomas Jefferson that the First Amendment to the

Constitution of the United States was meant to create a wall of separation between state and church.

American Atheists are organized to stimulate and promote freedom of thought and inquiry concerning

religious beliefs, creeds, dogmas, tenets, rituals and practices;

to collect and disseminate information, data and literature on all religions and promote a more thorough

understanding of them, their origins and histories;

to encourage the development and public acceptance of a human ethical system, stressing the mutual

sympathy, understanding and interdependence of all people and the corresponding responsibility of each

individual in relation to society;

to develop and propagate a culture in which man is the central figure who alone must be the source of

strength, progress and ideals for the well-being and happiness of humanity;

to promote the study of the arts and sciences and of all problems affecting the maintenance,

perpetuation and enrichment of human (and other) life;

to engage in such social, educational, legal and cultural activity as will be useful and beneficial to

members of American Atheists and to society as a whole.

Atheism may be defined as the mental attitude which unreservedly accepts the supremacy of reason and

aims at establishing a lifestyle and ethical outlook verifiable by experience and the scientific method,

independent of all arbitrary assumptions of authority and creeds.

Materialism declares that the cosmos is devoid of immanent conscious purpose; that it is governed by its own

inherent, immutable and impersonal laws; that there is no supernatural interference in human life; that man -

finding his resources within himself - can and must create his own destiny. Materialism restores to man his.

dignity and his intellectual integrity. It teaches that we must prize our lifeon earth and strive always to improve

it. It holds that man is capable of creating

a

social system based on reason and justice. Materialism's faith is in

man and man's ability to transform the world culture by his own efforts. This is a commitment which is in very

essence life asserting. It considers the struggle for progress as a moral obligation and impossible without noble

ideas that inspire man to bold creative works. Materialism holds that humankind's potential for good and for an

outreach to more fulfilling cultural development is, for all practical purposes, unlimited .

. . . . . . _

AMERICAN ATHEISTS P.O.BOX 2117 AUSTIN, TX 78768-2117

Send 40 for one year's membership. You will receive our Insider's Newsletter monthly,

your membership certificate and card, and a one year subscr iption to this magazine.


3/44

ON THE COVER

(artwork courtesy of Clayton Powers)

School days, school days. Dear old

Reagan rule days Apparently the first

half of 1983isgoing to be a rabid rerun of

the first half of 1982 - you remember,

the episode where Reagan/Helms/

Falwell ministries did everything except

cavort in the nude to have prayer co-

erced into the public school systems. My

initial reaction to Falwell's infamous

bumper sticker Kids Need To Pray

was Kids Need To Defecate Too - But

Not In Class (although the difference,

ofcourse, isthat kids really

don't

need to

pray).

This year Reagan ishuffing and puffing

even harder. his prayer song-and-

dance routine willnow be accompanied

by an allied sanction of the sometime

hostile congress: The Year of The

Bi-

ble Perhaps some of you still think

those three (religious) stooges are

ki d

ding when they talk about praying in

America.

Meanwhile, the dream of our founding

fathers, universal free public education is

under attack from religion everywhere.

As Confucius say, One picture worth

10,000 words. and so it is with our

cover. The rabid christian amidst us,

disguised as a human being, is going to

give the final thumping blows to that

Little Red Schoolhouse dream of the

nation.

What ison the agenda, in The Year of

The Bible? The introduction of scienti-

fic creationism, straight out of genesis;

removal ofsex education classes, restric-

tions in the per-student grants offederal

revenue sharing, display of religious arti-

facts and symbols, censorship of books,

growing restrictions against birth control

availability for teen-agers, prayers, reli-

gious instruction, and priests and nuns

heading up the school boards are instore

for the public schools.

And what do the good parochial

schools have coming up? Tuition tax

credits for religious schools, bussing for

religious school students, books for reli

gious schools, teachers for religious

schools, free land for religious schools

and funding for both repair and building

of religious schools.

Perhaps things may never improve if

Atheists do littlemore than hide-out until

better times arrive. We caution you

that is equivalent of praying. The reli

gious nut with the gleam in his eye is

going to do in our public school system

unless you become active in the fray.

Your education, probably in a public

school, got you to where you are today.

You must stay in the fight to assure a

better, secular, education for your kids

and your grandchildren.

(VoI.2S, No.3) March, 1983

REGULAR FEATURES

Editorial

J

2

American Atheist Radio Series: Geology and Religion

18

Dial-An-Atheist 20

FEATURED COLUMNISTS

The Big Bang Cosmogony - G. Stanley Brown 4

ISKON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness)

Mimics Christian Propagandists - Margaret Bhatty 22

ARTICLES

Looking at the End of the World ~ Dyson Carter 10

Censorship of Textbooks Mentioning Evolution

Continues in Texas

13

The New Right: The Movement and Its Impact

- Ben Brodinsky 25

An Engineer Looks at the Creationist Movement

- John W. Patterson 34

The

American Atheist

magazine is

pub-

lished monthly at the Gustav Broukal

Ameri

can Atheist Press, 2210 Hancock Dr.,

Aus-

tin, TX 78756, and

1982 by Society of

Separationists, Inc., a

non-profit, non-politi-

cal, educational organization dedicated to

the complete and absolute separation of

state and church. Mailing address: P.O. Box

2117/Austin, TX 78768-2117. A free sub-

scription isprovided as an incident ofmemo

bership in the American Atheists organize-

tion. Subscriptions are available at $25. for

one year terms only. Manuscripts submitted

must be typed, double-spaced and accom-

panied by a stamped, self-addressed envel-

ope. The editors assume no responsibility

for unsolicited manuscripts.

Editor in Chief

Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Managing Editor

Jon G. Murray

Poetry

Robin Murray O'Hair

Angeline Berinett

Gerald Tholen

Production Staff

Art Brenner

BillKight

Richard Smith

Gerald Tholen

Gloria Tholen

Lex Stevens

The American Atheist magazine

is indexed in

Monthly Periodical Index

ISSN: 0332-4310

Non Resident Staff

G. Stanley Brown

Jeff Frankel

Merrill Holste

Margaret Bhatty

Fred Woodworth

Clayton Powers

Page 1

arch, 1983

ustin, Texas


4/44

JUSTICE

THE TRICKLE-DOWN THEORY

Just a little while ago I received a letter at the American Atheist

Center from Robert Zauner the new Chapter Director of the

Northern Virginia Chapter of American Atheists. Bob is an

attorney and he sent with his note a copy of president Reagan's

remarks at the annual convention ofreligious broadcasters held at

the Sheraton in Washington DC January 31st, '83. I sat and read

through the text ofthat speech carefully and Igrew more angry as I

read, line by line.

Over approximately sixty years now, since about the 1920s, the

federal courts and the Supreme Court of the United States have

been arduously laboring over the defining and delimiting of the

meaning of the establishment and free exercise clauses of the

First Amendment to the Constitution. The litigation over separa-

tion of state and church issues has been long and hard and well

fought by a variety ofgroups over these many years. The seventh-

day adventists and the jehovah's witnesses have been more

responsible than any other religious group over the years for trying

to maintain separation of state and church. These two groups

have sponsored numerous cases on the free exercise question.

The jews and the baptists have been much less active - although

more active than some ofthe rest ofthe denominations. One case

has built up upon the other to form a set ofguidelines for the lower

courts bythe United States Supreme Court and federal Appellate

courts for what is and is not constitutional when it comes to

religion and the First Amendment. Considering all the circum-

stances and the complexity of the fact-situations of the various

cases over the years, the Supreme and Appellate Courts have

done a pretty good job in establishing those guidelines so far.

During allof this legal process the religious leaders ofour nation,

and the politicians sympathetic to them, have been eroding those

judicial guidelines in terms of the practical and logistical applica-

tions thereof. A good example of this is the battle over religious

ceremonies in public schools. The Supreme Court in two major

decisions laid down a fine and succinct outline of constitutionally

permissible activity in the public schools only to have that outline

overstepped on the local levelover and over again, but politicians

and religionists obfuscate the clear thinking of the courts with

semantic games - such as the redefining of the word prayer

with the synonymous terms of meditation (silent or transcenden-

tal) and silence or thought (moment of - or secular).

In real terms, then, all of the perspiration and inspiration of the

courts has become functionally advisory in nature. Getting the

local yahoos to heed that advice has been quite a different story.

The moral to the story is that the religious never give up.

Fanaticism, in all of its glory, is basic to christianity and the

christian ethic. There is littledifference between being willingto die

en

masse

in a crusade or for a Jim Jones and being willingto sink

your teeth into the posterior of a principal or a school board

member until junior has the right to be forced to pray or watch

prayer or has the right to be free of intelligent reading material.

Religious tenacity and fanaticism make good bedfellows. The

intellectual and scientific set has, on the other hand, traditionally

disdained the street fighter image and style, preferring the

Page 2

March,1983

Johnny-corne-lately armchair type of combat. In the street they

obviously lose the day.

The blame for the failure of judicial wisdom to trickle down to

the rank and filelieswith the court itself. Criminal, as distinct from

civil, law attaches penalty, either monetary or physical, to

noncompliance. Civillaw makes itthe province, for the most part,

of the injured party to sue again to force compliance on an issue

that has already been decided in an overall manner on the

appellate level. Ifsome teeth could be put into the civillaw, such as

fines or imprisonment, then perhaps civilrights and state/church

separation issues could be more easily and permanently resolved.

Say, for example, that a fine of perhaps $100.00 a day were levied

on a school district or principal where religious ceremonies were

conducted in the schools in violation of standing court decisions.

Would this not help preserve the efforts ofthe courts which took a

great deal oftime and money on both sides inthe first place? Teeth

have been put into religiously based law already as we see in the

blue laws. A store owner can actually be fined or jailed in some

states for selling certain items or for being open on Sunday. If the

religious community can have punitive enforcement of blue laws,

why can't First Amendment separation of state and church

guarantees have punitive enforcement as well?

This issue is a central one on which is focused the future of

effective separation litigation. Chief Justice Burger has recently

proposed a division of Supreme Court jurisdiction with a coequal

appellate review court which would handle the many intrastate

disputes now clogging up the Supreme Court docket - a great

number of which are separation cases. The reason so much of the

high court's burden is now separation cases stems from the fact

that no teeth were ever put in their earlier decisions and now they

must handle the state by state religious attempts at circumventing

them. Congress may eventually have to get into the act to resolve

these issues. Inorder to resolve them properly they would have to

give some of that badly needed bite to judicial review in civil and

civil rights matters. Politicians, being what they are - which is

essentially populists, are not about to vote for the same kind of

enforcement for separation of state and church as they are for,

say, blue laws. Can't you just see congress voting to withhold

federal revenue sharing funds from any county that uses county

school buses to transport parochial school students? How about

fines for teachers who teach biblical creationism in any -public

school science classroom? There have been, and still are, laws to

prevent the teaching of evolution alone, however. The shoe has

never been on the other foot.

How does all of this relate to Reagan's speech before religious

broadcasters? In the course of his remarks Reagan made it

perfectly clear (remember that presidential line?) that he would,

as the executive branch ofgovernment, fight to his last breath the

putting of that shoe on the other foot when itcomes to separation

issues. As I have said earlier, politicians have been classically

receptive to the whining ofthe religious voter, but never before in

our nation's history to such a degree. Most of the support for

religionist positions have come from congressmen - and more on

The American Atheist


5/44


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. . 1 1 -

b

.

.

r

THE BIG BANG COSMOGONY

This paper is the culmination of a series of papers designed to lay a foundation for presenting the current best

description of events in the very distant past. Those papers discussed topics in relativity, distance determinations, stellar

evolution, and cosmological observations. They appeared

in

this journal

in

Volume

23,

Numbers

8,11,12

and Volume 24,

Numbers 3,6, and 11. Other writers, Thomas Gurley, William Reynolds, and Ralph Shirley have written papers on the

subject which appeared in Volume 22, Numbers 10 and 12. This paper will discuss the astronomical evidence, give a

history proceeding chronologically backward and deal with theistic

implications

some individuals find

in

the physics of the

Big Bang.

. . ~ . . * : :

. .

. .

THE COSMOLOGICAL EXPANSION

Astronomers have methods to estimate the distance to

galaxies of stars (American Atheist, Vol. 23, No. 12, p. 9).

They can also measure the speed of those galaxies (Amen-

can Atheist, Vol. 24, No. 11, p. 18, Red Shift ). They find

that in all directions, there are galaxies and clusters of

galaxies and they are moving away from us. The speed of

movement depends directly on distance, so that any galaxy

increases its distance from us by 1%in two hundred million

years. Thus one galaxy which istwice as far away as another

willmove twice as far and twice as fast as the other during

any period of time. The fact that galaxies appear to be

This 1 increase in two hundred million years applies

only to distances between clusters ofgalaxies. Galaxies and

clusters of galaxies are places where the expansion of the

universe has been halted locally by gravity. The expansion

also does not apply on the scale of terrestrial experience. A

rock does not grow by 1%in two hundred million years.

Let us use some numbers to dramatize this expansion

effect. Ifwe use a realistic situation, we willneed very large

numbers. Keep in mind that a billion (10

9

) is one thousand

(10

3

)

times a million (10

6

),

and a trillion (10

12

)

is one

thousand (10

3

) times a billion (10

9

). A trillion (10

12

) is also

one million (10

6

) times a million(10

6

). Now we pick a galaxy

which is 1.00 billion trillion (10

21

)

miles from earth. In two

hundred millionyears itwillbe 1.01billion trillion (10

21

) miles

from earth. We pick another galaxy which is 2.00 trillion

billion(10

21

)

miles from earth and after the same time lapse it

willbe 2.02 trillion billion (10

21

) miles from earth. Ifthe clock

were to run backward long enough and these two galaxies

rush toward us at constant but unequal speeds, they will

arrive here at the same time. That time is approximately

twenty billion years in the past. Other distances could be

selected, such as 4.00 billion trillion (10

21

)

miles, but all

galaxies would arrive here at the same time.

We see a problem in continuing this idea to ever greater

distances. The further away a galaxy is, the faster it must

travel to get here at the same time. Eventually a galaxy far

enough away would have to travel at the speed of light to get

Astronomers ... find that inall directions, there are galaxies ... moving away from

us. The speed of movement depends directly on distance, so that any galaxy

increases its distance from us by 1%in two hundred million years.

here in twenty billionyears. Einstein said that matter cannot

travel as fast as light. This is a problem in special relativity

which has been discussed (American Atheist, Vol. 23, No.

8). The light from the most distant galaxies willbe very weak

and very red. It will not suddenly disappear at some

distance. Rather it will show the effect of the slowing of

clocks at high relative speeds. The apparent speed will

remain less than the speed of light, but apparent time

moving away from us does not indicate that we are located

in the center of the universe. Rather, the proportionality of

speed to distance indicates that the same expansion would

be seen by any observer in any galaxy. For example, we can

imagine five equidistant galaxies moving along a line, as

indicated inFigure 1.The viewofthe inner three isindicated

for each. They see their adjacent neighbors (A) inopposite

directions all receding with the same speed.

Page 4 March,1983



7/44

O f---+

kind. They calculate temperature and the effects of radia-

tion. They use giant multimilliondollar particle accelerating

machines to provide experimental evidence to check their

calculations. They check each other's work and investigate

at ever higher energy levels.

~ The work so far indicates that hydrogen atoms, the most

abundant element in the universe, were formed between

three hundred thousand and one million years after the

start of the expansion. Prior to this the temperature was so

--+

hot and the radiation so intense that electrons could not

combine with protons to form hydrogen atoms. Such

conditions create strange physics. Before atoms existed the

energy density of radiation was greater than the density of

matter. Radiation effects became a primary consideration.

Prior to the attachment of electrons with protons, the

universe was not transparent. Itwas a hot fog. The reason is

that when the electrons and-protons are zipping around by

themselves, their electrical charge interferes with light. The

direction and energy of light rays is altered with each

encounter with a charged particle. After electrons and

protons get together and cancel each other's charge, light

can pass on unimpeded. So if we are ever able to peer

deeply enough into space to see far enough back in time to

this atom-forming stage, wewillsee this fog.And we willnot

be able to see events at an earlier time because they are

beyond the fog.

An atom is an entity complete with at least one proton

and one electron. These separate components formed at

the earliest phase of the expansion. Within one second

electrons appeared out of the intense radiation field.Within

one millionthof a second from the start ofthe expansion the

more massive protons and neutrons appeared. The temper-

ature at this time was so high that particles and their

antiparticles were being continuously created and annihi-

o

o

o

Fi gur e 1

passage rate in the distant galaxy willget slower and slower

with increasing distance. It willnever slow to a stop. This

effect explains Olber's paradox (Arnericcn Atheist, Vol. 24,

No. 11, p. 18). The distant galaxies of stars do not make the

night sky bright because their light has been red shifted and

weakened so far it is invisible to the eye.

COSMIC HISTORY

If we consider the universe with time going in reverse,

then we have a contracting universe. It is interesting to

consider the changes that take place in such a world. The

most important change willbe in the density, or amount of

matter per unit volume. As the volume goes down, the

density goes up. An accelerating increase in density is

inevitable, because volume depends on the cube of the

distance. Consider children's building blocks. Eight are

required to assemble a block twice as high, wide, and deep

as a single block. Thus, if the distance between galaxies is

reduced to one half, they willbe crammed in a space one-

eighth as large, and the density of space will go up by a

factor of eight.

lated. We exist today because there was a slight excess of

particles over antiparticles. (Such antiparticles are the same

as normal particles except that they have opposite

charge. An electron, for example, has a negative charge,

but its antiparticle, the positron, has a positive charge even

though it has exactly the same weight, dimension, etc. as

the electron.) If ten antiparticles and eleven particles are

created, ten of each willusually get together and turn into

radiant energy, and one particle willremain.

Going back still further, we realize that temperature,

radiation density and gravitational field become ever more

intense. One area of investigation has focused on whether a

. . . hydrogen atoms, the most abundant element in the universe, were formed

between three hundred thousand and one million years after the start of the

.

expansion.

Research indicates that the universe is about twenty

billion years old. So ten billion years ago there was eight

times as much matter inlarge volumes ofthe universe. And

fifteen billion years ago there was sixty-four times as much

matter. The present average density of the universe is

approximately one hydrogen atom per cubic meter. The

third power law indicates that ifwe go back within the first

fewdecades ofthe expansion wewillfindan average density

as high as the density ofair. But other effects invalidate this

estimate. The collapse of space will increase the energy'

density of radiation (light, heat, radio, etc.) and temperature

and pressure willrise dramatically.

Withinone second electrons appeared out of the intense radiation field.Within one

millionth of a second from the start of the expansion the more massive protons and

neutrons appeared.

Nuclear physicists have a field day when they work on

problems of what was going on in the earliest phases of the

expansion. They calculate when the atoms and elementary

particles appeared and the relative abundances of each

Austin, Texas

sufficiently intense gravitational field could create matter

and radiation out ofa vacuum. Apparently this ispossible, if

the initial expansion proceeds at different rates in different

directions. So our journey backward in time arrives at an

March,1983

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A more careful reading of the Second Law of Thermo-

dynamics informs us that there are two kinds ofenergy _The

first is ordered and is available to do useful work. The

second isdisordered and cannot be applied to create order.

The sum of the two is constant in an isolated system, with

the disordered part always increasing with time. But the

ordered part can be applied to create more complex

systems. There isso much energy available inthe universe

that we can use a lot to create more order, and ignore the

even greater amount of energy put to useless disorder

during our efforts.

our universe with the condensed situation seen in a black

hole. But a black hole issurrounded byboth space and time.

There is an outside and a past to a black hole's existence.

But initial cosmic expansion was not surrounded by space

and time. Rather space and time were created with the

expansion. There was no space to grow into, no time to

mark a birthdate.

How well do we know how much time has passed since

the Big Bang? There is some hope of a common sense

answer to this question. Measuring the speed and distance

of receding galaxies is not all that is involved in estimating

... a clear distinction should be made between two kinds of universe: the universe

and the visible universe. The universe is all there is, but a visible universe expands at

the speed of light starting at the time of expansion.

The formation of elementary particles represents an

increase in order, which was accompanied by energy

becoming unavailable to create particles. The formation of

galaxies was an increase in order, accompanied by still

more energy becoming disordered and unusable to make

anything. The sun converts mass to usable and unusable

energy. Ifthe earth were isolated from the sun, things would

get more disorganized here quite rapidly. But the sun keeps

pumping usable energy to us, and we use some of it to get

more organized, while simultaneously converting some ofit

to permanently unusable disorder.

OBVIOUS QUESTIONS

The foregoing has been a discussion of what is now

known about what preceded the present. Astronomical

data, given the best available interpretation, indicates that

the universe is expanding. By reversing the process in our

minds, we finda very hot dense universe. So what preceded

this inhospitable phase? Science has yet to provide the

answer. Trying to give an answer to this question is

somewhat liketrying to say what isnorth of the North Pole.

Our universe in both space and time had a beginning and

that beginning isthe BigBang. Ifthere was a prior universe,

all information about it was obliterated during the extreme

conditions which have been described.

the age of our universe. Although the far, farther, and

farthest galaxies we can see started their journey at the

same time, we are not seeing galaxies with the same age.

The far galaxies are old, but the farthest galaxies we see are

young. The light from them left on its journey to us soon

after they condensed. Young galaxies, due to stellar

evolution, may be brighter than old galaxies. If we do not

allow for this, we may assume distant galaxies are closer

than they actually are. Underestimating distance decreases

the age of the universe. If distant galaxies are dimmed by

matter between us and them, the opposite error will be

made. We willthink the distant galaxies are more distant,

and the calculated age of the universe willbe too large.

Even gravity contributes to the problem. The expansion

of the universe is retarded by gravity. Gravity has been

pullingon the far galaxy for a longer time than ithas on what

we see as the farthest galaxy. Thus the closer and brighter

appearing of the two has been decelerated, that is, itmoves

slower than would be expected from its distance. The

slower speed indicates too great an age of our universe. The

farthest galaxy is a better indicator, but its faintness makes

itdifficultto determine its distance, and with the velocity, its

age. If the deceleration effect were accurately known, it

could be corrected for. But this result of gravity depends on

the mass of galaxies and ultimately on the density of the

Theformation of elementary particles represents an increase inorder, which was

accompanied by energy becoming unavailable to create particles. The formation of

galaxies was an increase in order, accompanied by still more energy becoming

disordered ... the sun keeps pumpingusable energy to us, andwe use some of it to get

more organized, while converting some of it to permanently unusable disorder.

If our universe had a super condensed phase, then

perhaps it can be known where in the present larger

universe the smaller universe once was. But this is not so.

Densities can be given for matter inspace at various times.

But no boundaries have been given for that space. You

cannot say where something is if you cannot identify its

boundaries. Our visible universe has boundaries which

recede as our technology improves and we see to fainter

levels. But our larger universe need never have boundaries.

At most itcould be finiteand unbounded, like the surface of

a ball.

It is tempting to compare the early condensed phase of

Austin, Texas

universe. Much research effort has been spent trying to

determine the density of the universe.

This leads to another obvious question. Will the expan-

sion continue forever? Itwillifthere isnot enough density to

provide enough gravity to stop it. Then space willbe infinite

and unbounded. Current research points to this situation.

Some of the evidence rests on efforts to measure the mass

of galaxies and the abundances of deuterium. Massive

galaxies mean a higher density. Plenty of deuterium means

a lower density during the first minute and a lower density

now. More effort will be expended on this problem when

NASA launches the space telescope in a year or so. Its

2.4

March, 1983

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11/44

Who made all this? ..

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gravity and Chaos

made all this. Gravity was born north of the

north pole and Chaos was born south of the

south pole. They both grew up, fell in love,

and the sparks of their love-making can be

seen in a clear sky every night.

Austin, Texas

Believers are often seen grasping at the physical world of

science to support their cherished values. They will use

science where it helps them and ignore science where it

goes against them. They say a creator is inferred by

creation, as a watchmaker is inferred by a watch. However,

the physical necessity of the complex watch requiring a

watchmaker is not allowed to put a requirement on the

watchmaker that (s)he have parents. Some people do not

want the creator to have its own creator. Too bad. If the

creation must have a creator, as the watch a watchmaker,

then the watchmaker must have parents, or the creator is a

bastard.

Believers areoften seen grasping at the

physical world of science to support their

cherished values. They will use science

where it helps them and' ignore science

where it goes against them.

Another example of the believer's selective adoption of

physical reality is found in a rebuttal to Figure 3. The Big

Bang is said to be no barrier to a spiritual god, who

transcends physical limitations. But that same god is

supposed to interact with the physical world to prevent

harm from coming to the believer. Does this mean that the

god can penetrate underground to a trapped miner and also

be able to stop when he gets to the miner? Does this mean

that the god can throw a rope to a drowning believer, and

when the believer pulls on the rope, the rope willnot pullon

god? These questions illustrate physical problems and

appear foolish to the believer. This isbecause the believer's

primary interest is in defending his reality, rather than

investigating it. The believer does not see a need to

consistently deal with physical considerations.

The Big Bang idea has been enormously enhanced by

intensive application of scientific methodology. The pro-

ductivity of this technique suggests that it continue to be

applied with increasing vigor. Selective application is not

suggested by its success rate.

So what can you say when you get the question Who

made all this? I answer Gravity and Chaos made allthis.

Gravity was born north of the north pole and Chaos was

born south of the south pole. They both grew up, fellin love,

and the sparks of their love making can be seen in a clear

sky every night.

REFERENCES

The Big Bang, by Joseph Silk, W.H. Freeman & Co. 1980.

Cosmology


12/44

When Ronald Reagan swept into the presidency, millions

of those who voted for him believed that he had the ability,

and determination, somehow to bring back the good old

days . The former Hollywood western star seemed to be

the ideal leader to restore those fondly remembered times

of cowboys, good guys and bad guys.

After he took over the White House, USA economic

policies were turned back to older forms offree enterprise,

in the hope of regaining lost prosperity.

Then, in world affairs the recent policy of detente with

the Soviet Union gave way to confrontations ofthe cold war

variety.

The new president threw his weight around vigorously,

threatening even his allies if they didn't fall in line with his

new program.

Toback up his demands Reagan announced an un-

precedented military build-up, including a rapid deploy-

ment force which could be rushed into action anywhere in

the world, simply at Washington's command.

There are things more important than peace we,

were told.

A nuclear war could be won.

As for the USSR and its allies, they were unceremonious-

ly told they could either get out of socialism, or be

doomed to all-out nuclear holocaust (with USA winning).

Intelligent people everywhere greeted these astonishing

ideas with skepticism, then real alarm.

The people of the US did not count on Mr. Reagan's

backwards program leading the nation into an arms race

of unbelievable proportions and cost. There are things

more important than peace. Such as what? Exterminating

humanity, laying waste to all the Earth in a nuclear war?

Wiping out both the US and USSR?

Page 10

March,1983

by Dyson Carter

Those who had voted for Reagan's promised sweeping

changes had not even imagined that the good old days' he

talked about included horrifying new weapons never

before seen on our planet.

What about

prosperity?

What about lower taxes?

What about

full employment?

These features of bygone times the new White House

didn't recognize.

Reagan's tough attitude towards West Germany,

France, Italy, Japan, Britain and Canada took the form of

ordering them

to lineup behind his new program - or else.

Or else what? This dictatorial attitude proved shockingly

stupid. All these allies insisted on policies drawn up not

inside the White House but by mutual agreement. And they

were strong enough to give their views power enough to

get attention.

Where it counts heavily - in economics, in production

and finance - the major countries closest to the USA now

wield tremendous resources. They rival the USA in world

trade. Intechnology, Japan, West Germany and Britain are

competing successfully against Washington in several

fields.

Business

Week

(July 12, '82) went so far as to say The

US will be facing danger less from confrontations with

the Soviets than from those with its allies and friends.

Who wants to give up immensely profitable trade with

socialism?

Our media try to distort the quarrel between the USA

and other NATO countries, by making out that the USA

wants to

weaken

the USSR, in the interests of all con-

cerned; whereas the allies by trading with the Soviets, are

strengthening the enemy for the sake of making a fast buck.

But the allies have quite a different tale to tell.

For years, the USA has been weakening them. By

drastic economic attacks, such as sky-high interest, infla-

tion, prohibiting free trade by heavy customs charges on

imports, etc.



13/44


14/44


15/44

CENSORSHIP OF TEXTBOOKS MENTIONING

EVOLUTION CONTINUES IN TEXAS

from the Texas Council for Science Education

Recent textbook adoptions by the Texas State Textbook

Committee continue the state's suppression of the topic of

evolution in science textbooks. On September 8,1982, the

Textbook Committee refused to adopt the top-rated world

geography textbook Land and People (Scott, Foresman

&

Co.) because it contained the following sentence: Biolo-

gists believe that human beings, as members of the animal

kingdom, have adjusted to their environment through

biological adaptation. The book also contained many

passages stating that the earth and its features were millions

ofyears old and that the universe began in the way stated by

the Big Bang theory. These items were heavily criticized by

world geography textbook were that Most people do not

consider themselves animals, Many people, including

scientists, do not believe the earth is millions of years old,

and The text is biased in favor of evolution. By not

including other theories, the text implies that evolution is

the only credible one ... Many people, including scientists,

believe that the mammals were created, not 'developed.' ...

The text contains evolutionary speculations presented as

fact [and] violates [Section] 1.3 of the [Texas Textbook]

Proclamation. During the Textbook Committee's discus-

sion, a member from Longview and one other spoke against

the book, claiming it overemphasized the Big Bang theory,

the theory of evolution, and violated the Proclamation

dealing with evolution. He said the book was the most

controversial book on the entire list and that we willbe in

trouble all around Texas ifwe put it on the [adoption] list.

Because of the attack by religious fundamentalists, the

book failed to be adopted, despite its high quality. The other

world geography textbooks, all adopted, were mostly

inferior to the Scott, Foresman book, but they did not make

the mistake ofsaying something about evolution and the Big

Bang theory. Michael Hudson, representing an anti-moral-

majority group, was present at the Textbook Committee

meeting and made the following observation: It seemed

apparent to all in the room - especially the publishers -

that the treatment of evolution had condemned an other-

wise excellent book to be sole casualty of the seven books

that were bid.

The Texas Textbook Proclamation contains the rules

that textbooks must followifthey wish to be adopted by the

State of Texas. Texas is the second largest purchaser of

textbooks in the country. Its centralized book-buying policy

controls 8%of the total school textbook market in America

and itspends $60milliona year to buy textbooks for Texas's

1150school districts. Since only a few titles of each subject

are selected at six year intervals, publishers vie ferociously

to get their textbooks on the adoption list, and since the

Texas adoption choices can make or break a publisher, the

publishers bend over backwards to comply with the Pro-

clamation. Furthermore, the textbook designed for the

... The textbook designed for the lucrative Texas market is used throughout the

country, so the enormous influence of Texas shapes the contents of America's

textbooks.

a religious, fundamentalist, creationist husband-and-wife

team whose sole business is reviewing textbooks. This

couple is known in education circles throughout the nation

as the most effective textbook censors in the country. They

have been promoting their narrow fundamentalist views for

over twenty years by criticizing and influencing the removal

of textbooks that contain material opposed to their views.

Some of the Gabler's objections to the Scott, Foresma~

Austin, Texas

lucrative Texas market is used throughout the country, so

the enormous economic influence of Texas shapes the

contents of America's textbooks. Concerning evolution,

the only scientific topic the state feels compelled to regulate

at present, the Proclamation states the following:

1.3 Textbooks that treat the theory of evolution

should identify it as only one of several explanations of

the origins of humankind and avoid limiting young

March, 1983

Page 13


16/44


17/44

Furthermore, this requirement is again unconstitu-

tional, since its inclusion was motivated by religious

concern rather than any secular purpose, its intent is

to promote the doctrine of creation by suppressing

the teaching ofevolution, and it excessively entangles

the State of Texas in religious affairs, specifically,

belief in creationism.

The president of the Texas Council for Science Educa-

tion has stated that No scientific theory has ever needed

legislation, resolutions, lobbying, or state agency regulation

to make itacceptable as good science which deserves to be

taught to students. If a theory has this need, as does

creationism, this is evidence that it is not legitimate science

and thus should not be taught in school science class-

rooms. He states that he is convinced that Section 1.3was

promulgated for religious reasons, is a violation of church-

state separation and is therefore unconstitutional. He is

convinced of this because he talked to some of the State

Board of Education members who were responsible for

writing and passing Section 1.3. Former Board member

Johnnie Marie Grimes believes that evolution is a powerful

force against the spiritual dimension ofman, and that ifwe

teach it as a demonstrated scientific fact, then our public

schools will be a barrier to the christian and jewish

religions. Board member William Kemp calls scientists

narrow-minded and bigoted for preferring to accept

evolution rather than believe creationism. He made these

remarks to the president of the Texas Council for Science

Education when the latter suggested that Section 1.3was a

misrepresentation of science. He also threatened that

scientists willonly get something worse ifyou try to change

the current regulation. Board Chairman Joe Kelly Butler

says that scientific knowledge is only the opinions of

scientists and that such opinions are irrelevant to how the

State Board should treat the topic of evolution. He main-

tains that the present policy is about as good as we can

do. He was not interested in a statement signed by

scientists protesting' Section 1.3, saying that the opinion

of scientists would not change his mind; however, a

statement signed by the regents of the University ofTexas

and Rice University against the Proclamation might cause

him to alter his view. Presumably, the other Board members

share these fundamentalist anti-scientific sentiments.

The most important evidence for the religious intent

behind Section 1.3, however, isthe history of its adoption in

early 1974. The facts of the origin of Section 1.3 were

recently discovered by the Texas Council for Science

Education during research into the history of the Texas

Textbook Proclamation and textbook adoption policy. It

was discovered that Section 1.3 was adopted largely in-its

present form at the urging of the couple from Longview In

their letter to the Commissioner of Education, dated

August 10, 1973, the couple protested the teaching of

evolution in the State's schools. They complained that the

biology textbooks taught evolution as a fact, not a theory,

and omitted any reference to creation. They asserted that

textbooks completely censor the fact that there is more

scientific evidence against than for evolution. THIS DE-

NIES STUDENTS THEIR ACADEMIC FREEDOM TO

LEARN ... Strictly speaking, evolution is not a science

because it cannot be proven - it must be accepted on

FAITH as a philosophy or as a religion. . . Textbooks

include evolutionary DOGMA with none of the important

Austin, Texas

. : . . ~ ~ : ~ S < . . - > ; ~ :

-. -i- _, ..

,

-

~ > ,,'

;

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~ 1

evidence for special creation. WHY? ... At present all

evidence and assumptions are directed toward evolution

being the only explanation for life.But the theory of special

creation isjust as scientific and requires equal treatment. ..

EITHER include equal space for scientific evidence FOR

special creation, OR delete all evolutionary dogma

Ironically, the letter justified their demand for equal time

by asking for fairness and objectivity and for teaching all

the facts about evolution, including allthe bad facts. This

justification directly conflicts with all the well-known cou-

ple's demands to remove the bad from textbooks dealing

with other topics and present only the viewpoint favorable

to their desires. Their remarkable letter reveals that they

are not above arguing for presenting two opposing topics in

one instance and for eliminating certain opposing topics in

another, depending on which argument suits their pur-

poses. Perhaps the most ironic example of this intheir letter

istheir analogy ofthe treatment ofevolution and the history

of the United States. They say that We're often told that

students must be given the bad about our country, so let's

do the same about evolution and discontinue the present

DOUBLE STANDARD ... Supposedly, students who

reach college without having been told 'all the bad' about

our country are so disillusioned to find the 'truth' that their

confidence is shaken. Let's begin telling them 'all the bad'

about evolution if we want to be fair. During the August,

1982textbook adoption hearing, the couple from Longview

objected to a Scott, Foresman civics text because it

presented the United States in a bad light, criticizing the

American system and slighting American achievement. If

their opinion about fair play and equal time for topics in

American history has changed during the past nine years,

why hasn't it changed for topics in biology as well? The

March,1983

Page 15


18/44


19/44

table. Textbooks include equivocations and misrepresenta-

tions about evolution, have reduced coverage of evolution

to a couple of pages or nothing, omit any connection

between evolution and other biological phenomena, and

even include pro-creationist statements. The result has

been that high school graduates have received a censored,

second-rate biology education in most schools in the

country. It isregrettable that a state agency can unilaterally

regulate the content of science textbooks; it is tragic that

this censorship has had a dramatic and pejorative effect on

the quality ofbiology and geology education for students all

over the United States. Dr. Steven Weinberg, Nobel

Laureate and Professor of Physics at the University of

Texas, stated in an interview with the University magazine,

~

~------

-

,

-

UTMost, that the textbook publishers have behaved like

whores in their rush to put profit before scientific

integrity. The Texas Council for Science Education asks, If

we can describe the textbook publishers as whores, what

term can we use to describe those individuals on the Texas

Board ofEducation that have forced the publishers to act in

so immoral a fashion? Both the publishers and the Board

members should have some respect for scientific integrity.

The scientific method places extraordinarily high demands

on an individual's moral integrity and respect for truth, an

attitude which desirably should find its way into science

textbooks. It is a pity that this attitude is not reflected in

most of today's biology textbooks due to a few persons'

intransigent religious attitude toward evolution.

-

-

, ,

+,

_2

y o u v e GOT TO CHEW ON THESE STRAWsl /

Austin, Texas

March,1983

Page 17


20/44


21/44

forced upon Galileo a hundred years before.

What was it that Buffon had to repudiate? The earth's

rotation upon its axis One hundred and fifty years were

required to secure for this idea even a fair hearing - for the

prevailing doctrine of the church was that all things were

made at the beginning of the world and to say that stones

and fossils were made before or since the beginning is

contrary to scripture.

Strange as it may seem, the theological war against a

scientific method in geology was waged more fiercely in

protestant countries than in catholic. The older, roman

catholic, church was beginning to learn by her costly

mistakes, especially inthe cases ofCopernicus and Galileo,

what dangers to her claim of infallibilitylay inmeddling with

a growing science. So, inItalysome progress was made with

Geology while inEngland the most fierce opposition to this

science was made.

way hurt one another, that the spider was then as

harmless as the flyand did not then lie in wait for blood.

The only results of John Wesley entering this argument

was to put the force of the purpose of these men's lives and

influence against the thrust of science. Those who would

have found faith in the observation and investigation of

natural phenomena were thrown back to solving all prob-

lems by phrases deduced from theology. At the close of the

eighteenth century the English opponents of geology - on

the basis of biblical grounds - were so entrenched that the

science could go nowhere. The threat that the earth was

over

6,000

years old was too great to be handled by christian

theologians and therefore had to be suppressed. The

charge was that such researches led to infidelity and

Atheism, and are nothing less than an effort to depose the

almighty creator of the universe from his office.

The church had to compromise simply because it was

The church had to compromise simply because it was overwhelmed by the

evidence of science.

Generally speaking there are three periods or phases ina

theological attack upon any science. These are:

....that the first ismarked by the general use ofscriptural

texts and statements against the new scientific doc-

trine,

....the second or intermediate period between isfrequent-

1ymarked by the pitting against science of some great

doctrine in theology,

....the third by attempts at compromise by means of

far-fetched reconciliations of textual statements with

ascertained fact.

InEngland John Wesley came to the rescue of the bible

in the quarrel. He followed Augustine, Bede and Peter

Lombard. He insisted that death entered the world by sin,

by the first transgression of adam and eve. In his book,

Cause

and

Cure

of Earthquakes

he asserts that no one who

believes the scriptures can deny that sin isthe moral cause

of earthquakes, whatever their natural cause may be. He

elaborates, earthquakes are the effect of that curse which

was brought upon the earth by the original transgression of

adam and eve. He turns to paul and says that the whole

creation groaneth and travaileth together inpain until now

and finds additional scriptural proof that the earthquakes

overwhelmed by the evidence of science. The compromise

is curious. The first crack in the wall came when the church

admitted that fossils may exist because of the deluge of

noah. But the steady work of science went on, and nothing

could stop it. The foundations of theological theory began

to crumple away. The immediate fiat of the almighty was

made to account for the only two things which had affected

our earth: the creation and the deluge. The battle

continued up through 1830, when Charles Lyellpublished in

that year his Principles of Geology.

In America it was not until

1841

that Dr. Samuel Turner,

Professor of BiblicalLiterature, of the protestant episcopal

church somewhat accepted the new view, and published a

modified summary of the proofs from geology, astronomy,

and zoology that the deluge of noah was not universal. In

France this same admission came in

1856

and again in

1875.

In the Russian Orthodox churches the admission came in

1869 and in the Greek churches in 1876. It was finally

accepted in Britain in 1872, in Germany in 1876.

Do you hear what Ihear? This is

1970.

And, the churches

were fighting the science of geology up to

1880 -

which is

just

90

years ago. Yet, Mr. Gladstone, a powerful British

statesman, took time out from his labors and cares in the

There were, and there are perhaps still, two modes of reconciliation of scripture and

science, which have been each in their day attempted, and each has totally failed.

were the result of adam's fall. He declares in his sermon on

God's Approbation of his Works that before the sin of

adam there were no agitations within the bowels of the

earth, no violent convulsions, no concussions of the earth,

no earthquakes, but all was unmoved as the pillars of

heaven. There were then no such things as eruptions of fire;

no volcanoes or burning mountains. He goes further and

insists that earthquakes are god's strange works of

judgment, the proper effect and punishment ofsin. Wesley

took this same attitude about death and pain, even as these

appertain to animals. In his Fall of Man he says of birds,

beasts and insects that before sin entered the world by

adam's fall, none of these attempted to devour or in any

Austin, Texas

Parliament ofthat nation to take the fieldagainst the science

of geology and to support, as he could, the account of

genesis.

But nothing could suppress the findings of Charles Lyell

finally. In the memorial sermon after the funeral of this man,

the dean ofWestminster, Arthur Stanley, was forced to say:

It is now clear to diligent students of the bible that

the first and second chapters of genesis contain two

narratives of the creation side by side, differing from

each other in almost every particular of time and place

and order.

This is obvious to us all today. He continues:

It is well known that, when the science of geology

March,1983 Page 19


22/44

first arose, it was involved in endless schemes of

attempted reconciliation with the letter of scripture.

There were, there are perhaps still, two modes of

reconciliation of scripture and science, which have

been each in their day attempted, and each has totally

and deservedly failed. One is the endeavor to wrest

the words of the bible from their natural meaning and

force it to speak the language of science. It has been

followed in later times by the various efforts which

have been made to twist the earlier chapters of the

dluaUon

a.1111ons

of y.ar.

l'1od h rox)

+ -

ut

toe.n.

55

ae

a1eet 50

fOnMtioa of 8&rtl . .Gruet 4,'00,000,000 p n 890

GEOLOGICAL TIME SCALE :\.

book ofgenesis into apparent agreement with the last

results of geology - representing days not to be days,

morning and evening not to be morning and evening,

the deluge not to be the deluge and the ark not to be

the ark.

Those persons who are religious and honest must admit

that the bible fails. Geology is here to stay, and we willget

back to a finer delimitation of the arguments in respect to

genesis on another program.

DIAL-AN-ATHEIST

CHAPTERS OF AMERICAN ATHEISTS

DIAL- THE-ATH EIST (512) 458-5731

Tucson, Arizona 602) 623-3861

Phoenix, Arizona (602) 267-0777

S. Francisco, California (415)

974 75q

Denver, Colorado (303) 692-9395

Ft. lauderdale, Florida (305) 584-8923

Tampa Bay, Florida (813) 577-7154

Atlanta, Georgia (404) 329-9809

Chicago, Illinois (312) 772-8822

Evansville, Indiana (812) 425-1949

lexington, Kentucky (606) 278-8333

Boston, Massachusetts (617) 969-2682

Detroit, Michigan (313) 721-6630

Eastern Missouri (314) 771-8894

Page 20 March,1983

Northern New Jersey (201 ) 777-0766

Albuquerque, New Mexico (505) 884-7630

Schenectady, New York (518) 346-1479

Charlotte, North Carolina (704) 568-5346

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (405) 677-4141

Portland, Oregon (503) 287-6461

Phi ladelphia, Pennsylvania (215) 533-1620

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (412) 734-0509

Houston, Texas (713) 664-7678

Salt lake City, Utah (801) 364-4939

lynchburg, Virginia (804)993-2525

Northern Virginia (703) 370-5255

Virginia Beach, Virginia (804) 428-0979



23/44


24/44

ISKON

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS)

MIMICS CHRISTIAN PROPAGANDISTS

[Author's preface: Following the example of maharishi

mahesh all the Indian godmen with a vast followingabroad

now bring in westerners with high-sounding scientific

degrees from well-known universities. These people write

erudite pieces in the English press and make it seem as

though the ancient hindus knew alllong, before anyone else

ever did, what modern science is now discovering to its

astonishment. Nothing flatters the racially-minded Indian

more than to see these white witless morons flat on their

faces at the feet of gurus and godmen. Prabhupad simply

had to be right if even Einstein, quoted out of context,

supports his view. Perhaps Eccles, Wigner and Wald

might be surprised to know that they are making a valuable

contribution to the idea of atmagyan, (the science of the

soul), simply by talking about consciousness.]

The international society for krishna consciousness,

iskon, that money-spinning religious multinational corpora-

tion thought up by his divine grace, the late AC.

bhaktivedanta prabhupad (The last two words are not really

proper names, but mere religious titles equivalent to holy

book-believingworshipper ofthe feet ofthe lord. ), incarna-

tion of the hindu god krishna, has a flourishing center in

Bombay. The research and education wing is the bhakti-

vedanta institute, whose director is the 45-year old bhaktis-

varup Damodar swami. In an interview for a Bombay

weekly, he explained the institute's purpose to propogate

atmagyan,' or the science of the sou .

by Margaret Bhatty

vedic hinduism to a world of modern scientific technology,

since scientific-sounding explanations for religious phenom-

ena are more compellingly attractive in convincing the

younger generation of today, according to bhaktisvarup

Damodar.

How was the idea first conceived? Back in 1970, when

director bhaktisvarup Damodar was working for his doc-

torate, he met the iskon founder, AC. prabhupad, and

sometimes went on morning walks with him inLos Angeles.

A prominent evolutionist, Stanley Miller, held a seminar

called The Origin of Life which the young man also

attended. He was talking of life as a chemical principle,

said bhaktisvarup Damodar, There is no god, no creation

- everything comes about by random chemical combina-

tions. In other words, maybe you are familiar with Darwini-

an evolution? It is completely a material concept of life;

doesn't have any spiritual meaning ...

This heresy so outraged the young scholar that during

the question and answer session he bluntly accosted the

prominent evolutionist and demanded to know why hu-

mans with all their know-how had not yet been able to

assemble even the smallest lifesystem in the lab. Ifthey can

synthesize amino acids, DNAs, RNAs, protein molecules,

lipids and other biochemicals, can they not produce the

smallest organism?

This profound question flummoxed the eminent evolu-

tionist, who sheepishly answered, Well, I don't know

whether it's possible or not.

These scientific heresies were duly reported by the

earnest young man to his mentor, prabhupad, on their

morning walk. And, said he, his divine grace was extremely

angry that modern scientists should talk thus in the name of

scientific knowledge.

It was very harmful for propagating proper knowledge to

the younger generation. Because in a way you are simply

teaching them how to be Materialist, how to be Atheist; you

are simply teaching them there is no creation, or there is no

Nothing flatters the racially-minded Indianmore than to see these white witless

morons flat on their faces at the feet of gurus and godmen.

Bhaktisvarup hails from Manipur in northeast India and

after passing his M.Tech. from Calcutta University, went on

to an M.S. in Chemistry from Canisius College, Buffalo. In

1974he was awarded a Ph.D. in Physical Organic Chemis-

try from the University of California. Later he became a

Research Fellow at Emory College, Atlanta. With such an

impressive string of qualifications he manipulatively implies

that it was inevitable that he should devote all his

experience to the science of religion The institute was

founded with the divine purpose of presenting ancient

Page 22 March,1983

design in cosmic manifestation. So any way it was against

the principles of religiosity, this complete commitment to

material understanding. He (AC. prabhupad) talked very

seriously that in our modern civilization the breakdown of

moral and ethical principles especially in western society

like the United States, the coming of the hippie movement,

the degradation of the quality of life, is due to this sort of

teaching in the colleges and universities (From whom else

do

we

hear this line? - Ed.).

He felt there was a genuine

necessity of projecting spiritual knowledge, or about the



25/44

science of the self, the science of the soul called 'atmagyan.'

This plum job fell to bhaktisvarup Damodar who as a

highly trained scientist could spread atmagyan through

the medium of modern scientific terminology. However,

whilehe took every opportunity to toss into the interview as

much terminology as possible, the actual science ofthe soul

was left exactly where he found it - up in the air.

What is the bhaktisvarup's grouse against modern sci-

ence?

Director bhaktisvarup Damodar says he finds himself in

excellent company. About the beginning of this year, said

he, you may have seen, there was an article by Hoyle, the

British astronomer, and Bikram Singe, the Sri Lankan who

is also working in the UK. By their calculations, although

they say they do not believe in the existence of god, but by

their mathematical calculations there must be a god. They

are publishing this in popular science magazines and

journals.

But how can a totally nonmaterial, nonexistent, non-

He (the hindu godman) talked very seriously that in our modern civilization the

breakdown ofmoral and ethical principles especially in the western society ... is due

to this (Materialist and Atheist) sort of teaching inthe the colleges and universities.

It doesn't teach us self-reliance - only about atoms and

molecules. And when those atoms and molecules finish, we

also finish. In other words, it ignores the spiritual

existence. Scientists study life superficially, from outside

and ignore the spiritual spark of the spiritual atom inside.

This stupid refusal on the part of modern science to

discern the non-visible through the microscope, and believe

inthe non-existent inthe laboratory is its greatest defect.

Otherwise we would not need bhaktivedanta institutes

However, the director was prepared to concede that

scientists are doing a great job. There is nothing wrong

with science. Itis a special genius. But allthis could be much

more meaningful if they realized that life has a spiritual

element.

At which point does scientific religious research on the

soul really start?

At zero actually, because, according to the bhaktisvarup,

We first agree that there is a nonphysical entity. This

nonphysical entity is called life. It is nonphysical and

nonchemical, but itinteracts with the material and chemical

elements.

On this unshakable, unverifiable, no-nonsense founda-

tion rests the entire scientific edifice of atmagyan. You

simply cannot go wrong once you acquire the genuine

understanding that life is a nonphysical phenomenon and

the spiritual atom or the atrna is quite distinct from the

material or physical atom

In all this woolly pontification, nowhere did the bhaktis-

varup reveal exactly what laboratory tests were expected to

prove the science of the soul's existence. But evidently it

takes a particular kind of scientist. Only that individual

who understands the physical molecule of lifeas well as the

spiritual molecule can see how one complements the other,

how knowledge and material phenomena interact. He then

proceeded to explain how even enzymes display a certain

intelligence. Say, when you take a protein molecule. In

each stage certain types of special enzymes are required.

These enzymes have to be there at the right time and at the

right place, they can never be replaced byanything else. But

there are innumerable enzymes. How does that selection

take place at that particular time and place and everything

inperfect order, perfect systematic organization? Byseeing

that, you can come to the sensible conclusion that there is

an intelligence even in the molecular leve ' What I mean is

that there is some intelligent system that organizes and

directs even in the cellular platform or molecular and

submolecular leve '''

Austin, Texas

visible entity like the soul be set out in a mathematical

calculation? The thing is we do not need mathematics,

replied the bhaktisvarup. (In politics this is known as

double-talk.) We try to understand what life is. Modern

science does not give the answer. So there must be some

spiritual science. This does not have to be understood in

terms of mathematics. So although we use modern tech-

niques, it is not completely a vital element which we must

use. It is because we have to communicate that we have to

speak a similar language.

In short, the scientific bit is just a front to sugar-coat the

same old pill. But the bhaktisvarup is confident he is

working incollaboration with the best scientific brains of the

century. I want to show you this journal Science Digest,

he said, You know about it? Published from the US? Ihave

the July issue with me. There is an article called 'Scientists

March,1983

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27/44


28/44

were on themselves and on the rush of developments in

education and in society, large groups of parents and

taxpayers were becoming increasingly disillusioned with

their schools. They began to look at educators and their

doings with mounting distaste.

(The author omits that the roman catholic church, in

pursuit of public funding for its parochial schools, has

deliberately, with malice aforethought, mounted both an

overt and covert campaign against universal free public

education

beginning

immediately after World War II and

continuing now for 40 years. The success of this black

propaganda war against the schools has been so great that

the author himself lists a multitude of whiles, all of which

were carefully planted in the public mind insidiously by that

church. - Ed.)

Year by year the distaste grew and turned to anger.

Anger turned to rage. And rage spurred many of these

parents and taxpayers to band together for attacks on

education. (The roman catholic church, through John

W .

McCormack of Massachusetts, Speaker of the House,

managed to bottle up federal aid to education in a House

committee for over

20

years, demanding as its ransom

price that

roman

catholic parochial schools

be

included

in

the largesse. During all of that time the virulent and

unprincipled attack on the public school system was kept in

high gear. The unwary in our culture were turned sour on

our schools, and the schools - not willing to identify any

religion as a villain - blundered and erred. - Ed.) They

looked for and found leaders to voice their hatred for the

goals of modern public education, its methods, its tools and

materials.

The public schools in 1982 are the target of so powerful an

attack that their very existence is in jeopardy. Radicals of

the new right are working toward exactly that end, that is,

the remaking of the public schools in the image of the new

right - or else their destruction.

Attacks on public education have been commonplace for

a century or more. Are the attacks orchestrated by the new

right any different? Consider these seven points:

1.

The new right leads the president of the United States,

and the president of the United States leads the new right.

Each energizes the other. Ronald Reagan will do just about

anything the new right wants him to do insofar as public

education is concerned. The president has tilted in favor of

creationism, prayer in public schools, and tax exemption

for schools that select their students on the basis of race. He

firmly intends to dismantle the Education Department. Of

the monstrous Family Protection Act, which most educa-

tors believe contains the worst of fundamentalist thinking,

Reagan said, I'll sign it when it comes to my desk. Seldom

in US history has any cause such as that espoused by the

new right for education had such powerful backing at the

highest level of government.

2. The new right can rely (at least as of this writing) on the

Congress to do much of its work. The Senate is a staunch

advocate of new right causes in education. Its Republican

majority and the senators closest to the president believe

that they can enact the kind of legislation the new right

wants with regard to busing, segregation, prayer, vouchers,

tuition tax credits, aid for christian and other private

schools, and the Education Department. The House does

Attacks on public education have been commonplace for a century or more.

(Once soured on the school system, the

75

of our

populace which

is

t

roman

catholic had nowhere to turn

to placate their artificially stimulated grievances. And so,

the disgruntled part, protestant and fundamentalist,

looked to their religion,for they knew instinctively that their

concerns

against public education had

a

religious base,

a

base offundamentalism which is, after all,what the roman

catholic church represents. - Ed.)

not seem to know what to do about education; consequent-

ly, it is doing little but waiting for signals - from someone.

3. The new right controls and uses potent tools for

propaganda, promotion, fund raising, and proselytizing.

The mailing list (2 5 million names ) developed by Richard

Viguerie has become legendary, and rightly so. Through its

use, conservative organizations have built large member-

ships and raised millions of dollars.

The new right controls and uses potent tools for propaganda, promotion, fund

raising, and proselytizing. The mailing list (25million names ) developed byRichard

Viguerie has become legendary, and rightly so .... it would be foolhardy to

underestimate the numbers who are reached by new right preachers and evan-

gelists.

Even more powerful in these causes is the electronic

church - close to 40 television stations and more than

1,000 radio stations claiming an audience of 40 million. The

last figure is probably bloated, but it would be foolhardy to

underestimate the numbers who are reached by new right

preachers and evangelists.

The new right produces more than 100 nationally circu-

lated magazines, tabloids, and newsletters on a weekly,

monthly, or quarterly basis. Let Our Children Pray, a film

aimed at putting prayer in the public schools, is being

distributed through the network of preachers in politics. A

The alienated, the disappointed, and the irate gathered

under the banner of an aberrant conservative movement -

a movement that includes concerned mothers and fathers

but is led by zealots and extremists. Some manifestations of

the movement are rational. But its rabid core, now known

as the new right, has loosed the dogs of war against the

public schools, using the accumulated ire of some segments

of the population as a justification to wage warfare against

the schools for what they have done and are doing, as well

as for what they are not doing that the zealots wish them to

do.

Page 26

March,1983



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30/44

7. The attacks from the new right come at a time when

public education is at a low point - ravaged by inflation,

declining enrollments, high operating costs, decreased

public confidence, and diminishing numbers ofcitizens with

children in school. New right leaders have done their

homework. They know in detail how school boards func-

tion, how textbooks are adopted, how to remove courses

from the curriculum. They also know the weaknesses and

mistakes of the public schools - and they exploit them. As

Marshner did in her book, The Blackboard Tyranny, they

list problems that public school educators are coping with

and trying to correct - and then charge the public schools

with total failure. Among reasons schools have bungled

their job Marshner lists lack of discipline, lack of study,

teachers unprepared in subject matter, social promotion

policies, subjective grading systems, and, in general, too

much pedagogical faddism.

allow anyone to use the appropriations process to.change

the law.

Yet just such efforts will occur during this session of

Congress, and the ones that follow. This approach proved

effective in 1981, a few months after Reagan came to the

White House. Remember the so-called Omnibus Education

Reconciliation Act of 1981? Reagan sent it to Congress

disguised as a money bill.Yet, when enacted byCongress, it

repealed the historic Elementary and Secondary Education

Act; it changed the statutory provisions for aid to college

students, for vocational education, for land-grant colleges,

and for families living in areas affected by federal installa-

tions.

By the same token, the 1983budget, now being shaped in

Congress, does not refer to the Education Department

(ED), an agency still legally alive. In the minds of White

House officials, ED is already dead and has been assigned

the title of Education Foundation in the budget proposal.

This scheme has infuriated educators who have an

interest in the fate of ED - and even those who do not.

Although school board members across the US have little

love for ED, listen to Thomas Shannon, executive director

of the National School Boards Association: Through this

strategem (using budget bills to change law), the entire

public hearings process will be subverted. Members of

Congress would not have the chance to vote on the merits

of the proposed disestablishment of the Department of

Education. Instead, that issue would be buried deep in a

complex budget bill, and Congress would be required to

vote only once on whole package.

Finally,leaders of the new right believe that parents and taxpayers can be

stampeded into supporting frontal attacks on school courses, textbooks, and

educational procedures.

Finally, leaders of the new right sense that public

education has lost its way and willeasily fallin linewith their

ideas. They also believe that parents and taxpayers can be

stampeded into supporting frontal attacks on school cour-

ses, textbooks, and educational procedures.

This fallnew right leaders are concentrating their efforts

on Congress, where they hope to gain signal victories, the

biggest being the shackling ofthe judiciary to prevent courts

and judges from interfering with ultra-right objectives.

In the weeks remaining before the November 1982

elections, conservatives in Congress worked zealously to

push through as much of their social-issues agenda as

possible. Whatever was left undone by November, the

conservatives planned to complete after the elections -

with, they hoped, a Congress in which they will have

replaced many liberals and middle-of-the-readers with ultra-

conservatives.

Right-wing legislation on desegregation, busing, prayer,

tuition tax credits, affirmative action, vouchers, the Educa-

tion Department, tax exemption for private schools, and a

dozen other school-related topics has been piling up in the

House and Senate at an unprecedented rate since Reagan

took office. The bulk of these billsare introduced simply to

show the folks back home that those legislators elected with

conservative help are doing their jobs. Legislators who are

actively involved in the conservative movement do not

expect much from these measures. They take other

approaches. They announce plans for constitutional amend-

ments as a way of gaining publicity. For more practical

results, they seek to tie substantive educational measures

to appropriations or budget bills.

It is this kind of action that makes Sen. Lowell Weiker

(R-Conn.) see red. For many months he has fought virtually

alone against attempts to establish right-wing policy on

school busing and on prayer by tacking amendments to

budget bills. He has filibustered; he has issued angry

statements against such tactics. Other liberal senators, who

are in the minority, often agree with this view. As Sen.

Charles Mathias, Jr. (R-Md.), said recently, We must not

Page 28

March,1983

Equally dear to the hearts ofconservatives isyet another

legislative strategem. Conservatives want legislation that

willmake it impossible for the US Supreme Court, or any

federal court, to assume jurisdiction over programs affec-

ting schools, or for the Justice Department to defend liberal

principles.

Attorney General William French Smith, with Reagan's

support and to the applause of conservatives, has led

attacks on judicial activism. He has accused unelected

judges of substituting their own policy preferences for the

determination of elected representatives. Smith contends

that federal courts have gone beyond their proper role in

cases involving school busing, prayer, desegregation, and

other issues.

And so the Senate produced (early in March) a money bill

for the Justice Department expenses for 1983 that also

serves as the most sweeping antibusing legislation ever

passed in either House. It contains amendments that, in

effect, tell the federal courts and the Justice Department:

Hands off. You have no power when it comes to busing for

desegregation purposes. In retaliation, Speaker of the

House Thomas P. O'Neill (D-Mass.) and the chairman of

the House Judiciary Committee, Peter W. Rodino, Jr. (D-

NJ), have sworn that the Senate amendments willbe killed.

But there are other bills - dealing with prayer, for



31/44

example - and these too seek to bind the hands of the

federal courts and the Justice Department. S. 1742 and S.

481 are designed to enable state courts to sanction volun-

tary prayer inpublic schools. They also forbid the Supreme

Court to review state court decisions. Should this legisla-

tion ever pass, itwould turn the constitutional clock back to

1803, when the principle of federal judicial supremacy in

matters of constitutional interpretation was first established

in

Marbury v. Madison.

1. Secular Humanism

... The term, secular humanism is used by the new

right as an all-purpose, all-inclusive charge that covers sins

both real and imaginary, actions committed or not com-

mitted. This smear word marks the alleged humanist as

an enemy to be eliminated from the educational system.

It may annoy the new moralists that the humanistic

concept antedates the christian era ....

Humanism has inspired such great christians as Erasmus

... new right leaders are concentrating their efforts on Congress, where they hope

to gain signal victories, the biggest being the shackling of the judiciary.

But such matters do not perturb the gurus of the right,

such as Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah and Sen. John East of

North Carolina, both Republicans. They are now thumping

for legislation that would authorize the reopening of every

segregation case since Brown v. Board of Education. The

original order against segregation inevery case since Brown

could be dissolved

american atheist magazine march 1983

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