Produced by Betty Haertling, Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net AN ATHEIST MANIFESTO BY JOSEPH LEWIS THE FREETHOUGHT PRESS ASSOCIATION: NEW YORK COPYRIGHTED, 1954, AND IN THE 178TH YEAR OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE BY JOSEPH LEWIS _All rights reserved_ Second Edition, 1956 Third Edition, 1958 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA JOSEPH LEWIS _Author of_ THE TYRANNY OF GOD THE BIBLE UNMASKED VOLTAIRE: THE INCOMPARABLE INFIDEL SPAIN: A LAND BLIGHTED BY RELIGION BURBANK THE INFIDEL ATHEISM THE BIBLE AND THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS FRANKLIN THE FREETHINKER LINCOLN THE FREETHINKER MEXICO AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SOVIET RUSSIA AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SHALL CHILDREN RECEIVE RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION? THE TEN COMMANDMENTS THOMAS PAINE: AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE IN THE NAME OF HUMANITY THE TRAGIC PATRIOT INSPIRATION AND WISDOM FROM THE WRITINGS OF THOMAS PAINE AN ATHEIST MANIFESTO INGERSOLL THE MAGNIFICENT AN ATHEIST MANIFESTO Many ask what difference does it make whether man believes in a God or not. It makes a big difference. It makes all the difference in the world. It is the difference between being right and being wrong; it is the difference between truth and surmises--facts or delusion. It is the difference between the earth being flat, and the earth being round. It is the difference between the earth being the center of the universe, or a tiny speck in this vast and uncharted sea of multitudinous suns and galaxies. It is the difference in the proper concept of life, or conclusions based upon illusion. It is the difference between verified knowledge and the faith of religion. It is a question of Progress or the Dark Ages. The history of man proves that religion perverts man's concept of life and the universe, and has made him a cringing coward before the blind forces of nature. If you believe that there is a God; that man was "created"; that he was forbidden to eat of the fruit of the "tree of knowledge"; that he disobeyed; that he is a "fallen angel"; that he is paying the penalty for his "sins," then you devote your time praying to appease an angry and jealous God. If, on the other hand, you believe that the universe is a great mystery; that man is the product of evolution; that he is born without knowledge; that intelligence comes from experience, then you devote your time and energies to improving his condition with the hope of securing a little happiness here for yourself and your fellow man. That is the difference. If man was "created," then someone made a grievous mistake. It is inconceivable that any form of intelligence would waste so much time and effort to make such an inferior piece of life--with all the "ills that flesh is heir to," and with all the misery and suffering that is so essential a part of living.