Table Of ContentGODLESS
150 Years of Disbelief
Edited by Chaz Bufe Introduction by Dan Arel
COLLECTED ATHEIST TEXTS FROM THE 19th CENTURY THROUGH TODAY
ATHEISM / LITERATURE-HISTORY AND CRITICISM
Godless is a compilation of wide-ranging texts, both hilarious and horrifying,
on atheism, belief, and religion. The selections in the book appeared in various
formats from the late nineteenth century through the early twenty-first, and their
authors were often active in the anarchist, Marxist, or radical leftist movements
of their day. Derived from printed pamphlets, books by small publishers, and essays
that appeared in widely distributed newspapers, these texts serve as freethinking
propaganda in a media war against morbid authoritarian doctrines.
With both a sophisticated analysis of inconsistencies in deistic beliefs and a biting
satirical edge, Godless gives ammunition to those fighting fundamentalist bigotry—
and more than a few reasons to abandon Christianity. Readers previously familiar
with the authors’ political polemics will be rewarded in contemplating another side
of their remarkable literary output.
Contributors include Emma Goldman, Ambrose Bierce, Pamela Sutter, Chaz Bufe,
E. Haldeman-Julius, Johann Most, Joseph McCabe, Matilda Gage, S.C. Hitchcock,
Earl Lee, and Sébastien Faure.
Chaz Bufe is the author, editor, or translator of over a dozen books, including
Alcoholics Anonymous: Cult or Cure?; An Understandable Guide to Music Theory;
The Heretic’s Handbook of Quotations; The American Heretic’s Dictionary; and the
science fiction novel Free Radicals: A Novel of Utopia and Dystopia (under the
pseudonym Zeke Teflon). Chaz has also been the publisher and primary editor at
See Sharp Press since 1984.
Dan Arel is a journalist, activist, and author of the critically acclaimed book
Parenting without God.
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ISBN 978-1-62963-641-2
Pin Mh nN
Wwww.pmpress.org
Godless
150 Years of Disbelief
Edited by Chaz Bufe
Introduction by Dan Arel
Godless: 150 Years of Disbelief
Edited by Chaz Bufe
This edition © 2019 PM Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be transmitted by any means without
permission in writing from the publisher.
ISBN: 978-1-62963-641-2
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018949082
Cover by John Yates / www.stealworks.com
Interior design by briandesign
10°. 9785751655 (4) 39201
PM Press
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Printed in the USA.
Contents
Introduction
Dan Arel
The God Pestilence
CHAPTER I
Johann Most
Woman, Church, and State
CHAPTER II 19
Matilda Gage
CHAPTER III The Devil's Dictionary (excerpts) 33
Ambrose Bierce
American Heretic’s Dictionary (excerpts)
35
Chaz Bufe
The Failure of Christianity
CHAPTER IV 39
Emma Goldman
AT
CHAPTER V Twelve Proofs of the Nonexistence of God
Sébastien Faure
The Meaning of Atheism
CHAPTER VI 77
E. Haldeman-Julius
How Christianity Grew Out of Paganism
CHAPTER VII a5
Joseph McCabe
Christianity and Slavery
104
Joseph McCabe
Judeo-Christian Degradation of Woman
110
Joseph McCabe
CHAPTER vill Why Science Leaves Religion in the Dust
1ai
Chaz Bufe
Twenty Reasons to Abandon Christianity
140
Chaz Bufe
May the Farce Be with You: A Lighthearted Look at
CHAPTER IX
Why God Does Not Exist 163
Pamela Sutter
Disbelief 101: A Young Person’s Guide to
CHAPTER X
Atheism (excerpt) ig
S.C. Hitchcock
Dogspell
CHAPTER XI 195
Earl Lee
Afterword 197
Chaz Bufe
ABOUT THE AUTHORS 209
Introduction
by Dan Arel
“No Gods, No Masters,” a mantra that almost seems long forgotten in
today’s radical political landscape. We've lost some of our fervor to call
religion what it is and to hold it accountable for the terrible things it
has caused humanity to do. Some of this disconnect is understandable
when some of the loudest voices claiming to speak out against religion
are showing themselves to be in bed with white supremacists or are
flat-out white supremacists themselves.
Today’s new wave of atheist figureheads—better known as New
Atheists—are writers and public figures such as Sam Harris, known
these days for calling the Nazis marching in Charlottesville “peaceful”
and advocating for the racial profiling of Muslims, or retired biologist
Richard Dawkins, who has defended “light” pedophilia and referred to
the phrase “Allah Akbar” as “violent sounding.” This is not intellectually
challenging religion, this is racism and bigotry.
Yet, while these people may mask their racism and bigotry behind
the criticism of religion, we often allow religion to act unchecked.
Christian extremists continue to terrorize and murder abortion doctors
and staff. Christian politicians continue to use their religious beliefs to
fight for laws that limit a women’s abortion rights or fight to weaken
protections for the LGBTQIA community.
Once upon a time, these critiques of religion were an everyday
part of radical left politics and theory. In our modern life, we tend to
ignore the impact religion has on climate denial. Ken Ham, the evan-
gelical Christian owner of the Creation Museum, claims that while the
climate is changing, there’s nothing humans can do about it, God is in
1
GODLESS
control. Others believe there is no climate change at all and attempt to
root this ignorance in biblical claims, much like that of Ham, that God
controls the heavens and earth and gave humans fossil fuels to burn
and animals to slaughter.
Schools throughout the U.S. continue to debate whether or not
evolution or sex education should be a part of a child’s education. Tax
dollars from the working class have been sunk into Noah’s Ark theme
parks, and so-called leaders in this country continue to push religion
into our daily lives.
Maybe we have forgotten this, maybe we are too afraid to critique
religion because of the New Atheist bigotry, or maybe we have simply
forgotten how important this discussion can be. This is what makes
Godless such an important anthology. It takes us back to a time before
atheism was overrun with rampant bigotry and racism. This was a time
when the discussion around the existence of God or the importance
of Jesus was discussed and/or debated in a philosophical way that
focused not on the believer but on the belief. This was when religion
was properly challenged by those wanting to create a better world.
This does not mean the left doesn’t believe in a person’s right to
religion or to believe in god. What it does mean is working to remove
the shackles of control religious leaders have over people and remov-
ing a politician’s ability to use their religious beliefs to dictate how we
live our lives.
The authors within these pages spoke out before atheism was a
profitable business that got you invited on cable news networks or
took you on campus tours around the world. They spoke out not for
fame or fortune, but because it was the right thing to do. They spoke
out because someone had to.
The new atheist movement, though important to challenge, is also
Static. It’s disrupting our message, and it has put us off course. This
book rights that ship; let it be our compass.
We've forgotten the importance of what “No God, No Masters”
means. For me, this collection of works serves as a reminder. It rein-
vigorated my atheism, for a lack of a better term. It’s a return to the
naturalist argument for the existence of everything, but it also serves
as a reminder that just like our desire to abolish the state and return
to a world of autonomy, as long as humans continue to believe that
they must answer to a higher power and allow the self-proclaimed
2
INTRODUCTION
masters of that power to dictate so many aspects of their lives, we are
still dealing with a force with the same kind of controlling power as
that state.
Religion, at its most powerful, is used to control and subjugate
women, turning them into property. It’s used to excuse the abuse of
children, by turning away from lifesaving medicine or from “sparing
the rod,” giving parents permission to physically abuse their children.
It was and in many ways still is used to condone rape and slavery.
We know that the world can exist without the good that religion
claims to provide, and oftentimes exists in spite of it. It is we, those
fighting for self-determination, free association, and, above all, mutual
aid, who understand best that we as humans must care for one another.
We don’t seek a higher power to grant us this authority. We don’t want
authority. We simply want to build a better world, and it’s the gods and
the masters who are standing in our way.
Today, we begin tearing them down.
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