[net.religion] The Humanist

mat@hou5d.UUCP (06/10/84)

Just got junk mail for a magazine called ``The Humanist''.  They apparently
were involved int *The Humanist Manifesto* and there is something about them
that disturbs me.

	Almost every point they raise, every reason why I should be interested
in the rag, seems to be based on attacking the Church of Rome or other religous
bodies.  Since their letter has no copyright notice that I can seen, I will
quote a bit:

	``Religous factions throught the history of humankind have
	developed and imposed moral and ethical codes and constraints
	on societal behavior ... Be it the pope, televangelists, or
	fundementalists, religious leaders have enlarged their scope
	of influence to include government, education, and personal
	lives. ...''

As I examine the sample covers, most of them present either religious
symbols or religious issues or values in a negative light.  I realize that it
is the right of the publishers of this magazine to do so.  But I seem to
recall that in the Germany of the 30's (and in the USSR today) things that
the Party didn't (doesn't) like were called ``Jewish'' with a disgusted scowl
written into the judgement.  The symbols of Jewish identity were made into
objects of ridicule and then of shame.

	So what if a crowd is depicted throwing bibles (complete with
the Cross on the cover) at a dummy to knock it into a tub?  So what if
a cover like this one is circulated across the country.
                                  .   .
	THE RELIGOUS             .  .     .
	RIGHT AND               . .   . ..
	ZIONISM                 . .
                               . . .         <Picture reminiscent of religious>
                             ..     .            <scholar types>
	Medical Testing       ..    .
	. . .                 .    .
                                .   .
	Women Reborn          .      .     /\
	. . .               .          .  /  \
                           .        ________________
	A WELL-PLANNED   .           \  /      \  /
	CONSPIRACY      .             \/        \/
                       .              /\        /\
                     .               /  \      /  \
                   .                ________________
                 .                        \  /
                .                          \/


What about covers listing articles like ``Abortion and National Security'',
``Illegal immigration and the Church'',  ``The Abortion Controversy:  The
Judeo--Christian Myth'', ``The Vatican and Population Control:  Why An American
Confrontation?'' ??

Next time I'm stuck in a library with nothing to do :->, I think I'll look
at some back issues of this rag.  I WON'T let them have any of my money for
a subscription, though.
-- 

					from Mole End
					Mark Terribile
		     (scrape..dig)	hou5d!mat
    ,..      .,,       ,,,   ..,***_*.