The Philosophy of Atheism

The Philosophy of Atheism

by Joseph Lewis

(Address Delivered February 20, 1960,

Over Radio Station WIME, Miami, Florida)

Good evening ladies and gentlemen.

This is Joseph Lewis speaking.

Although as a child I was instructed in the religion of my parents, I never came under the

spell of religious training long enough to so warp my mentality as not to be able to see

any other viewpoint.

I was never trained to espouse the cause of Atheism. I came to accept Atheism as the

result of independent thought and self-study.

I came to my conclusions after a full analysis and an impartial consideration of the

various religious creeds and the different systems of philosophy. In my study of the

different fields of thought, I found no philosophy that contained so many truths, and

inspired one with so much courage, as Atheism. Atheism equips us to face life, with its

multitude of trials and tribulations, better than any other code of living that I have yet

been able to find. It is grounded in the very roots of life itself. Its foundation is based on

Nature, without superfluities and false garments. No sham or shambles are attached to it.

Atheism rises above creeds, and puts Humanity upon one plane. There can be no "chosen

people" in the Atheist philosophy. There are no bended knees in Atheism; no

supplications, no prayers; no sacrificial redemptions; no "divine" revelations; no washing

in the blood of the lamb; no crusades, no massacres, no holy wars; no heaven, no hell, no

purgatory; no silly rewards and no vindictive punishments; no christs and no saviors; no

devils, no ghosts, and no gods.

Atheism breaks down the barriers of nationalities and, like, "one touch of nature makes

the whole world kin." Systems of religion make people clannish and bigoted.

Atheism is a vigorous and a courageous philosophy. It is not afraid to face the problems

of life, and it is not afraid to confess that there are problems yet to be solved. It does not

claim that it has solved all the questions of the universe, but it does claim that it has

discovered the approach, and learned the method, of solving them.

It has dedicated itself to a passionate quest for the truth. It believes that truth for truth's

sake is the highest ideal, and that virtue is its own reward.

It believes that love of humanity is a higher ideal than a love of God. We cannot help

God, but we can help mankind. "Hands that help are better far than lips that pray."

Praying to God is humiliating; worshipping God is degrading.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF ATHEISM

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It believes with the great Robert G. Ingersoll, when he said, "Give me the storm and

tempest of thought and action, rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith. Banish

me from Eden when you will, but first let me eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge."

Atheism is a self-reliant philosophy. It makes one intellectually free. He is thrilled to

enthusiasm by his mental emancipation and he faces the universe without fear of ghosts

or gods. It teaches man that unless he devotes his energies and applies himself wholeheartedly

to the task he wishes to achieve, the accomplishment will not be made. It warns

him that any reliance upon prayers, or "divine" help, will prove a bitter disappointment.

To the philosophy of Atheism belongs the credit of robbing Death of its horror and its

terror. It brought about the abolition of Hell.

If Atheism writes upon the blackboard of the Universe a question mark, it writes it for the

purpose of stating that there is a question yet to be answered. Is it not better to place a

question mark upon a problem while seeking an answer than to put the label "God" there

and consider the matter solved? Does not the word "God" only confuse and make more

difficult the solution by assuming a conclusion that is utterly groundless and palpably

absurd?

"God," said Spinoza, "is the Asylum of Ignorance." No better description has ever been

uttered. Shelley said God was a hypothesis, and, as such, required proof. Can any

minister of any denomination of any religion supply that proof? Facts and not merely

opinions are what we want. Emotionalism is not a substitute for the truth.

If Atheism is sometimes called a "negative" philosophy, it is because the conditions of

life make a negative philosophy best suited to meet the exigencies of existence, and only

in that sense can it be called "negative." Some ministers of religion ignorantly call

Atheism a "negative" philosophy because Atheism must first destroy the monumental

ignorance