The Necessity of Atheism | Page 6

Christians, although worshiping
the same Jehovah, are disputing with each other, and indeed, amongst
themselves, with regard to the various attributes, amorous pursuits, and
lineal descendants of the Godhead. Jehovah himself appears to be on
the decline and his unity is steadily disintegrating into a paradoxical

trinity. But we are progressing, for in 1300 years no new prophet has
arisen, and no new divine revelation is perturbing our race; the old ones,
however, are causing quite enough disturbance.
It would be of value for the modern religionist who believes that the
worship of a deity in our own age is far removed from the worship of
an idol by our savage ancestors, to retrace his steps and compare the
savage mind worshiping his particular idol and a so-called civilized
mind of today worshiping his deity.
The savage prayed to his idol, that is, he begged. He begged the idol to
watch over his flock or his fields. The modern prays, that is he begs of
his idol, his deity, to prosper his business, to guard his life, and, as one
of my "super-devout" acquaintances recently informed me, on the eve
of an important golf match, for the Deity to give him endurance; in
other words, "to cut down his golf score."
The savage voiced his incantations; the modern sings hymns, that is he
flatters. There is still a great deal of the charlatanry of the magician in
the construction of the houses of prayer, with the sunlight shut out and
only filtering through the leaded and multi-colored panes, the
semidarkness, the solemnity, the rise and swell of the organ; all things
combined to overcome the senses, to play upon the emotions, and to
subdue the reason.
The savage made sacrifices to his idols, that is, he paid tribute, chiefly
out of fear, but partly in the hope of getting something better in return.
The modern does not offer human or animal sacrifice, it is true; but it
must be borne in mind that the wealth of the savage consisted of his
sheep, oxen, oils, and wines, not money. Today, the devout offer a
sacrifice of money to the Deity. We are all familiar with the requests of
religious institutions for gifts, which nearly always finish with the
phrase, "And the Lord will repay you many fold." In other words,
sacrifice part of your worldly goods to the idol, and he will repay with
high interest. He will give in return long life and much riches. The
savage was afraid to utter the real name of his god, it was taboo. The
modern says, "Take not the name of the Lord in vain." Even today, the
followers of Moses consider it taboo to utter the name of Jehovah

except in prayer.
The present-day methods of worship are no different from those of the
savage; the method of supplication has changed with the advance of the
years, but the fundamental ideas at the base of all worship are just as
crude today as they were 4000 years ago. Primitive man was no more a
fetishist than is the modern Catholic. The latter still wears medals and
images suspended from the neck and pinned to the inner clothing.
Moreover, a survey of the various religions extant indicates that the
religious factor is no less prevalent today than it was in primitive
societies.
In Greenland, one finds, that through nearly all of its vast area religion
has no place, but that is chiefly the result of its being largely
uninhabited. In Alaska, the population is for the most part Catholic,
although the natives are animists. In Canada, 33 per cent are Catholic,
the rest are mainly Protestant. In the United States, 20 per cent are
Catholic, 3.5 per cent are Jewish, and the remainder are Protestants.
Mexico, Central and South America, are almost entirely Roman
Catholic. In Europe, Russia was until recently dominantly Greek
Orthodox; the Scandinavian peninsula, the English Isles, and Central
Europe are dominantly Protestant, while France, Portugal, Spain, Italy,
and the rest of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea are
Catholic. The rest of the continent is divided between Jews and
Mohammedans. In Asia, the entire vast area of Siberia is only sparsely
settled and its religions include Animism, Taoism, and Christianity. In
China, we find the land of three truths, Confucianism, Taoism, and
Buddhism. India, Tibet, and Burma are dominated by Hinduism and
Buddhism; Arabia, Persia, and the rest of the continent are
Mohammedan. In Japan, there are the Shintoists. The East Indies,
where the population is native, are Animistic. In Australia, the
dominant religion is Protestantism. In North Africa, the west coast
inhabitants are Mohammedans, while the Abyssinians are Christians.
There are some Coptic Christians, in Egypt, while in the Congo and
South African countries down to the Cape Settlements, the