The Most Dangerous
Of All Enthroned Lies
(unsigned)
From:
To: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
Subject: Positive_Atheism_Letters_Section
Date: Tuesday, April 03, 2001 4:26 AM
Dear Mr. Walker:
I learned tonight that if a person does not accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior they are surely hell-bound. Jesus loves us so much that he whispers into his followers ears and tells them to convert others to the Christian faith. I know that this is true because the smiling man with the greasy hair and a stack of pamphlets told me so. I was a bit confused at first and asked the nice man with the Brilcream-encrusted, middle-parted hair how he knew. Lo and behold, the Bible told him so -- and so did Jesus. He told me that the holy scripture is right because God says it is. He also said that if I seek Jesus and put away my foolish skepticism, the Lord will fill me with grace and make me happy just like I was skipping through a field of daisies. As an added bonus, when I bite the dust I will be added to a list of people who will walk in the clouds with Jesus and eat pastrami sandwiches and rub elbows with every great godly person who ever lived. All I have to do is forget everything that I have learned about chemistry, biology, physics, cosmology, and pretty much everything else that contradicts the Bible, and give my life to the Lord.
My answer was no, which disturbed the greasy man enormously after I had let him rave for nearly forty-five minutes. I quoted the word of a great man who once wrote "The most dangerous of all enthroned lies is the holy, the sanctified, the privileged lie -- the lie everyone believes to be a model truth. It is the fruitful mother of all other popular errors and delusions. It is a hydra-headed tree of unreason with a thousand roots. It is a social cancer." The fool actually asked me which chapter of the Bible this was from. At this point I turned around and walked away.
I have read much here about the prejudices visited upon atheists, but they pale in comparison to those who admit to being Satanists. Of course I speak only of those who practice the teachings of the late and great Anton Szandor LaVey. This "religion" is nothing more than a philosophy of how to live one's day-to-day life, but is actually accepted (loosely) by the United States military. To this day, I don't know how they got that one through the system.
I am not a practicing Satanist now, but I know I the writings of LaVey well. By "practicing" I mean that I am not a member of a grotto, nor am I a member of the church of Satan. However, I do believe that the Book of Satan one through five promotes a healthy and happy life (at least for those who are thick skinned).
I was called from Florida to fill a job recently in North Carolina, as I am known as an expert in my field. For nearly a year I worked in cooperation with my staff and increased profit by over twenty percent. One day the owner created what he called a Christian Brothership meeting. I kindly declined the first offer but on the second I was questioned as to why I did not wish to attend. Gasps were heard throughout the room when I told the folks that I was an atheist, but none questioned my motives. A couple of weeks went by and our percentage remained constant, above-average at the very least.
After returning from one of the "fellowships" one of my men mentioned that the topic of the day was how those pesky Satanists are killing and raping our children. At this point I'd had enough, I explained to him the foundation of Satanism as written by LaVey.
The following day I was called into the owner's office and released of my duties. When I questioned the termination he stated that my services were no longer needed and would not say more. Had I merely been an atheist I probably would have kept my position.
Material by Cliff Walker (including unsigned editorial commentary) is copyright ©1995-2006 by Cliff Walker. Each submission is copyrighted by its writer, who retains control of the work except that by submitting it to Positive Atheism, permission has been granted to use the material or an edited version: (1) on the Positive Atheism web site; (2) in Positive Atheism Magazine; (3) in subsequent works controlled by Cliff Walker or Positive Atheism Magazine (including published or posted compilations). Excerpts not exceeding 500 words are allowed provided the proper copyright notice is affixed. Other use requires permission; Positive Atheism will work to protect the rights of all who submit their writings to us.