DIAL A GAY ATHEIST 31 JANUARY 1994 AN OPEN FORUM PROGRAM This is Dial A Gay Atheist, a com

                     DIAL A GAY ATHEIST
                              
                       31 JANUARY 1994
                              
                    AN OPEN FORUM PROGRAM


     This is Dial A Gay Atheist, a communications service of
American Gay & Lesbian Atheists.  American Gay Atheists,
Inc., is a non-profit, educational foundation dedicated to
keeping state and church separate and promoting the concept
as the gay & lesbian community's most important
constitutional ally.  Please address all inquiries, in
writing, to AGLA, PO Box 66711, Houston, TX 77266.  All
commentaries contained herein are protected under the
copyright laws of the United States and may not be
reproduced, in whole or in part, without receiving written
permission from AGLA.  This is Don Sanders for Dial A Gay
Atheist.

     Today, we return to YOUR comments in the Open Forum,
where Dial A Gay Atheist selects opinions left by our caller. 
Without further adieu, let's get right into The Open Forum.  

     PLAY POSITIVE MESSAGES -- "I'm not an Atheist, but I'm
gay," ends series.

     Lest we be accused of playing only those messages which
are supportive of us, let's now hear from those who disagree
with our postulates.  PLAY MESSAGE.

     Our first caller takes issue with our position that
human progress was stifled during the period known as the
Dark Ages, a time so named because advancements in such
disciplines as science and medicine, among others, were
greatly restrained.  We are pleased to note that during a
period of well over a thousand years, the church did allow an
important advancement to take place.  To the church, we
apologize for forgetting to mention this consequential
endowment to the betterment of the overall human condition.  

PLAY MESSAGE.
  
Sorry our machine cut you off before you finished your
message.  Let me remind you, too, that it was not until man
was free to discover, inquire and create again was there a
substantial increase in population and an overall improvement
in the quality of life for many.  Until there was scientific
investigation into the area of medicine, something which the
church considered heresy, did the quality of life improve. 
It certainly isn't the church today which is feeding the
great many hundreds of millions of the starving and
malnourished, many of whom it has encouraged, and it isn't
the harness for the horse which is so helpful in aiding the
farmers meet the increasing demands of millions and millions
more mouths to feed.  Without scientific and technological
developments in food production, technology which allows you
and me simply to stop into our local supermarkets and choose
hundreds of varieties of fruits and vegetables any time of
the year, we would all be spending our days plowing our own
fields, toiling in back-breaking labor from dawn to dusk, and
breeding children for the sole purpose of having enough
indentured servants to operate the family farm.  

     Yes, let's go back to the good old days when religion
ruled the world!  Perhaps if there are not enough horses to
go around to plow those fields, the holy Roman priests might
willingly allow us to strap a harness onto their backs and
use them as engines to pull the plows which till the soil to
grow the crops which feed the mouths of the millions of
hungry souls whose births they have encouraged. 

     Now, let's hear from another detractor.  PLAY MESSAGE. 
I never wake up with a hangover because I have the good sense
to know that alcohol is not good for me.  The Atheist takes
responsibility for his own life and does not rely upon a
spirit to exempt him from the consequences of his actions.

     And we have time for one more caller.  PLAY MESSAGE. 
Yea, we get the picture.  Our caller has done his best not to
leave anyone out.  

     We're here because we're needed.  We're here because as
long as there is the blight of religion, Atheism shall stand
as a bold and determined restraint and a voice of sanity in
an otherwise mystified world.  For a free sample copy of The
American Gay & Lesbian Atheist newsletter, simply mail a
request to AGLA, PO Box 66711, Houston, TX 77266.  In
Houston, tune in to the American Atheist TV Forum on your
community access cable channel each Wednesday at 6:30 PM.  At
the tone, tell us from where you're calling and what's on
your mind.  And call this American GAY Atheist again,
anytime. 


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