Contents

Articles and essays, page 1 (this page)

Articles and essays, page 2

German Freethought

German American Links

Freethought Organizations, local and national

More freethought writings

Carl Procopius Strehly's house, pictured above, was built in stages from 1842 to 1869 in Hermann Missouri. Hermann lies south of the Missouri River between St. Louis and Jefferson City. German immigrants chose the site because of its "Rhine Valley" beauty and wine potential. In the 1800's, many Freethinkers and Abolitionists found a home in Hermann. The house above, in addition to being a winery, was the site of several renowned German language newspapers, among them Licht Freund (Friend of Light) written by Strehly’s brother in law, Eduard Meuhl, a graduate of the University of Leipzig (Germany). The house also served as a center of town, where people would meet. Licht Freund, which began publication as early as 1843, vehemently opposed slavery (years before anti-slavery became a popular cause in the 1850s) and was known as an important, radical "anti-clerical" journal. Muehl stood firm against any form of arbitrary authority, whether civil or religious. It is said that the Licht Freund's influential voice among Germans statewide helped Missouri to stay with the Union during the Civil War. Even though Missouri was a slave state, there were no slaves kept in Hermann during that time.

"We hold ourselves as free men, who did not escape slavery in our old home lands to support it here in America."

-Eduard Muehl,

Hermanner Wochenblatt, October 29 1852

"The German is no border raider and no thief of Negroes; no German had anything to do with the Harper's Ferry raid, nor has he ever disturbed the borders of a slave state in the guise of an abolitionist leader. Yet the German is an opponent of slavery, and the German is always unfailingly there when free labor is being defended through law and Constitution against the pressure and dominance of slavery and the despotic principles of government it brings with it.

Germans can only have a homeland in a Missouri that is committed to freedom... it will not work any other way. We will only achieve true Union through emancipation."

The Anzeiger des Westens, 5/26/1862

"The struggle that is now bursting forth between the peoples of the North and South certainly has as its first palpable cause the dispute over slavery."

Mississippi Blaetter, 7/2/1861

A freethinker is a person who forms opinions about religion based on reason, logic and common sense, independent of tradition or authority. Most freethinkers are convinced that religion is not only false, but harmful. Freethinkers can include atheists, agnostics, deists, secular humanists, rationalists, skeptics, and anyone who supports the separation of church and state. Freethinkers see no pride in in the blind continuance of ancient, pre-technological superstitions, or self-degrading prostrations before divine tyrants known only through unverifiable, primitive "revelations". Freethought allows you to examine these ideas and come to your own conclusions, without fear or pressure. Freethought is respectable. Freethought is reasonable. Freethought is something to be proud of.

Most people never consider the questions "Is the Bible a reliable source of information?", or "How do we know that the Bible is true?" Most often, we hear replies such as "The Bible is true and reliable because it is the Word of God."

But what exactly does that mean? We hear that the Bible is "inspired", that God Himself caused men to write the verses. We are told the Bible is a Revelation. Thomas Paine said it best, 200 years ago. He contended that it is a contradiction in terms to call anything a revelation that comes to us second-hand, either verbally or in writing. He asserted that revelation is necessarily limited to the first communication, and that after that it is only an account of something which another person says was a revelation to him.

We have only his word for it, as it was never made to us. This argument never has been, and probably never will be, answered. The bible is, at best, second- hand hearsay. We are under no obligation to believe fantastical and miraculous accounts that come to us by way of hearsay. If the Bible is inspired, it must be true. If it is true, it must agree among all it’s verses. It does not agree... How come the author of Matthew and the author of Luke contradict each other on their lists of the 12 disciples? Luke has “Judas the son of James” instead of Matthew’s “Thaddeus”. Compare Luke 6:13-16 to Matthew 10:2-4 and see for yourself. The scriptures abound with such contradictions.

Mark states that Jesus was crucified in the “third hour”, (MK 15:25), while John states clearly that Jesus was crucified “about the sixth hour.” Also, Matthew, in 27:28, states that Jesus had a "scarlet" robe put on him (the Greek word for scarlet here is kokkinos), while John states, in 19:2-3 that the soldiers dressed him in a "purple" robe (the greek word for purple here is porphurous). Which account is true, and which one is false?