Monthly Archives: December 2009
Religious Sell-out
Many years ago I was in a dual Ph.D. program in Philosophy and South Asian Studies at the University of Minnesota with a sub-specialty of comparative Religious Studies. For money I worked nights and weekends at a Psychiatric Juvenile Center … Continue reading
Sport Allergies
Sport fans are part of a huge secular religious group. To me, fervent sport fans seem to share some of the blinders as religious fundamentalists. But it is my temperament to dislike sports since I was very young though I … Continue reading
Filed under Humor, Philosophy
Promiscuous Teleology
My Typical Superstitious Morning I laugh at my mind constantly. She (my mind) is so silly, so primitive, so deluded, so stubborn, so dull. I mean, how many times have I told her something is not true or not so … Continue reading
Filed under Events, Philosophy, Religion
Buses Stacked High with Feelings
This winter morning while I was driving to work on our back roads, I had to stop for a school bus which was picking up children from their homes. I knew I would have several more stops like this for … Continue reading
Filed under Personal
7 Obstacles to Defining Atheism
For those having difficulty agreeing with someone on how to define Atheism, I suggest 7 obstacles you may need to overcome in order to have a fruitful discussion. (1) Dialogue Purpose You might start by trying to agree on the … Continue reading
Filed under Atheism, Christianity, Linquistics, Philosophy, Religion, Religious Dialogue
Resisting Proselyte Rape: The Unicorn Proposal
Last week, a fiery Evangelical 40-something, career-changing seminary student started our very first coffee-shop conversation by firing the classic Theist pointed-question at me, “So, are you an Agnostic or an Atheist?” I replied by saying, “First, let me ask … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Unicorns: Biblical vs. Pink
If you read the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible, you will come away thinking that the ancient Hebrews believed in unicorns. This is understandable since there are nine verses referring to unicorns: Numbers 23:22, Numbers 24:8, Deuteronomy 33:17, … Continue reading
Filed under Atheism, Christianity, Philosophy, Religion
Enchanted Naturalist
People rightly question the term “Atheism” as being sadly negative — defining oneself as being NOT-something. In my post “Atheism: An Epiphenomenon“, I illustrate one approach to this issue. Today I noticed one of the past posts at Luke’s at … Continue reading
Christmas Hodgepodge
In my post about The Homogenized Bible, my glorious readers discussed not only how the Bible is homogenized in its translation process but also in the way we read and remember it. Our reader, Ian, a Bible scholar, has kindly … Continue reading
Filed under Christianity, Philosophy, Religion
Boost Your Blog Stats !
Here are ways to boost your blog stats: Use catchy titles Frequent posting Make interesting, insightful comment on popular blogs Post on controversial topics SUBSTANCE: make sure your posts have valuable thoughts ! Today I noticed something else that increased … Continue reading
Filed under Christianity, Religion
Is “Eternal Life” enticing?
_______ Note: Now be nice, this is my very first attempt at a hand-made cartoon using all kinds of new software. This cartoon was inspired by the comment thread on Common Sense Atheism’s post: Fear of Death.
Filed under Atheism, Buddhism, Humor, Philosophy, Religion
The Homogenized Bible
Milk is a combination of fat (cream), protein and water which does not stay mixed. To prevent the fat from rising to the surface in milk, it is homogenized by pumping the milk under high pressure through small tubes which … Continue reading
Filed under Christianity, Religion
Holy Spirit as Author
Theology is broken down into lots of subareas, many with their own special names: Soteriology (Doctrine of Salvation) Harmartiology (Doctrine of Sin) Ecclesiology (Church Structure) Eschatology (Doctrine of Endtimes) Pneumonatology (Doctrine of the Holy Spirit) Yet I am surprised that … Continue reading
Filed under Atheism, Christianity, Philosophy, Religion, Theology
Sleep Dealer (2008) – Movie Review
Stop here if you don’t like subtitled movies or don’t know Spanish. This film is a futuristic SciFi and social commentary mix. In the near future, Mexican migrant workers don’t migrate, they stay in Mexico, report to a local factory … Continue reading
Filed under Events
Intercessory Prayer — Does not work
Like many, I have written on the subject of prayer a few times, but this video does a fairly good job going over the basics. I put this here so I can refer Theists to it later in blog conversations … Continue reading
Filed under Religion
Where god lives & how he listens
Must read: Tom Rees’ article review at Epiphenom: What you want, god wants. This study shows how we create our gods. It shows where the gods & spirits live. I think this evidence also ironically shows how prayer works as … Continue reading
Filed under Religion
Blog Suggestions
I will keep a list some of my common suggestions for blogging–especially for WordPress folks. I am not a “Layout King” by any means, but some folks may find these helpful. (1) Stop “Related Links” (WordPress only) Get the “related … Continue reading
Filed under Blogging
Meta-Thought & Theology
I was teaching a friend the amazing game of “Go” (“WeiQi” in Chinese). He was having trouble seeing if his group of stones had the potential to live through a battle. I pointed out to him, that, in this game, … Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy, Religion, Religious Dialogue, Science, Theology
Secular Joy: The best kind !
In “the holiday spirit” let us embrace joy and love. And what better way than with a secular heart ! No cloak of piety, no sacred separateness, just being human and doing it well. HT: Toothface
Filed under Uncategorized
Bible on: Non-Believers
This is the first of a series of my “Favorite Bible Passages” which I am creating for my own reference purposes. If others find them useful, great. I will list and annotate passages I find particularly interesting or helpful. Theses … Continue reading
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Filed under Uncategorized
What scared you as a kid?
I didn’t have any apocalyptic scary religious stories to give me night terrors when I was a kid. Even as a Christian adult they never seemed potentially real enough to me — gee, maybe I didn’t have enough faith. But … Continue reading
Filed under Christianity, Events, Religion
I saw an Angel
My children and I went ice skating last night. Skating is a brand new thing for all of us. My son was able to skate by himself with only two or three falls per lap. My daughter, however, clung to … Continue reading
Filed under Religion
Top Atheist Site Award
Wow, I was honored recently by being listed as one of Luke Muehlhauser’s “Top 10 Favorite Atheist Sites“. Luke’s site, “Common Sense Atheism“, is one of my favorite Atheist sites. Luke is an amazingly brilliant philosopher (albeit by avocation and … Continue reading
Filed under Atheism
My Mystical Explosion
The word “mystical” is used in many ways. One meaning is to describe subjective unusual experiences. I have had several highly unusual mental and emotional experiences that I have great difficulty classifying with other experiences. These experiences leave a hum … Continue reading
Filed under Events, Mysticism, Personal, Philosophy, Religion
Fictitious Sea Otter
I use to live in a rural town in central Pennsylvania on the beautiful Susquehanna River. One morning at 4:30 a.m., as was my habit, I was up doing my morning run. That morning I ran along the river. The … Continue reading
Filed under Consciousness, Events, Personal, Philosophy
