Monthly Archives: March 2010
Atheist in Drug Rehab
I was startled to learn that a close friend, also an Atheist, just entered drug rehab. He lives in another state and I only see him occasionally so it was easier for him to hide his addiction from me than … Continue reading
How to Hear God’s Voice
I would like you to try a thought experiment. With your mouth closed, silently say to yourself, “Open the door.” Alright, say it again and listen to the voice carefully. Does it sound like your own voice? Now, again, in … Continue reading
Filed under Atheism, Christianity, Consciousness, Philosophy, Religion
Your Modular God
My previous post, “Spackle God“, was in preparation for this post. There I rhetorically wondered out-loud how science-friendly Christians were able to keep their “God” intact while their “Spackle god” shrinks. In that post I showed how a simple model … Continue reading
Filed under Christianity, Philosophy, Religion, Religious Dialogue, Science
The Spackle God
“Spackle” is an American genericized word like Kleenex (tissue) and Band-Aid (adhesive bandage). Spackle is a filler used to repair cracks, fissures, holes and other defects in walls. And in my model below, Spackle is the supernatural the stuff used … Continue reading
Filed under Atheism, Christianity, Philosophy, Religion, Science
Good-bye Winter
Spring is here but I shall miss the Winter — it was beautiful fun for us all. I thought I’d add some personal stuff to the blog.
Jesus’ & The Buddha’s Deaths
Chapter 3: Death Before Dishonor: The Burial of the Historical Jesus See my series reviewing “The Burial of Jesus: History and Faith“ by James F. McGrath In Chapter 3, McGrath breaks down Jesus’s death into three components: Crucifixion Death Burial … Continue reading
Filed under Atheism, Buddhism, Christianity, Religion
Approaching the Bible
Chapter 2: Beyond Reasonable Doubt See my series reviewing “The Burial of Jesus: History and Faith“ by James F. McGrath In Chapter 2. James McGrath moves his conservative readers to more uncomfortable grounds — historical textual criticism. To illustrate the … Continue reading
Filed under Atheism, Christianity, Religion
McGrath’s Faith
Chapter 1: Introduction See my series reviewing “The Burial of Jesus: History and Faith“ by James F. McGrath McGrath spends 7 short pages showing us his liberal Christian stances by: Declaring the Bible must be studied objectively: We must study … Continue reading
Filed under Atheism, Christianity, Religion
The Burial of Jesus: a review
Title: The Burial of Jesus: History and Faith Author: James F. McGrath Occupation: Prof. Religion at Butler University, Indiana Publisher: self (BookSurge.com) Date: 2008 Pages: 142 pgs (a tiny easy-to-read book) James McGrath is a liberal Christian who embraces science … Continue reading
Filed under Atheism, Christianity
The Default Bias
The Default Bias is another common human cognitive defect. It seems that to avoid the discomfort of complex choices, we humans usually opt for the default supplied to us. Thus many of our “choices” are not choices in any real … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Sliding into Heresy
I crafted this image to illustrate the ‘amusement’ I get out of hearing Christians chastising other Christians for sliding into heresy. These Christians watchdogs must envision their sliding colleagues as leaving behind angelic clouds and descending self-deceptively and happily into … Continue reading
Filed under Atheism, Christianity, Religion
An Atheist’s Shrine
Twenty-five years ago, while living in Asia, I started assembling my home shrine. Hindus and Buddhists often have home shrines. I liked the idea of having a visual reminder of the principles I hold dear. I began my shrine with … Continue reading
Filed under Atheism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hindu, Philosophy, Religion
Share your Moral Foundations
Recently I watched an excellent TED talk by Jonathan Haidt on politics and morality. In the talk Haidt has identified five foundational moral traits people have in various degree. Haidt notices that Liberals value 2 of these traits highly while … Continue reading
Filed under Atheism, Buddhism, Christianity, Ethics, Hindu, Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Religion
Hector Avalos
Luke (Common Sense Atheism) has done another amazing interview. This time with Hector Avalos, professor of Religious Studies at Iowas State University. Hector Avalos was born in Mexico and as a young child moved to USA to help his grandmother, … Continue reading
Filed under Atheism, Christianity, Religion
FSM Crash Announcement
I have just started using a free, open-source reference management application called “Mendeley”. This morning I went to their site and found it down with this announcement duplicated below. I wanted to commend this company on their gutsy, atheist sense … Continue reading
Filed under Atheism, Philosophy, Religion
Parochialism
Definitions/Uses: selfish pettiness or narrowness limited and narrow character or tendency excessive narrowness of interests or view Synonyms & Related words: provincialism insularity narrow-mindedness Antonyms: universalism Parochialism is usually the result of lack of broad experience. But parochialism can also … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Happy Holi
Holi is a fun holiday! People all over the India, Nepal and Srilanka will be throwing bright colored powders at each other while running around laughing. The holiday is simply the celebration of the end of the winter season. … Continue reading
