Thoughts of a Freethinker

A new statement from deep in the Vatican about women being appointed deacons was just released. According to the link it is another unconvincing argument against women. One reason women cannot be deacons, and of course priests, is because they are not in the image of Jesus. The eight pages also, apparently, go into other reasons, undocumented meetings of important people, untrue statements there have never been women deacons and someone heard from the Holy Spirit. It also said more study is needed as well as the favorite new word, "discernment."  We know the additional study and discernment will be done by men. This is all the more likely because women are leaving Christianity faster than men. The first explanation I ever heard against women clergy was that Jesus' disciples did not include women. We don't have much confirmation of that, only Bible stories written by men and recopied by men. I recall one of our Presbyterian pastors explain Jesus was much better for wom...

I read the book, For I Have Sinned, a couple of years ago and wrote about it. The book was recently reviewed and I enjoyed recalling my experience reading it. The book is sympathetic to the practice. The author experienced confessions. But he also recognizes it is not all that bad the practice has fallen in popularity and is done infrequently today.  It borders on the ridiculous that any law-abiding citizen would think he/she has an obligation to tell private secrets to a member of the clergy. Why considered clergy better than anyone else? The world of religion is a place full of weird ideas. The obvious part of this is priests who listened to and forgave sins of individuals in their folk did not confess to molesting children and having affairs with women while claiming to maintain celibacy. Probably Bishops who sent child busing priests to other parishes rather than to the police thought they were doing the right thing. There was no sin in protecting the reputation of the denomin...

To some Christians the hippy Jesus Movement never left and lives on. To others it is heresy. Then there are those who are not part of it but who think it holds the key to a new interest and success for the faith.  What is the Jesus Movement? I can only provide my understanding from people I have known and things I have read. It is a Jesus character different than the one most commonly referred to. The most common Jesus on Christian sites I read is a Jesus who believes the same things the writers on those sites believe. This Jesus condemns gays, trans and abortion. I've seen that Jesus on highway billboards. He holds a fetus in his hands and is crying. That Jesus referred to men and women, not men and men. Sin is big with that Jesus. The Hippy Jesus Movement Jesus is more laid back. This Jesus doesn't care if you are gay or trans or don't dress up for church. He accepts you as you are, does not judge. The Jesus Movement Jesus doesn't mention taking a bullwhip to the mone...

Among people I know personally and those I read about, a common theme in favor of Christianity and joining a church is, "It's good to be among people who care about you." Sociologists and pollsters follow this up with studies that conclude church members are happier and healthier. An article in the Salt Lake City paper is about an interview with someone who left the Mormon faith, and all faith, twenty years ago.  The Salt Lake City paper often has stories like this. The theme is there are Mormons who are critical of some aspects of the Mormon church. That's OK. What is not OK is to leave the denomination, it is not good for you. The link is a story like that.  The person in the link who left religion today laments not being part of a local church. He recalls running into someone from back in church life who reminded him of several stories from his youth. That he was so important to someone decades back that memories remain is something that probably does not exist in ...

The all-male clergy of the Catholic denomination has had a long-standing support. It's world-wide size is astounding. The same is true for the Southern Baptist Convention. It is the largest Protestant denomination. Smaller ones like Lutheran Missouri Synod was once big. When women became more powerful and less cooperative on taking the Number 2 spot, these denominations needed to do a 180. Because they did not, they are between a rock and a hard place. I don't need to tell readers Genesis told us Eve was the cause of The Original Sin. While it is said Jesus and Christianity are more equality owning than other religions, that does not forgive the Jesus character in the Bible from scolding his mother, telling his disciples to leave their wives and follow him around or having only guys on his team. Paul, like Jesus, was off and on about decent treatment of women.  Sometimes leaders in the faith proclaim they know "what it's all about." That is, they "know" ...

We know a lot about the migration of humans over there 2-300,000 years of existence. As science improves the understanding of human history, human disappearance and reappearance, we understand ourselves better. What we have known less about was what those various versions of humans carried around in their heads. We can see their tools and evidence of what they ate. What about the myths that they held and humans still believe? Interesting progress is being made in the origin and passing along of myths. Social scientists are now using some of the technology from plotting movement of genes and physical characteristics to the location of original myths and the passing along of these myths, varied by time and place, from the times of prehistory to today. There are thousands of stories we know to have been repeated generation after generation. The stories meander about with some similarities and some differences. By systematically coding the stories it becomes easier to find where and when v...