Thoughts of a Freethinker

How could it be that a state prison could ban one holy book read by millions of people while allowing another, the Bible? Such a law has been in effect in Florida for several years.  So many people are incarcerated in the U.S. it has become a huge political, social and business industry. When it got big enough, Christianity decided to go into prisons to recruit followers and hopefully reap donations and later members. From federal prisons down to local jails people were paid to pray. I've heard over and over again from jail wardens that having a chaplain and volunteers in Christianity come in to preach and pray the level of stress and intensity of inmates was reduced.  This is exactly the argument made by clergy in the Hindu faith in Florida. There is testimony that reading the Hindu religious tome and doing Hindu religious rituals helps Hindu prisoners cope with their incarceration. I suppose the Christian jail wardens and chaplains worshipping in the Hindu faith is the pathw...

Many times a month there are posts on the web about the " benefits to society of church attendance." One can learn that the church has been a place where people of different political views became friends. You can learn that those who attend church live longer and divorce less. There are entire books devoted to why society and democracy are better off if most people attend church.  I suspect every one of these articles and books was written by a person who attends church. They enjoy church and cannot imagine someone sitting in church and being miserable. If these authors/speakers could understand that church is voluntary and people normally do not do something voluntarily that makes them miserable they would understand why pointing out the societal benefits of church is pointless.  I pointed out in the discussion following the link above that going to church is for some like going to a restaurant and ordering a dish you dislike. People just don't do that. Then there is th...

It not hard to see the reasons a young priest might get discouraged. There are failing parishes. The average age of priests is rising. This inevitably loads younger ones with more work.  While there are lots of parishes with crowded masses, the general trajectory of the denomination in the U.S. is down. There are regular stories of combining parishes and selling buildings. On top of that are the bankruptcies caused by abuse court cases.  The Catholic hierarchy, and perhaps a large portion of Catholics in the pews, refuse to recognize that priests are part of the labor market. To attract and keep employees of any kind an employer needs to pay market wages and provide a reasonable work environment. If the salary is not high enough to finance the training necessary to apply rational prospects will not apply. They may leave the job is they don't see a good financial future. In the case of priests, celibacy is also required. Maybe evenings sitting around with some boring guys is no...

The link discusses a sermon delivered by Martin Luther Kind at Riverside Church in New York City. I'm not immune to a little name dropping, I was at that event. While I did not understand at the time the significance of King's address, reviewing it now is sobering. King spoke against those who use force and cloak it in moral and religious certainty. He talked about violence being given divine sanction. That was part of justification of slavery and segregation. Now it is used against immigrants and Democrats.  King said there is nothing holy about domination. Trump and his circle hold domination as the highest of callings.  The higher calling, King said, is to subvert those in power by being the face of justice. It is good today to remember those who integrated lunch counters toward that end. King himself walked along a highway to Selma in full view of those with guns and clubs. There were beatings and deaths.  Tension and resolve are present in Minneapolis as we speak. I ...

These days there are many articles on Christian sites that lament its decline. Many advise Christians to read and tell others the literal reading of the Bible. There is the belief that if people in the faith say the same old thing, but say it louder and more often, more will believe it. This has not helped. Another approach is funded by a wealthy Catholic. He paid for many ads a few years ago, some still appear, aimed at lapsed Catholics. The ads pleaded, "Come home to church." Millions of dollars gone. Numbers are still falling. Then there is the cheerleader approach of the link . This fellow says that after the Romans sent lions after the Christians in the Roman Colosseum Christian numbers went up. I've read there is no real evidence Christians were ever eaten by lions but the myth this happened lives on. The link plays on the theme of Christians as victims, one of the old standards, but they are so devout the faith rebounds.  This brings up the question, are Christian ...

Christian and secular archeologists continue to compete in story telling of ancient times. The press releases of Christians always strike me as propaganda. New technology, and of course money, is creating a new field of archeology that holds promise of figuring out the past. It is underwater. It is so logical to realize there are great archeological site in shallow water. Human had to live near water from their beginning. Oceans, lakes and rivers rise and fall. Rising waters swamped cities and divers can find what they left behind. Sometimes cities were drowned because earthquakes broke water free and the swapped cities where people left quickly. The artifacts have been preserved by the water itself.  Some of the underwater artifacts reflect the religious views of an ancient time. One reference was of a statue of a Greek God. The Greek Gods seemed to have been worshipped roughly 1,000 years BCE. It appears to me they lasted longer than the Judeo Christian one had been around. Looki...