Thoughts of a Freethinker

One of the frequent criticisms made by conservative Christians about "today's Christianity" is that it does not teach the "real" faith. That is, it goes light on the theology of sin and Jesus dying to forgive sins. By getting one's sins forgiven by Jesus one can spend eternity in heaven and avoid eternity in hell. The book I'm reading, Why Religion Went Obsolete, says the faith was about this theology almost entirely until about the 1950's.  Slowly another version developed. This other version was featured in what is called the "mainline" denominations. Such denominations are some Presbyterian, some Lutheran, some Methodist, Congregationalist, etc. The new version of the faith is one about being a moral person. It's about Christians being "good people." It teaches that Jesus was a moral person. It was this good-person-Jesus that is important instead of Jesus forgiving sin. This new version of Christianity was so popular these ...

Slowly but surely the popular press is catching up to understanding how and why people do not believe the tenets of Christianity, or, those of most other faiths. When I write about why people don't believe I cannot help remembering the hundreds of times I have been in atheist gatherings or discussing things on line with atheists. I think the most common explanation as to why people leave the faith is simple, they just cannot believe its stuff anymore. This simple explanation does not sell books or bookings on a lecture tour. Certainly, books and lectures which try to determine why people cannot believe are useful. But when all is said and done, people see bull shit. Game over.  Along this vein, an article summarized recently what it is the public now has trouble believing. I thought it would be worthwhile to review what are the scoffed at tenets Below are the 13 tenets listed in the popular press that are a hard sell in the U.S. today: 1. The Earth is the center of the universe. 2....

Clergy who take advantage of the mythology planted in the heads of the unsuspecting are everywhere. The mythology is we priests were named by Jesus to run the church. We are the ones with authority over others. A terrible example was one in the Diocese of Winona (MN).  In Winona a young man was befriended by a priest and sexual relations continued for several years. The young man suffered from the experience and sued the diocese. I don't know more details. Versions of the story, we know, have been repeated across the country. It happens in both Catholic and Protestant churches. I think the over-arching theme is that religion can have a hold on people and clergy can and do use that for their own selfish purposes.  While I'm sure the diose of Winona has some money stashed away and buildings that can be sold I also hope current members of the dioses will pay for some of the settlement. If you are a member of the church and do not use your influence to make it a law-abiding instit...

Federal troops and agents have been rounding up immigrants in churches. Children of illegal immigrants now are at risk as well. A priest in Los Angles reported a significant number of young people in his conformation class did not attend their conformation for fear of arrest. Los Angeles County is roughly 10% illegal immigrants and families. If you were a federal agent at the management level and those above you needed large numbers to appease the politics of the Trump Administration, what better place to arrest large numbers fast than at a church service. Spending time going to the kitchens of restaurant and running down dish washers who escape out a back door does not yield the big numbers needed. Neither does going into apartment buildings and having no one respond to knocks on the door.  One would think Christians in the Trump Administration would object to arresting people just because that came to church to worship Jesus. There are high level people who brag about the Christi...

David French, formerly a leading figure in the Christian right, has come to realize conservatives Christians self-destruct when they use the faith to condemn innocent people like gay and trans. A few years back he refused to acknowledge the gender of a trans economist. He recently changed his view on this and used the proper female pronoun referring to the formerly male man. "What are French's self-serving motives?" the right-wing blogosphere is screaming . Let's review. An adult male decides to make known publicly what he has known privately since he was a small child: He is a she. For this woman, the change is a bit more complicated than others who make known their actual gender. She was a public figure as a man and now is just as prominent, or more prominent, as a woman.  The religious right seems more concerned with their inability of stop people from changing pronouns than they are with the societal consequences. What are the consequences to the rest of society w...

From the book Why Religion Went Obsolete is a list of benefits the author often hears when those he interviews and from written material. Each reader can decide for herself whether each is commonly believed or not. Hear is the list: 1. Morals. 2. Positive psychology (good/positive feelings) 3. Getting along with each other 4. Modeling (models of good people0 5. Moderation 6. National Solidarity The book is about cultural attitudes toward religion and how the culture no long supports religion as it once did. The list above is how the culture saw religion in the 1950's. The author devotes 20 pages discussing these which we can only touch on here I've read several books about our founding fathers, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, Franklin, etc. It is often said our founding fathers were Christians therefore our nation is Christian. The basis for saying these men were Christian is they said things in speeches and letters about God or the deity. I never saw that any of them w...