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Easter: Why Did Jesus Ride a Donkey into Jerusalem

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The tale of Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey with adoring crowds cheering his arrival just did not happen. No doubt something like it happened in the mythology wealthy men at the time knew about. Only the very wealthy were literate at that time, so the tale comes from that small demographic. Every Easter Chirstian sites carry the orthodox version of the story. The imagery of leaders or famous people passing in front of crowds is, and probably always been, one of being higher than the crowds. This allows them to be seen, but also projects importance. We all know of holy men being carried in splendor on the shoulders of human beings. The donkey seems a compromise. Story tellers needed him to ride into town, not walk. He needed to be a little higher than the so-called crowds but not on the back seat of a shiny convertible car. So story tellers or scribes rewriting the story came up with Jesus on a donkey.  We can notice the Jesus as told in the Bible was not a farmer nor a banker....
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Christianity's Relationship to Animals

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Cave sites dated 50,000 years ago and ruins in Turkey of what seems to have been a religious site from 15,000 years ago include detailed and prominent sculptures of animals in various poses. While no one knows for certain what was in the heads of people back they, a majority think the artwork reflected an attitude toward animals directly the opposite of what Christians/Jews taught in the Bible.  What the ancient are work depicts is animals with self-awareness and importance. As on anthropologist said, they depict a world of people, only a few of which were humans. Animals were equals with souls, knowledge and wisdom. Humans were not inferior, just equal partners in efforts to stay alive.  Only recently, a few thousand years ago, came along those unknowns who wrote the Old Testimony. They had a different idea. Animals existed only to serve humans. This180 turn of logic no doubt was self-serving for those who wrote, the few wealthy men who were the only literate people at that t...
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The Invocation: An Opening for Political Statements

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It's known the native people who lived on this continent before Europeans stole it had meetings, apparently long meetings and lots of them. I've never heard if they talked to their spiritual beings before the meetings. I suppose the practice of talking to invisible beings before meetings came from Europe. It would be good if it was sent back.  There is a story today about a preacher who took advantage of the invocation to rail at Republicans. In his prayer he denounced the Trump practice of rounding up immigrants and shipping the who knows where. Republicans, needless to say, are angry. It brought back memories of my sixteen years as a mayor. Our city was a destination and many large conventions and annual meetings were held there. Often, the Mayor was invited to give a brief welcome. While the welcome remarks were usually early in the opening session and it was permissible to slip out afterwards it always came after the innovation. I think the invocation, a few comments and a ...
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Texas Begins Sand Blasting Sin, i.e., Rainbow Paint

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  In right-wing Christian Texas, a rainbow painted crosswalk is sin. That's why Republican Gov. Abbot has ordered crews to sandblast and remove any rainbow paint color from Dallas streets. Those  colors represent the gay community and its supporters who are sinners. What better use of public money than sandblasting sin.   Texas is ground zero for U.S. politics. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, has said the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Texas, James Talarico, should be killed by God. Now, Hegseth's pastor said he agrees with this. Talarico is the Democratic Party's endorsed candidate for a Texas Senate seat. He is a theology student in his mid-thirties and says the Bible does not condemn abortion or homosexuality. Perhaps President Trump will declare the sin in Texas is a threat to national security and bring in his ICE forces to stamp it out. It is worth remembering that the most important concern in the Christian right's mind is sin. Professor types ...
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Who Decided what the Christian Faith Really Is

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I often write about one of my favorite books on religion, Professor Steven Prothero's book, God is Not One.  Prothero starts with the assumption Christianity, and all other religions in the world, are about what followers THINK their faith is about. Often that is different than what leaders or theologians in a faith claim it is about. Recently, I came across an academic definition of how the explain this difference. It is called, among other things, "lived experience." That is, what does a faith mean to the people living or experiencing it? The academic I've encountered spends time in China talking to Christians about how they view their faith and what they think it is about. His message is Christianity in China includes a broad variety of beliefs and interpretations and should not be seen as uniform .  Pundits within the faith are often fishing for good news. For example, one comes across some church that says it has seen in increase in it youth numbers. Or, there wa...
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Carrie Nation: Using an Axe to Close Saloons

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If one wants to understand the right-wing religion of today, was the prohibition era. The star character of prohibition was Carry Nation. The Fargo Forum reprinted coverage of Nation's visit to Mitchell, South Dakota, around 1900. She gave a fire breathing speech about the evils of taverns and alcohol to a big crowd. She counted nine saloons in Mitchal that needed to be destroyed by women with axes.  Alcohol and the saloons that sold it were seen by Nation, and her entourage, as the sources of all sin and evil of that time. Drunkenness, broken homes, absent from work, illnesses and you name it were caused by taverns. She saw the Republican Party as the source of this sin and preached it be taken down. There was already a prohibition political party but she had no use for its efforts to pass laws against booze. Direct action was her thing. Her reputation as an axe swinging weapon of mass destruction preceded her arrival in Mitchell, SD. Local law enforcement pledged to be on guard. ...
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Public Religion is Making a Comeback

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  If the term "morality" is about religion, religion is coming back. Not long ago, I searched the New York Times for articles about religion. Religion was mostly absent. Religion seemed one of those things that had once been popular, some had tried to keep in play, but its time had passed. Some may remember that Obama tried to use his faith to illustrate that he identified with those who were in it. His effort fell flat and he stopped bringing it up. The Obamas resigned from their church in Chicago, the preacher was obnoxious, and did not join another.  In recent years, the Times has brought back religion in a big way. Columnists who discuss it are given top billing. It's sort of strange that the NY Times is about "news" and these time worn arguments about what is true and not true in the imaginations of people is again considered "news." Of course, it was "news" when Pres. W. Bush said his invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq had Biblical justi...
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