Thoughts of a Freethinker

A rabbi from the U.S. made arrangements to help Palestinian farmers harvest olives. It is labor intensive and many hands are required. Israeli troops arrived and hauled off the farmer. Then they said since the the farmer was not present to protect his crop the visitors had to leave the area.  Isael's government has a scorched earth policy against Palestinians They represent about 20% of the country's population. It is too small to grow into a majority but large enough to play off one larger group against the other. Several politicians around the world have promoted the "Two State Solution." As I understand this it would divide the country into an Israel and a Palestine. Since the US. was a large force in establishing Israel with Jews from Europe this seems like a fair idea. Yet, Israel opposes this perhaps because that smaller country could be well organized, prosperous and aggressive.  From this distance, a two-state solution is risky the Isarel. Trying to eliminate ...

Although now approaching the end of his career, Archbishop Blase Cupich is a liberal force within the denomination. He was named a Bishop under conservative Pope Benedict and then a Cardinal by Pope Francis. Because he is understanding of women who need abortions and gays who want to marry, discouraged priests under his from participating in the annual fake concern called "40 Days of Life" and discouraged Latin mass he is seen as someone for conservative Catholics to hate. It's also easy to understand why Popes Francis and Leo, who want to extend the reach of the Catholic denomination and allow it to survive into the future have put their money on him. Archbishop Cupich seems similar to the Catholic Church of Germany. It needs government cooperation to collect the voluntary "tax" that the government then remits to the church. To continue this cozy relationship, German Catholic hierarchy takes positions politically popular in Germany. This includes gay marriage. ...

A cave with a beautiful underground lake has been used by various humans with various gods for 24,000 years. It is apparent people who worshipped many different gods used it. It is instructive for the history of humans and our ability to see gods no matter the generation.  I grew up in the rural Middle West and had no interest and little knowledge of the people who lived where I did before white people took over. Now I learn there are burial sites all around where our family farm was located. The mounds imply religious meaning to the death and burial of those ancients who lived there. The sands of time buried the religions that were gone when I was there and those same sands are slowly doing away with the Christianity of white Europeans. The native people who lived there before Europeans needed whatever religion they practiced. White Europeans needed the mythology of Christianity. Future cultures will need something else and people then will create whatever they need. Everyday Chri...

The Catholic denomination encompasses lots of diversity. One is a Jesuit who preaches the denomination spends too much time preaching about sexual sin. He joins Pope Leo in promoting discussion of the poor and marginalized. It would be an understatement to say the priest is controversial. He is a bright light in Christian darkness.  The link reviews the Catholic prayer in which the petitioner admits to being a sinner and asked over and over for forgiveness. A revised prayer that comes from the liberal wing fesses up to being prejudiced and petitions for forgiveness and promises to be less prejudiced. This kind of fessing up would mean equal treatment of women, gays, trans and in the past black people. This confession is a bridge too far for most Catholic clergy and clergy in conservative Protestant denominations like Southern Baptists and Missouri Synod Lutherans. How could one support male only clergy and preach against prejudice? Having listened to and read the theology of prejud...

Days before the Midterms, pundits are talking about why Republicans WILL lose. It's not yet about why they did lose. We've all been surprised and may be this time as well. The link , a conservative site, drones on about Democrats not conducting responsible campaigns. Democrats are being evasive or dishonest, the author says, by talking about the economic consequences of the war with Iran and not the reason for the war. To me, this is misleading because sometimes issues are self-evident and do not need to be discussed. It is self-evident there is no reason to be at war with Iran. Therefore, there is no reason to discuss it. Whether it's a President, Governor, preacher or professor, people do not like someone talking down to them. People know Iran has had uranium for years and it has affected no one. If we sent a gazillion troops and tons of equipment, found it and took it, we would have to occupy Iran forever or they would start it all up again. People know this. They also k...

One of the best articles I have seen about religion discussed Japan . To me, much of what goes on in the minds of Japanese is similar to what goes on in minds in the West. It's just that we have different names for these thoughts. Japanese do not understand ours; we do not understand theirs.  Before discussing Japan, let's recall the Pagans of the Western World. There was plenty of superstition and different gods in different communities. There were spirits and invisible beings.  Japan's Shintoism goes back to prehistory. The link says only that Shintoism is about many different spirits. It is not uniformly thought of as religion but a set of ceremonies and practices. About the year 550 CE, Buddhism came to Japan. Over many centuries the two have overlapped and merged. Along with the Chinese Confucianism arrived with Chinese occupation and has been put into the mix. These practices are not linked to an original leader nor do they have a "home office" somewhere tha...