Thoughts of a Freethinker

Statistics show the liberal wing of Christianity, I think of it as moderate or main stream Christianity, is dropping in membership rapidly. This data come from denominations like the Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, etc. They are denominations, mostly, which now approve or do not condemn gay people or gay marriage.  This data does not show trends in non denominational churches which have become popular. So far as I know, there have been no studies of the theologies of these churches. If there is something called "return to the mean" in Christianity, a theme of theology that brings people in the pews back to something that has been believed for most of U.S. history, what would it be.  Recently, a post in the conservative Wall Street Journal pointed to the denomination of Presbyterianism as a force toward freedom of assembly and belief but resistant to a government religion. It concludes the ideal of Christian nationalism in the Presbyterian denomination has...

The view that religion is "important" dropped from the 60% range to under 30% in recent decades among democrats. Among Republicans, it dropped buy only about 20%. The religious right is wringing its hands over this drop. It claims false doctrine has taken the place of the real stuff. Instead of whining, the religious right should be figuring out why this is happening and trying to reverse the downward trajectory. Instead, it is watching its numbers fall and complaining. I've been watching commentary of the national convention of Missouri Synod Lutherans. One set of younger preachers has been telling the rest of the denomination on videos that the million-member drop is continuing because its churches are often in rural areas that are emptying and the average ago of member is rising increasing deaths. They believe the decline might slow if the requirements for preachers were made less expensive with on-line degrees so and more preachers could be licensed who in turn could...

Pregnancies take many unexpected turns and doctors with their patients need to figure out what to do is the case being made in Massachusetts by a legislator. She told of a woman whose fetus had a stroke and an abortion was needed after the legal limit. The patient had to leave her state to get the abortion. This logic that abortions, even late ones, are available somewhere in the U.S. undercuts the Bible thumpers and their one-cell human beings. "If abortions are available somewhere, why force our women to travel?" is a question for which anti-abortion has no political answer.  State by state, country by country, the availability of abortions is increasing. There could be a few set backs from time to time but the resolve of women to get them will be the force that prevails. The Roe decision which made abortions legal nation-wide set a time limit on when an abortion could happen. It is widely known this was at the point when the fetus was "viable" outside the mother....

If today, July 22 is Mary Magdalene Day in the Catholic denomination and you are a Catholic, you have an obligation to go to church. The Catholic denomination has some cleaver marketing. It comes up with reasons you should spend your time and money supporting the denomination.  When I was a young person I lived in Catholic Puerto Rico for a year. There were so many holidays based on Catholic saints an outsider could not keep track of them. I suppose each of these was a reason to demand Catholics attend church. More religious days crowded out other interests. The Catholics are still playing the saint card. "Mary Magdalene" is in the Bible, allegedly present at the death of Jesus. She was said to be a woman of ill repute but brought back from her sin to be briefly big in the Easter story. She disappeared from Bible tales so what became of her was not of interest to the men who wrote the Bible. Her big contribution was that is gave Catholic executives a reason to have a day dedi...

Famous authors today say books by the author of The Late Great Planet Earth plus that book itself sold more books than any other author of Christian books in the world. This book was said to be quite influential with Reagan and his cabinet including James Watt, Secretary of the Interior. I visited with Watt in Fargo when I was mayor. Watt was in religious la la land.  It's almost alarming the book is classified as "nonfiction." The topic is prophesy and the New Testament book Revelations. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of books have been written and sermons delivered telling of the events prophesized before the return of Jesus and the end of the world. It is almost a cottage industry. Every generation is willing to shell out money to read "inside" information as to how current events foretell those prophesized in Revelations. That a President and the Cabinet that run our country now believe, or believed back then, this fictional mythology is reality is frightening.  I ...

While Christian missionaries are not allowed in Iran there are efforts to spread the faith through satellite broadcasts. It was a pleasure to read an article in the Christian press by a devout Christian who is involved in Christian broadcasts aimed at Iran but who has studied Iran's current leaders and knows them better than does Trump and his tight circle of chest-beating bomb-them-to-dust cronies.  The Iranian clergy/politicians believe they can outlast the U. S. and be in a stronger international position afterwards. They believe this because that's what happened when Iraq invaded and was unsuccessful even having more and better weapons. Sadam finally decided he could not conquer the country and gave up trying. To the Iran leadership, the same thing is unfolding against the U.S. Iran has been badly damaged, but is a large and well-educated society with oil. The Christian link author does not think Iran will negotiate nor give up its gains. In WWII, the German nazis invaded R...