Thoughts of a Freethinker

I think the image, the picture in the mind, people have of their god is an accurate prediction of what race they think their god is and its ethnicity. The race of the person will be seen in her god.  All over Africa, paintings are of a black Jesus. In the white U.S. Jesus is white.   The image above is a new one by the artist who is from Spain. He was commissioned to make an image to celebrate this coming Easter. His version of Jesus is causing an uproar in some Catholic and Protestant circles. Apparently, the artist is a Catholic in good standing but critics say his painting was inspired by Satan.  They call the Jesus "effeminate." No greater insult could be made of Jesus than that he is effeminate. Those who quote the Bible say Jesus always referred to men and women as if he was making it clear there are NO crossovers. A painting of a "gay Jesus", especially if approved by the Catholic hierarchy, is cause for "alarm." All of this is amusing because in re...

If you were at a dinner party and all the guests were of the religious right, and someone asked you, "Why are you supporting Trump," the socially correct answer would be, "He's against abortion." You cannot say what might be the reason, you hate the brown people coming across the borders. White religious people once controlled this country, now that is slipping away. That's what Trump is about . Smaller denominations means smaller public relations and lobbying in DC. These, in turn, spell less influence. Perhaps it means smaller amounts from right wing donors like Forced Birth individuals and groups. Certainly it means fewer people in the pews listening to preachers endorsing Republicans. In general, it has to mean Christianity has less influence. When a politician shows up who says, "I will return you to the power you once had," the appeal is not surprising. Pundits everyday ask, "Why are so many supporting Trump?" The answer is the desi...

If a child is told by parents, preachers and friends he/she is going to hell if she is gay, and realizes he is gay and cannot change, how does this person adjust and live on in a happy productive life? Thousands do not. The damage is permanent. It makes no sense that this keeps happening generation after generation. It is unnecessary.  In the link it is called the rape of a child's mind.  A common trope from Christians when they talk about homosexuality is to say, "Statistics prove it. Homosexual people have more alcoholism, suicide and are generally not in as good health as their straight peers." These statistics are correct, but the reason for those problems is found in those whose religious views are cruel and harmful. Statistics also show gay children who are accepted and encouraged by their parents do just as well in school and in adulthood as straight children. The harm of religion is right there in the headlights.  The harm of religion is now playing out in state l...

As gay marriage has found its way further into the U.S., the question of how to respond to these weddings is being raised more often. The Pope made what is almost a breath-taking ruling that gays about to be married could receive some kind of blessing. Like many things the Pope does, he left some of the details about precisely what a Preist can do.  The denomination I grew up in, now called the Evangelical Covenant Church, has had internal disagreement about approval of gay marriage. Pastors and individual churches who host and officiate them regularly have been removed from the denomination. But, licensed pastors can "attend" a gay wedding. This seems to open the door to considerable involvement of a pastor. I think gay marriage is a freight train going downhill with no brakes. Yet, on religious sites are still pundits demanding gay marriage be stopped. A recent post puts shame on any Christian that attends a gay wedding. By attending, some commenters say, one is approving o...

Catholic clergy recognized long ago that to keep Catholic numbers up there needed to be lots of Catholic babies. But, how could they hide this self-centered reason for opposing birth control. They had to come up with something else. What they came up with is ridiculous, that birth control somehow demeans women.  It is ironic the clergy, who demean women from their ranks as not capable, would point to something that gives women independence and control over their lives to justify their own control obsession. Children in public schools today are taught critical thinking. All religious groups should be trying to prevent the words "critical thinking" and any teaching about it. The obsession of some with race, class and history is misplaced. Critical thinking is helping to cause Christian numbers to fall. Critical thinking would ask, "Why are Catholic clergy leaders really opposed to birth control?" When the argument of "demeaning women" was presented the next ...

A NY Times reporter traveled across Poland asking people about politics. Citizens she talked to as well as political pundits all agree, the new government recently voted in to replace an old religious hard-headed succeeded because it offered abortion rights. Recent polls show 70% of Poland's voters want these rights. Young people swamped the voting poll stations. An abortion pill combo just became available without a prescription. What is happening is what many predicted long ago. Abortion is not really disliked or considered evil by most people around the world. Forced birth operatives, including self-serving clergy, have been clever for many decades creating the notion abortion is "controversial." In reality, it was not controversial until the Forced Birth movement put it on the leading list of sins. Now, men and women around the world are pulling it off the list. It's importance is returning to where it was a few decades back, not so important. What other issues ha...

The continued growth of Nones, those who have no particular religious identity, is almost not news anymore. A recent survey , however, found them to be the largest "religious" category for the first time. That is remarkable and newsworthy.  What has not been written about much is the fact that the growth of nones has happened at exactly the same time as other political events, Trump defeated in 2020, state-wide elections increasing abortion access and acceptance of gay citizens. That these changes have happened at the same time does not prove they are related, but that is the conclusion that is easy to make. If the growth of nones is the source of support for abortion rights and other liberal trends, then those who do not like these trends should be looking for the reason the U.S. public is going "none." There should be a search for who is responsible and whoever or whatever caused Christianity to fall out of favor should be held accountable.  I have a theory as to ...

Some religious people in Canada feel there is growing anti-religious fervor growing there. Churches have been burned. Religious pundits are saying religious people are being viewed with increasing suspicion. This is unfortunate.  I was surprised by a headline about a press stunt held by group of Catholics who like Latin mass. The group held a Latin mass in a room in the U.S. Capitol. Instead of a headline about how bonkers it is to believe Latin mass is better than mass in English, the headline was that the Latin mass was not part of a terrorist plot. That is, there was suspicion anti U.S. secrets were being passed along in this secret language.  Catholics, or maybe all churches, are seemingly rising in conspiracy theories as the reason things are not better for those who consider themselves outsiders. Trump has been appealing to this group by insulting those who he can blame for the plight of outsiders. Could it be his followers are switching to blaming something else in the ...

It's really hard to follow Christian reasoning when one has left the faith behind. Baptist Speaker Mike Johnson likes to quote scripture whenever possible. Answering a reporter, Johnson said Biden's election was "God's will." Johnson was following up on his own view of himself that God had put him in a leadership position.  I thought when humans made sinful mistakes they were exercising "free will." Sinful decisions were then met with punishment like destructive storms and an eternity in hell. Johnson's view is further confusing because he has never said Trump was wrong in claiming Biden was elected due to cheating in the vote counting. Were the "cheaters" exercising God's will also? I need some training so I can understand this stuff. I'm curious, too, about where God's will fit into Johnson's denomination. A Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention is now a known sexual abuser. He was a powerful force in covering ...

Ron DeSantis is returning to Florida just in time to take down lots of rainbow flags. At least that's what his Republican legislature wants to do. A bill has been introduced that would closely regulate when and where this expression of gender equality could be displayed in Florida. Any public buildings, elementary schools on up, no rainbow flags. It's fun to speculate on what how a "rainbow flag" would be defined. Would it be any flag with more than two or three colors? Is white as in red, white and blue a color? And if these three are the only colors allowed could someone mix these colors and come up with several different ones that would like look just like the rainbow one? Like all the stuff DeSantis spent time on, Disney, woke, etc., killing off the rainbow flags is REALLY an important issue. Why not get to the point? Require every public building to have a sign, Florida Hates Gays and be done with it. DeSantis and his legislative lackies have a lot of work to do....

I received a letter when I was a mayor from a wealthy and prominent woman in my city. She was complaining about my advocacy of protecting the local abortion clinic from protestors. In the letter, she lamented about not joining the civil rights movement of the 50's/60's. She thought of Forced Birth protesting, trying to take rights away from women, as "fighting for rights." It was, of course, the opposite. There are still Forced Birth fans who are confused about this.  When, 60 years ago, the Roe decision made abortion legal, a kind of equilibrium developed that allowed incremental victories against abortion. These were the stupid showing of ultrasound videos, waiting periods, etc. But, these annoyances were not enough for Forced Birth zealots. They wanted more. They made a big mistake of overreaching. By overturning Roe they went too far and the backlash is making abortion rights stronger than ever. Gay rights became stronger by anti gay operatives arresting gay peopl...

Why would a voter mark "Trump" on the next Presidential ballot? Some would never vote for a Democrat ever. They might say, "It's Biden. He's so terrible." To this kind of voter it is not Biden, he/she would never vote for  a Democrat. Another never-a-Democrat might say, "It's the national debt. Biden and Dems in DC are spending into the poorhouse." Another of this group would say, "Trump gave us a tax cut and the economy was better..." Different reasons are given to sound rational and thoughtful, but it is really neither. Are there Democrats who do the same thing? Yes. The consistent party votes fall about 40% in each direction. The other 20% move their votes from one party to the other. These split at nearly 10% for each party election after election. We all know Electoral College votes are the one's actually cast. It's not easy to lose the majority but win the Electoral College but it can and does happen when the national ma...

Joel Osteen is an unapologetic advocate of what is called the prosperity gospel. He explains that people come to his church and rallies because they want to hear something uplifting. He is consistent in advocating racial and LGBT+ equality. Now he has paid off the $100 million spent to buy and remodel a sports arena in Texas. It took less than 20 years.  I've read that most churches, like Osteen's, are not owned by a congregation. They are owned by the preacher him/herself. Osteen's story of going to the bank along with his father for a loan leaves the conclusion he owns the enterprise. A church Board did not go to the bank. On a "celebrity net worth" site Osteen's worth is estimated to be between $60 million and $110 million. Perhaps this uncertainty is lack of knowledge about the corporate ownership of the church enterprise. If he owns most or all of the church business and his cash flow continues to be stratospheric the $110 million might underestimate his ...

According to news articles , some Republicans in the House and Senate are complaining because their leadership is not attaching anti-abortion riders to budget bills. Johnson, the new House Speaker, is negotiating spending bills to keep the government open. Forced Birthers in the House and Senate want to attach anti-abortion items to the compromise bill. Johnson, a Forced Birther, knows Democrats will accept none of these. One House member said perhaps a Forced Birth rider could be attached to obscure bills like when Post Office Buildings are named.  If you were elected by Forced Birth zealots back home you, too, would be searching for something is display your Forced Birth creds. I wonder if at least some of the retirements in DC are happening because Republicans were elected to stop abortions and now see that is hopeless.  The curtain of ignorance is finally rising on Forced Birth Republicans. They are now seeing that taking rights away from women who vote and giving them to ...

It's a fact, Christianity is growing in Africa. Another fact, the fastest growing religion in Africa is not Christianity, it is Islam.  That is just one of the interesting aspects of Africa that make it hard to predict the future of its religions. The reason both religions are growing is its high birth rate. Perhaps adding to both religion and birth rate are lower literacy rates in most countries.  Methodists learned that by bringing the countries of Africa into the corporation as full voting participants the role of U.S. values was reduced and those of a different culture rose. It seems clear the spin off conservative Methodist denomination, World Methodist Church, will see a strong influence from Africa. Some African countries have a death penalty for homosexuality. My guess is the "World Methodist Church" ultimately will be an African church and its older members in the U.S. will die off. Fertility was what drove up Christian numbers for centuries in the U.S. It has ra...

A couple of decades ago the star of Saturday Night Live was a comedian, Mike Myers. His schtick was playing a woman called "Linda Richman." When things were complicated or unresolvable his conclusion was, "Talk amongst yourselves." "Talk among yourselves" is how I would generalize the approach of Pope Francis to much of the Catholic Church's drama. Priests can decide for themselves whether to accept remarried couples as members in full. Gay couples get a big welcome into the church.  A complicated problem for Rome has always been Catholic Universities. They have big budgets and a permanent dilemma. Stick to closely to conservative dogma and their students go elsewhere. Adjust to quickly to the times and conservative donors give them the bird. Ultimately, if they don't make some adjustments to changing cultures they will cease to exist. Many smaller ones have closed. The previous two Popes were big on lecturing Catholic Universities on what to teach...

Tonight, a few minutes from where I am sitting in downtown Des Moines, IA., are 1,000 members of the press from all over the world. They are covering the Republican Presidential Caucuses. I've been to a couple of them for the Democratic Party and I suppose the rules are similar. People register when they arrive. They are invited to sit with others who are supporting the same candidate. There are some announcements about rules. This is followed by a few routine and dull speeches about the candidates. Finally, there is voting by the raising of hands and votes are counted by a committee at the front of the room. Candidates will fly out of Iowa in their jets late tonight and appear at events tomorrow in New Hampshire. Something else is going on, however, that is hardly mentioned. In a poll that was published today, half the voters who will caucus for Haley will vote for Biden if Trump is the Republican nominee. Trump has all but promised he will sink another candidate if that candidate...

The giant, huge loss of life in mistakes by branches of the Christian faith should be highlighted more prominently. A Christian site did make note of an apology in 1697 by remaining Puritans for the trails and deaths of women believed to be witches. Evidence tells us much of it had to do with taking ownership of dead women's possessions, selling them and dividing up the loot.  Something like that happened with faith based "healing" of gay people, Conversion Therapy. The organization's head man said it was causing harm and apologized.    Both of those would have been good moments in history for the entire enterprise call Christianity to apologize for its false claims. A panel of prominent Christians, including a Pope, could have announced they now know the Bible was written and edited by humans and has no link to any god. "We're sorry we  mislead people. We are closing the world-wide business call Christianity." they could have said.  Another good time to...

This blog has attracted a variety of people over its lifetime. One was a man who volunteered giving lessons in Christianity to inmates in a state prison. Religious groups often raise money to fund "ministries" in prisons. The jail Chaplain of the large county where I lived in ND was, as I recall, a former Baptist minister.  This Christain indoctrination receives praise from prison wardens. The common view of wardens is something like, "It calms down the prisoners." I suppose that means it calms some of the tensions between individuals and groups in jails and prisons. While I have no reason to doubt the views of these wardens there is a downside to indoctrination of prisoners they never mention. Now this downside is being addressed . Because wardens believe inmates are calmer does not prove they are actually. This may be the conclusion of wardens who themselves are Christians. Is there no other way to keep prisoners calm but indoctrinate them with religious of politi...

That thousands, perhaps millions, of voters believe Trump was sent by God to be our President is not Trump's fault. This even though he promotes the idea. The idea comes from every preacher, priest and parent that teaches about invisible beings and ghosts. Our human minds seem to be programed to reach for imaginary beings. The job of every responsible citizen is to push that notion out of human heads. It is a self-destructive flaw.  Trump hints at his inside link to God. This political practice has been popular since the beginning of recorded history. The king and the religious figure would unit. Often the king would eventually become the religious leader. If, in the U.S. a religious figure became President, why would God want us to have another election? God would not want his guy to be defeated and replace with someone of lesser God credentials.  The world of invisible beings and ghosts preached about every week by Christian clergy has consequences that should not be ignored...

Several months before Roe was overturned there was publicity it was coming. Women in conservative states began buying abortion pills just in case they needed them. Pill providers have confirmed this.  Like every effort we know of to outlaw abortions, those stockpiling the pills were not poor black women. They were women who knew how to do this and had some money to carry it out. This pattern of poor women being forced to give birth while women with connections and means escape happens whenever forced birth whackos get their laws passed. Regulation of behaviors or substances comes down to economics. Well, I should add voluntary cooperation. Let's review some experiences with banning stuff. Prohibition was a doozie. There could not have been more enthusiasm to outlaw booze. Yes, there were some cozy exemptions. Wine was OK in churches. They bought and sold like bars. While states could legislate their own restrictions, it was common to allow people to make alcoholic beverages for the...

Because I spent decades in the news being interviewed and commented on by others, I developed in interest in how the daily news affects what people think and do. I noticed it first when news articles would appear about our local city buses. Mostly, there was no news about them, they are so boring, News would happen when a city politician wanted to cut funding or a bus had an accident. Ridership would go up. Even bad news would cause ridership would go up.  Later I learned that when a liberal politician is elected money flows to his/her enemies. Campaigns and causes supported by conservatives become awash with money. The same thing happens when a conservative beats a liberal.  It was not surprising then to read that when it was rumored Roe was about to be overturned the volume of abortion pills flowing into the U.S. from Europe rose dramatically. Women began stockpiling the pills in case they became pregnant in the future. Forced birth operatives need publicity to generate dona...

Things are changing in the Catholic Church. The Pope ruled that divorced and remarried couples can receive communion. Then he allowed gay people entering marriage to be "blessed."  (I don't claim to know what it means to be "blessed" but apparently it is a big deal to some Catholics.) Now an Archbishop on the island of Malta says let's keep this thing rolling. Let's allow priests to marry. The concept of the celibate priest, as we know, is not absolute even now. A man who decides to make a career in the priesthood after marrying can do so. There is no requirement priests be virgin men.  The Archbishop in Malta points out the cases we have all heard of. There are priests who love women and want to share in the life of those women and do so secretly. Children fathered by priests is so common there is a for policy dealing with support of such children.  In addition, the archbishop points to the impracticality of young men who are good candidates for the pri...

In Germany, Catholic leaders have a liberal attitude towards same sex marriage. I get the impression Priests are conducting these weddings even though they are not approved of, even scolded , by Rome. In Africa, same sex marriage and homosexuality is a taboo. Some Catholics in Africa are threatening to leave the denomination over the Pope's declaration that priests can bless though not marry, same sex couples. In each case, religion follows the culture, not the other way around. The Pope is trying to straddle cultural differences around the globe. There are countries in Africa that have on the books death for homosexuals. Is this a place for Catholic, Methodist or Baptist ideals? Methodists solved this problem by splitting up. The "World Methodists," including I understand a big representation from African, merged with about 1/3rd of U.S. churches to form a branch that condemns gay clergy and gay weddings. The 2/3rds remaining will now affirm gay marriages. What is unknow...

A few years ago, a former preacher who had left the faith said he was relieved not to have to run through the usual rituals that go with being a preacher. One was that after a local or national disaster he needed to prepare a sermon telling his congregation the tragedy was not God's fault. He called it his "Take God off the Hook Sermon." I didn't think I would encounter close up this political/marketing part of Christianity. It happened today.   Probably most readers have lost interest in the latest school shooting, there are so many of them. It happened in a small city of 8,000, Perry, Iowa. A high school boy shot a principal and four students. One eight-year-old student died.  I live 30 minutes from Perry and it has been sort of my second home. One of my hobbies has been flying a little airplane. I have since sold the airplane and retired from the flying hobby. It was located in Perry and I went there regularly and know many local people. The boy who committed the s...

We know how science provided us with an explanation as to how today's humans, animals and plants came to be. By observing evolution taking place right now, science can say with confidence that is what happened in the past. That to survive living things changed is the only logical explanation that exists.  Scientists are drilling into the earth's core to find the chemicals and gases that formed when the earth formed. By combining these elements at the hot temperatures a different product is created. This will provide an explanation of how original life would have come about. Doubters, especially religious doubters, have said since forever there will never be a better explanation than the Creation Story in the Bible for the creation of life. A better explanation is coming. It has been known for quite a while that extreme heat can cause chemical reactions. If the earth's original rocks began to have chemical reactions to this heat their chemistry would likely change. This, the...

Paul Krugman, an economist and columnist in the New York Times, reviewed the stupidity of big money Republicans today. What he wrote seems so self-evident it should not require an elementary school explanation. But brains that are dulled with too many years of success can be hard to penetrate. I'll review Krugman here.   One can see the inability of big Republican donors to count votes here where I live in Iowa. A year or so ago a big batch of them signed on to the DeSantis campaign. DeSantis had a big staff. He, and I suppose his staff, jetted constantly across the country and even overseas. There was money for ads. Right now I get recorded calls daily telling me "Neverbackdown is holding an exciting event near you in Crossroads tomorrow. Govenor DeSantis will be there. Click here to reserve a free ticket."  Many Million$ Big Money now recognizes DeSantis will lose. Their millions went down a rat hole. One pundit said his staff is in the "make the patient comfortabl...

I've seen it now at least a few times, a Christian or Jew referring to non believers as "Pagans." The narrative then goes on to describe what "Pagans" believe.  A prominent Rabi published an article recently in The Atlanti c ridiculing all those who have Pagan views. At least one person who self identifies as a Pagan took issue with how the Rabi portrayed the beliefs of modern Pagans. The exchange reminded me of exchanges on the discussion page of this blog. I often refer in a general way to "Christians." Readers who are Christians chastise me because their particular brand believes something different than other brands. Why has this practice of referring to "nones" (not affiliated with any religious group) as Pagans become popular? One has to imagine how the field of competition looks to a Christian pundit. Six out of eight children born to Christian parents leave the faith by age twenty. Some blame needs to be named. Someone or something ha...

The Mennonites and the Amish are entirely different groups. I've heard the difference but do not claim to understand either. Within each group there are variations. We've all heard of many other groups with a religious or ideological bent who believed in what we generally call minimalist living including shared housing and meals. Most pass out of existence. But, the Mennonites and Amish continue to expand and start new colonies. They have  move d into new countries. Expansion is necessitated by large numbers of children. This works because of the economics of the groups. By sharing housing, machinery and transportation members lower their cost of living. I would guess their pay is about 1/3 that of lower middle-class income. This lowers the cost of whatever they produce and sell. Since they sell into secular markets, grain, furniture and other goods, are priced at secular production wages. These religious groups have robust profits. This is where do they get the money to buy mo...

Someone who claims he was a confidant of Benedict says Benedict was disappointed with the Francis approach to Latin Mass. The Francis fired a couple of Benedict's favorite Cardinals without consulting with Benedict. Benedict thought he should have been consulted. Judging from what we see from afar the two men seem as different as day and night. Benedict came up through academic ranks, rigid and removed from parish priest experience. Francis came up through Jesuit life doing parish work and fighting the current political establishment. That the two were extremely different was seen in Francis' refusal to wear the flashy and elaborate trappings of Benedict saying, "This isn't Las Vegas." Benedict was all hat and no cattle. A form aid to Benedict told reporters Benedict would never have said priests could give "blessings" to gay couples. This fellow did not stress the magic words that bring on Pope Franscis' rage, "We cannot bless sin." Maybe ...

According to one estimate , 1/3 of the nation's 350,000 churches are on the brink of closure. In recent years, about 5,000 churches closed per year in the U.S. which is about 100 per week. I suppose that number is not large compared to restaurants that close. But new restaurants open. New churches open but they don't begin to make up for the losses. There are now architectural firms who offer specialized skills in converting churches to other uses.  If it is true that 100,000 churches are near closure the rate will increase in 2024. With Christianity, I've come the conclusion about 80% if young people born into church going families exit the faith by age 20. About 80% of funerals are for Christian church members. It seems to me that while any religion or god has a shelf life, Christianity need not be in such a rapid decline. The opportunity has always been there to be modern and change as society changes. Instead of taking advantage of opportunities, it made the wrong decis...